Thrash metal, indie rock, jazz, comedy, spoken word, and more. Another Planet
Entertainment (APE) does it all at Oakland Calif.’s landmark Fox Theatre, a dazzling
Moorish Deco movie palace whose reincarnation as a multi-use performance space
required a sound system with great flexibility and intelligibility. That’s why Northern
California’s premier independent music promoter has installed a Meyer Sound
LYON™ linear sound reinforcement system in the historic, 2,800-capacity Fox.
“Intelligibility is the main thing,’ says Tony Leong, production manager for APE.
“With the LYON rig, we can do spoken word, heavy metal, or comedy, and the
sound hits you right in your face no matter where you are. Whether you’re by the
back bar or in the last row of the balcony, it sounds as clear and present as it does
in the front row of the orchestra. It also sounds as good at a low volume at it does
at high volume.
“For the last few months, people have been saying, “Wow, this room sounds so
good,’’’ reports Gregg Perloff, CEO of APE, who worked for the legendary impresario
Bill Graham for years, and whose current company produces major shows and
festivals around the Bay Area and beyond. Among others, Perloff has heard raves
about the LYON system from Bonnie Raitt and her crew, as well as Van Morrison, an
artist not easily pleased.
Leong recalls the reaction when rocker Billy Idol played the Fox not long ago: “His
engineer looked over at our engineer and said, “This thing rocks; this thing cranks.
It’s really impressive.’’
The engineering and design innovations that the Fox Theatre’s Bay Area neighbour
Meyer Sound has brought to LYON have significantly enhanced the audience
experience, says Tom Lyon of system installer Pro Media/UltraSound. Lyon worked
on the Fox installation and is now on the road with Dave Matthews Band as systems
tech.
APE installed a Meyer Sound MILO® line array loudspeaker system in the newly
renovated Fox in 2009 when it was first reopened as a concert venue. Perloff was
pleased with the MILO system and saw no need to update it over the years—until he
heard LYON.
The Fox system comprises 14 flown LYON linear line array loudspeakers and six
ground stacked 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements per side. Three 700-HP
subwoofers are flown above centre stage, and front fill comprises four MSL-4 and
three M’elodie® line array loudspeakers. A Galileo® Callisto™ loudspeaker
management system with one Galileo Callisto 616 AES and three Galileo Callisto
616 array processors provides system drive and alignment.
Originally opened in 1928, the Fox Theatre is a gorgeous eye-popper with faux-
wood sunbursts on the barrel-vaulted ceiling and giant, gold, Hindu-like guardians
framing the stage. The theatre is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
and hosts over 100 concerts and events each year.
