Two extreme examples come to mind. First was Foghat at the House of Blues in Hollywood in the mid 90's. Rod Price was playing an amazing slide solo and I was right in front of the stage and must have hit some notes that resonated just right and I became dizzy and almost fell over. No earplugs at this time. Been using hearing protection for the last 20 years or so. The second instance was just over a year ago for one Lynyrd Skynyrd's Last of the Survivors tour in an outside venue in Phoenix, AZ. No amount of hearing protection could tame the volume they played at. Had ringing ears for a few days even though I did have decent ear plugs.
Surprisingly, it was Stevie Wonder in Mansfield, MA about 5 years ago. There was some kind of problem with the sound system for the first half of the concert, and it was so loud that most of the people in the audience literally had their fingers plugging their ears.
The Cult at the House of Blues in Houston, I think my hearing was permanently damaged. Then a few years later and still not wearing hearing protection, it was Garbage at the same venue. I actually feared during the concert when their songs would go from quiet to loud, as is their style.
You just made me remember that I saw Deep Purple on the Bananas tour. Thin Lizzy opened for them. As loud as Purple were, they were almost like Diana Krall next to the ear splitting volume of TL. Ouch!
Two spring to mind. Jethro Tull and Molly Hatchet. Both had my ears ringing for weeks. Motorhead was like Joan Baez in comparison.
Easily these 6 1.The Who & James Gang- 1969...3rd row center 2.The Who, Lynyrd Skynyrd & Freddie King 1973...5 row center 3.Deep Purple & Manfred Mann Earth Band- 1972...2nd row center 4.Sex Pistols...1977...sound booth at infamous Dewey Grooms Longhorn Ballroom show, that was a whopping 50ft from the stage 5.Ted Nugent & Point Blank...Electric Ballroom Dallas 1977 , can be seen & heard on Double Live Gonzo record 6.John Fogerty...Horeshoe Casino 12-31-19 @ 13th row center, not painful but it was quite loud or possibly its just my old age now Fortunately (excluding Fogerty) I worked for the radio station that sponsored these shows & could go backstage when the sound became unacceptably loud
I went to a double bill of the Outlaws with Molly Hatchet opening in 1978 or 79, 3rd row of the Music Hall in Boston. Molly cranked it to 18 then the Outlaws pushed to 20. My hearing returned this past Tuesday.
Johnny Winter - 1977 at the OKC Civic Center. The album Alive was recorded from this tour. I was sitting seventh row center. When the curtain went back, the entire stage was backed by a wall of Marshalls four or five high and all across the back of the stage, no gaps. Pictures can be seen on the album. My ears rang for more than a week; it was unbearable and I started wearing ear protection after that one. My understanding was that the promoter was sued over that particular show being so loud; don't know any outcome, though.
Chicagoland... Small venue shows.(under 200 people) Yob at the Subterranean. Pentagram at The Empty Bottle Not small venue shows. Black Sabbath Rosemont Horizon. Sleep Codfish Hollow in Iowa. Yes, I've seen Motorhead multiple times. All these shows were louder.
I have seen many a loud band....the legendary Motorhead included....and no shows have been louder than W.A.S.P on The Headless Children tour. Great great show, but brutal in terms of volume.
Yes. I saw this tour in Charlotte, and it was probably the loudest I've ever been to. The bass was so massive, it almost made me nauseous.
Plasmatics at a club in Tribeca, NYC. Must have been 78 or 79. My brother dragged me there. Being a Beatle fan, I really had no interest. I remember Wendy chainsawing something. Eventually left. Painfully loud and awful.
The Black Crowes, By Your Side tour & in a small theater. Was so excited to be seeing them in such an ideal setting; but "boom", a few songs in & an eardrum went "pop". I tried jamming ripped up napkins into my ears, but no luck -- it just hurt too much. Had to leave... only consolation was I could hear the band OK from the bar down the street.
Black Keys at The Arena, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane in 2009. Relatively small indoor venue and the extreme volume of their lo-fi sound made it hard to recognise the songs. Gomez were a support act and from memory were at a more reasonable level.
Foghat was also my loudest concert , Only when I had seen them, Rod Price had just left and was replaced by Erik Cartwright. This was the early 80's. My ears were muffled for 2 days and I couldn't hear. Scary till it wore off. Scorpions ran a close second. Early 90's. Ears only stayed muffled for one day !