Walked out of a gig last night..

Offset

I've only ever walked out of two gigs, and for very different reasons.

First was The Manics, about 25 or so years ago.  The were playing at The Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth and they were SO loud I thought my ears would start bleeding.  Me and my mate lasted one song and then listened to the rest from a bar in an adjacent room.

The second, I'm afraid to say, was Wilko Johnson and sadly it was only 4 months before he died.  He was playing in Cheltenham Town Hall; the acoustics/mix/sound were appalling but with the exception of Norman Watt-Roy's bass, so was the music.  Wilko could never sing and the tracks just blurred into the same soundtrack.  We left around half time with heavy hearts.  I prefer to remember him at the peak of his powers with Dr Feelgood.

Grumpyrocker

Ghost in Cardiff in 2019.

Support band sounded like static. You could hardly anything in it as music. And it was deafening. Even with ear defenders my shell-shocked 11yo son was in tears and I thought we were going to have to leave his first ever gig.

I gave my son my in ears to wear under his ear defenders and we persevered, his choice. Second support band still sounded crap but was musical enough that my son coped better. 

Thankfully Ghost sounded amazing. One of the best live mixes I've heard. Loud, but very clear and you could hear every instrument and vocals clearly. In the end my sons said it was their best night ever.

But why did the support bands sound so shite? The first one actually painful? Given Ghost sounded amazing on the same sound system.

ICBM

Grumpyrocker said:

But why did the support bands sound so shite? The first one actually painful? Given Ghost sounded amazing on the same sound system.

Intentional sabotage by the sound engineers.

Philly_Q

I've never seen Ghost, but I would expect them t have a good live sound, they're just that kind of band.  Very professional.  I don't know why the support band sounded shite, but ICBM's probably right.

lustycourtier

ICBM said:

Grumpyrocker said:

But why did the support bands sound so shite? The first one actually painful? Given Ghost sounded amazing on the same sound system.

Intentional sabotage by the sound engineers.

The Sharon Osbourne effect

digitalscream

Yeah...had exactly this when I went to see Soundgarden at Brixton Academy a number of years back with a bunch of mates. There was no top end at all, so all that we could hear was mushy muffled crap to the point where none of the songs were actually recognisable at all. A few of us left after 20 minutes and went to the chicken place round the corner (fabulous food, by the way), and there was a guy busking under the bridge.

He played Black Hole Sun, and it was the first Soundgarden song we'd heard all night.

fretmeister

Paul_C said:

The only one I ever walked out of (that I can recall) was Crass back in the 80s.

"What?" I hear you say, "surely Crass couldn't have been that bad?"

I googled to check the date and found this, so you can decide for yourselves.

https://loonies.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-northampton-roadmender-27-feb-1982

We both walked out of Walter Trout!

Painfully loud - There was definitely people with permanently damaged hearing loss that night.

Habanero

I walked out of Motley Crue at Wembley Arena. I wasn't really a fan, but I did like the support acts White Lion and Skid Row. As it happened MC took the stage so late I would have likely missed the last train home if I stayed, so left after 3 songs.

Grumpyrocker

Philly_Q said:

I've never seen Ghost, but I would expect them t have a good live sound, they're just that kind of band.  

I've never heard an arena band sound that good. It was delightful. Loud but not too loud either. Loads of footage on YT of the gig and you can hear how clear it was even from people's phones. 

Paul_C

fretmeister said:

Paul_C said:

The only one I ever walked out of (that I can recall) was Crass back in the 80s.

"What?" I hear you say, "surely Crass couldn't have been that bad?"

I googled to check the date and found this, so you can decide for yourselves.

https://loonies.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-northampton-roadmender-27-feb-1982

We both walked out of Walter Trout!

Painfully loud - There was definitely people with permanently damaged hearing loss that night.

Heh - I'd forgotten that one

It was dreadfully loud.

rlw

And this is where part of the cost of JoBo tickets goes - getting the sound just right.   Loud but not too loud, crystal clear but never strident, as well balanced as sitting on the sofa at home listening to the live album.  And every line of the vocals audible.

Saw him at Greenwich Meantime - outdoors, windy night - and the sound was perfect.  You could almost hear when he changed picks but it was never tiring.

With BCC at Hammersmith, it was very loud but balanced, lots of highs and lows but so well put together it was a joy.

Unlike Eric Gales at the Crescent in York - a very small room and not really one in which to extend his high headroom amps and his cutting tone on the guitar.  I stuck it out but a mate couldn't cope. 

cruxiform

Habanero said:

I walked out of Motley Crue at Wembley Arena. I wasn't really a fan, but I did like the support acts White Lion and Skid Row. As it happened MC took the stage so late I would have likely missed the last train home if I stayed, so left after 3 songs.

How weird, I was just about to post about that gig! It was '89 wasn't it?

I fell asleep during White Lion's set, the only time I have at a gig.

Philly_Q

cruxiform said:

I fell asleep during White Lion's set, the only time I have at a gig.

You'll probably never get an opportunity to see them again!

crunchman

Saw Jethro Tull at the Shepherd's Bush Empire a little while back.  We were up the top and the sound in the first half was awful.  It was good in the second half.  I can only think that someone had forgotten to turn the amps on for the top bank of speakers.

duotone

Consistently the worst sound for me was at Islington Academy. No bass just treble. I can still hear it now, Ouch!

RocknRollDave

rlw said:

And this is where part of the cost of JoBo tickets goes - getting the sound just right.   Loud but not too loud, crystal clear but never strident, as well balanced as sitting on the sofa at home listening to the live album.  And every line of the vocals audible.

Saw him at Greenwich Meantime - outdoors, windy night - and the sound was perfect.  You could almost hear when he changed picks but it was never tiring.

What?! We have to pay extra for decent sound?! Not buying that, sorry…

rlw

RocknRollDave said:

rlw said:

And this is where part of the cost of JoBo tickets goes - getting the sound just right.   Loud but not too loud, crystal clear but never strident, as well balanced as sitting on the sofa at home listening to the live album.  And every line of the vocals audible.

Saw him at Greenwich Meantime - outdoors, windy night - and the sound was perfect.  You could almost hear when he changed picks but it was never tiring.

What?! We have to pay extra for decent sound?! Not buying that, sorry…

Its part of the package so not exactly extra.  He could have rented backline and make the best of it but that's not his way.

All I'm saying is that he brings some well fancy kit with him and has proper sound people who know him and his sound, so he's not reliant on the local soundman.  And that costs.  And it's worth it.

Fingers657

Only gig I’ve walked out of because of rubbish sound was Barry White and his love unlimited orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall London.
The sound was awful.
lucky the tickets were freebies.

Philly_Q

rlw said:

RocknRollDave said:

rlw said:

And this is where part of the cost of JoBo tickets goes - getting the sound just right.   Loud but not too loud, crystal clear but never strident, as well balanced as sitting on the sofa at home listening to the live album.  And every line of the vocals audible.

Saw him at Greenwich Meantime - outdoors, windy night - and the sound was perfect.  You could almost hear when he changed picks but it was never tiring.

What?! We have to pay extra for decent sound?! Not buying that, sorry…

Its part of the package so not exactly extra.  He could have rented backline and make the best of it but that's not his way.

All I'm saying is that he brings some well fancy kit with him and has proper sound people who know him and his sound, so he's not reliant on the local soundman.  And that costs.  And it's worth it.

You can also buy your own, living-room sized version of his backline from his online store.

CaseOfAce

rlw said:

RocknRollDave said:

rlw said:

And this is where part of the cost of JoBo tickets goes - getting the sound just right.   Loud but not too loud, crystal clear but never strident, as well balanced as sitting on the sofa at home listening to the live album.  And every line of the vocals audible.

Saw him at Greenwich Meantime - outdoors, windy night - and the sound was perfect.  You could almost hear when he changed picks but it was never tiring.

What?! We have to pay extra for decent sound?! Not buying that, sorry…

Its part of the package so not exactly extra.  He could have rented backline and make the best of it but that's not his way.

All I'm saying is that he brings some well fancy kit with him and has proper sound people who know him and his sound, so he's not reliant on the local soundman.  And that costs.  And it's worth it.

I walked out of a Joe Bonamassa gig at a tiny club back when he was first emerging - not because the sound was bad - I was bored. He was doing this acoustic interlude in the middle and doing this hammering on and pull off thing and I thought ..after an avalanche of cliched blues material I've had enough of this. The owner wasn't best impressed but..hey .. it's my choice / my money.

Then again I saw Black Country Communion a few years back at Hammersmith Odeon and thought Jo Bo played some phenomenal guitar with them. That solo on Cold is superb he does - and One Last Soul . Wow!!. It helps that they have a) great tunes and b) Glen Hughes.
They even take a Bonamassa tune and make it so much better - Ballad Of John Henry- off the Live In Europe album. It's so much ....bigger ... with more intent to it...

I think he's much better as a rock guitarist than as a bluesman - but it's just not the genre he wants to be recognised for. A real shame...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiFBKCPJMbs