Concert Recap

BY CROOK STEWART PHOTOS BY SARAH SHIPES

I was lucky to get back to Panama City last month in time to catch the Boston Concert at the Panama City Marina Civic Center and get fully immersed in both the flawless performance and the technical wizardry that presented itself to an enthusiastic Panama City crowd. Tom Scholz’s great accomplishments as songwriter and musician came after he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a technical wizard who developed guitar effects pedals to get the distinctive sound that helped propel Boston’s debut record sell more than 17 million copies in the 70s. On their 2015 tour, the band is using literally racks and racks of processors on stage that were designed by Tom to duplicate the unmistakable and unique Boston sound.

All of that great sound still has to be amplified to a level that will reach every seat in the house. Promoter Mark Hess hired Dale Parker of DP Audio to provide “stacks and racks” (the speakers and amplifiers). Boston was carrying a large video wall that served as a backdrop for the band onstage and the programming was tightly integrated to the show with prerecorded background video as well as shots provided by strategically placed cameras around the stage. It really adds a level of appreciation when you get a close-up of Tom playing both electric and acoustic guitars as well as keyboards.

We were all fortunate to see the legendary Boston at the top of their game combined with the perfect storm of a stellar technical crew and the right sound, lighting, and video. Congrats to the team for a job well done.