Concert-goers can enjoy Elton John in a whole different way with new wearable technology
Credit to Author: Stephen Snelgrove| Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2019 00:49:38 +0000
Audio startup PEEX is testing a new wearable technology at Elton John’s Vancouver concerts that can give every seat in the house the same premium sound.
From seats on the floor within spitting distance of the stage to the highest nosebleed section at the back of the arena, concert goers wearing headphones connected to the PEEX audio remixer, can tailor the sound to their tastes — whether it’s boosting Elton John’s vocals or zeroing in on a guitar solo by longtime band member Davey Johnstone.
I tried PEEX out at Sunday’s concert, the second of three on the band’s Vancouver stop in its Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. The final concert is Tuesday at Rogers Arena.
The verdict?
I may never want to attend a concern without PEEX again.
At first, walking around with headphones at a concert felt a bit dweebish. But when Elton John sat down at the grand piano and his voice filtered through all the background white noise that marks the audio experience at an arena, I didn’t care.
I was still at a live concert — immersed in all the thrill of the sound coming from the performers on the stage. But instead of a blur of sound — with everything from my seatmates’ singing along to Rocketman, to other instruments drowning out Elton John’s piano playing — my personally customized remix came through the headphones with startling clarity.
“It evens the playing field in the stadium,” said Graham Tull, chief technical officer at the UK-based PEEX. “Why should you be disadvantaged because of where you’re sitting?”
To try out PEEX, I stopped in at a booth the company is hosting at the concert, where $20 rents you the PEEX rX, a little wireless receiver disc you wear around your neck, with headphones. That links to a free PEEX Live app that you can download on your iPhone or Android phone. There’s a 20 per cent discount for booking online ahead with the code Elton at rent.peex.live.
After a couple of tries pairing it with my phone, the receiver was ready to go and I had my own personal concert mixer that I could control from the app. The options — vocals, guitar, keys, base and drum — were on sliders with an icon for the musician linked to them. To hear Elton John’s voice more distinctly, I pushed that slider up. When the legendary percussionist Ray Cooper was taking a lead role, I pushed the drums slider up and Cooper was centre-stage — at least audio wise through my headphones.
I tested PEEX out by wandering around the venue, starting at seats close to the stage. When Elton John was singing, by sliding down his icon, his voice became less distinct, not standing out, not only from the instruments on stage but from all the other noise in the arena. When I pushed the icon to 80 per cent, it was clear that even at 72 and with 50 years of touring behind him, the musician hasn’t lost his ability to deliver a powerful vocal performance. I went to various sections, checking to see what changed. The music followed me, the headphones delivering the same quality of sound high up in the stands and from one side or another as they did front and centre just ahead of the stage.
The technology is debuting with the Elton John tour but Tull said there are plans to roll it out with other musicians and concerts.
Elton John points to PEEX as the future of concert-going.
“Throughout my 50-year career, playing live has always been so important to me,” he said in a release. “I am passionate about giving my fans my best possible performance and making sure they get the best possible experience.
“Over the last four years I’ve been working with the talented team at PEEX, who have developed an incredible new technology that will revolutionize the way fans listen to live music.”