Meshell Ndegeocello
Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre
Melbourne, Australia
Mar 26 2024


Setlist

crowd applause
Suzanne
Grace
Towers
I'm Diggin' You (Like An Old Soul Record)
Outside Your Door
Atomic Dog
Clear Water
Georgia Ave
The 5th Dimension
I Want You
Headline > ?
Virgo > applause
encore
The Atlantiques


Me'Shell Ndegéocello - vocals, bass & keyboards
Abraham Rounds - drums, vocals
Chris Bruce - guitar/bass
Jebin Bruni - keyboards


I had never heard of this artist, but I was looking for a show to go to the night after Snarky Puppy and when I checked out her work, I just had to get a ticket, there were hardly any left but I was fortunate to get a seat even though it was a long way from the stage.

The night before this show my usual mics developed a persistent hum and crackle in the right hand channel, being 800 ks from home I could not fall back on my reserve mics, or check up if I could just use the one channel and duplicate it, so I went out and bought a Rode omnidirectional lavalier mic, which was the best I could find locally.

Its a reasonable lavalier mic but its not up to the task of recording a loud live show. Sadly the mix was pretty muddy anyway at the venue once the band all kicked full on with bass and guitar. Vocal levels were often rather low, bass was humongous, organ was barely audible on occasions, drums seemed to lack sparkle. Lighting was really bad too, it was really dark, overall, not a great visual experience. Apparently Meshell doesn't like bright stage lights in her eyes and regularly wears shades onstage .

Having said that though, this was a mesmerising show with some incredible ensemble playing, its become consuming as I've edited it, I just wish I could get it to sound like it should have.

The show started quietly, but when they launched into Atomic Dog the band were really pumping it and I was having to turn the M10 down further and further even with using phantom power, this is probably the worst recorded track, pity, as its bloody great.

The mic also seemed to experience some cut outs in one channel, possibly due to the battery box, this occurred on two tracks where I was making volume adjustments, I've fixed those dropouts so they are either inaudible or barely perceptible.

To add to my woes three (drunken?) ladies behind me were rather rowdy on occasions, fortunately the Rode didnt pick them up all that well and I have also toned down their contributions which were at times really noisy .

99% of the show is free from interruptions, but even after working on it for two days solid, its not up to my usual standard. Its ok as long as you do not crank it up too loud, an awful lot of work has gone into bringing out the instruments and vocals, but I can only do so much before the sound starts cracking, there are several portions which are far too muddy for my liking.

This is a great concert, by an amazingly talented artist, marred by a so so onstage mix and an inadequate mic.


Rode GO omnidirectional lavalier mic > SP 12 volt BB > sony PCM M10 > 16bit wav > mac pro > adobe audition/Acon Acoustica eq mixes > lower applause using Acon declick > spectral tools used to adjust instrument levels. -5db bass adjustment, vocals/keys 2db + > Flac using XACT ( LEVEL 8 )

Stealth mode 25 metres from stage

Recorded, transferred , edited by godzgolfball
Dont sell ( in any format) or distribute for trade in Mp3 format. Buy the artists offical products to support them.