Ear Bleeding Concert Volume - Latest Disaster, GBV at White Eagle Hall in NJ

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Lemon Curry, Apr 20, 2018.

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  1. Lemon Curry

    Lemon Curry (A) Face In The Crowd Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mahwah, NJ
    Promoting their best album in years, Space Gun, I was really looking forward to seeing GBV on 4/18 at White Eagle Hall. The 54 song set list they played was simply epic - this should have been a sublime religious experience.

    But it wasn't. It was a disaster - easily one of the top two or three loudest shows I've ever attended. Pollard's vocals were lost in the storm of sound, which rendered each song nearly indecipherable. I hung in for 10 songs, tried to find some place to appreciate the sound, and finally gave up and went home, disgusted.

    I've seen GBV before, notably at Terminal 5 in NYC, and the sound was PERFECT there.

    Who is responsible for a mess like this? Anyone who stayed the 2+ hours went home with ear damage.

    Anyone experience something similar recently, or was at this show and has an opinion about it?
     
  2. shredking92

    shredking92 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    I had one such experience a few years back and learned my lesson--I'll never go to another concert without a pair of "just-in-case" ear plugs in my pocket. Honestly, I can usually decipher the sound better with ear plugs than without.
     
  3. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    I saw Aimee Mann for the first time in a few years late last year at a movie theater that occasionally handles concerts. the bass was turned up so loud that her vocals were often lost. The few songs she played acoustically were great. We left during the encores. What a waste of time and money just to hear her introduce songs and then listen to the bass player.
     
  4. Lemon Curry

    Lemon Curry (A) Face In The Crowd Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mahwah, NJ
    Waste of time and money - exactly right.
     
    Chemguy likes this.
  5. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Right. Dead serious here: My last two Dylan concerts with ear plugs in...you could hear all the words, which are always lost in the cacophony of the low frequency rumble and higher frequency mess.

    I'm trying to be way more careful every time I attend a concert. Ear protection is a must.
     
  6. detroit muscle

    detroit muscle MIA

    Location:
    UK
    After Metallica last year I'm seriously considering if the concert experience is worth the effort and cost these days.
     
  7. danner

    danner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Birmingham, AL
    Yep. I always bring a pair of earplugs to shows just in case, and it’s saved me many times. I saw an Acid Mothers Temple show years ago that without a doubt would have left me with permanent hearing damage had I not thought ahead.
     
    rikki nadir likes this.
  8. eflatminor

    eflatminor Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nevada
    Love AMT!
     
  9. I thought she was the bass player.
    [​IMG]
     
  10. I can't believe there are adults out there who would even think about going to a rock concert without ear protection. It's like riding a motorbike without a helmet or something.
     
  11. Sane Man

    Sane Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bethlehem, PA
    Went to a Mastodon/Gojira/Russian Circles/Eagles of Death Metal concert at the Electric Factory in Philly either last year or two years ago. Love all four bands but didn't particularly enjoy myself. They held it outside in the rear parking lot, sound quality was atrocious (thunderous bass, inaudible vocals, indistinct sounding guitars), and the bottleneck created by having to pass through the actual venue to get to the outside stage actually made it all feel very unsafe. Come to think of it, most of the venues I've seen music at in the last five years has been underwhelming to the say the least. Exceptions to that were Iggy Pop at the Academy of Music (150 year old theatre) and Queens of the Stone Age on the Skyline Stage at the Mann (outdoor stage, they somehow managed to get the sound levels just right).
     
    zphage likes this.
  12. Rufus McDufus

    Rufus McDufus Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I'm not a massive show-goer but have seen loud bands back in the day like My Bloody Valentine and The Pixies. I used to love being blasted by noise. Unfortunately I do now have hearing damage :(
     
  13. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    I have a pair of Etymotics EtyPlugs in a metal pill case on my keychain, so I never go anywhere without ear protection. Music is far too important to me to risk losing it.
     
  14. Ken E.

    Ken E. Senior Member

    I bring earplugs to wedding receptions!
     
  15. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    guitar on this tour, not the first time I've seen her do this
     
  16. brownsound2112

    brownsound2112 Forum Resident

    Bought ear plugs around 10 years ago. Noticed that gigs in academy type venues were just ridiculous volume wise. They not only lower the volume, but they really sort out messy mixes. Sometimes I take them out and I can’t believe how bad the sound is, never mind how loud. With them in everything seems clear as a bell.

    I don’t always wear them, but when I do it’s he difference between a great gig and a complete write off..
     
    MikeT, ZippyPippy and Dudley Morris like this.
  17. JuanTCB

    JuanTCB Senior Member

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I'm seeing Superchunk at the White Eagle later this spring - I'll be prepared, for sure!
     
    Fullbug likes this.
  18. liptrot

    liptrot Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    I’m so happy you posted this. I was at the show and left early. It was painful. I was thinking it was me and I was just getting old. Never left a show before for that reason. It was brutal
     
    rikki nadir, somnar and altaeria like this.
  19. The Razors Edge

    The Razors Edge Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I've got a pair of Etymotics myself, these are perfect for concert going, they reduce volume without muffling the sound the way most foam plugs do
     
    Oatsdad and Chris DeVoe like this.
  20. Strummergas

    Strummergas Senior Member

    Location:
    Queens, NY
    I wasn't thrilled with the mix either. Too much kick drum, not enough guitars, though I thought Bob's vocals sat somewhat decently (could've maybe been a bit louder). But I always wear ear-plugs so volume isn't too much of a concern for me.

    Hell of show nonetheless!
     
    HoundsOBurkittsville likes this.
  21. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    Judas Priest last month was one of the loudest concerts I have been too. And I've been to a lot of Metal Concerts in my time!
     
    heepsterandrey likes this.
  22. Otlset

    Otlset I think I am I think

    Location:
    Temecula, CA
    One can almost envision whole swaths of fragile inner-ear hair cells being violently ripped from their moorings on the basilar membrane as each wave of sound explodes through the endolymph fluid of the cochlea.

    And what remains is reduced hearing sensitivity along with the constant "eeeeeeeeee" of newly acquired tinnitus. Quite a price to pay.
     
  23. The Lone Cadaver

    The Lone Cadaver Bass & Keys Cadaver

    Location:
    Bronx
    The loudest were Uriah Heep in '73 at the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Deep Purple in '85 at the Dallas Memorial Auditorium and John Entwistle in '98 at Jaxx in Springfield, Virginia. I braved my way through Heep and my ears rang for a couple of days. I had to stuff paper napkins in my ears for DP which worked fine. I had ear plugs by the time of the JAE concert. I attended many other concerts at DMA including The Who in '76 and none of them were as loud as Heep and DP. I saw DP along with Savoy Brown in '74 in Houston and they were loud but not painfully so. I also attended a bunch of concerts at Jaxx and again, none of them were too loud. No explanation for any of this, but certainly Entwistle consistently played way too loud on his solo tours.
     
  24. Oliver

    Oliver Bourbon Infused

    I'm not sure if it was because it was my first concert but I still remember Deep Purple being f$cking loud as hell when I saw them on the Perfect Strangers tour in '85. It was a great show but I do remember being slightly scared the next day when for the whole day my hearing was still messed up.
     
  25. LandHorses

    LandHorses I contain multitudes

    Location:
    New Joisey
    I line up early enough to get front rail at general admission shows, so I'm used to bad concert sound up front (picking up off the stage instead of the main speaker stacks). I always wear earplugs. So, I expect I'm never in an ideal sound situation.

    The olny time I ever moved once was at an X show where I was directly in front of Billy Zoom's amp, and it was so loud that you couldn't hear any of John Doe/Exene's vocals. I moved to John's side a few songs in.
     
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