[bisayaboi]

It's usually never the artists' fault for crap sound quality; it's probably the venue.
 
I remember going to DC101's concert this year with: Anberlin, Cage the Elephant, Switchfoot... and Alice in Chains/ Stone Temple Pilots.T
 
The sound; sounded kinda bad... too much bass. Switchfoot's performance sounded the best for some reason.. the guitar was very nice and loud. Very prominent. Just how I love rock (focus on guitars).
 
But if you love a band like I do for Alice in Chains and STP then sometimes even sound doesn't matter.

 

[onef]

I have two good friends who are sound engineers that have worked live performances (Their last one was U2 2009), and they tell me they don't get paid anywhere near what they used to. I think once you cut the money out of a job, you cut the quality as well.
 
Also, I've run into a few bands that absolutely refuse to cooperate with the house sound techs/engineers. For example, I went to a hardcore show in San Antonio a few months back where the drummer would NOT turn his set to face the stage, instead he preferred to have the set facing sideways pointing at the wall in a small venue.
 
$0.02

 

[bisayaboi]

Quote:

I have two good friends who are sound engineers that have worked live performances (Their last one was U2 2009), and they tell me they don't get paid anywhere near what they used to. I think once you cut the money out of a job, you cut the quality as well.
 
Also, I've run into a few bands that absolutely refuse to cooperate with the house sound techs/engineers. For example, I went to a hardcore show in San Antonio a few months back where the drummer would NOT turn his set to face the stage, instead he preferred to have the set facing sideways pointing at the wall in a small venue.
 
$0.02

That would make a lot of sense...
 
Haha that's hilarious! Oh man.
 
I find it ironic that I find rock/metal sound best when guitars are the most prominent/loudest as a drummer.

 

 

[salannelson]

Quote:

The Orpheum Theater in Boston is terrible in pretty much every way. I've been to ~20 different venues of that size/type in various cities and countries and it is among the absolute worst. You're paying prices for a fancy theater show and receiving hole-in-the-wall rock club quality. Sorry you had a bad experience there, but don't write off live music just because of that. I went to see a concert at the Wang Theater this weekend (right down the street, almost exactly the same size) and it was gorgeous, beautiful, comfortable, and the sound was great. The House of Blues has a lot of problems but it also has much better sound than the Orpheum.
 
I don't know why anyone plays at the Orpheum, it's a pit.
 
ETA: Please do write a note to the Orpheum complaining about what you experienced, maybe if they get enough complaints from concert-goers they will finally renovate the place.

yeah, it was my first time at the orpheum so i wouldn't know it's "sound history". but yes, that place is quite disgusting. everything in there is falling apart. and about the wang theatre, i saw thom yorke there in april, and it was actually not so terrible. i'm just extremely disappointed about massive attack. i paid 48 bucks for my ticket and it sounded like garbage.
 

 

[Sarah]

I can totally understand how disappointed you are... I've been there (I mean, physically I've been there, but also I've "been there" in terms of the disappointment of seeing one of your favorite bands in a totally dismal venue).
 
I'd really encourage you to write to the band or something, tell them it's a horrible place to see a show and how disappointing it was, and ask them to look into other venues when they come back to Boston. It can't hurt, and who knows, maybe they will send you something cool to make up for your crappy show

 

[Laokid18]

The last show I went to was great, but sounded like Crap. Me and my brother saw The Damned on Valentines Day/Chinese new year weekend at some tiny bar called Slim's in the middle of San Fran. Absolutely  the worst sounding show I have ever been to, the opening acts were all horrible to, but The Damned played 2 hours of great tunes it was a great night.

 

[salannelson]

Quote:

I can totally understand how disappointed you are... I've been there (I mean, physically I've been there, but also I've "been there" in terms of the disappointment of seeing one of your favorite bands in a totally dismal venue).
 
I'd really encourage you to write to the band or something, tell them it's a horrible place to see a show and how disappointing it was, and ask them to look into other venues when they come back to Boston. It can't hurt, and who knows, maybe they will send you something cool to make up for your crappy show

good idea. the worst they can do is ignore my message...

 

[daigo]

I think venue makes a difference.  Arenas tend to be terrible for the most part.  The space is too large to really get good sound for every single seat.  Smaller theater type venues have been decent though, from the few live concerts I've been to. 
 
However, the atmosphere is also a part of the experience, and it's awesome to be a room full of people who enjoys the same type of music you do. 

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Sound now in large theaters or large venues has the potential now to be better than it used to be.  More bands/venues are using line array speakers rather than the big box speakers.  The line array speakers can sound good and better than box speakers for larger venues.
 
The worst sound I experienced at a rock concert was a Van Halen concert in the late 80s in Memorial Coliseum in Portland Oregon.  Lots of echo and reverberation.  I was back behind the fill speakers that were midway between the stage and the back of the coliseum.  The fill speakers were out of sync with the main stage speakers.  Just a disaster for sound.  I swore off large indoor concerts after that.  Haven't been to a big rock concert since.
 
I'd rather go to a smaller rock concert that can fit in an actual performing arts hall and with fans that aren't going to trash the place.  Symphony concerts are also always good.

 

[kwitel]

Saw them last night at The Beacon in Manahttan; could not have sounded better.
Abslolutely brilliant show.

 

[salannelson]

Quote:

Saw them last night at The Beacon in Manahttan; could not have sounded better.
Abslolutely brilliant show.

I guess it was the pit known as the Orpheum Theatre that was the cause of the awful sound. I should change the title of this thread to "I don't want to see a show at the Orpheum ever again". I'm glad you didn't experience my problem. What did you think of Thievery Corp?

 

[kwitel]

Quote:

I guess it was the pit known as the Orpheum Theatre that was the cause of the awful sound. I should change the title of this thread to "I don't want to see a show at the Orpheum ever again". I'm glad you didn't experience my problem. What did you think of Thievery Corp?

Incredible.
Its a shame you didnt get to experience it properly; this one of the best sounding shows Ive ever been too (Beacons accoustics are legendary).
I dont think there was ever less than 10 people on stage during their set.
 
Im a hug Thievery fan so they can do no harm by me...

 

[salannelson]

Quote:

Incredible.
Its a shame you didnt get to experience it properly; this one of the best sounding shows Ive ever been too (Beacons accoustics are legendary).
I dont think there was ever less than 10 people on stage during their set.
 
Im a hug Thievery fan so they can do no harm by me...

I had never heard of Thievery before buying my tickets. For some reason I didn't bother to look them up and see what they were like. A friend told me he liked them but that was the extent of it. I honestly wasn't that much of a fan. It was OK in my book, but not something I'd buy and listen to.

 

[kwitel]

Quote:

I had never heard of Thievery before buying my tickets. For some reason I didn't bother to look them up and see what they were like. A friend told me he liked them but that was the extent of it. I honestly wasn't that much of a fan. It was OK in my book, but not something I'd buy and listen to.

Interesting that you like trip Hop but not Downtempo/Downbeat; a natural progression from one to the next IMO.
 

 

[salannelson]

I don't know, it just wasn't my cup of tea