In-the-ear-monitors

I remember on the 'Internal...' tour Fish was using in-the-ear-monitors (quite a new thing back then). I think I read about it in the Company Fanzine, I also recall someone saying that they couldn't hear the vocals too well if they were in the front row with the wedges missing from the stage.

Anyhow, I was wondering if there was a particular reason that Fish doesn't use them anymore? I noticed that Marillion all seem to have them on their current tour (they had to take them out to talk to each other on stage!).

Ed

I'm guessing that Fish likes to be able to hear the audience, something you lose with in-ear monitors.

I was in the front row at a gig in Wath-upon-Dearne where the support act was PBII - they all used in-ear monitors, and the drummer used a part-electronic kit. They weren't using the floor wedges at all, and the PA speakers are quite far forward at that venue. The front row sound was weird - the hi-hats were much louder than everything else.

Only other person apart from Marillion I've seen using in-ear monitors in the past 12 months was Lisa Fury of Karnataka.

I used IEM's for several years while doing the Radiohead thing, but i found it very impersonal, and although its really nice to go to bed without the inevitable tinitus, it felt like being in a studio and no fun at all, So these days, I put up with the cons, and its a far more enjoyable way of performing. I think basically I got over the gimmick of it. Bit like radio sytems for guitar, which is fine if you move about on stage a lot, but for me, this lives in the bottom of the same case as my IEMs...

Never used them myself, for two reasons.

One, all those listed above , and two - they've never been available! Not that I'm bothered like!