Peter Murphy, threw the microphone and left after 40 minutes of appearance, causing of course huge disappointment to the audience that had gathered in Water Square to see the legendary band up close.
Late Thursday night came from Release Athens the announcement of what happened in their appearance Bauhaus. At the end of the first day of the festival, Peter Murphy, threw the microphone and left after 40 minutes of appearance, causing of course huge disappointment to the audience that had gathered in Water Square to see the legendary band up close.
The organizers emphasize that the problems in the sound created “The inability of some of the technicians they have chosen as their collaborators”.
The announcement also clarifies that from the posts of the band and Peter Murphy on social media on the subject, the technician’s thanks to the people of the festival for their efforts had been removed.
The release of Release Athens in detail:
Out of respect for such a great band as the Bauhaus, we thought it best not to take a warm stand and wait for an official explanation from them for yesterday’s problematic appearance at Release Athens 2022. Instead, reading the “announcement” that came out in both the official profile of the band and that of Peter Murphy, we see that the easy way of denying the real responsibilities was chosen, once again in such cases.
The truth, however, is that no hurricane, no magnetic field and no strange natural phenomenon was the cause of yesterday’s problems. Unfortunately, what created them was the incompetence of some of the technicians they have chosen as their collaborators. The constant negative, to angry, reactions from Peter Murphy himself during the show, clearly addressed to their own crew, are an indisputable witness. We have recorded at least 12 of them in less than 55 minutes during the appearance of a band, which had prepaid its agreed fee in full, having undertaken the contractual obligation for its set to last not less than 90 minutes. But insults do not solve problems.
At this point, we want to clarify some data, which is simple and self-evident for those who do this work but, as is logical, is unknown to the general public. And of course this explains some particularly critical comments, towards the festival and its contributors.
The organizing company provides all the artists with the equipment they need to perform 100% of their show, according to the specifications that they have given us and that are described in detail in the pre-existing agreements and contracts. Shortly before the start of the set and until its end, all control of this equipment is handed over to the technicians of each artist or band, along with the necessary backup options to ensure the proper flow of the show. Sound (even its intensity), lights, visuals, are all the responsibility of the specific collaborators of the artists. And all this, of course, has been tested, over and over again, during the previous sound / line & light checks.
Yesterday, the first of Release Athens 2022, was no exception to this rule. The band technicians were in control of all the points mentioned above and throughout their performances.
As for the appearance of the Bauhaus, from our side – and after a thorough investigation – we can assure you that not a single technical problem arose. After all, if there was anyone, chances are the show would never start. On the contrary, there were problems (even through dialogues between the band members and their technicians) and poor communication on their part, culminating in the departure of Peter Murphy from the stage, saying the phrase “it’s your fault”, addressing the stage sound engineer. their.
At the moment, we do not want to tire you with specific references to the wireless guitar, saxophone, microphones of Peter Murphy. Fortunately, for once, the digital environment in which we live and work has recorded all the manipulations of their technicians and the (many and serious) mistakes they have made have been diagnosed. Therefore, we are able to state with certainty that there was no unexplained interference with the wireless system as, in a way, their FOH sound engineer suggests. There were mishandling of the band’s technicians, in their area of ​​responsibility. Manipulations, which we had no possibility to influence, as we have already explained.
Apart from that, we are unfortunately obliged to point out that the “announcement” of this particular Bauhaus coach, in essence, does not explain anything. And specialized technical knowledge is not necessary to understand it. The most reprehensible thing, however, is that it has been transferred in fragments, something that we are able to know very well, since we had also received it in an email from its author, for obvious reasons, as you will see. Here is the whole text in its original form, without cuts (in bold what is not contained in the announcement):
“First I want to thank all of you. I’m really appreciative of all the kindness and extra efforts to make our stay and experience in Athens special. I’ve been around the world doing this for a long time and you all should be proud of your whole team as it is truly special what you do here.
That being said. I must mention problems we had during the show that, in my experience could not have been anticipated or expected. Every channel of wireless provided to us started giving us trouble in the beginning of our set. Wireless guitar was first to fail. Simple fix, we switched to a wire. Then the lead vocal. We switched to spare back up. Then the Sax wireless failed. Next Spare vocal failed. That was 4 wireless systems in the first 5 songs. I’ve never experienced failures like this in all my years. They were all on but not giving fullness and good signal. Most people probably could not even tell we were having these problems because I could cover most of it in the FOH mix. But, all 4 Wireless In Ear Monitors failed as well creating a problem for the band to hear themselves onstage. We checked these systems many times throughout the 2 days we were here. Something very strange happened with wireless here. I’d love to understand, but I think this has probably happened here before? Something of a local problem due to interference? It could also have been a power problem to that rack but during a show I have no ability to check systems from my position at FOH. I have to rely on my crew and frankly yours. Maybe the other bands left all their transmitters on? This would create a problem but less likely the culprit.
I think I will try to process this in the next few days maybe I’ll have answers as to why this could happen. But for now. I’m not blaming anyone. Especially not you all. Quite the contrary. I appreciate your efforts and everything you’ve done. I wish it was more successful, but reality just does not dictate that everything go perfectly every time.
Release Athens reserves its rights. “
