It's a hectic time for live music in Ireland right now that's for sure. As the concert and festival season reaches fever pitch, hardly a day goes by without at least one major international act appearing somewhere in the country. In the space of a one-week period alone in late June, Roxy Music, Neil Young and Destiny's Child appeared at The Point, Bon Jovi entertained 25,000 at the RDS, Cheap Trick played Vicar Street and Davit Kitt packed Whelans over three nights.

Around the country, scores of local festivals featuring well-known names attract thousands of punters while big events like the Heineken Green Energy, Creamfields and Witnness see major high-profile bands artists and DJ's drawing the crowds. Meanwhile, the countdown is under way for the big U2 show at Slane at the end of August with the tantalising possibility of an extra date being added.

But re-wind a couple of months back and the picture was very different. Almost overnight, The Foot-and-Mouth scare had virtually decimated the live scene and the immediate future looked uncertain at best and decidedly bleak at worst. For those working behind the scenes – the sound & lighting specialists who depend on a healthy live music scene for a living – it was a difficult period.

"Things are busy right now but we're really playing catch up," says Paul Smith of Just Lite Productions, one of Ireland's leading stage lighting and production companies. "What's happened is, we've had two months of almost nothing happening and suddenly the floodgates are opening."

As we speak, Smith is busy setting up the lighting rig for the Jam at The Point, featuring a host of teen pop acts, with new sensations and Grammy Winners, Destiny's Child headlining. Though this concert is a complete sell-out, Smith is not so certain about the prospects of all of the live music events that are due to take place throughout the summer.

"In the end it's all down to the people who buy the tickets and come to the gigs," he says. " If they stop buying, the industry is in trouble. I was in Galway over the bank holiday weekend and I was able to walk into a hotel and get a room on the spot. I don't ever remember a time when you could do that in Ireland, so things clearly aren't back to normal just yet."

Founded in 1987, Just Lite's success has been built on a commitment to understanding clients needs and to meeting their expectations. Their experience ranges from major outdoor gigs, indoor concerts and fashion shows to amateur theatre productions, product launches and other corporate events. Some of Just Lite's client list includes acts like REM, Beck, Iggy Pop, JJ72, David Bowie, Macy Gray, The Corrs and David Gray. They also provided lighting for special events such as Heineken Green Energy Weekend, Bacardi Unplugged and Creamfields. They also recently worked on the Clothesline Fashion Show at Vicar Street with supermodels Helena Christianson, Erin O'Conor and Jodie Kidd.

Just Lite boast an extensive range of lighting, rigging and specialist products, enabling them to meet almost any requirement – and they can also source unique or unusual products, if requested. "Basically my whole concept is that I'm into high quality," Paul Smith says. "I buy really expensive state-of-the-art equipment. We have to, as we're constantly beating off competition coming in from the UK."

With state of the art design capabilities and fully certified, experienced crews, you can rely on high standards of work and professionalism from Just Lite. "Most of my lighting guys go on to work with major world acts," Smith offers "Liam McCarthy started with me when he was just 16 and now does lights for The Corrs worldwide. Cormac Jackson another guy who worked with me now works with David Gray. Pat Fitzsimons is with Oasis, Darragh McAuliffe with Limp Bizkit and Daragh Toner has worked with Black Grape."

Changing Lanes

Since it was established in 1982, initially as a rehearsal studio and later moving into PA hire, the Litton Lane name has been at the forefront of the growth and development of the live scene in Ireland. After nine years of successfully operating from their base at The Factory, Litton Lane has recently moved its operation to much larger premises at Park West Industrial Estate, off the M50 in West Dublin. The rehearsal studios are long gone and Litton Lane Audio Hire, as the company is now known, specialises purely in the supply of PA, backline and DJ equipment to the live scene.

"We now have three times more space than we had up 'till now," Litton Lane's Paddy Freeney explains. "It'll allow us to stock a much larger range of equipment and to move it in and out much easier."

In the past Litton Lane has supplied PA equipment to major live events – from the big Radiohead concert in the RDS a few years back to the Eurovision Song Contest at The Point. This year Litton Lane will provide PA and backline for massive events such as the Creamfields, and Witnness festivals as well as the big FM104 shows at Marley Park.

“It’s tough out there”, Paddy Freeney says, “but it’s important to keep growing and developing to meet the changing demands of the industry. That’s the way to stay on top – which is what we intend to do”.

IMproving Quality

For over twenty years The Mikam Sound has been synonymous with top quality sound to the music industry in Ireland and abroad. Founder Mick O'Gorman is one of the best known names in the industry and when it first opened he was appointed sound designer to Riverdance. His business partner Paul Aungier has been with The Mikam Sound since the early 1980s working extensively with artists such as Nanci Griffith over the years.

Over that time he has witnessed a revolution in the quality of audio as he explains. "There's a very high standard available in Ireland right now," Aungier says. "It's not often that you go to a gig and experience bad sound. The manufacturers are a lot better and there has been good design in sound equipment, particularly in the last six years.

"But audiences expectations are also higher and they demand much more," he adds. "They listen to CD's at home and many have DVD with surround-sound so they're used to high quality."

As well as providing top-notch audio equipment to the music industry The Mikam Sound has become increasingly involved in the burgeoning area of corporate launches and special events, such as AGM's. According to Paul Aungier this area has become important to a company like Mikam. "We do a lot of corporate work which in many ways is not a lot different to working in music. A lot of people of my generation are now in positions of power in the corporate world. They want more rock and roll in their presentations, a little bit of welly with video clips, surround-sound, the whole works. We did a big one for L'Oreal in Luttrelstown Castle recently where guests were flown in from all over the world. It was a very impressive show in the audio-visual sense."

KEEPING PACE

Specialising in the high quality Turbosound PA for which they are Munster distributors, Soundtrax, based at Camden Quay in Cork, have provided PA's for big local events such as the Heineken Green Energy Festival, Cork Jazz Festival and concerts such as the recent Paul Brady show in Cork.

Turbosound, originally founded by legendary rock phenomenon Pink Floyd, have become one of the most widely-used PA and in-house sound systems in the industry. Bands like the Manic Street Preachers, Oasis and Madonna use Turbosound, while festivals like Glastonbury uses Turbosound Equipment exclusively. In Ireland venues like The Pod, Red Box, Thunder Road Café and Savannah have Turbosound systems installed, while Irish artists as diverse as Picturehouse and Samantha Mumba use Turbosound PA's.

As well as hiring and distributing the Turbosound brand, Soundtrax in Cork stock a range of 60 products, including mixing desks for the DJ/Market, and they design and install systems in night-clubs, pubs and retail outlets. All in all, they’re making sure that the southern part of the country keeps pace with places like Dublin and Belfast. As it should do …

Mixing Up

Good microphones provide one key to the vast improvements that have taken place in sound quality over recent years. And it isn’t just a question of sound. Radio microphones have allowed artists to move around and engage in all kinds of dancing and theatrics that straight up mikes or stands always crudely prohibited.

GFD Communications have played an important part in this revolution in Ireland. Based at Parkmore Industrial Estate on the Long Mile Road, they supply Audio Technica's range of radio microphone systems to the Irish market. From professional broadcasts to theatre and live gigs, houses of worship, conferences and even fitness classes Audio Technica offers a radio system product designed to suit almost every application and budget. These include the ATM75 Headworn Cardiod Condenser Microphone, which is ideal for performing musicians, sportscasters and others who require professional-quality vocal pick-up with hands-free operation.

With the benefit of Audio Technica, there’s no excuse for a lead singer to remain static any more. So hey, bozo, start dancing!

The West Is Also Awake

Based in Sligo town, HF Sound Systems is run by Vinnie Higgins and Liam Farrell - who between them have over twenty-five years experience working in the live scene.

Specialising in the supply of PA's and sound equipment to bands and nightclubs, they've worked with hundreds of bands and artists over the years, including Frances Black, Kieran Goss, Tommy Fleming and The Four of Us, to name but a handful.

"We do a mix of installation and live sound," offers Vinnie Higgins. "You have to keep your foot in both camps in order to survive these days. We cover the entire country - we've a van with a PA permanently up in Dublin, and we were down in Cork at the Green Energy Festival recently with The Four of Us.”

HF Sound Systems use the acclaimed Nexo Alfa PA systems offering output up to about 20K, while they have smaller Dynacord and Martin PA's to cater for that end of the market. They also provide full monitor and microphones including lapel mics if required.

Things are very busy at the moment for HF Sound Systems. "The live scene has definitely picked up a lot in the last two to three years," Higgins says. "It's the busiest I've seen it since the dance explosion in the early ’90s. Part of it has to do with the economy – there's a lot more money around, and people are going out more and demanding more entertainment.”

Long may it continue.

One Stop Sound Shop

The Sound Shop in Drogheda, Co. Louth is one of the best known outlets in the country for instruments and band equipment, and supplies a wide range of guitars, keyboards, percussion and PA systems. Guitars stocked include big names like Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, Takamine, Lowden, Martin, Squire, Aria, Taylor and Yamaha, as well as specialist acoustic manufacturers like, Godin, Seagull, Simon & Patrick, La Patrie, and Shadow. The Sound Shop provides the most comprehensive set-up & service for the ‘one man band’ – most notably the new Gem WK2 HD Arranger Workstation.

A glance at the control panel of the WK2 HD is enough to know that you are not just looking at an average portable instrument. Not only does the WK2 HD look modern, it’s got a clear and simple panel layout that makes using it seem easy.

Inside the heart of the WK2HD there’s a library of 444 high quality sounds which allow you to play all kinds of music. The WK2HD Arranger section offers 96 Styles to choose from, each having 4 Variations composed of 5 accompaniment tracks including drums and bass.

There’s also a "Single Touch Play" function which allows you to completely reconfigure the Style you are playing with at the touch of a single button.

In fact there’s very little that the WK2 HD can’t do. The edit procedures are quick and easy. Everything can be stored and there’s instant recall at the push of a button. You can do 4 part harmonies from one voice. And any lyrics can be synchronised to the music and projected, karaoke-style.

In short, it’s a whizz-banger that has to be seen to be believed – and Sound Shop have it.