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

metallica have always disappointed me me with their off key, poor tempo, off beat shows.
i understand, its metal, bt they are professional musicians, and should project that to their fans.

 

Yup. It is even cooler than smoking.

 

I saw The Musical Box at the Murat here in Indy, and while it was still a great show, it was very loud, and the vocals were also indecipherable.

 

i make a %90 effort to always remember my plugs, as i dislike heading home while ears ringing, or half deaf, most metal shows, are small er venues, and im always close to the stage, within 15-25 feet.
the plugs also help get rid of distortion, from my ears, as its so loud, actually make it sound better, as your ears are so distressed, they distort the sound coming in, because its so loud, eardrums, shaking like crazy.

ear plugs are great !!!!


dont like being that guy who stands there like a schmuck, with fingers on their ears.
yes, i have done it, it sucks

 

My hearing is so bad these days that I cannot hear the music if I use plugs...

 

Since I shoot concerts, ear plugs are vital. I'm right up there at the stage, and while the main PA system is a danger, the thing that really hurts is guitar amps - especially those with quad 12" speakers. Any time you have four speakers close together, they have a much tighter pattern than a single speaker. And they are always sitting on the floor, aimed at the guitarist's knees - and right at my head down in the pit.

 

Is Mitch Mitchell back in GBV? My band once opened for his Terrible Experience. Easily the loudest show I ever experienced. Non master volume Marshall stacks turned up full blast in The Saint, a small NJ club. You could hear the band fine down the block from the club

 

At the opposite end of the concert-going spectrum, I went to a Gordon Lightfoot concert and when the show started, I thought something was wrong... perhaps only the stage sound was on and the house system didn't work... eventually realized that they simply had the sound turned down much more than any concert I had ever heard in that venue (an arena).

The thing that struck me was that you could hear every single note from every musician perfectly clearly. It was like a really nice stereo system turned up to sing.

and when all was said and done, you could leave the concert with no lingering ringing in your ears... perfect!

 

Between the loud/indistinct sound, high ticket prices, and legalized scalping on the US secondary market...yeah, not sure it’s worth it.

 

The most perfect shows I ever attended, sound-wise, were part of the Central Park outdoor series. Sonic Youth, Elvis Costello, Cake... they were awesome shows missing all the ego volume problems. They were plenty loud, but everything sat perfectly in the mix, and it was like being in my living room with speakers cranked a bit. I stupidly continue to expect all shows to be like that.

Based on all the helpful replies here, I bought some eargasm plugs for going forward.

The Breeders are next, May 1. I will be ready.

 

Doug Gillard is the man these days.

 

Hah, I've done that too. My old band was playing a show, and a black metal band went on first. The "sound guy" would always mix the toms way, way too loud. The band also royally sucked. So, I stood in the back the whole set, with fingers on my ears. I wasn't gonna risk hearing damage for that.

I don't miss that part of being in a band. Standing around, waiting, listening to loud terrible music.

 

The tragedy is that modern concert sound systems are so much better that there is little excuse for bad, overloud painful sound.

 

what?

 

+1. Isn't this quite the conundrum: we're constantly assured that sound tech is always improving, always advancing. And that the biggest venues have the best techs. So how are there any shows at reasonably sized venues with these problems nowadays?

<Insert Lars Ulrich joke here>

 

I'm seeing Superchunk at Cats Cradle in Carrboro and the next night in Asheville next week, and I'm taking ear protection. I saw 'em in Seattle in March and they were LOUD!!!!

 

Lars

 

Funnily enough, one of the loudest shows I ever saw was, unsurprisingly, My Bloody Valentine, but for all the volume the sound was also very clean. Clearly some investment had been made in quality amplification and speakers. I wasn't about to pull out my earplugs and test it out, though.

 

I will always take ear plugs to concerts. Still, I don’t go that much anymore since every band want to sound – or is forced to sound – like death metal.

Even on North Sea Jazz, which is 3 days of jazz, jazz funk and soul in July of every year, most concerts sound like the bass player and drummer are the only ones on stage. A couple of years ago, I saw Stevie Wonder at NSJ. I could here him sing most of the time, but his keyboard playing was only audible on moments the bass player didn’t play.

 

Very offensive to make fun of a poor guy problem like that. It's not like it is my fault that I went to all those Motörhead and Black Metal shows without any protection. So here I am, 25 years later. Bad hearing, worse liver, 4 kids with different mothers (I think) and STD...

 

lars is a good drummer, its hetfield and hammet which disappoint.
newsted was always shunned from those guys, their arrogance / god complex personalities after justice angered me, haven't given them my money since. well, yeh i have, a few select shows, but i went for the opening acts
neested is a good bass player, always in tune, always on key, never disappointed me, his semi recent solo stuff is really good, i like it.
check youtube for that full album of justice for all, with the extra bass added, actually sounds descent. thats the one i converted to mp3, burned to cd and play in my car

 

Is that like "I didn't inhale"? I went to Metallica shows but I didn't listen!

 

i love you man !!!

honestly my hearing is very poor also. concerts, plus 25+ years of operating heavy machinery as my job, really has hurt my hearing.
didn't really start earplugs at work til maybe 8 years ago,...15 years of screaming diesel engine in my ears, has really done harm, then ill drive to see napalm death, riot, scorpions, whomever, and no earplugs, past 8 years or so, i try to wear them all day at work, and concerts, to preserve what little hearing i have left. im with you bro !

 

Etymotics EtyPlugs
Just ordered off Amazon. Thanks guys.

 

I discovered earplugs in 1976 after sitting through two AC/DC shows in the front row.