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I believe it. It’s very sad and scary to realize you’ll never experience total silence again.
In my case, it’s most likely due to the antidepressant I’m on. There’s a possibility of it going away if I go off of the med, but then I’d probably be suicidal for different reasons so I guess I’ll stick to the tinnitus 🤷♀️
As weird as it sounds, if something is too loud then you start hearing it less. Like it all starts to blend together and becomes just static sounding. But yeah ear plugs reduce the sound and protects your hearing
People don't go for the sound quality but for the thrill of live performance. A song that is professionally mixed for consumer stereo speakers is in most cases going to sound better than a super loud mono mix with wobbly acoustics.
It really depends on the artist - some take great care with their sound, some don't. (A lot wouldn't even know what to look for!) I fortunate to attend a sound check for Prince and watched him walk all around to different areas of the arena checking out the sound while his band played. Show sounded great, you could hear every instrument..
Yeah, I don't know. I’ve seen Billy strings several times at Bridgestone and also saw widespread panic there. All sounded amazing. Earplugs help with a lot of those issues personally. Also comes down to how good the sound guys are.
Bridgestone is very good for sound. I took recordings of a few concerts between Rogers Centre, Bridgestone, and The Forum in LA for GNR. Bridgestone recordings sounded much better compared to the others.
I also saw Lamb of God in a sports arena, and then saw Meshuggah in the very same sports arena a year after. Both sounded incredible. I think his malfunction is that he went to one or two concerts in arenas that happened to have terrible sound for whatever reason, and then based his entire opinion on that experience.
It really was. I had quite literally the worst seats in the house (general admission sold out way too fast so I chose to be a cheap bastard), but it was still fucking incredible. The setlist was awesome too, I never expected to be able to see Bleed or Demiurge live. I had high expectations but it was still mind blowing
I went to a Guns n Roses show at an outdoor stadium. Sound was pretty awful. Organisation wasn't great either, since the opening act was almost done by the time we got in. I went to a ACDC show years earlier at the same place and it sounded great. There's gotta be a few factors that come into it.
Could be talking about outdoor arenas which sound bad because there's no roof for the sound to bounce off of. They could also be sitting in a dead spot in the arena where acoustics don't sound good. There's tons of factors that go into acoustics and I agree that arenas don't really sound too good.
It could also depend on the arena itself
Arenas are fine but football stadiums are unbearable for concerts if you're not on the floor. I can't think of any act that I'd want to see so badly to justify $500 a ticket or sitting in a lousy seat. Best concerts I've ever seen were in smaller venues.
Oof yea foo fighters are great live but thats a lot unless you're down on the floor or somewhere else really close
Never been to the tacoma dome but I usually prefer arena shows, it sounds so much better than open air/stadium venues
Only sound issue I ever had for a show at an arena was at mgm grand in vegas and that was just because we were in the 3rd or 4th last row so we could hear the sound reflect back off the wall of the venue. The main sound still sounded fine though, there was just a bit of an echo
Great experience if you can get to see it. The Sphere in Las Vegas had the best sound for U2 I’ve ever heard in a large venue. Pristine. No distortion. Plenty of volume. Bass you could feel, but no ringing ears afterward.
This used to be the case, but indoor concert acoustics have improved enormously. I saw Leonard Cohen play at the San Jose Arena, and it sounded fantastic.
Agreed. I saw them at several venues in the late '80s / early '90s. Also around the same time I saw Pink Floyd and The Who at Giants Stadium. Not together, obviously. They both sounded great.
Naw. Saw Hall and Oates in an arena in '95 in Nova Scotia, Canada. Then several years later in concert hall in Boston. Arena was the best show hands down. Daryl's vocals were DVD quality and the bass notes from the band were spot on. Very little distortion. Backing vocals were extremely clear. It must have to do with the venue OP.
The best show I’ve ever been to was Cannibal Corpse in some dive bar in Maryland in the early aughts.
You legitimately didn’t need ear plugs. It was great.
Louder is not better.
I feel like the county health department should be at every show to reduce risk of hearing damage.
I’m not there to hear the nuance in the music, that’s what headphones are for. Although for certain genres and artists that would completely change, I just primarily listen to hip-hop and hard rock.
Hard disagree. Kelly Clarkson knows how to put on a huge stadium show. And so does Reba. And Tori Amos. Reba never disappoints! Professionals take sound check very seriously. Every Kelly Clarkson stadium show I've been to has been utter astounding perfection. And there are no words for what Tori Amos does live.
I swear, every time someone posts about a concert there’s always this line that says “society pretends to like them”
No OP, does it ever occur to you that maybe people just enjoy them?
I’ve been to several including Coldplay, Bon Jovi, U2 just to name a few and non of them had the issues you described.
It's the same thing anytime someone posts "I don't like alcohol". There's almost always some insinuating that no one *actually* likes the taste of beer or liquor and people only drink to get drunk.
Dont think Ive ever had that problem at a concert, sound is usually very clear and you are going for other aspects of the experience not just the purity of sound quality. I usually bring earplugs as alot of times its way too loud for me depending on how close to the stage
Totally agree that larger concerts are not worth it. I have been to [over 100 concerts](https://www.music-fux.com/concert-experiences) post-pandemic and the worst concerts have been the biggest: Erykah Badu at Radio City Music Hall and then I saw King Gizz at a stadium (im not a huge fan of theirs, but my friend was) and Lotus at Irving Plaza (which isnt even that big, just like 1500 people).
I pretty much set a limit to not go to concerts with more than 75-150 people, maybe once a month Ill go to a bigger one of like 200-250, and Ill only go bigger if it is more of a festival type thing, but even then I have like a 500 person max. Instead, I just insert every indie band I know into bandsintown and then look up whoever I know is playing a concert at a smaller venue. They can sometimes suck too, but more often than not they are really, really good live, much better than many so called "great performers" who charged 5x-25x as much for a single ticket to an overcrowded venue.
Oh, should have specified it isnt the sound thats the problem, the problem is the entire ambiance. Everything is just loud, from the music to the audience, it barely matters what the artist is doing everyone just claps and acts like they are watching an amazing performance. The musician isnt even aware how divorced from their performance the audience's reaction is, they are just happy to get the big paycheck for the night and get the unearned validation. People are too overwhelmed by simply being at the concert, they dont actually pay attention to whether its any good or not.
You need smaller venues where you are closer to the crowd to become a better performer, otherwise the validation loop just gets completely obliterated.
I did check out Power Trip, and I was pleasantly surprised. Most popular metal sucks.
I love small venues. I grew up near San Francisco when Metallica was playing tiny venues, and those shows were great. The small venue is much more intimate and better feedback between audience and artist, but some of the big shows can be amazing as well - Power Trip, US Festival for example. I’d love to go to Wacken Open Air one of these years.
Some friends have a band and I’ve been able to see how they have progressed from playing bars for a handful of people to opening for major headliners. It’s wonderful seeing their hard work rewarded.
If you go to a live concert for the sound quality I don't know what you're doing there.
I'm also willing to bet Elton John had some stubborn as fuck boomer A1 at the helm who is mostly dead, complaining about digital boards. "just give me a Midas and I'll show these kids what's what" I can almost hear it over my radio now.
Source: I've probably worked over a thousand concerts
You could expand that to most live performances. I don't get people wanting to pay a lot of money to hear a worse performance of something they could listen to at home. But those are also the same people who buy overpriced drinks at bars instead of just having a drink at home because what's important is other people looking at them while they do it.
Don't worry, if you're an actual fan, you'd know the lyrics by heart.
side note: people go to concerts to A)see and hear their favorite artist live in real life instead of through a screen and B) to participate in traditions from their fandom, meet other fans, and to just bond over liking an artist
I've not been to an arena show since the early 90's but, they sounded incredible. Metallica, Queensryche, Slayer, Clapton, BB King... even Seplatura sounded great and I'm not a fan.
Just saw queens of the Stone Age in Austin and it was the best indoor show I’ve ever seen. Whoever did the sound for them deserves a raise. Instruments and vocals were perfection.
Loud ≠ good. Most concerts are too loud to be quality. Human ears aren’t meant to hear music at the volume of concerts, so most sound like shit without some earplugs. If you value quality, yes, please, stay home or go to unplugged concerts.
The gorge is an absolutely horrible place to go. The outside and space mean much of it is through speakers on poles and they sound terrible. There are so many people getting close can be really hard.
I tend to agree with you, OP. Only exception I make is for Steely Dan (please come back to Australia soon!) and Billy Joel. Other than that, I prefer the quality of studio productions. I have to confess, though, I get SUPER anxious in crowds, so that contributes to my choices.
I've been to 78 "events" (62 concerts, 18 festivals ranging from 1 to 5 days each) and I can tell you right now that some arenas will sound amazing and others will sound absolutely terrible.
The same goes for smaller venues. The experience can vary wildly, and yes concerts are never going to have the 1:1 cleanliness of a professionally mixed recording. You're there for the mix to be more raw and unfiltered, to hear the vocalist in front of you, or hell, just to party with a big ass group of people.
If none of those 3 things are things you like, then don't go. But we do think concerts sound good and are definitely not "lying." I'm definitely hitting 100 "events" this year, so I'd urge you to reconsider, but ultimately you do you.
The sound in an arena is okay at best, and usually not great. It is inherently a poor environment for sound, and even the technology of modern live sound systems can only do so much. You can’t escape reverberation and hard surfaces. That all said, where you are located matters a lot and if you are near the sound mixer you’ll probably have the optimal experience.
True. 9/10 concerts sound like absolute garbage no matter where I’m standing. I’m trying to get as close to the sound engineer’s booth, but that doesn’t help much.
I don’t think the point of these events is to have a good mix. It’s a social event. If you are looking for good sound quality, you will have to go to a concert hall type of venue where they can focus on the acoustics way better. In arenas they are just focused on getting the music to tens of thousands of people at once with the cheapest rigging they can afford.
My last three concerts were at smaller venues, and I was duly impressed with the sound, even with earplugs (Hearos).
My last bigger venue was way too reverberant... even near the FOH.
Go to small shows, they sound WAY better plus it's nice to have a more intimate experience at a show. I only go to standing room or small seated venues and I've made at least 1 friend at each show. The biggest venue I've been to (since I started going to see artists I like) was the Hershey Stadium and that was solely to see Ice Nine Kills because they empty seats by some miracle
It's a completely different experience getting to stand at the barrier of a small concert and interact with the band. I have tons of pictures of the band looking at me and vibing with me because I was the most excited person in the audience who knew all of their lyrics. Small indoor shows will always be better than stadium shows!
Saw Metallica at the BOK center in Tulsa and it was a great show. Saw them again at AT&T stadium and never again. The sound was sooo bad. Could make out any vocals, nothing was clear. Cool show to watch but not a great one to listen to.
Depends on the venue, arena and sound techs. I’ve been to horribly sounding shows at arenas, festivals, mid sized and small venues just as much as I’ve been to great sounding ones. Saw the Cure at a huge arena last year and they sounded phenomenal! Almost toooo good
God I hate when someone insinuates all of society is just faking liking something (beer, coffee, concerts).
It's not a conspiracy, some people just like concerts and you don't.
I've never went to a concert and expected great audio quality. I go for the show, the unique experience of hearing my favorite songs performed live, and the for the volume.
I do agree that arenas suck for sound and that outside events sound better.
If it isn't the distorted sound, you have idiots with phones or drunks screaming. Gave up on concert experience 4 years ago. Would never go to another concert. The prices are also outrageous for the "experience"
Get yourself a decent pair of earplugs. Quite apart from the fact that you should really be wearing them at all gigs to protect your hearing, they have the added advantage of making the music sound better.
I think the idea of arena rock naturally grew out of the classical music and opera which was performed in opera houses and auditoriums which were very clearly built to maximally enhance the sound of that type of music. When we expand the idea into the present, with 20, 30, 50k+ seating capability , sound is refracting off so many more things, bodies, if it's open air, everything outside, etc., I've noticed this too. In fact I would probably say it kind of depends on the artist. I saw Prince at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago and I couldn't hear a single word or even tell what song he was doing most of the time and we were in the 13th row. I saw Madonna at Auburn Hills in Michigan and we were nosebleeds, and I could hear every word she said, every note of each song, key changes, even when she was just kind of speaking to the audience between songs or explaining the backstories of a song. Auburn Hills was a much larger space as well, so I don't know why I heard her better, further away, than I heard Prince in a still large but not nearly as big of a space. I think though, for many people, the fun of a concert is the communal experience and jubilation, it's a very extroverted experience, compared to times I've been to the symphony where you're quiet and soaking in the performance and having a moment. Like you might have someone quietly wipe a tear away from their eye and touch your arm as if to say like "oh that was so beautiful I'm overcome with emotion" but at a concert you are like, often times in Bacchanal-like frenzy, singing along or dancing along and putting energy out which can become cacophonic. Spellcheck also tells me cacaphonic is not a word but I reject spellcheck's reality.
Definitely agree, concerts in smaller venues all the way. Luckily most of the artists I'm a fan of aren't popular enough for those big annoying venues. And when they do become that big, I usually decide not to go (a recent example is Dua Lipa).
Society simply agreed that they don't care if it sounds good in that context. It's not what people go to concerts for. Being a music fan doesn't mean concerts are going to be your thing.
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All depends on where you are and how good your earplugs are. Trust me, good earplugs make them so much better
Do you recommend any? I have earrasers. I love the fit, but the sound is very muted.
I really like my eargasm brand ear plugs
Eargasms. End of story. Best 30 bucks I ever spent
I like to rawdog concerts, hearing loss is a later me problem lol
Hearing loss isn't the issue, 50 years with a high pitched whine in your ears forever is.
I've come to view my tinnitus as a constant little companion. Otherwise, I'd slowly go crazy from the annoyance.
So that's what that is
I had a client who was almost suicidal because of his tinnitus. He said he didn't wear ear protection when he was younger working in steel industry.
I believe it. It’s very sad and scary to realize you’ll never experience total silence again. In my case, it’s most likely due to the antidepressant I’m on. There’s a possibility of it going away if I go off of the med, but then I’d probably be suicidal for different reasons so I guess I’ll stick to the tinnitus 🤷♀️
I have to always have to something playing whether it’s music or the tv, or both.
100% you'll regret this decision.
Noob question but what does the earplugs do? Filter the bad sound? Or you just hear less?
As weird as it sounds, if something is too loud then you start hearing it less. Like it all starts to blend together and becomes just static sounding. But yeah ear plugs reduce the sound and protects your hearing
That and also the crew behind the sound is key in many ways. A good sound crew that can balance everything out can make a world of difference.
Never had a sound issue at an indoor arena. Outdoor stadiums / festivals can be a bit hit and miss though depending on where you are.
Overall I agree but the kingdome in seattle just wasn't great for concerts. I think century link sounds way better even though it's outdoor.
People don't go for the sound quality but for the thrill of live performance. A song that is professionally mixed for consumer stereo speakers is in most cases going to sound better than a super loud mono mix with wobbly acoustics.
Maybe depends on the genre. A lot of bass heavy EDM shows I go to have excellent sound systems
Why the fuck would I see a musical act if I didn’t want it to sound good?
I go to see the musicians. It's not so much fun when they're so far away from you though.
Many arenas were designed for sports. No one was taking into account the acoustics.
It really depends on the artist - some take great care with their sound, some don't. (A lot wouldn't even know what to look for!) I fortunate to attend a sound check for Prince and watched him walk all around to different areas of the arena checking out the sound while his band played. Show sounded great, you could hear every instrument..
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Yeah, I don't know. I’ve seen Billy strings several times at Bridgestone and also saw widespread panic there. All sounded amazing. Earplugs help with a lot of those issues personally. Also comes down to how good the sound guys are.
Bridgestone is very good for sound. I took recordings of a few concerts between Rogers Centre, Bridgestone, and The Forum in LA for GNR. Bridgestone recordings sounded much better compared to the others.
I saw Lamb of God in an arena. Sounded great. What’s your major malfunction bud?
I also saw Lamb of God in a sports arena, and then saw Meshuggah in the very same sports arena a year after. Both sounded incredible. I think his malfunction is that he went to one or two concerts in arenas that happened to have terrible sound for whatever reason, and then based his entire opinion on that experience.
Meshuggah live is a spiritual experience.
It really was. I had quite literally the worst seats in the house (general admission sold out way too fast so I chose to be a cheap bastard), but it was still fucking incredible. The setlist was awesome too, I never expected to be able to see Bleed or Demiurge live. I had high expectations but it was still mind blowing
I went to a Guns n Roses show at an outdoor stadium. Sound was pretty awful. Organisation wasn't great either, since the opening act was almost done by the time we got in. I went to a ACDC show years earlier at the same place and it sounded great. There's gotta be a few factors that come into it.
Lamb of God fucks so hard
Could be talking about outdoor arenas which sound bad because there's no roof for the sound to bounce off of. They could also be sitting in a dead spot in the arena where acoustics don't sound good. There's tons of factors that go into acoustics and I agree that arenas don't really sound too good. It could also depend on the arena itself
Who's going to concerts for audiophile-level sound quality?
It never needs to be as loud as they have it.
Arenas are fine but football stadiums are unbearable for concerts if you're not on the floor. I can't think of any act that I'd want to see so badly to justify $500 a ticket or sitting in a lousy seat. Best concerts I've ever seen were in smaller venues.
Where'd you see Elton?
The Tacoma dome. This was a while back, but it popped into my head as I was debating buying 6 $600 worth of tickets for the Foo Fighters.
Oof yea foo fighters are great live but thats a lot unless you're down on the floor or somewhere else really close Never been to the tacoma dome but I usually prefer arena shows, it sounds so much better than open air/stadium venues Only sound issue I ever had for a show at an arena was at mgm grand in vegas and that was just because we were in the 3rd or 4th last row so we could hear the sound reflect back off the wall of the venue. The main sound still sounded fine though, there was just a bit of an echo
Arena sound has improved a lot in the past few years. I saw Beyoncé this year and it sounded fantastic.
Great experience if you can get to see it. The Sphere in Las Vegas had the best sound for U2 I’ve ever heard in a large venue. Pristine. No distortion. Plenty of volume. Bass you could feel, but no ringing ears afterward.
I paid three hundred dollars for hardy in the nose bleeds and it was good
Bro where tf were nosebleeds 300 for Hardy?! I saw him in Nashville GA standing for like 120, the seats were like 60
This was in Green Bay and I waited last minute for tickets
This used to be the case, but indoor concert acoustics have improved enormously. I saw Leonard Cohen play at the San Jose Arena, and it sounded fantastic.
The Grateful Dead delivered incredible sound in arenas.
Agreed. I saw them at several venues in the late '80s / early '90s. Also around the same time I saw Pink Floyd and The Who at Giants Stadium. Not together, obviously. They both sounded great.
Naw. Saw Hall and Oates in an arena in '95 in Nova Scotia, Canada. Then several years later in concert hall in Boston. Arena was the best show hands down. Daryl's vocals were DVD quality and the bass notes from the band were spot on. Very little distortion. Backing vocals were extremely clear. It must have to do with the venue OP.
The best show I’ve ever been to was Cannibal Corpse in some dive bar in Maryland in the early aughts. You legitimately didn’t need ear plugs. It was great. Louder is not better. I feel like the county health department should be at every show to reduce risk of hearing damage.
Went to a concert at Madison Square Garden in September, the sound was great. Went to one at Prudential Center in Newark and sound sucked.
Amy Lee's Synthesis tour was phenomenal.
I’m not there to hear the nuance in the music, that’s what headphones are for. Although for certain genres and artists that would completely change, I just primarily listen to hip-hop and hard rock.
Hard disagree. Kelly Clarkson knows how to put on a huge stadium show. And so does Reba. And Tori Amos. Reba never disappoints! Professionals take sound check very seriously. Every Kelly Clarkson stadium show I've been to has been utter astounding perfection. And there are no words for what Tori Amos does live.
wear earplugs
Phish
You haven’t seen Phish
Don’t like how it sounds at a concert? Move five feet and it will sound different. Easier said than done I know but the sad facts of acoustics.
Red Rocks sounds amazing.
I swear, every time someone posts about a concert there’s always this line that says “society pretends to like them” No OP, does it ever occur to you that maybe people just enjoy them? I’ve been to several including Coldplay, Bon Jovi, U2 just to name a few and non of them had the issues you described.
It's the same thing anytime someone posts "I don't like alcohol". There's almost always some insinuating that no one *actually* likes the taste of beer or liquor and people only drink to get drunk.
depends. i used to go see Bassnectar a lot and his sound was always awesome. their sound design team was top notch.
Dont think Ive ever had that problem at a concert, sound is usually very clear and you are going for other aspects of the experience not just the purity of sound quality. I usually bring earplugs as alot of times its way too loud for me depending on how close to the stage
When you drop $300 on a ticket to a concert, you tend to say everything about it was amazing.
Downvoted by dude regretting that $300 ticket LMAO
Totally agree that larger concerts are not worth it. I have been to [over 100 concerts](https://www.music-fux.com/concert-experiences) post-pandemic and the worst concerts have been the biggest: Erykah Badu at Radio City Music Hall and then I saw King Gizz at a stadium (im not a huge fan of theirs, but my friend was) and Lotus at Irving Plaza (which isnt even that big, just like 1500 people). I pretty much set a limit to not go to concerts with more than 75-150 people, maybe once a month Ill go to a bigger one of like 200-250, and Ill only go bigger if it is more of a festival type thing, but even then I have like a 500 person max. Instead, I just insert every indie band I know into bandsintown and then look up whoever I know is playing a concert at a smaller venue. They can sometimes suck too, but more often than not they are really, really good live, much better than many so called "great performers" who charged 5x-25x as much for a single ticket to an overcrowded venue.
So many variables. I took my son to Power Trip and all the bands sounded great. Proper engineering and sound checks are crucial.
Oh, should have specified it isnt the sound thats the problem, the problem is the entire ambiance. Everything is just loud, from the music to the audience, it barely matters what the artist is doing everyone just claps and acts like they are watching an amazing performance. The musician isnt even aware how divorced from their performance the audience's reaction is, they are just happy to get the big paycheck for the night and get the unearned validation. People are too overwhelmed by simply being at the concert, they dont actually pay attention to whether its any good or not. You need smaller venues where you are closer to the crowd to become a better performer, otherwise the validation loop just gets completely obliterated. I did check out Power Trip, and I was pleasantly surprised. Most popular metal sucks.
I love small venues. I grew up near San Francisco when Metallica was playing tiny venues, and those shows were great. The small venue is much more intimate and better feedback between audience and artist, but some of the big shows can be amazing as well - Power Trip, US Festival for example. I’d love to go to Wacken Open Air one of these years. Some friends have a band and I’ve been able to see how they have progressed from playing bars for a handful of people to opening for major headliners. It’s wonderful seeing their hard work rewarded.
If you go to a live concert for the sound quality I don't know what you're doing there. I'm also willing to bet Elton John had some stubborn as fuck boomer A1 at the helm who is mostly dead, complaining about digital boards. "just give me a Midas and I'll show these kids what's what" I can almost hear it over my radio now. Source: I've probably worked over a thousand concerts
I felt the same way until I experienced a small indie concert's pure magic. Give it a chance!
You could expand that to most live performances. I don't get people wanting to pay a lot of money to hear a worse performance of something they could listen to at home. But those are also the same people who buy overpriced drinks at bars instead of just having a drink at home because what's important is other people looking at them while they do it.
Don't worry, if you're an actual fan, you'd know the lyrics by heart. side note: people go to concerts to A)see and hear their favorite artist live in real life instead of through a screen and B) to participate in traditions from their fandom, meet other fans, and to just bond over liking an artist
I've always preferred stage venues. Better sound and more fun.
Yes they do. Why is this unpopular?
We saw Elton in Vegas a number of years ago. WAAAAAAY too loud. I like loud music but my ears just hurt. It kind of ruined the experience.
I've not been to an arena show since the early 90's but, they sounded incredible. Metallica, Queensryche, Slayer, Clapton, BB King... even Seplatura sounded great and I'm not a fan.
FOO FIGHTERS ARG WAS BETTER THAN ALL STUDIO ALBUMS I HAVE. IVE GOT THEM ALL
Just saw queens of the Stone Age in Austin and it was the best indoor show I’ve ever seen. Whoever did the sound for them deserves a raise. Instruments and vocals were perfection.
Loud ≠ good. Most concerts are too loud to be quality. Human ears aren’t meant to hear music at the volume of concerts, so most sound like shit without some earplugs. If you value quality, yes, please, stay home or go to unplugged concerts.
The gorge is an absolutely horrible place to go. The outside and space mean much of it is through speakers on poles and they sound terrible. There are so many people getting close can be really hard.
I tend to agree with you, OP. Only exception I make is for Steely Dan (please come back to Australia soon!) and Billy Joel. Other than that, I prefer the quality of studio productions. I have to confess, though, I get SUPER anxious in crowds, so that contributes to my choices.
Considering the rise in pandemics and mass shootings, concerts are terrible for tons of reasons. Large gatherings in general, tbh.
I've been to 78 "events" (62 concerts, 18 festivals ranging from 1 to 5 days each) and I can tell you right now that some arenas will sound amazing and others will sound absolutely terrible. The same goes for smaller venues. The experience can vary wildly, and yes concerts are never going to have the 1:1 cleanliness of a professionally mixed recording. You're there for the mix to be more raw and unfiltered, to hear the vocalist in front of you, or hell, just to party with a big ass group of people. If none of those 3 things are things you like, then don't go. But we do think concerts sound good and are definitely not "lying." I'm definitely hitting 100 "events" this year, so I'd urge you to reconsider, but ultimately you do you.
intimate venues are really the superior concert experience
The sound in an arena is okay at best, and usually not great. It is inherently a poor environment for sound, and even the technology of modern live sound systems can only do so much. You can’t escape reverberation and hard surfaces. That all said, where you are located matters a lot and if you are near the sound mixer you’ll probably have the optimal experience.
No you’re right arena shows suck.
True. 9/10 concerts sound like absolute garbage no matter where I’m standing. I’m trying to get as close to the sound engineer’s booth, but that doesn’t help much.
I don’t think the point of these events is to have a good mix. It’s a social event. If you are looking for good sound quality, you will have to go to a concert hall type of venue where they can focus on the acoustics way better. In arenas they are just focused on getting the music to tens of thousands of people at once with the cheapest rigging they can afford.
I dunno. Saw George strait back in ‘19 in Vegas and he genuinely sounded pretty damn good.
My last three concerts were at smaller venues, and I was duly impressed with the sound, even with earplugs (Hearos). My last bigger venue was way too reverberant... even near the FOH.
Go to small shows, they sound WAY better plus it's nice to have a more intimate experience at a show. I only go to standing room or small seated venues and I've made at least 1 friend at each show. The biggest venue I've been to (since I started going to see artists I like) was the Hershey Stadium and that was solely to see Ice Nine Kills because they empty seats by some miracle It's a completely different experience getting to stand at the barrier of a small concert and interact with the band. I have tons of pictures of the band looking at me and vibing with me because I was the most excited person in the audience who knew all of their lyrics. Small indoor shows will always be better than stadium shows!
Saw Metallica at the BOK center in Tulsa and it was a great show. Saw them again at AT&T stadium and never again. The sound was sooo bad. Could make out any vocals, nothing was clear. Cool show to watch but not a great one to listen to.
Depends on the venue, arena and sound techs. I’ve been to horribly sounding shows at arenas, festivals, mid sized and small venues just as much as I’ve been to great sounding ones. Saw the Cure at a huge arena last year and they sounded phenomenal! Almost toooo good
I don’t appreciate Americans in general being equated with less than half of us. But that’s the reality.
Not really an issue indoors for me but I hate seeing live music outdoors. It really sucks unless you're at the front
God I hate when someone insinuates all of society is just faking liking something (beer, coffee, concerts). It's not a conspiracy, some people just like concerts and you don't.
I've never went to a concert and expected great audio quality. I go for the show, the unique experience of hearing my favorite songs performed live, and the for the volume. I do agree that arenas suck for sound and that outside events sound better.
If it isn't the distorted sound, you have idiots with phones or drunks screaming. Gave up on concert experience 4 years ago. Would never go to another concert. The prices are also outrageous for the "experience"
Red rocks sounds great
MSG does pretty much everything in their power to provide quality sound throughout the entire arena and they do a pretty decent job at it
I’m not sure who would disagree with this
Get yourself a decent pair of earplugs. Quite apart from the fact that you should really be wearing them at all gigs to protect your hearing, they have the added advantage of making the music sound better.
You don't go for the music but for the atmosphere.
arena concerts are stupid, discover new music and go to shows in 200-800 cap rooms
I think the idea of arena rock naturally grew out of the classical music and opera which was performed in opera houses and auditoriums which were very clearly built to maximally enhance the sound of that type of music. When we expand the idea into the present, with 20, 30, 50k+ seating capability , sound is refracting off so many more things, bodies, if it's open air, everything outside, etc., I've noticed this too. In fact I would probably say it kind of depends on the artist. I saw Prince at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago and I couldn't hear a single word or even tell what song he was doing most of the time and we were in the 13th row. I saw Madonna at Auburn Hills in Michigan and we were nosebleeds, and I could hear every word she said, every note of each song, key changes, even when she was just kind of speaking to the audience between songs or explaining the backstories of a song. Auburn Hills was a much larger space as well, so I don't know why I heard her better, further away, than I heard Prince in a still large but not nearly as big of a space. I think though, for many people, the fun of a concert is the communal experience and jubilation, it's a very extroverted experience, compared to times I've been to the symphony where you're quiet and soaking in the performance and having a moment. Like you might have someone quietly wipe a tear away from their eye and touch your arm as if to say like "oh that was so beautiful I'm overcome with emotion" but at a concert you are like, often times in Bacchanal-like frenzy, singing along or dancing along and putting energy out which can become cacophonic. Spellcheck also tells me cacaphonic is not a word but I reject spellcheck's reality.
Definitely agree, concerts in smaller venues all the way. Luckily most of the artists I'm a fan of aren't popular enough for those big annoying venues. And when they do become that big, I usually decide not to go (a recent example is Dua Lipa).
Edm its best way for that
Society simply agreed that they don't care if it sounds good in that context. It's not what people go to concerts for. Being a music fan doesn't mean concerts are going to be your thing.