Live Venue View: Joe’s Pub at the Public — New York City
It’s hard to believe, but the New York City live venue Joe’s Pub at the Public (aka Joe’s Pub) celebrated its 15th Birthday this month.
The surprise that accompanies that news is testament to how fresh things always seem at one of NYC’s top performance spaces. Every show there manages to feel special, thanks to its cultured pedigree, the fashionably welcoming interior, and – most importantly – the expertly curated artists that appear onstage every night.
After 15 years, Joe’s Pub has upped the ante on its sound.
Now there’s yet another draw to this downtown sonic den: a brand new sound system. The venue is connecting to its audiences via a just-installed d&b audiotechnik White Range system, packing new amplifiers, main front-of-house speakers, subwoofers and stage monitors.
Jon Shriver is Production Manager of Joe’s Pub – and he’s not your everyday live sound guy: In addition to his work there Shriver has produced for Nas, was a featured guitarist in the Michael Mann movie Ali starring Will Smith, and has engineered for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Notorious B.I.G., Jodeci, and Wu-Tang Clan. He explains the thought process that re-energized one of NYC’s most musical places:
Live Sound Objective
“Joe’s Pub is very much a small, intimate, listening room. We enjoy hosting all type of music, so I can’t pick one style that we cater to. It’s great for quiet groups, but the sound system allows us to accommodate loud bands as well. Acoustically the room is tight with little reflections. It has a short reverb of only about 500ms.”
View from the stage — note d&b 10a’s overhead
Gear to Get There
“The new d&b system is based on the previous one. New and better technology replaced the existing system which ran almost every day for close to 15 years. Bringing d&b’s gear into the room was a great choice in our goal to remain one of the world’s best small rooms – it will keep us at the forefront of quality PA technology for years to come.
The d&b system has greatly improved definition in the low end, and the pristine high end has also improved the clarity of high end sibilants.”
The way in from Astor Place
A Distinctive Venue
“Joe’s Pub has an unparalleled commitment to providing a quality experience for both artists and audiences. We work with the artists in a significant way to allow them to grow and extend their reach. Allowing audiences to take part in that journey—whether it’s discovering a new artist or seeing a legend try something new—is what we do best. The new sound system really makes it possible for us to continue to do both.”
System Set List
Center: (3) d&b 10A speakers / (1) d&b 10AL-D speaker / (1) d&b D6 amp / Klark Teknik DN300 graphic EQ; L/R Sides: (2) d&b 12S-D speakers / (1) d&b D6 amp / Klark Teknik DN360 stereo graphic EQ; Fills: (1) d&b 5S speaker (under booth) / (1) d&b E8 speaker (mix position) / (1) d&b D6 amp; Subs: (4) d&b 18A subwoofers / (1) d&b D12 amp
— David Weiss
Sound & style converge
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