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Criminally loud concerts

#21
Tupac said:
Saw RHCP in Raleigh NC on saturday. Phenomenal show, except... it was too damn loud! Me and my friend were in the cheap seats as far back as you could possibly go, but I had to plug my ears at a few points it was so loud. The people who sat up front must've been in agony. I've been to a few arena shows before and they were never as loud as this.

My ears have been ringing slightly since then, definitely got some damage from that night. Worst thing is I had ear plugs, I just left them in the car.

My question is: how is this okay? I can't imagine whoever was responsible for the loudness would think "Yep... sounds good to me!" unless they already had some hearing damage themselves. Why does this happen, and how is there not a lawsuit frenzy over hearing damage due to concerts?
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I was about 23 when I saw Leatherwolf at The Country Club in Reseda. It was so loud that the insides of my ears tickled and the sheer noise was painful, crackling and distorted. I tried stuffing some toilet paper in my ears, but it didn't help at all.

Very shortly after, I started wearing earplugs to every single show.

We always kept band rehearsal as quiet as we could but I would often wear my plugs then, too.

Now I'm 52 and I have suffered some hearing loss, but it's not nearly as bad as it could have been.
 
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#23
two fingers said:
I'm all for a concert being loud enough to sound live. But it can get ridiculous.

There was a blues guitarist who used to do larger clubs are here by the name of Gibb Droll. He had a smoking band with a Hammond organ player and everything. I used to go to his shows with -32dB earplugs in and it was still bothersome loud. I was one of only a few people in the room with plugs in. He had a Stevie Ray Vaughan type of tone and the high notes could weld steel.
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Gibb is playing with Bruce Hornsby these days. His rig is very reasonable. Appeared to be a 50w combo.
 
#24
Charlzm said:
I was about 23 when I saw Leatherwolf at The Country Club in Reseda. It was so loud that the insides of my ears tickled and the sheer noise was painfully loud and distorted. I tried stuffing some toilet paper in my ears, but it didn't help at all.

Very shortly after, I started wearing earplugs to every single show I have gone too.

We always kept band rehearsal as quiet as we could but I would often wear my plugs then, too.

Now I'm 52 and I have suffered some hearing loss, but it's not nearly as bad as it could have been.
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I know Michael Olivieri.
 
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#26
It's not just concerts. At every wedding I play the DJ (and probably the band too) is cranked up to an absurdly loud volume. It seems there's little education about the potential repercussions of loud volumes on people's hearing because everyone appears to just put up with it. There's this idea that for the party to really be pumping the volume has to be extremely loud, with as few changes in dynamics as possible.
 
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#29
I only go to classical or video games orchestra and jazz stuff because the volume is low enough.

I don't get the need to break your hearing and having every cell in my body shake. Shows aren't for me at all just like playing with my amp, I don't like it either.

I remember reading somewhere that they make show very loud because those deafening volume create some damage and the body use various chemical to repair including adrenaline ... so people want to have that feeling again.
 
#32
I went to some loud-ass indoor rock and metal concerts in my youth, AC/DC (with Bon Scott), Van Halen, Rush, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Ted Nugent, etc. etc. Today I can still do outdoor shows without ear protection, but anything indoors is with those little foam ear plugs from the drugstore.
 
#33
I saw Hendrix twice but my loud benchmarks are Pat Travers and Tower of Power. I never saw Ted Nugent (who one writer said, considered a cranked Fender Twin a practice amp), Deep Purple who in the seventies were measured as the loudest live act nor Toto in their earlier concerts who drove fans out to the concession stands in mid-set for aural decompression. Friends of mine went to a Toto show, their favorite band by far, and came away really unfavorably impressed due to the extreme volume.
 
#35
LOL Toto? Really? I remember them as an 80s pop band on MTV. Never imagined they'd make the loud list but then again I don't know what they were like live or in their earlier days.

I saw the Who once in the late 80s from the front row at Veteran's Stadium in Philadelphia. Pete was right in front of me and there were gi-hugic speakers right next to my face. My ears still hurt almost 30 years later from that.
 
#37
Saw Gov't Mule a few times in the last few years. They weren't insanely loud but too loud and I could have bashed the sound guy in the head with a shillelagh! All you could make out was a muddy kick drum and guitar. No bass-(maybe some undefined), No Keys, 2nd guitar! If you stuck your head in a 55 gal drum and had the drummer kick it, well that's how it sounded! :(-:***::vomit:
 
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#38
Tupac said:
Saw RHCP in Raleigh NC on saturday. Phenomenal show, except... it was too damn loud! Me and my friend were in the cheap seats as far back as you could possibly go, but I had to plug my ears at a few points it was so loud. The people who sat up front must've been in agony. I've been to a few arena shows before and they were never as loud as this.

My ears have been ringing slightly since then, definitely got some damage from that night. Worst thing is I had ear plugs, I just left them in the car.

My question is: how is this okay? I can't imagine whoever was responsible for the loudness would think "Yep... sounds good to me!" unless they already had some hearing damage themselves. Why does this happen, and how is there not a lawsuit frenzy over hearing damage due to concerts?
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That would be Dave Ratt. Engineering genius but can't mix a cake.
 
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