LIVERPOOL WEEKENDER MERGES POP AND CLASSICAL WITH HIGH PRODUCTION VALUES

Liverpool's Waterfront Weekend was an ambitious performance programme, featuring an innovative cross-generational fusion of classical, pop, jazz and world music with cabaret and comedy. It was produced for Liverpool City Council by its ever-active Special Events Team, with production/event manager Nick Handford at the helm.

Lee Forde designed the lighting, working alongside programmer/operator Dave Farmer. Classical sound guru Chris Coxhead was brought in and the show was mixed by Richard Sharratt, also an expert in this highly specialised field. Lighting equipment was supplied by PRG and audio by Britannia Row. Three stage managers - Phil Murphy, Stu Stalker and Seamus Coyle - ensured the show schedules ran like clockwork.

The music element took place on the Friday evening, followed by comedy on the Sunday starring Jo Brand, Julian Clary and Chris Cairns. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra anchored Friday's music programme, playing to a packed 1,700 capacity house, conducted by Howard Moody.

Baggy heroes The Farm returned to their home town to play their first live show in nine years, performing their classic 'All Together Now' with the SFX Boys Choir. Marc Almond joined the RLPO in the second half, for two specially arranged versions of his hits 'Jacky' and 'Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart' which went down a storm.

The programme also included performances from Shiva Nolan and trumpeter Thomas Osborne, Liverpool's Young Musician of The Year 2004.

The original plan was to stage Waterfront Weekend outdoors at the Pier Head, but the schizophrenic August meteorology convinced everyone that a move into the Philharmonic Hall was sensible, so original lighting, sound, screen and staging schemes were adjusted accordingly.

Utilising two trusses and the floor at the back of stage, the lighting rig consisted of eight High End PC Beams and 18 Studio Spot moving light luminaires, and two 3kW Diversitronic strobes with 12 Source Fours. On-stage space was extremely tight, with so many musicians and guest artists.

Special gobos were commissioned from Projected Image of the new 'Liverpool 08' logo and branding, launched the same day. These were introduced by LCC leader Mike Story, and then integrated into lighting Offenbach's 'Can Can'. Lighting control was via a Whole Hog II and a wing.

Chris Coxhead also designed the sound for last year's event and works regularly with the ENO. Moving the show indoors meant he had to contend with the Philharmonic's natural acoustics - which was designed for classical performance, but not for amplified or electronic music.

After careful deliberation, he decided to mike the whole orchestra very subtly using 63 Schoepe mics. This gave a sonic layer from which to build when the electronic pieces kicked in, ensuring they blended seamlessly with the acoustic sections of the performance.

The PA was a dV-DOSC line array - eight elements per side with two subs each, plus a row of d&b E3 front fills, picked for their expedient size. Right in the corners of the stage, they placed one Arcs long throw box per side, to fill the sides of the auditorium.

The Farm agreed to use IEMs for the first time (a Shure system) and their guitars were DI'd to reduce on-stage clutter. Marc Almond worked with his wired Shure SM58 and a pair of Turbosound wedges on minimum foldback. To pick up the choir at the back, they rigged a Soundfield 5 mic.

Richard Sharratt and monitor engineer Leon Dalton both used Yamaha PM1Ds for simplicity and because the lack of rehearsal time meant they had just one hectic afternoon slot. The only outboard effect used FOH was a TC M5000 reverb, with all the other processing incorporated within the console.

Waterfront Weekend was a fantastically ambitious project made possible because of Liverpool City Council's progressive stance to cultural events, spearheaded by Lee Forde. Nick Handford commented: "Where else could you see The Farm and Marc Almond performing on the same bill as music by Wagner and Debussy in a classical setting? Our aim was to stage an event with high artistic and production values, and the care and attention to detail of our suppliers and production team enabled this - and us to have a great time in the process!".