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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
bongofury
1,160 posts
 
There can be amazing crystal clear sound. For one, Coldplay has the best rig in the business.

The problem is that many bands rely on local production houses to provide sound and staging, so it can vary greatly by city.
wildoats
339 posts
 
I think it really depends on the venue. I recently went to the Bayfront Blues Festival in Duluth (outside) and thought the sound was fine. Especially if you sat more towards the middle. The acoustic tent was very good too. Richard Thompson outside at the MN zoo in June was really good too. Hopefully some aren't complaining because they can actually hear the dynamics in the music at many live shows? Unlike compressed loud cd's with little or no dynamics.
mrmitch
359 posts
 
Another factor is that some of the sound reinforcement companies are providing their services at more than one venue at a time and have different teams at different locations. Not every concert will have the "A" team doing the sound.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Matjet, It's not lousy sound it's concert sound. If you don't like it don't go. Stay home and listen to your stereo.
lenny_zwik
259 posts
 
Just heard Steely Dan last week in Austin at Bass Concert hall, a rather vast 5000 set venue. Admittedly, we had outstanding seats (4th row just left of center), but the sound quality was some of the best I've heard in 40+ years of attending live performances. You could hear every nuance of every one of the 11 musicians on stage. I suspect I was hearing more of the stage than the PA, but I heard similar praise from others in attendance who I knew.
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