The Absolute Loudest Band Ever....

[flatfender]

It has to be Disaster Area

Disaster Area was a plutonium rock band from the Gagrakacka Mind Zones and was generally regarded as not only the loudest rock band in the Galaxy, but also as being the loudest noise of any kind at all. Regular concert goers judged that the best sound balance was usually to be heard from within large concrete bunkers some thirty-seven miles away from the stage, whilst the musicians themselves played their instruments by remote control from within a heavily insulated spaceship which stayed in orbit around the planet - or more frequently around a completely different planet.

Their songs are on the whole very simple and mostly follow the familiar theme of boy-being meets girl-being beneath silvery moon, which then explodes for no adequately explored reason.

Many worlds have now banned their act altogether, sometimes for artistic reasons, but most commonly because the band's public address system contravenes local strategic arms limitations treaties.

 

[fjadams]

One of my boy's old bands did a tour billed as London's Loudest Band. He played lead and ran thru a Marshall stack, JC-120, Super Reverb. All with the volume at 10, plus his boxes. It was actually painful to be in the audience. Once they were playing a bar in Omaha and the owner asked them to turn down after the first set. He said the front picture window was vibrating and bowing out so bad he thought it'd break.

 

[Rugmaster]

Now who would be the quietest band?

 

[CatSquare]

Three loudest acts I ever saw:
#1 for sure: The Who at Oakland Stadium... The friend I went with could not understand a word I said when screaming at full volume during the show.

#2 Allman Bros at the Warfield Theater. Frankly, it surprised me just how loud it got.

#3 MGMT in Golden Gate Park during Outside Lands in '13. One of the least enjoyable concert experiences I've ever witnessed primarily due to the house engineer destroying every cell in my body by blasting this band's bass tones through a pair of SVTs and a pair of Refrigerator Box Ampeg Cabs with no subtlety in the mix. It literally hurt to listen.

Validation of this came later when George Porter of the Meters & Mike Gordon with Phish played and the same sort of pain was not present.

Runner-Up: Dickey Betts Band at Slim's in SF.... Relatively tiny hall for a band with 4 double Marshall Stacks.
There was no place to get a full band mix in the room. No matter where you stood your were deafened by one of 4 guitar players with no blended tones from the others. It hurts to remember this.

My loudest show was at Slim's too: The Distillers. It was the most treble-heavy mix I've ever heard, what intensely offensive sound. We were outside before their first song was over.

 

[devnulljp]

Subjectively loudest band I've ever seen was Blackfoot in 1984ish, at the Apollo theatre in Glasgow, where they recorded the Highway Song live album. They were louder than Motorhead, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, and a dozen other super-loud bands. My ears were ringing for days afterwards.

 

[devnulljp]

Now who would be the quietest band?

John Cage?

 

[xoloder]

My Bloody Valentine, DEFINITELY. I've seen Mogwai a couple of times and was glad that I had earplugs.

 

[handofseven]

Loudest bands I've ever experienced: Motorhead and My Bloody Valentine.

MBV were so loud I could feel my skin ripple...

 

[vegas532]

It's been stated by as couple of people already, so I'll throw my hat into the ring: Swans is AGONIZINGLY loud live!

 

[GazzBass]

Being loud in a big stadium and being loud in a small club are very different things. The Swans in 1986 were absolutely brutal. My ears are still ringing. My Bloody Valentine were also stupidly loud. Pretty dangerous to be honest.

 

[7dollarbologna]

The loudest show I ever saw was Deep Purple's come back tour in 1986, my ears rang for 5 or 6 days as I recall.

 

[jjmuckluckjr]

The Black Flag, 1985-86 at City Gardens in Trenton. The place was a concrete tunnel and the Flag had a new sound system, one of the first with LED display. 4 bands, each got a little louder. Right before the Flag came on they played The Knack's 'My Sharona'. The bass in that song blew the air out of your lungs. A saner man would have retreated. All I can say is, huh what, I see your lips moving.

Ahh, the joy of youth, blowing out your ear drums and paying for the privilege.

 

[Tonfifty]

Motörhead held the record briefly in 1986 for a show in Cleveland. I saw them the night before in Detroit at the Grand Circus theater where they were attempting the record, but the balcony in the theater literally broke during the gig, so they backed off. They ended early for fear the balcony would collapse. It's hard to describe the sensation of being in a room with a band that is approaching 130 dB. I will say that it helps one understand what "sound pressure" means. It felt like I was simultaneously deep under water and in a hurricane.

As far as I know, that was the last show at the Grand Circus. It was killed by Lemmy.

Killed By Death (sorry, couldn't resist that)

 

[The BurgerMeister]

+1 to Disaster Area.

Douglas Adams is awesome.

 

[twinjet]

Studies show that the fabled "brown note" actually does exist. Imagine being a test subject.

But will you poop your pants?

 

[CGremlin]

I think the loudest that I've heard was Weather Report in '84 at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville. Very, very loud, but also very clear - hats off to whoever was running sound for them that night.

 

[el murdoque]

I've been at a Motörhead gig in the nineties in Germany where 128dB was measured.
Earlier i read a user describing it as being underwater while at the same time in a hurricane. Yes, that fits the bill.
If i imagine something twice as loud ... no, i can't. I hope that this Motörhead concert remains the single loudest concert i ever attended.

 

[Lowbrow]

In the right room a single 70s Twin Reverb can be the loudest thing imaginable. And I don't imagine many measurements were taken at CBGB, but it had an astounding and sometimes numbing FOH for a small room - I saw Soundgarden Mach I play and was begging for the great set to end before I was rendered sterilized.

 

[Jeffrey Bryan]

The loudest live sound I've heard was a full live setup in a small living room with about 50 people in it. Extremely dumb idea if I think back about it. We played there as well. Had a good gig but I think that was the day my tinnitus became permanent (during night). When the next band started playing I just had to get out of there.

 

[InhumanResource]

It has to be Disaster Area

Disaster Area was a plutonium rock band from the Gagrakacka Mind Zones and was generally regarded as not only the loudest rock band in the Galaxy, but also as being the loudest noise of any kind at all. Regular concert goers judged that the best sound balance was usually to be heard from within large concrete bunkers some thirty-seven miles away from the stage, whilst the musicians themselves played their instruments by remote control from within a heavily insulated spaceship which stayed in orbit around the planet - or more frequently around a completely different planet.

Their songs are on the whole very simple and mostly follow the familiar theme of boy-being meets girl-being beneath silvery moon, which then explodes for no adequately explored reason.

Many worlds have now banned their act altogether, sometimes for artistic reasons, but most commonly because the band's public address system contravenes local strategic arms limitations treaties.

Dude! I scrolled through all five pages of answers to make sure nobody gave this answer in order to do so myself. Hats off to you!