# Larry Mitchell and the Magic Bus Rocked CES 2013!



## jon w. (Nov 14, 2008)

This year’s International Consumer Electronics Show was the largest CES show ever in its 45+ year history with more than 150,000 attendees! The Home Entertainment Show, or "*T.H.E. Show*" for short, held at the *Flamingo Hotel *(www.theshowlasvegas.com) concurrently, was also a wild success, thanks to the monumental efforts of *Richard Beers*, President of T.H.E. Show. Thanks to Richard’s invitation and warm hospitality to T.H.E. Show’s exhibitors, the Magic Bus’ phenomenal exhibit behind the Flamingo Hotel was a music lover’s utopia, especially because *Larry Mitchell*, Grammy award winning producer and guitar virtuoso, (www.larrymitchell.com), returned again to be a wonderful part of the Magic Bus’ exhibit. And, just as we did at last year’s show, Larry’s live guitar was simultaneously fed through a high-end audio system, provided by *Dynaudio* North America (www.dynaudio.com), and through the Magic Bus’ audio system!

One of the sensational highlights of T.H.E. Show was seeing the lovely *Anne Bisson* (www.annebisson.com), an extraordinary vocalist and pianist, deliver enchanting and beguiling performances! For the reception, and each day of the lunch buffet, Anne captivated the audience with her set. Near the end of her set, Larry, would join Anne on stage before he delivered the second set. It was heartwarming to see the musical connection that instantly developed between them! Here’s a video of Anne and Larry playing together for the first time, unrehearsed, with no sheet music, sharing a moment of spontaneous creation:

Anne and Larry's Magical Improvisation!

Of course, Anne graciously agreed to autograph the Magic Bus:









*Anne Bisson with Jon Whitledge after autographing the Magic Bus.*

Larry’s second sets were scintillating, especially after the reception Tuesday night, thanks, in part, to the ferocious and musically engaging custom sound reinforcement system, built specifically for T.H.E. Show by *Peter Noerbaek* of *PBN Audio, Inc.* (www.pbnaudio.com). This amazing system allowed Larry to deliver a scorching set at rock concert levels! Mr. Noerbaek, and his team, were so captivated by the performance, they asked Larry to personally autograph the loudspeakers. Here’s a video of Larry’s performance that night:

Larry Mitchell Rocks PBN Audio’s Amazing Loudspeakers! 

Larry’s outdoor performances each day by the Magic Bus, were equally riveting. Outside the Magic Bus, we fed the output of Larry’s state-of-the-art *Fractal Audio* (www.fractalaudio.com) guitar processor into a mixer, which subsequently split the audio signal into two playback paths. One path went into the WiFi transmitter for *Dynaudio’s Xeo5* wireless loudspeakers. The other signal path went into *Steve McCormack*’s (www.smcaudio.com) _Flex-Connect_ (for purposes of converting the balanced signal to unbalanced and ground isolation) and then into the auxiliary audio inputs of the Magic Bus’ audio system. Configured as described, listeners could choose between the fabulous outdoor listening experience through the Xeo5’s, and the unprecedented listening experience inside the Magic Bus! Here’s a photo of Larry Mitchell playing at our exhibit:









*Larry Mitchell playing at the Magic Bus exhibit.* 

Here’s a video showcasing Dynaudio’s Xeo5 wireless loudspeakers:

Larry Mitchell Rocks Dynaudio’s Xeo5 Loudspeakers!

Here’s a video tour of the inside of the Magic Bus while Larry is playing outside:

Inside the Magic Bus Rocking With Larry Mitchell!

As a special surprise, Larry’s dear friend, *Alan Childs* (drummer for David Bowie, Julian Lennon, John Waite, and Rod Stewart, see www.myspace.com/alanchilds), currently performing in the “Rock of Ages” musical at the Venetian (www.rockofagesmusical.com), dropped by our exhibit. Alan’s visit was timely, since *Peter Breuninger*, CEO of *AVShowrooms*, was in the process of interviewing Larry and I. Here’s the video coverage:

The Magic Bus, Jon Whitledge, Larry Mitchell, Alan Childs, T.H.E. Show Las Vegas, CES 2013

After listening to, and autographing, the Magic Bus, Alan graciously offered this video commentary:

Alan Childs Listens to the Magic Bus! T.H.E. Show Las Vegas, CES 2013

I was especially humbled and honored by those individuals who traveled internationally to see and hear the Magic Bus, like *Utanto Wibowo* from Jakarta, Indonesia, and *Hugo Diaz* from La Molina, Peru. This was Utanto’s first time in the U.S., and his only reason for coming was to see and hear the Magic Bus! We spent hours together listening to music and discussing the design attributes of the Magic Bus. That night, we all shared a wonderful dinner at Tao in the Venetian:









*Dinner at Tao. From left to right: Larry Mitchell, Dan Brooks, Alan Clark, Clark Dahlman, Steve McCormack, and Utanto Wibowo.*

I was especially honored to share the Magic Bus with some of mobile audio’s greatest VIPs and industry veterans, such as *Todd Ramsey*, and *Patrick Bateman* (renowned forum member on www.diyma.com from Seattle), *Melissa* and *Chris Owen*, *Steven Hubbs*, and many more too numerous to mention.

These extraordinary experiences would not have been possible without the visionary ideals and gracious support of Richard Beers, Dynaudio, *Kimber Kable*, *Genesis Car Audio*, *Cascade Audio Engineering*, *Bosch Rexroth*, and all my other sponsors, Larry Mitchell, Steve McCormack, *Jim Merod* (www.blueportjazz.com), and all of you who visited and supported the Magic Bus, true aficionados of music and high-end audio. Together, let’s keep forging frontiers in audio. I hope to see you at the next show!

Warmest regards,
Jon Whitledge 
March 10, 2013


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