h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've banged on about the COST of gigs here before, but I am home early after putting up with 30 minutes of Paul Weller at The Hammersmith Apollo.

Tickets were £40, and for that I was crammed into a sweaty venue, standing shoulder to shoulder with as many people as they were allowed to squeeze in. The music was so loud that the PA was distorting (and PWs vocals were so far down in the mix he couldn't be heard properly anyway and it looked like he may have played a solo at one point). The band may have been playing a blinder, but who would know?

If I had bought a CD of a live gig that sounded as bad, it would never get played.

Am I alone in this experience?

(Were there any other Hootoo'ers there?)

I saw (the PROPER) Status Quo earlier in the year and it was an entirely different experience.

PP.

I am sorry to hear you had sugh a bad evening even worst if you were looking forward to it for a long time.

You have become a victim of a growing problem you are not alone and it is getting worse every year.
It sounds as if the venue broke all the H&S regs as well, it is a big rip off.

I don't think it's a new thing, PP.

Went to see HIM (yeah, I know ) a few years back and the vocals were so far down the mix you couldn't hear Ville at all, most disappointing. And then there was The Darkness (yeah, shut-up, I know again) and they were very, very, very loud. We up in the circle bit at the Manchester Apollo, wished I bought earplugs - flipping damned fine show. mind.

Stone Gods were very loud as well, Sevendust and Black Stone Cherry (on the same bill) weren't, can only think it was a hangover from the Darkness days.

Many, many years ago when Roy Harper used to tour proper-like you'd get some really excellent ones (Poynton Folk Club) and some *very* average ones (International, I'm looking at you) they were only saved by the fact that you could actually hear him, sometimes.

Oh and Bob, MAnchester Academy is known as the sweat box, no H&S rules broken, just a very warm venue,

It's been very expensive to go to live gigs for quite a while, nothing new there. But these are problems with the sound/ mixing, nothing to do with the cost of the ticket.

Saw Elton John a couple of years ago and he played for 2 hours 50 minutes, half of that solo and half with a percussionist. The sound was good and we had seats. But that would be called a concert rather than a gig.

Generally, I much prefer smaller gigs thesedays, tickets for 'main bands', have gotten so* pricey, and half the venues they use are just so dredful, I prefer seeing smaller (often local), bands, in local pubs... if there is a door price, its useually £3 or £5, at the most, though most tend to be free... Often they're really very profesional, sound wise, and the really aweful bands that occasionaly crop up, can sometimes be a giggle... Sometimes includes the additional bonus that I get to go up and play with them (depending where I am, and if I know any of the band)

Last big 'gig' I went to, was the download festavil, which is a festavil, of course, not a gig/concert... ONly really went to see one band, headlining, who were on last... and I was so* tired by the time they came on... But I did enjoy it, and the sound, being outside, was pretty amazing, and didn't ahve the affect of some indoors gigs, in poor acoustic spaces, of entirely screwing up my hearing for days afterwards

Often, though, they just get the venue totally wrong... I saw three bonzos and a piano, a couple years back (got the ticket free mind), and it was all seated... which just didn't work, IMO... Sadly, here in Cambridge, the two main, large music venues, are just dredful, both acoustically and err, just because they're aweful places Much prefer being in a decent pub, with drinkible beer (I drank nothing but coffee, and water, at the download festavil, as they didn't sell a single alcoholic drink I would drink).. Plus, if it is really* bad, and you've paid, maybe £3 on the door, to see a gig at a pub, one doesn't feel obliged to stay to the bitter end, if the band are really that* terrible

Some are a rip-off, some aren't. I was going to go to see Leonard Cohen until realised they were looking for £100 for a ticket. He ain't *that* special. On the other hand, I saw Dick Gaughan play for £8, and it was amazing.

Some restaurants and coffee houses have live music, with or without a cover charge. The Paradise Cafe, about two miles down the road from me, claims to have live music without a cover charge at all. From what I know of the proprietor, this would be on the level, and the music would be good.

Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey [who used to be part of Peter, Paul and Mary] have played at churches in my area in solo acts in the last couple of years. . There are free band concerts on the Esplanade in the city where I live [though probably not this time of year, as the summer season is over] If you do a little research, you can probably find no-cost or low-cost live music. Public libraries, churches, and various civic groups sponsor them.

But as for getting to hear artists or groups that you've gotten to be fond of from listening to the radio, CDs, or online downloads, some realism is needed. Concert promoters don't care about you as an individual. They will charge whatever the market will bear, and sometimes more [but almost never less].

I've known musicians over the years. There are some very good ones who have never broken out into the big time. One of the finest pianists I've ever heard earns a living as rehearsal pianist for several amateur choral groups. At my nephew's graduation party, a local band with a great lead singer entertained for hours. Many musicians live from hand to mouth. When not doing gigs, they are apt to teach in local high schools [usually music, but not necessarily], or any number of other jobs. I once heard a high school sports coach who sang and played some kind of all-in-one synthesizer at social functions. People do what they can to get by. Some are quite talented.

The most money I've spent on a gig ticket was £24. And that was because I was a COMPLETE MUPPET and left my ticket at home. My taste in music means I get to see bands cheap.

My viewing of live gigs has decreased exponentially over the year, from a point in about 2002 when I went to quite a few. My main problem is not just that ticket prices have gone up, but that recorded music prices have plummeted at the same time. These days, for the price of a gig ticket, I can generally buy the band's entire back catalogue, and still have change for postage & packing/bus fare home from the record store.
Compare that to a while back, when the ticket price for a newish band was generally a bit less than that of their album.

I no longer care to stand - to get decent seats at any major venue is far too expensive for me. When Wembley stadium opened I went to see Muse for £32, terrific value for around 7 hours varied entertainment. At the Emirates recently, equivalent tickets were 3 times as much.

Atmosphere is one thing, being deafened is another. I enjoyed an Interpol concert locally, but the volume got too much in the end. I left early to avoid the rush & could hear more comfortably out in the street. Made me think it would be better just to hang around outside for free!

I don't like being deafened either. Thank heavens I can turn my stereo's volume down!

Maximum volume yields maximum results... maybe it's a quirk of the circles I move in, but for me and my gigging pals taking earplugs is just something you do. Being in Very Loud Bands ourselves we have posh earplugs.

I just accept the fact that live = loud and try not to stand right next to the speakers. Maybe there isn't any particular reason why it should necessarily be so, but if I want to see a band I'm not going to complain just because they are louder than I was expecting. Besides, if they get it right, the sound of a song you LOVE, so loud that it fills your brain can be an amazing experience.
On the other hand, with a poor sound engineer or speakers, it can all blend into one fuzzy blare (waka waka waka...) that totally defeats the object of going to see them. Thank you, My Vitriol.

Maximum volume yields a maximum likelihood of hearing loss. The people who stood nearest to the bombs at the Boston Marathon were most likely to lose their hearing. Some of them got their hearing back later, but some never got it all back. When I'm at a concert where there's very loud music, I *do* try to be as far from the speakers as possible. When musicians play the 1812 overture, complete with real cannons, it doesn't pay to be too close to the cannons.

>>we have posh earplugs.

Which would you recommend?

Regarding excessive volume, it's great to have it loud when you want to be at a loud event, but all too often there's intrusive volume in places where it's simply counterproductive, like when you're somewhere that you want to actually talk to people. Unless it's a band I want to see, I avoid pubs now if there happens to be a band on, because inevitably it will be unpleasantly difficult to talk. What's more, there's a strange habit of amplifying small acoustic events, which prevents you from hearing the delicate acoustic properties of the instruments, and replaces it with something different; and different is never going to be as good as the real thing in such cases. The baffling thing is that audiences are quite happy to believe they are hearing an 'unplugged' event, even though it's been transformed having been put through a PA.

Furthermore, the current trend toward stark, modernist decor means that even restaurants without added music can be too noisy, because there's no soft furnishings to soak up the hubbub. Pizza Express, for example, becomes an endurance of clatterings and clangs, as the sounds of various plates and items of cutlery get magically echoed and amplified around the room, accompanied by the scraping of chairs across the harsh, tiled floors.

"Maximum volume yields a maximum likelihood of hearing loss."

Not if you have posh earplugs! I've seen some phenomenally loud bands (I mean loud enough that you can *feel* it) and come out without so much as a little bit of ringing.

"Which would you recommend?"

Look on Google for "musician's earplugs" or similar. The type I use are sometimes called 'christmas trees' due to their shape, but alas I can't remember the actual name of them or where I ordered them from! The design means they reduce overall volume without affecting frequencies. They shouldn't cost more than a tenner and come with a little carrying case

>>The type I use are sometimes called 'christmas trees' due to their shape

Thanks, but I already have some of those which I don't find particularly effective; so I was hoping you might suggest a better brand. My preferred method of noise reduction are industrial ear defenders, but for some reason my girlfriend objects to being in my company when I wear them out with her.

Have you got the right size? That can be a factor with their effectiveness.

I have no problems with mine whatsoever.

(Note that I did not deliberately choose the right size, I kind of got lucky. In theory there are at least three sizes, but not everywhere seems to bother making the distinction.)