Does poor sound quality put you off live music?

sev112

I went with MrsSev112 to see George Ezra last year at 02.  They were really loud, but the sound  (and GE and his band) were very good indeed.

the problem was all the middle aged women standing up and dancing, and because I can’t stand up for very long, I couldn’t see anything .   Then we had to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest up steep stairs to get out which in my health was bloody hard work.

must be getting old.

english_bob

english_bob said:

I guess I've been lucky over the years, or else I'm not as picky as the rest of you. 

Over the last 10+ years or since Mrs_bob and I have had kids we haven't been to loads of live gigs, and haven't generally travelled far when we have. Most of the bands we've seen have been at De Montfort Hall in Leicester, and have always sounded excellent. The few other Leicester live venues I've seen bands in, or played in myself have sounded good too- saw Ariel Posen at a little 220 capacity venue called The Musician just before the pandemic- great sound, just the right level of volume.

So yeah, it would disappoint me to see a band and have them sound rubbish, but it hasn't happened to me very often.

Aaaaand spoke too soon. 

Took the kids to see Supreme Queen at De Montfort Hall last night. Sat three rows from the front and could barely hear the guitar over a boomy bass-heavy mix. The music before the band came on, and during the interval was similarly bassy so might have been to do with how the overall EQ was set, but we were right in front of "John Deacon's" hefty onstage bass rig so it might have sounded better elsewhere in the hall...

BillDL

I remember being incredibly disappointed after seeing Jimmy Barnes for the second time.  The first time was excellent sound quality in a very well used and popular music venue.  The next time they moved the venue at the last minute to a place that was more often used as a nighclub than a concert hall.  The sound quality was dreadful by comparison.  Maybe they didn't have the same amount of time to do all the sound checks thoroughly, but I doubt it.  To my mind the alternative venue didn't have enough ceiling height and the instruments and vocals all cascaded into an absolute cacophany where everything seemed to be merged into a barrage of noise.  It spoiled the whole concert for me.

LPManic

The price, the people, and the travel (in that order) put me off these days.