Since opening its doors in early 2013, Iron City has been, without a doubt, the best
place to see a concert in Alabama. Built into the framework of two former
automotive warehouses in downtown Birmingham, the owners strove for – and quite
nearly achieved – perfection in every detail. Iron City is the kind of place where
patrons and musicians alike feel that their experience is truly the priority. After an
upgrade of its already killer Danley Sound Labs loudspeaker and subwoofer
complement to feature a stereo pair of Danley J1-94 Jericho Horns – boxes used
mainly to light up massive outdoor arenas like LSU’s 102,000-seat Tiger Stadium,
some have argued that Iron City is now the best place to see a concert in the world.
To cover up to 1,300 audience members for what was originally intended to host
mainly blues acts, Iron City’s original system included two Danley BC-218
subwoofers, six Danley TH-118 subwoofers, two Danley SH-64 loudspeakers, two
Danley SM-96 loudspeakers, and – for main full-range coverage – two Danley SH-
96HO loudspeakers. Musicians get to enjoy the pure point-source beauty of Danley
SM-LPM monitors. “The subwoofer system at Iron City is monstrous,’ said Scott
Oliver, president of Centerline Audio Visual, the company that facilitated the
purchase of the Jericho Horn upgrade. “The punch and depth are what audio folks
dream of but rarely, if ever, experience!”
As pleased as everyone was with the sound quality of the system, there were calls
for more overall output from the mains once Iron City started booking acts like Rob
Zombie, Slayer, and Marilyn Manson. “The SH-96HOs sounded great, but we were
running at 95% to get the volume we needed for loud rock acts,’ explained Jason
Westbrook, Iron City’s production manager, who, together with Danley’s Chief
Engineer Ivan Beaver, worked to make continual improvements to the system and
orchestrated the Jericho Horn overhaul. “Iron City’s owner, Steve DeMedicis, is a
huge Danley fan and the kind of person who wants to be the first kid on the block
with a new toy. When I explained what a Danley Jericho Horn could do and that Iron
City would be the first club in the world to use them, Steve jumped on board!’
Westbrook worked with his staff, Charles “Murph” Murphy, Chris Stokes, and
“Bamm” aka Fernandez Johnson to hang and wire the two new Danley J1-94 Jericho
Horns, and then he and Beaver tuned the system. In addition, Westbrook added two
new Danley SH-95s for front fill and two new Danley SH-69s for balcony fills, and
he reworked the Lake processing that drives the system.