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Criminally loud concerts

#221
JimmyM said:
Because it's what the band's audience as a whole wants. See my previous story about having to strain to hear Blue Oyster Cult at the Mohegan Sun a couple years ago. I was completely sad about it and did not have a good time at all. Fortunately, it was free, so I guess you get what you pay for.
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Nah, still not the point. I'm sorry you strained to hear BOC. I certainly don't think it should be like that, either. The audience wants a solid volume, sure. But they don't want hearing damage. But they are certainly getting it, without knowing it, until it's too late. Do you think Brian Johnson would have subjected himself to those volumes if he knew the eventual outcome?
 
#222
Chris Duarte...great show, but the band played at concert hall level in a medium size (at best) club. While Chris was really good, his backup band at the time, Bluestone Company (from Japan) were better then he was! They stole the show.

I have heard others complain about Duarte, even in large venues.
 
#223
JimmyM said:
Because it's what the band's audience as a whole wants. See my previous story about having to strain to hear Blue Oyster Cult at the Mohegan Sun a couple years ago. I was completely sad about it and did not have a good time at all. Fortunately, it was free, so I guess you get what you pay for.
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Mohegan Sun Wolfs Den (stage inside the casino) has strict volume limits because they want people to gamble not listen to the show. The drummers are almost always behind plexi.
 
#224
Worldeeeter said:
Nope. I'm just saying that "too loud" is subjective. What one person considers too loud, another person has no problem with.
If you have ever worked in an office with someone that is always cold, they are always complaining and trying to raise the thermostat, not caring if everyone else is hot. That person should put on a sweater and STFU. Same goes with earplugs.
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I have no problem with loud and, believe me, I've been told all my life "Turn that down!". But there's a massive difference between concert loud and "Alright, this is just ****ing stupid!". And, unfortunately, the frequency of "Alright, this is just ****ing stupid!" steadily increasing. That's sometime's the band's fault, but I've also had someone in the business confirm that many times it's the venue's or promoter's fault.

The drummer I play with works for a major sound reinforcement company and does FOH for A-list acts and artists. When artists he's worked for before are paying the bill they'll request him specifically when he's available because they know they'll get a perfect sound and volume - and that includes acts mentioned in this thread. But when promoters or venues pay the bill he more and more frequently gets told to just turn up the volume and turn up the bass until the sound battering rams your chest but is unintelligible. An extreme example? Last year the promoter of a metal cruise he worked told him to turn every knob up to 10 and leave, otherwise his crew will throw him overboard and then they'll turn every knob up to 10 themselves.

Loud is a hell of a lot of fun. But there IS such a thing as too loud.
 
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#225
When I went to see "The Sword" a band called "Kadavar" opened for 'em. This a small-medium sized venue keep in mind. Kadavar was a 3 piece: Guitarist had a Hiwatt halfstack and appeared to be biamping into a literal SVT/810 stack pressed right up next to it. Bass player had an AD200b/OBC810 stack and appeared to ALSO be biamping into a Hiwatt Halfstack pressed right up next to it on his side of the stage.

Boy was that loud :roflmao:

When The Sword came on they were rocking halfstacks and JD was mouthing "turn the stage DOWN" to the soundguy as soon as they started playing.
 
#226
David Jayne said:
Nah, still not the point. I'm sorry you strained to hear BOC. I certainly don't think it should be like that, either. The audience wants a solid volume, sure. But they don't want hearing damage. But they are certainly getting it, without knowing it, until it's too late. Do you think Brian Johnson would have subjected himself to those volumes if he knew the eventual outcome?
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Brian says it was racing cars and forgetting his earplugs once that did it. Now I realize that it's evidence of nothing, but none of the other guys have complained about hearing damage.
 
#227
dave64o said:
Last year the promoter of a metal cruise he worked told him to turn every knob up to 10 and leave, otherwise his crew will throw him overboard and then they'll turn every knob up to 10 themselves.
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That real? I mean why stop at 10? :D

Seriously, first sound quality, then volume - otherwise it's not \m/ but :vomit:
 
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#234
dave64o said:
I have no problem with loud and, believe me, I've been told all my life "Turn that down!". But there's a massive difference between concert loud and "Alright, this is just ****ing stupid!". And, unfortunately, the frequency of "Alright, this is just ****ing stupid!" steadily increasing. That's sometime's the band's fault, but I've also had someone in the business confirm that many times it's the venue's or promoter's fault.

The drummer I play with works for a major sound reinforcement company and does FOH for A-list acts and artists. When artists he's worked for before are paying the bill they'll request him specifically when he's available because they know they'll get a perfect sound and volume - and that includes acts mentioned in this thread. But when promoters or venues pay the bill he more and more frequently gets told to just turn up the volume and turn up the bass until the sound battering rams your chest but is unintelligible. An extreme example? Last year the promoter of a metal cruise he worked told him to turn every knob up to 10 and leave, otherwise his crew will throw him overboard and then they'll turn every knob up to 10 themselves.

Loud is a hell of a lot of fun. But there IS such a thing as too loud.
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HA! That story cracked me up. I guess that's one way of getting what you want.
I totally agree that many shows, especially nowadays, are way too loud, and can cause harm to peoples' hearing. I remember when Motorhead played on the Tonight Show, they announced (on air, nonetheless) that there were earplugs under every seat for the audience to use. It's so easy to do; I have never experienced harmful effects of loud music while wearing earplugs. Rather than trying to legislate everything, how about we promote common sense?
 
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#237
Motorhead. An outdoor festival in Iowa (Ozzfest minus Ozzy because he was too cool to do the smaller market) and it was just absurd.

Special mention to Soundgarden and The Grateful Dead. And Maiden, but they've dialed it down since the 80s.

I saw Porcupine Tree at a small Pittsburgh venue and wound up in front of the PA and Colin's 410s. Forgot the plugs. Ears hurt for days.
 
#238
David Jayne said:
Nah, still not the point. I'm sorry you strained to hear BOC. I certainly don't think it should be like that, either. The audience wants a solid volume, sure. But they don't want hearing damage. But they are certainly getting it, without knowing it, until it's too late. Do you think Brian Johnson would have subjected himself to those volumes if he knew the eventual outcome?
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How could Brian NOT know?
 
#239
Interesting thread. Audio systems are quite different then they were 25+years ago.
They get louder, cleaner, more coherent so a lot of the time people don't realize just how loud they are.
For me, the low- mid range is really different now- instead of large cubic volume boxes to obtain frequency response, modern systems use coupling of multiple cabinets. I miss point source boxes with real mid range you can feel. Consoles have gone digital but are still catching up to analog fidelity- they can be really harsh. But that's just where things are- bring your ear plugs... the visceral experience of feeling music will always be enjoyed by youth, wether or not you like it now (since you've already had the experience doesn't mean someone else doesn't want it).
 
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#240
The only concert I've ever walked out of was Santana at the UMass Amherst Arts center in the 80's. The volume was so bad that the speakers were clipping horribly and it was physically painful to be in the room. I think about 1/4 of the people there left, and my ears were ringing for days. Inexcusably bad sound crew. Oddly enough, Stanley Clarke was also nearly as loud the couple times I saw him in the same venue, so it must have been the in-house sound guys who sucked, not the band.
 
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