Why does rock concert sound suck?

Dear Lovers of Live Rock Concerts,

this year together with friends I really enjoyed different Rock Concerts and from point of sound quality I was deeply impressed especially in Munich, Olympia Stadium, middle of the stage, approx. 20 meters away from stage - G n‘ R. Sound pressure was lower than 120 dB (Z) and Axl’s speech intelligibility and instruments (Slash was amazing) were clear with impressive, crisp bass lines. Another nice concert in terms of sound quality (and live performance of Bruce Dickinson) I‘ve alived in Stuttgart at Cannstatter Wasen, seat in 09:30 position, nearly at stage level was this years Iron Maiden show. To safe my ears especially during the performances of the bands before the main acts I wear ALPINE Party Plug Pro Natural earplugs. As you probably know my home Hifi equipment is not the worst so I am able to compare.

ronfruehling

@asvjerry +1 on Blue Man Group. Just might be the most fun you can legally have at home?

It seems that live concerts othen involve three bands. The opener, the one in between, and the one your REALLY came to see. The producers want to see the energy and excitement build as the night goes on, hitting its peak at the moment the featured band takes the stage. MY reality is that the sound level of the opening act is just right. The second act is too loud. And, the featured band is often times unbearable. I’m not speaking from an audiophile perspective here, but as a living, breathing organism with a fairly high tolerance for pain and discomfort. But, I have my limits.

I’ve seen Joan Jett twice. In a 5,000 seat multipurpose facility and an outdoor venue. The sound guys got it right both times. They seem to understand the concept of delivering a high degree of "kickassery" while preserving some degree of dynamic headroom to make those most energetic moments impactful. Graham Nash’s guys nailed it at The Pageant in St. Louis a few year back. Could not have wished for a better listening experience.

Brought our small motorhome to the Moondance Jam festival in Walker, Minnesota in 2019. I’ll give the overall experience a 9.3 on the 10 scale, while the sound was in the low 7’s. One night, the expected ratching of sound levels occurred and when that evenings featured band, Tesla, took the stage it was excruciating and we just had to hit the eject button. We wondered back to the RV located about 1/2 mile as the crow flies from the stage. We opened the windows, poured out our favorite beverages, and spread out on the sofa. The sound level was just right.

Have tickets to a Jon Kay (Steppenwolf) acoustic performance in a small, intimate venue in a couple of weeks. Been to this venue before and have high expectations of a great evening.

@dpop 

The speakers that the Mixing Engineer used might not be nearly as good as yours, if you've selected yours carefully, first of all... especially for a home.  The studio monitors are designed, first of all, for the studio.  Unless you get the exact same monitors and amps used for each recording, and have your room set up like a studio, and have your volume at the same volume, and you have the same ears as the engineer... well, you get my point.

Another thing that might be interesting to this thread is that I was browsing around on YouTube and there was an episode (I don't recall, it may have been the "Audiophiliac" guy) in which a gathering of "audiophiles" was in a home, I believe in New York, and an interviewer went around and asked individuals "What is 'snake oil' in audio?"  The range of responses was ... revealing.

But the response that stood out to me was one guy who said, essentially:  "It's ALL snake oil.  None of it sounds like real music, and it can never hope to.  I don't care what your system is, it does not reproduce the experience of a performance at Carnegie Hall, nor any other hall where music is actually performed.  Once I finally realized this, I stopped spending money on stereo gear, and now I spend my money on live performances so I can actually experience the real thing."

Something to think about.  

@curtdr >>>The studio monitors are designed, first of all, for the studio...well, you get my point<<<

No doubt about it. I'm familiar with nearfields vs standard home audio system speakers. I've been to the CES high performance audio rooms many times over, AXPONA in Chicago a bunch of times, a few official recording studios, and I've been a Radio Broadcast Engineer for over 3 decades (lots of studios and audio equipment involved with that!). I've taken it all in, and tried to recreate (within budget) all of the good things I've heard. Acoustics also plays into this big time. When it comes to audio, my ears and brain have about 45 years of experience involved here. I know what sound I'm shooting for. My point is, when many audio enthusiasts (I think I do like that description better than audiophiles) are trying to assemble a system that replicates live performance PA systems (I seem to hear that mentioned frequently), I'm shooting for a more recording studio sound quality.