EAW MicroWedge Chosen For R.E.M. World Tour
The upcoming world concert tour by R.E.M. will feature EAW MicroWedge Series stage monitors deployed by Monitor Engineer George Squiers (pictured left) to provide monitor sound on stage for all band members.
The tour kicks off in late May with a month of North American dates before moving on to an extensive set of European dates over the summer. Rat Sound Systems Inc. is serving as the sound reinforcement company for the tour, and is supplying the 22 EAW MicroWedge MW12 wedges under the direction of Squiers.
“The new EAW MicroWedge is a very loud and great-sounding design,” states Squiers. “I love the smooth natural high-end and the amazing low-end it reproduces. The low-end is leaps and bounds over any single 12-inch design I've run across, competing with and exceeding most single 15-inch designs. Single source point philosophy also goes very far in my book.”
Among the most popular and enduring artists in the history of rock music, R.E.M. is touring in support of the critically acclaimed album Accelerate, released earlier this year, which debuted at number two on the Billboard charts. The band continues to be led by iconic lead singer Michael Stipe (pictured here), with Peter Buck on guitar and Mike Mills on bass. They are supported by Scott McCaughey as a second guitarist, keyboardist and utility man, as well as Bill Rieflin on drums.
Four MW12’s will be utilized for Stipe at his central stage position, arrayed in an arc with two for vocals and two for instruments. Dual MW12’s are to be dedicated to Buck, Mills and McCaughey on the frontline, while Mills also gets another pair of MW12’s at the midstage position where he plays piano and synth, and yet another pair at downstage right, a location he frequents during shows. McCaughey will also be supplied with pair of MW12’s at his keyboard position.
“The air movement and warmth on stage is very important for these guys,” Squiers explains. “I do not have sidefills filling in the lower registers, so the wedges need to be able to stand on their own.”
Yet another pair of MW12 is dedicated to Rieflin’s drum position. (“He loves the push we get out of his kick drum and floor toms in these wedges,” Squiers notes.) More wedges are in consideration to be flown at points around the stage to supply additional fill, with the rated flytrack incorporated in each MW12 enclosure making this much easier as well as far more stable than other approaches.
“Michael Stipe also loves to hop on his wedges, and prefers the comfort and stability of the MicroWedge low-profile design to anything else we or he has run across,” Squiers adds with a laugh. For this tour, each pair of MW12 wedges for the floor is mounted to plywood and secured by aluminum clamps in their ports, providing even further stability. It also simplifies and quickens setup and strike during change-overs.