Bob Dylan -- San Diego 1978 and San Diego 1979 The Rolling Stones -- San Diego 1981 B.B. King -- several nightclub concerts in the 1980s.
Superchunk, Neumos, Seattle, 2018 Mudhoney, Neptune Theater, Seattle, 2019. Elvis Costello and The Attractions , Paramount, Seattle, Trust tour.
1) The loudest by far was John Entwistle in 1998 at Jaxx in Springfield, Virginia. Thankfully I had ear plugs - you could actually feel the waves of sound hitting you in the face. All of his other solo shows I saw were loud but this one was beyond the beyond. He was much louder than The Who, and I saw them almost 30 times from 1971 thru 2013 2) Deep Purple at Reunion Area in Dallas in 1985. I had 6th row seats. I actually had to wad up napkins from the concession stand and stuff my ears to survive it. 3) Uriah Heep and Tucky Buzzard at Dallas Memorial Auditorium in 1973. Same as Purple above. But all three were absolutely killer shows.
I wish I could remember the name of the band, but whereas I thought Acid Mothers Temple was really freaking loud, the band that opened for them in Philly in 2018 was even louder. So loud I seriously thought I was going to lose my hearing. I never wear earplugs to a concert, but the next time I went to see AMT, I certainly did and will continue to do so.
Pixies/My Bloody Valentine at Bristol Bierkeller, Oct 2 1988. Saw a few loud bands there but this was memorable.
Little Feat opening for Focus at the Santa Monica Civic Center roughly 73 or 74. I was in the front row to the side in front of a speaker stack. Probably permanently damaged my hearing at a young age.
It's hard to measure how loud this really was since it was so long ago, but I remember Danzig playing at the Spectrum (a stadium) in Philly and it was so loud, distorted and echoey that he was halfway through "Mother" before I even recognized what song it was.
Kiss at Winterland 1976. The sound was so loud, it felt like the air had turned to mud in there. Unpleasant. Now The Who at the SF Civic in 1971 were bloody loud but, unlike Kiss, that was in a good way. I was tingling for hours afterwards. Saw Walter Trout in a small club and was standing 20 feet from the stage in direct line with his amp and the sound was moving the hairs on the back of my neck.
for years that dubious claim was held by blue cheer in boston 1968---that lasted until clash in seattle in 1979---it was earplugs to this day after that one---my ears buzzed for three days afterwards---great show though
Another vote for My Bloody Valentine - seen at a small club in Hollywood. One of those sets more felt than heard. Even the young men in the audience had napkins stuck in their ears!
The loudest is probably based on where you were located in the venue. The show that gave me tinnitus in my left ear: AC/DC at Cobo Arena. I was close to the PA with the speakers on my left side. I saw Motorhead at the old Grand Circus Theater in Detroit that was so loud you couldn't distinguish what song was being played. Same thing with the Joe Perry Project at Harpo's. Stupid loud. That said, the loudest thing I ever experienced was NHRA top fuel dragsters. Had ear plugs in and when the cars went by you could feel them working their way out slowly. Insane.
Tin Machine at The Hollywood Palladium. I was so excited to be in the midst of the GA pit, just two or so dozen feet from Bowie. Then the curtain went up, and boom! Reeves Gabrels and the Sales brothers were just punishingly loud. Deafening. Breath stealing. And the aggressiveness of the audience was beyond anything I'd ever experienced. I hate to fight to to get AWAY from the stage.
Jeff Beck, San Diego State, 1999. I was so jazzed to get seats in the 3rd row, but man, it was so loud the sound pressure just beat me up. Jeff was, of course, brilliant, but I came away really impressed by Jennifer Batten. Another really loud one was Uriah Heep at Winterland. The high note in Hensley's Sweet Lorraine solo was the most piercing sound I've ever experienced.
Motörhead on the Ace Up Your Sleeve tour 1980. Indoors at Leicester de Montfort Hall. When you ducked down below the heads it went muffled but then when you lifted your head up you were hit by a blast of pure noise. It was good noise, of course (it was Motörhead after all) and unlike the experience of the poster above you could distinguish all the songs, but it was very loud!
Rush in Rochester, NY October 26, 1991. First American date of the Roll The Bones tour. Afterwards, I could not hear anything. It was like someone stuffed blankets into my ears. Stupid me, not having ear protection. Found a video!
Back in the day -- "Who's Next" tour These days -- tons... I just don't get the "have to wear earplugs and it's still too loud" ethos.
Another for John Entwhistle at The Ritz north of Detroit around 98. Much louder than The Who. Couldn't make out what they were playing for the first 10 minutes or so. you could feel it all thru your whole body. Guess i shoulda bugged out when i began to understand the words... Frank Zappa late 70s at Chrysler Arena Ann Arbor, 2nd row. Couldn't hear right for four days.
Neil Young & Booker T & The MGs. Blossom Music Center. August 25th, 1993 Blind Melon and Dinosaur Jr. opened the show. Neil made DJ sound like a transistor radio. That was on purpose! I've been wearing earplugs to shows since the early 80's and my ears were still ringing for days. Phenomenal show by the way. :--)
I thought the days of bands blasting you head off were long gone, then back in 2017. I went to see Cheap Trick at O2 Forum In Kentish Town, wow they blew my head off, I've not heard such volume at a gig since the likes of Motorhead or Ac/Dc back in the '70's.
