Off the top of my head I'm struggling to remember the venue but the band were the music. Love them but that night made me deaf as a post for the best part of a fortnight. Ten years playing with jackhammers, augers, compressors and wackers Thrown in with djing has given me deafness in the not too distant future to look forward to.
I saw them again at Hammersmith in November last year and i'm sure they'd turned it down from the kind of levels they used to play at back in the day.....I suppose thats the modern world of health `n' safety for ya. They used to be down right dangerous when they could get away with it though.
Thought I had posted on this but obviously hadn't.
Wishbone Ash at The Marquee. A one-off gig during their peak using the same equipment they would use at Wembley Arena a few days later. Ear-shattering.
Outdoor gigs may be louder simply because of the amount of equipment used and the need for volume to cover a larger area but they do not seem as loud to the listener IMO. My ears never used to ring in the same way they did after attending a gig at the Marquee or even Hammersmith Odeon, Brixton Academy or similar mid-sized venues.
Quietest was the Eagles in Bangkok. I don't know if they had turned it down due to the attendance of then prime-minister Thaksin Shinawatra or if they kept it low so that Thais could still talk on their mobile phones! Probably the only gig I have been to that was not loud enough.
I saw Nektar a few times and they were particularly loud at the Dagenham Roundhouse. They played for 3 hours too. I an sure seeing so much loud music has damaged my hearing
The Damned at the Sundowner (many, many moons ago), Charing Cross Rd. Was right in front of the speakers with my brother. Our ears were not fit for purpose for many days afterwards.
Open Air for me was the Madness gig at the first Madstock in 1992.
"More than 75,000 fans jumping up and down together during One Step Beyond shook the ground so hard it registered five on the Richter scale on August 8.
Startled neighbours called the police who then evacuated three eight-storey tower blocks thinking London had been hit by an earthquake. The same thing happened at exactly the same time the next day.
During One Step Beyond, the crowd began to stamp its feet in strict time, and in a freak of geophysics the sediments of the London basin amplified the stamping to a level that set the buildings rocking too."
Indoors - a few stick out, but The Icicle Works at The Town & Country club on several occasions stand out...particularly as we had a habit of standing front right...next to the stacked speakers!!
HAPPY DAYS!!!! (^_^) *
*my interpretation of smiley face with ear-protectors!!! ;-)
It's interesting for me reading this thread. I detect a slightly flippant and vaguely amused attitude by those of you that have experienced 'problems' after being exposed to loud music. I guess when i was a young man, i would have reacted in a similar way. Not now though. I have damaged hearing, though the source of my hearing problems is most likely 'industrial hearing damage' As i rarely attended live music, but worked all my time in factories. Health & Safety wasn't taken quite as seriously back then. I have to use a hearing aid (i really need two) just to hear normal conversation in my own home. Hearing in any sort of noisy enviroment is virtually impossible for me now. Why do i tell you this? Because it ain't funny lads/lasses. It's very socially isolating. People sometimes reassure me by saying 'well it's not so bad, you've not lost your sight' and they're right on both counts. But believe me, hearing loss is unpleasant. What's more in most cases, damage to your ears is avoidable. Use ear protectors whenever necessary. If you insist on going to 'rock concerts' use ear plugs, stay back from the speakers. Treat your ears as being as valuable as your eyes. Don't end up like me.............................................It ain't fun or funny.
It's interesting for me reading this thread. I detect a slightly flippant and vaguely amused attitude by those of you that have experienced 'problems' after being exposed to loud music.
I don't know if it's flippant. Music has brought a lot of pleasure over my lifetime - and, still does. I suppose I think two things - my deafness (not severe, I might add) seems like a price worth paying to me and, secondly, I can't do much about it now. I fully accept that, in your case, where your hearing has been damaged by work that there is an element of regret or bitterness.
I guess it's a case of how deaf you are. I find hearing things in crowded pubs difficult. It does have a benefit, of course - I can pretend not to hear my wife when I want to (smiley face thingy)
I've definitely got a touch of tinitus after years of loud music, can be quite annoying when I'm trying to sleep at times. Have to admit I do wear plugs now when I go to gigs but before I did the loudest bands I've seen are: Metallica, Bradford St Georges Hall on the Justice For All tour and Living Colour, Leeds Uni around1990. The latter was also the hottest - perspired my plums off that night.
Ah, plenty to mention here, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, UFO, but what I remember most is the Pink Floyd Division Bell tour In Nijmegen. The ground was literally vibrating, plus it was the best concert I've ever seen.
Aba Shanti I sound system at the Bang Face Weekender a few years back. People handing out ear defenders before letting you in. I now know what a wall of sound sounds like!
The Monkees at Wembley - it wasn't the music that was particularly loud, but the screaming. I was only about 8 or 9 at the time and came out totally deaf. I suffer from tinnitus now and wonder if that was one of the causes.
Another vote for Motorhead at Hammersmith Odeon on the Bomber tour, I remember at one stage sitting down in my seat and the difference in noise as the sound passed over my head was about 20 decibels quieter. When I stood back up it was like being hit by a physical force of sound- good bomber light rig too!
Rush were rather loud at the O2 last year but the loudest gig I've ever been to was at The Lakeland Arena, Florida. Saw Def Leppard in 1998, it was so loud my ears were ringing for a few days, probably part of the reason why my hearing is not as good as it should be.
stiff little fingers at leeds university refrectory hall in about 1985 definitely the loudest.heard nothing but Alternative ulster for days afterwards.psychedelic furs at the brixton academy in early 90s : they were well past it and a bunch of noisy gits .
Comments
I saw them again at Hammersmith in November last year and i'm sure they'd turned it down from the kind of levels they used to play at back in the day.....I suppose thats the modern world of health `n' safety for ya.
They used to be down right dangerous when they could get away with it though.
Wishbone Ash at The Marquee. A one-off gig during their peak using the same equipment they would use at Wembley Arena a few days later. Ear-shattering.
Outdoor gigs may be louder simply because of the amount of equipment used and the need for volume to cover a larger area but they do not seem as loud to the listener IMO. My ears never used to ring in the same way they did after attending a gig at the Marquee or even Hammersmith Odeon, Brixton Academy or similar mid-sized venues.
Quietest was the Eagles in Bangkok. I don't know if they had turned it down due to the attendance of then prime-minister Thaksin Shinawatra or if they kept it low so that Thais could still talk on their mobile phones! Probably the only gig I have been to that was not loud enough.
"More than 75,000 fans jumping up and down together during One Step Beyond shook the ground so hard it registered five on the Richter scale on August 8.
Startled neighbours called the police who then evacuated three eight-storey tower blocks thinking London had been hit by an earthquake. The same thing happened at exactly the same time the next day.
During One Step Beyond, the crowd began to stamp its feet in strict time, and in a freak of geophysics the sediments of the London basin amplified the stamping to a level that set the buildings rocking too."
Indoors - a few stick out, but The Icicle Works at The Town & Country club on several occasions stand out...particularly as we had a habit of standing front right...next to the stacked speakers!!
HAPPY DAYS!!!! (^_^) *
*my interpretation of smiley face with ear-protectors!!! ;-)
I guess when i was a young man, i would have reacted in a similar way.
Not now though. I have damaged hearing, though the source of my hearing problems is most likely 'industrial hearing damage' As i rarely attended live music, but worked all my time in factories. Health & Safety wasn't taken quite as seriously back then.
I have to use a hearing aid (i really need two) just to hear normal conversation in my own home. Hearing in any sort of noisy enviroment is virtually impossible for me now.
Why do i tell you this? Because it ain't funny lads/lasses. It's very socially isolating.
People sometimes reassure me by saying 'well it's not so bad, you've not lost your sight' and they're right on both counts. But believe me, hearing loss is unpleasant.
What's more in most cases, damage to your ears is avoidable. Use ear protectors whenever necessary.
If you insist on going to 'rock concerts' use ear plugs, stay back from the speakers.
Treat your ears as being as valuable as your eyes.
Don't end up like me.............................................It ain't fun or funny.
I guess it's a case of how deaf you are. I find hearing things in crowded pubs difficult. It does have a benefit, of course - I can pretend not to hear my wife when I want to (smiley face thingy)
Metallica, Bradford St Georges Hall on the Justice For All tour and Living Colour, Leeds Uni around1990. The latter was also the hottest - perspired my plums off that night.
Loudest in a small venue - U2 at the Lyceum in around 81/2 completely blew me away
Other notables where the ears were ringing for days
Thin Lizzy (mid to late 70's) at the Hammersmith Odeon
The Who - Charlton
Silverhead, Roundhouse Camden.
Most of the gigs at Thames poly on a friday night were loud.
From the safety of my house, I quite like the idea of the "Balcony Bounce"!
shinkicker.hubpages.com/hub/The-Glasgow-Apollo-Theatre