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LOUSY SOUND AT LIVE CONCERTS

I went to a concert at Bank America Pavillion in Boston last night. I saw Tedeschi and Trucks, and The Black Crows. A terrific concert; The Tedeschi and Trucks Band was especially terrific.

Unfortunately, these bands sound better in my living room than at this beautiful, outdoor venue.

Many venues have extremely poor acoustics and/or poor sound systems. The music is often terribly distorted, details and nuances of the instrumentals and voices are lost. The sound presents as a congealed distorted mess. The art of these incredibly talented musicians cannot be fully appreciated without clear sound. Listening to music in these crappy venues is like looking at masterpiece paintings in dimly lit museums with dirty glasses. The colors, details and brush strokes are indistinct. The artistic genius cannot be fully appreciated. The Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA., Fenway Park and The Boston Garden are just as bad as The Bank Of America Pavillion, if not worse.

I am frustrated with these venues that cannot provide great sound to accompany the great music. What is the sense of attending live concerts if the sound quality sucks. Does anyone else share my frustration?
matjet
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,341 posts
 
"But, as you said, you were in the sweet spot--what about the other thousands who were not?"

Don't know. Surely not as good. That's why I was so happy to be able to target and get the sweet spot, 1 section back dead center at ground level. :^)

The speaker columns on each side of the stage were a good 60 foot tall or more I would estimate, so there was definitely a lot of firepower there and the sound quality guys did a fantastic job from my perspective.
jorgeparrapuppy
257 posts
 
all audiophile garbage aside, the police at dodger stadium, when they re-united, sounded horrible. but the opening band, the foo fighters, sounded amazing.
pops
2,275 posts
 
Mapman I saw the Stones that way in Philly at RFK before they tore it down and it was like we were the only people there...amazing. Keith sang "slipping away" my wife's fav and she thought it was a personal tribute!
tostadosunidos's avatar
tostadosunidos
1,197 posts
 
At one outdoors concert (Los Lobos in Austin, TX) some years back my wife and I got up to leave because the sound was so bad (and we love that band). When we had made it 2/3 of the way back we noticed that the sound had improved considerably from how it had been near the front. We sat down and finished the show. I'd never had that experience.
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drrsutliff
862 posts
 
This past spring Clapton played the Memorial Colusiem here in Jacksonville, FL. I have heard many other concerts there all with very poor acoustic presentations. That night the Wallflowers opened the show and played well, but the sound was nothing to be excited about. I was prepared for Clapton's sound to be just as congested, but with the opening chord was I shocked. The sound was better than any amplified concert I have attended in 20 years. I was blown away by Clapton and his entire band and could hear every nuance of each instrument in a building that I have never before enjoyed the sound in. Obviously he has a crew that knows how to set up a sound system, really cares, and proved it is possible. I think that is going to be the frustrating part now going forward, knowing it is possible.
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