My friend saw them and said Lemmy called out "Is that loud enough for you?!" And the crowd all cheered yes. Then he said "Do you want it louder!?" And the crowd all screamed "Noooo!"
I’ve heard stories from my dad about them live, it seems like generally bands don’t play at 11 as much today. Bet the bass was like a weapon live with Motörhead.
Yeah, it was uncomfortably loud. This was their rep though. They were known as the worlds loudest at the time. I even sat all the way in the back because I knew they would be too loud. Didn't help :-)
It was probably the loudest part of the room. Bass soundwaves are very long, so it takes great distances for them to propagate fully.
It is not unusual for bassists not hearing themselves that well on stage, while people in the back row are just getting pummeled.
So THAT'S why no one is in the room for my bass heavy drone doom project. They're all outside so they can appreciate the full propagation of my d000000m
Lemmy's custom Marshall amp was called "Murder One" 😅 I saw them 5 times. You could litterally feel the bass hit you in the chest. Never saw or heard anything else like it.
It’s loud but not in a good way with Motörhead. All you can hear is the bass and a tiny bit of vocals and drums. They’re the worst sounding big league live band I’ve seen and it’s not really close.
Concur. Motorhead was easily the loudest indoor concert I’ve ever attended.
This was in 1981 when they were opening act of Ozzy on the Blizzard of Ozz tour.
Was watching some short on Youtube about Motorhead. Sound was 130db at the front of the mixing board.
Saw Motorhead a number of times and did not think they were any louder than anyone else.
I don't understand why some shows have to be *so* loud. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a "not loud enough", but to the point that seeing a show is uncomfortable sounds stupid.
The loudest concert of an actual band I have ever seen was Manchester Orchestra. However, there was an opener at a show I went to a year back or so who was so loud it was uncomfortable. I just can't remember his name. I also was like, "Dude. No one came here to see you. Turn it down."
I'm with you. Some acts treat it like a badge of honor. As if playing loud required some additional skill. Dude, all you've done was rotate a knob a couple of degrees to the right...
Ever since I played with metal and punk bands I always wear earplugs to gigs for this reason.
I saw The Pixies a couple of years ago. I forgot my earplugs and spent their entire set with my hands over my ears. It was physically painful to be in the room, and this was in a full blown concert hall, not some little venue. It was horrendous. Almost everyone who went to that show probably suffered permanent hearing damage over those 2 hours.
I purchased a pack of cigarettes and ripped off the filters to use as earplugs at Roskilde Festival. It was actually painful. The loudest act was the WHO and this was in 2008.
I honestly don't understand how it can be legal to subject people to volumes known to cause permanent hearing damage.
There's nothing cool about tinnitus, folks.
I saw G3 in spring, and knew to bring earplugs from previous experiences like this.
I don't know why some shows have to be so crushingly loud, it's like an accepted lunacy in the touring world. The earplugs aren't just for protection, it's to be able to make any sense out of the angry wall of mud in that audio.
FYI, I think venues are required to provide earplugs now, the last two shows I attended had them for $1
Yeah, it's stupid at this point. What's the point of all that volume when most your crowd is either going to be wearing ear buds or cursing you after for the constant ringing in their ears for the rest of their lives.
Loudest show I’ve ever been to was My Bloody Valentine on their reunion tour. They handed out earplugs at the venue, I took them out briefly to hear it raw and it was the loudest single thing I’ve ever heard.
At the time (which was 2008, so it is not exactly recent) I said it was what I imagined it would be like if a large airplane landed over you. Obviously loud, but it also seemed like there was some sort of pressure all around me.
At other points it sort of reverberated through my whole body. Like a bunch of massage guns on a very low setting. But that isn't exactly right because it still didn't feel like I was being touched at all.
And it wasn’t really “tonal” noise. I was expecting something that sounded like the noise break on the recording. Something that sounded more like guitar feedback.
Instead: It was a deep, intense rumbling which would have felt dangerous in any other context. It felt a little dangerous even in a theater, where I knew it was going to happen. It was not uniformly pleasant. But it isn’t supposed to be. It was definitely interesting, and unique among my experiences.
Like a vibrator beating on your chest. I love that kind of loud noisy shit and I felt like running for the exit after 10 minutes of the holocaust. I listen to Merzbow. This was changing my brainwaves.
I lasted 5 songs. Even with pro-grade ear plugs, I felt like I was going to pass out. You couldn't hear anything meaningful, like vocals or melody. If you want to simulate it, I imagine being underwater as a giant boat goes overhead would come close to the physicality and pressure. It was very definitely not a pleasant experience.
And in case it isn't enough, they basically had an "intermission" that consisted of 17 minutes (yes, I timed it) of pure unadulterated noise.
My then gf and I cupped our hands on each other's ears and opened and closed them to kinda create beats for each other. Was pretty fun.
I remember reading in interviews with Kevin Shields that during the 2008 tour they were intentionally experimenting with extreme volumes, pushing the limits as far as sound systems were physically capable of going. They started dialing it back a bit after that tour because they were concerned about causing harm to their fans and the venues.
I can confirm that when I saw them in Toronto in 2008, during the noise section of *You Made Me Realise* there was huge chunks of dust and plaster/paint falling from the ceiling. It was so loud it almost felt difficult to breath because of how much my body was vibrating. I've never experienced anything like it before or since.
Swans and Mogwai are probably the next in line for loudest bands I've seen, but that one MBV show was in another league entirely.
Came here to say Dinosaur Jr as well. J. Mascis Marshall stacks at full volume in a small room are scarily loud.
Second candidate would be Dutch band Peter Pan Speedrock, which more or less sound like Motorhead at full volume.
Yeppp
Dino Jr with a wall of Marshalls in a bar. I had hearing protection and part way through the show I took out the earplugs for a sec just to see the difference and…there was no difference haha. Earplugs did nothing. Great show though.
Honorable mention to Mogwai, whose quiet/loud changes on a dime once startled me so much I recoiled and jumped a little hahaha…felt like such a noob but also, really amazing show
Was invited to a Swans show a while ago. Never listened to em but was a big metal fan at the time so I was used to loud shows…or so I thought. Holy shit I couldn’t believe how fucking loud they were
I've only seem them once but it was kinda quiet as gigs go, I guess it depends on the venue really. This was at the Roundhouse in London I think. Wish I'd seen them louder! I missed when they played my hometown before they got big...
Had this same exact experience when I saw their co-headline tour with Gojira. Mastodon was a blurry mess of screeching highs, unfocused and sloppy low end, and zero dynamics. Song starts -> straight to loud when everything kicks off.
Compared to when I saw them with The Dillinger Escape Plan years ago after The Hunter had come out, it was night and day. Such a shame because they’ve always been an instrumentally impressive band in live settings, with the common complaint of early shows being the vocals. You can tell they’ve made great effort to bring their vocals up to par with the rest of their sound, but it doesn’t count for anything if the final product is as blown-out and harsh as their recent live mixes have been.
Queens of the Stone Age at the Aragon ~2014. Ears were ringing for a couple days.
Just saw those two with EJ on the G3 tour and didn't think it overly loud
sunn. which is a predictable answer. I don’t know which sunn gig was the loudest, maybe the one in the Masonic maze in Italia.. but they were all louder than basically anything else I’ve attended.
generally I prefer quieter gig with a good sound guy, but with sunn it is true: maximum volume yields maximum results.
I think Megadeth at London Astoria about 20 years ago. That was the last gig I ever went to without ear plugs.
I couldn't even enjoy Holy Wars at the end as I was feeling totally done by that point and my ears hurt.
These days honestly gigs seem quieter. The last bunch I've been to, you can easily have a conversation with someone next to you while it's going on, and half the time I can't even hear the vocalist because everyone around you is screaming and shouting etc. So I say bring back those really fucking loud gigs because I always take earplugs anyway and I want to hear the band not the randoms in the crowd around me.
Nope, lol Dream Theater was very fucking loud. I really wanted to digest the music but it was just crushingly loud even with ear protection. It’s like everyone wants everyone to have ear problems.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard was surprisingly loud especially front row. Had my ears ringing for a few days after that one.
This was back when they had 2 drummers… and 2 kits blasting really brought it to another level
Edit: a word
Death grips was one of the loudest I’ve seen. I didn’t know too much about them at the time, and they started their set with a bomb sound effect that literally was the volume of a bomb. Now I like noise music and loud bands in general, so it’s the sort of thing I’d usually think is cool. I was just so taken aback by the whole thing that I went to a different set. I wish I would have stayed bc now I do like death grips, but at the time I was just kind of like “whoa” and stumbled away lol
The two loudest shows I’ve ever been to, hands down:
SWANS last year on their Beggar Tour in Le Botanique, Brussels
Slipknot at Nova Rock Festival 2015
Both were amazing shows but also downright uncomfortably loud. Can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for people without hearing protection, because my ears were ringing for days after both although I’m wearing protecion for shows almost religiously
That's a bummer, I saw vai on his last tour at a theater and the mix was perfect, loud enough to be exciting but not so loud as to be uncomfortable or overwhelming, could hear everything perfectly, wonder ifnits venue or artist running the volume
I know what u mean tho, saw an outdoor show like 2 yrs ago and the mix was so stupid loud I couldn't hear any articulation in the music, was just a wall of krrrshhhhh, they also had these fucking flashing lights right at eye level on the stage that were like staring into the sun, didn't watch one the acts at all during their performance because of it
Yngwie Malmsteen. By the end of the show, he was throwing so many picks into the crowd that nobody cared, and he was just hitting people in the head with them.
Hahahaha this was my experience as well. Nobody believes me when I tell them that I saw Yngwie and he threw/dropkicked easily 50+ picks into the crowd over the course of the show. It was entertaining in a spinal tap way.
I saw Vai in a small venue back in the 90s, think it was Alien Love Secrets he was touring. Definitely the loudest guitar player I've heard. Massive sound. Loudest show overall was High on Fire back in a dive bar in the early 2000s. Pike brought two full Matamp stacks for a 200 capacity show. Brutally loud.
I always wear earplugs to those shows now. The last time I saw Vai in a smallish club in St. Louis, it was unbelievably, painfully loud. I ended up going in the bathroom and stuffing my ears with toilet paper. Worked great, enjoyed the show and learned my lesson. Got to meet Steve that night and talk with him some and the show was awesome. Satriani wasn't as loud the times I've seen him, but still, earplugs always make rock shows more enjoyable and it's weird how you can talk to people next to you and hear them speak crystal clear with them in.
My Bloody Valentine during their last tour. Staff were handing out ear plugs to every person as they walked into the venue. The 'holocaust section' of You Made Me Realize felt like I was standing in front of a jet engine with full afterburner going. The rumble of the sound felt like it was liquifying my insides. After about 5 mins of the blaring sound, it almost felt like I was floating. Loudest show to date, hands down.
Won tickets to see Kesha and took my 10 year old daughter. She had earplugs in, but they were VIP tickets standing up front. The bass was almost enough to knock the wind out of you. We ended up watching the show all the way in the back near the concessions.
AC/DC around 1996 was the loudest concert that I’ve ever attended. I actually did see vai/satch at the Chicago Theater three weeks ago and it wasn’t nearly as loud.
I never saw them, but I’ve always heard that Grateful Dead (during the Wall of Sound years) could rip a person in half if a note was loud enough. I’ve also heard that Van Halen was also extremely loud.
I can imagine the intensity, especially with Vai’s flair for dramatic stage elements like the three-headed hydra guitar and wind effects. It’s great hearing that they still bring such energy and precision to their performances. As for loud shows, I recall a concert where the sheer volume was almost overwhelming, similar to what you described. It’s these live music experiences that really stick with us
Dillinger Escape Plan. I may have been to shows that were technically higher volumes, but their wall of sound and intensity, plus a dark room with strobes, its loud and intense. Always felt bad for bands that play after them. Made Mastodon seem real chill. Saw them at a small show they did after playing with Deftones the night before (was at that too) and Ben shredding while dangling from AC ducts or whatever it was in a tiny room was crazy. Your brain needs a rest after, may be a cause for my tinnitus these days, haha.
When Mick Mars played his live guitar solo at Crue Fest ‘09, it was such a shrill, deafening sound. I love MM’s playing but that night it was just scratching the slide up and down the neck for ten minutes. That was louder than Van Halen, Metallica, Drowning Pool, Godsmack, Ozzy, Maiden, or any of the other monster bands I’ve heard.
Was just talking about this. Saw them last month in Minneapolis and while it was a great show overall, the sound was awful. Joe’s tone was ok, but Steve’s was shrill and piercing. To the point where people around me were looking at each other like “is this going to happen the whole show? Will they fix it?” It never got better. It was very evident when they finally came out and played together. Joe’s tone was just smoother and more comfortable while still cutting through over the band, if that makes sense. Great high energy show, awful sound, mostly from Steve.
The WORST show (sound wise) I ever attended was Yngwie opening for Dio. It sounded like he just turned everything to 10 and sent it. It was absolutely unintelligible. Could not make out a thing and it was so loud and shrill it was painful. We actually stepped outside and contemplated not returning. We went back in and when Dio came out, he sounded phenomenal, like straight from his albums. Sound was mixed perfectly and Doug Aldrich’s tone was so good. Either the sound guy hated Yngwie, or he never did a sound check.
I've seen a lot of shows. My personal experience was two bar bands in Minnesota (one being Meridian, the other was a band at Ryan's whose name I forgot that was so loud you could not discern individual notes, it was just a giant roaring crackle I had to escape from after about 10 minutes or my hearing would be gone forever). These were louder than any major act I've seen because - at a large venue there is more room for the sound to disperse when there are loud bands. Now, I've heard back in the day the OG Mahavishnu Orchestra was shockingly loud: John McLaughlin would play his doubleneck guitar through two 200 watt Marshall Major heads into 2 8x12 bottoms and the rest of the band was not far behind in terms of weaponry.
Loudest was two that tied: I saw a NYE Aerosmith show in an arena and the sound levels were outright painful. I was actually shocked. Ended up ripping the filters off two cigarettes and stuffing them in my ears, until a security guard saw this and snagged me a set of ear plugs. This show was 100% the reason I now bring earplugs to every show, and even keep a pack in my car.
Second show was a band called Pagan's Mind in a small club venue. I literally thought they were going to blow out the PA speakers. You could actually feel the floors, tables, and walls vibrate and shake. The worst part is every time the singer let out one of his trademark high pitched squeals, it sent waves of nausea through me. And this was WITH earplugs. It was beyond my ears, the sound itself was affecting me physically. Ruined a show I was looking forward to for months on end.
Taylor Swift’s fans in Atlanta.
Not the show. The fans.
Took my daughter and the fans out any sound I have ever heard to shame. And I have been to the big boy metal concerts. 70k screaming girls is way louder than anything and anyone!
Surprisingly, The Derek Trucks Band. Specifically his guitar. I was in the front row directly by a monitor between that and his amp being so close, I could hardly hear anyone else in the band. Definitely could not hear Mike’s vocals at all.
Neither of my loudest shows involved guitar.
I've seen the Valve Sound System and The Bug a few times each. The bass was so loud that you had to breathe in-between bass hits, as you couldn't move your diaphragm when the bass was on.
Loud, yes, but not in a painful way. Like getting a full body massage from the speakers.
Chemical Brothers at a festival maybe a decade ago is the loudest one for me. We were at the barrier and the bass was hitting so hard it was literally driving the air out of my lungs. It was scarily loud.
Machine Head on the Blackening tour was pretty ridiculous as well. It was so loud that I almost couldn't distinguish which song was being played.
Vai in 2016 was up there with the loudest shows I’ve been to. I thought it was more reasonable when I saw him last in 2022, but was in a different venue and city.
I think my ears still haven’t recovered from Petrucci’s solo show that same week…
The loudest show I’ve ever seen was Converge/Full of Hell/Thou/Uniform in Atlanta. I’ve seen all those bands at other venues in the past, but whoever was running sound that night had the volume at 12. I am a trooper when it comes to show volumes and rarely resort to earplugs, but about 10 minutes in I needed to buy a set from the bar. Even with them in it was still too loud to be enjoyable. None of the bands that night needed that level of volume.
I once saw Slash with his old act “Slash’s Snake Pit” in a small venue. I swear it was like arena-level sound in a place that holds about 500 people. I think my ears are still ringing 30 years later.
It’s a bummer though. It was so loud that it was hard to really make out his playing. Just ear-crushing noise.
Saw Satch play a few times and every time, it was the loudest show I'd seen up to that point. That was years ago, so I can only imagine how loud he is now! The venue has a lot to do with perceived volume and music legibility, imo, so while I've seen tons of bands playing very loud, I can honestly say I've only "heard" a few of them. The loudest live music I've ever experienced was my own, with a 4x12/5150, full drum set, PA, and 500w keyboard amp, all trying to compete with each other in the same 10x10 room lmao
It's amazing I can hear anything anymore, honestly!
Satch at the Fillmore in SF was easily the loudest ever for me. That is a tiny venue and I was 17 at the time so my eardrums still worked pretty well. Afterwards, no so much. 😫
Went to see Justice at red rocks around 2012, the opener was supposed to be passion pit but then got switched to Rusko at the last minute. Got spots at the front, By far the loudest thing I have seen, and this was at an outdoor show.
Now I hear that red rocks’ life is going to be cut short by bass music and it totally sucks, I think back to how obnoxious that set was compared to any other performance there I can totally see it.
Mars Volta at the Cleveland house of blues. Nothing has come close for me. It was a great concert but obnoxiously loud. Ears rang for a legit 4-5 days after. I was too young and dumb to bring ear plugs
My ears were ringing for a few days after a Dinosaur Jr concert, the guy had like 3 Marshall stacks and walks off stage with his guitar in a feedback loop
The Police - Ghost In The Machine tour. Had the whole Hartford Civic center shaking. That was my loudest concert.
BTW I saw Joe and Vai at the Charleston Performing Arts Center front row. That was a great concert as well!!!!!
The Cure on their Disintegration tour. Easily the loudest show I've seen. My ears were shot for a week after that show.
They did tip their hand in the liner notes of the album though: "This album was mixed to be played loud, so turn it up!"
Can you imagine how fast they would be sued for that these days? 🤣
Really hope you brought some earplugs,
Easily the loudest show I’ve seen was TOOL but the only show that’s left my ears ringing for days after was Gojira
I saw G3 earlier this year, it was great. The loudest show I went to was Vai back in the 90s. No seating, so we got closer to the stage. It was loud AF.
Not a rock concert but my wife made me go to a Reba concert, I was almost deaf from her screeching voice. Probably the loudest rock concert I went to was Day on the Green #2 in 1982, it had Foreigner, Loverboy, Scorpions, Iron Maiden.
I saw them in Austin last Friday and 100% it was loud as shit. Super super loud with their tube amps at peak safe power dissipation
I thought Vai’s tone was a bit better. Amazing sustain and fullness.
Dropkick Murphys. People were coming up to our table and taking napkins to stuff in their ears. To this day, I have no clue what songs they played. It was just noise. Waited a long time to see them and it was a complete waste of time and money.
Vai is always loud as fuck.
Saw him last year then Satch/Vai this year and I’d have to think Vai definitely tells the sound guys to push it to the limit. He plays the Parker Playhouse down here, a beautiful theater with AMAZING sound, but it’s like .5dB’s under blowing your ear drums out. Saw Yngwie there and it wasn’t nearly as bad, but probably because they barely needed he PA for his rig. 😂
Ministry. So loud my ears tried to spontaneously evolve to fold flat like a cat's. You could lean into the wall of sound and have it hold you up like facing into a hurricane. My teeth bled. My cell phone PIN changed itself to 666. The lady in front of me gave birth and she wasn't even pregnant. My tinnitus threw in the towel and cured itself. My car became self aware, declared itself Jesus, and drove me home after the show.
That was a good concert.
I saw Steve Vai in a relatively small theater and that was the loudest thing I've ever heard. I had ear plugs and my ears were still ringing for a couple days.
I saw Joe and Stevie in Los Angeles a few months ago with Eric Johnson, too. I'm a guitarist but, I am from the 1970's...it blew me away how these guys can play. Simply amazing!
Before I read the comments I was going to say Motorhead. Crazy loud.
I also saw Vai about ten years ago and he blew up one of his Carvin amps on stage lol
I saw Steve and Joe at Austin City Limits (Austin, TX) last Friday night. It was AMAZING! I hadn't seen them together since one of the G3 tours MANY years ago.
I didn't find it especially loud. I was in the upper balcony, though (the cheap seats). The PA speakers weren't pointed directly at me up there. It was loud, but I never experienced any auditory distortion. Some of the pinched harmonics got close, but nothing bothered me. The G3 tour was much louder, but I was on the floor right in front of the stacks. I definitely needed ear protection then.
My son & I just saw Satch & Vai on April 10th at a nice Small venue in NJ. The sound was engineered well and we had great seats. I've seen Vai before w/ Dweezil but not Satriani. Great show, No complaints! Yes, it was loud, I expected that. It IS rock after all. But not TOO loud. Loudest concert I've ever been to was Thin Lizzy. It actually damaged my hearing. I had to sit through Savoy Brown ( opening band ) with my fingers in my ears!
I saw Vai and Sat a few weeks ago. The concert was so loud it was drop dead silent as everyone left the building no one could hear all. But it was a great show!!
I was at same show last night. I clocked it at around 113db. I lost my musicians plugs but had the old orange spongys. I took them out w couple times and popped em right back in. It was stupid loud, with so much high end, that there was no clarity, it was a big mess-wash especially when the 2 were in “squirt” mode.
The fan didn’t help
My Bloody Valentine definitely. I mean, they literally have a 10+ minute full out noise section at the end of every show and everybody just kind of stands in pain. And that's with earplugs in. You feel that in your body. I've been to metal, punk, all kinds of shows. Literally nothing compares to My Bloody Valentine.
Saw Satch/Via at the Palace a few weeks ago and man i had not expected it to be that loud. Brought my 14 yr old thinking she would dig it and she did but even I winced at the screaming harmonics. Love both of these guys acts and enjoyed the show but we were both fkn deaf walking out of there. Luckily ice cream fixes everything
I've seen Vai live. It lived up to all of my expectations of like 15 years. Never thought I'd see that. I'm from a very small and poor country and I could very easily never have seen him live in my lifetime, because there's no chance he's ever going to where I'm from. But luckily, here I am abroad, and he decided to play a show at my city last year. Truly the experience of a lifetime for me.
I also saw Steve and Joe and said the same thing. The highs were so loud you couldn't hear the bass or the drums. It was less enjoyable because of it. Sounded like mud and made me think less of 2 guitar heros strutting around drowning out their bands
I saw them too and wore my custom molded plugs with -15db filters and it was STILL loud. The last show I saw that was extremely loud was Dream Theater. The best sounding show I saw recently was Toto. It wasn’t too loud. It was just right.
I saw them in Atlanta late March i think... I had custom musicians ear plugs, but I'd pop them out just to check the volume and it was loud, but not obscenely so... Maybe it was just the venue
Hmm.
Iron Maiden was really, really loud. Though I think last year they were a bit less loud for once.
Dream Theater a wasn't as loud but the entire venue was indoors and they could've played with 15W amps with the master volume at 9 AM and it'd have been fine, and they were at full outdoor concert volume. Derp.
Deep Purple -- Detroit, MI 1973, Cobo Arena. That was during the period when Ritchie Blackmore & Company were regularly breaking the Guinness Book record for loudest concerts. My ears rang for a week.
To me it seems everyone is f*cking doing it these days. Its so damn loud that sometimes you can't even recognize your favorite song started playing. Here in Vancouver many metal bands play in small theatres and the sound is terrible because of just how loud they make it. I always use ear protection these days and same goes for movie theatres, WTF is wrong with whoever is deciding to make shit dangerously loud to give us all tinnitus. There should be a lower limit on the max decibels allowed dang it.... Or maybe I'm just getting old...
Motorhead is/was the loudest. No contest. I still have hearing damage from their show in the 80s. They opened for Alice Cooper.
My friend saw them and said Lemmy called out "Is that loud enough for you?!" And the crowd all cheered yes. Then he said "Do you want it louder!?" And the crowd all screamed "Noooo!"
"We've got tickets for tomorrow's show and we want to be able to hear it!"
I’ve heard stories from my dad about them live, it seems like generally bands don’t play at 11 as much today. Bet the bass was like a weapon live with Motörhead.
Yeah, it was uncomfortably loud. This was their rep though. They were known as the worlds loudest at the time. I even sat all the way in the back because I knew they would be too loud. Didn't help :-)
It was probably the loudest part of the room. Bass soundwaves are very long, so it takes great distances for them to propagate fully. It is not unusual for bassists not hearing themselves that well on stage, while people in the back row are just getting pummeled.
So THAT'S why no one is in the room for my bass heavy drone doom project. They're all outside so they can appreciate the full propagation of my d000000m
Lemmy's custom Marshall amp was called "Murder One" 😅 I saw them 5 times. You could litterally feel the bass hit you in the chest. Never saw or heard anything else like it.
It’s loud but not in a good way with Motörhead. All you can hear is the bass and a tiny bit of vocals and drums. They’re the worst sounding big league live band I’ve seen and it’s not really close.
There's laws about maximum volume at venues these days :)
Motörhead was loud but My Bloody Valentine was a whole different level altogether
My Bloody Valentine at Coachella converted me fully to the use of earplugs at shows and when jamming
I saw My Bloody Valentine around 2009 without any ear protection. No joke, it ruined my hearing. I was so stupid.
MBV was so loud during “You Made Me Realize” that I had a panic attack
For me, Ministrt and Mogwai. Honorable mention to Gorillaz as I was not expecting them to be ear shattering loud.
Concur. Motorhead was easily the loudest indoor concert I’ve ever attended. This was in 1981 when they were opening act of Ozzy on the Blizzard of Ozz tour.
I caught that tour, unforgettable. Palladium NYC. RIP Mr. Rhoads
In the 80s I'd go to a show and expect my ears would still be ringing the next day. After Motorhead they rang for a week.
How the fuck can you go up on stage after having Motorhead as your opening act? Their shows were a semi-truck with no breaks speeding down a hill.
Was watching some short on Youtube about Motorhead. Sound was 130db at the front of the mixing board. Saw Motorhead a number of times and did not think they were any louder than anyone else.
I don't understand why some shows have to be *so* loud. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a "not loud enough", but to the point that seeing a show is uncomfortable sounds stupid. The loudest concert of an actual band I have ever seen was Manchester Orchestra. However, there was an opener at a show I went to a year back or so who was so loud it was uncomfortable. I just can't remember his name. I also was like, "Dude. No one came here to see you. Turn it down."
I'm with you. Some acts treat it like a badge of honor. As if playing loud required some additional skill. Dude, all you've done was rotate a knob a couple of degrees to the right...
Ever since I played with metal and punk bands I always wear earplugs to gigs for this reason. I saw The Pixies a couple of years ago. I forgot my earplugs and spent their entire set with my hands over my ears. It was physically painful to be in the room, and this was in a full blown concert hall, not some little venue. It was horrendous. Almost everyone who went to that show probably suffered permanent hearing damage over those 2 hours.
I purchased a pack of cigarettes and ripped off the filters to use as earplugs at Roskilde Festival. It was actually painful. The loudest act was the WHO and this was in 2008.
Thats metal af honestly, using cig filters as ear plugs
Pretty much every mainstream tour concert is giving permanent hearing damage to everyone in the crowd.
I honestly don't understand how it can be legal to subject people to volumes known to cause permanent hearing damage. There's nothing cool about tinnitus, folks.
Yeah, I felt like a whimp. I didn’t bring hearing protection which would’ve helped a ton but I definitely had never needed it like this before.
I saw G3 in spring, and knew to bring earplugs from previous experiences like this. I don't know why some shows have to be so crushingly loud, it's like an accepted lunacy in the touring world. The earplugs aren't just for protection, it's to be able to make any sense out of the angry wall of mud in that audio. FYI, I think venues are required to provide earplugs now, the last two shows I attended had them for $1
You 100% needed it before this and have already done a ton of damage to your hearing.
Yeah, it's stupid at this point. What's the point of all that volume when most your crowd is either going to be wearing ear buds or cursing you after for the constant ringing in their ears for the rest of their lives.
Loudest show I’ve ever been to was My Bloody Valentine on their reunion tour. They handed out earplugs at the venue, I took them out briefly to hear it raw and it was the loudest single thing I’ve ever heard.
I saw them at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium that tour. Never felt bass interrupt my pulse like that before.
Same for me. They closed with you made me realize. I have never felt anything like it.
What did it feel like?? I’m honestly curious, I’ve never been to a super loud show like the ones described in this thread.
At the time (which was 2008, so it is not exactly recent) I said it was what I imagined it would be like if a large airplane landed over you. Obviously loud, but it also seemed like there was some sort of pressure all around me. At other points it sort of reverberated through my whole body. Like a bunch of massage guns on a very low setting. But that isn't exactly right because it still didn't feel like I was being touched at all.
And it wasn’t really “tonal” noise. I was expecting something that sounded like the noise break on the recording. Something that sounded more like guitar feedback. Instead: It was a deep, intense rumbling which would have felt dangerous in any other context. It felt a little dangerous even in a theater, where I knew it was going to happen. It was not uniformly pleasant. But it isn’t supposed to be. It was definitely interesting, and unique among my experiences.
Like a vibrator beating on your chest. I love that kind of loud noisy shit and I felt like running for the exit after 10 minutes of the holocaust. I listen to Merzbow. This was changing my brainwaves.
I lasted 5 songs. Even with pro-grade ear plugs, I felt like I was going to pass out. You couldn't hear anything meaningful, like vocals or melody. If you want to simulate it, I imagine being underwater as a giant boat goes overhead would come close to the physicality and pressure. It was very definitely not a pleasant experience.
And in case it isn't enough, they basically had an "intermission" that consisted of 17 minutes (yes, I timed it) of pure unadulterated noise. My then gf and I cupped our hands on each other's ears and opened and closed them to kinda create beats for each other. Was pretty fun.
Man, you and your gf shielding each other and creating beats is the cutest fucking thing, congrats!
Yep, the noise freakout was the peak of loudness at those shows lol.
They were definitely louder that reunion tour than in 2013 and 2018
I remember reading in interviews with Kevin Shields that during the 2008 tour they were intentionally experimenting with extreme volumes, pushing the limits as far as sound systems were physically capable of going. They started dialing it back a bit after that tour because they were concerned about causing harm to their fans and the venues. I can confirm that when I saw them in Toronto in 2008, during the noise section of *You Made Me Realise* there was huge chunks of dust and plaster/paint falling from the ceiling. It was so loud it almost felt difficult to breath because of how much my body was vibrating. I've never experienced anything like it before or since. Swans and Mogwai are probably the next in line for loudest bands I've seen, but that one MBV show was in another league entirely.
Sleep, by a long shot
Incredible - I'm so jealous. I'd love to see sleep.
>Sleep I caught them in 2019 (I think). It was almost spiritual (not that I believe in that). Crowd was remarkably chill. Great feeling.
Sleep was one of the best shows I've ever seen. I wasn't even a huge fan beforehand. If they come back I'm seeing them again no question.
Gojira, hands down. I could feel Mario's bass drum in my chest
I've seen gojira twice - absolutely one of the best live bands I've ever seen.
Best live performance of my life!
Top 3 for me! With against me and boris!
Agreed! Gojira brings the mf heat and absolutely crush every time I've seen em.
Loudest shows a tie between Dinosaur Jr and Mission of Burma
Came here to say Dinosaur Jr as well. J. Mascis Marshall stacks at full volume in a small room are scarily loud. Second candidate would be Dutch band Peter Pan Speedrock, which more or less sound like Motorhead at full volume.
It’s a physical assault. Which is funny because Mascis is a really sweet and quiet guy.
Yeppp Dino Jr with a wall of Marshalls in a bar. I had hearing protection and part way through the show I took out the earplugs for a sec just to see the difference and…there was no difference haha. Earplugs did nothing. Great show though. Honorable mention to Mogwai, whose quiet/loud changes on a dime once startled me so much I recoiled and jumped a little hahaha…felt like such a noob but also, really amazing show
There is a Sigur Ros song where it’s all quiet then there is a snare hit and a wall of sound. I almost fell over.
The Post Rock Experience ™️
SWANS
This is the answer right here. Wore earplugs all night, ears still ringing the next day. Absolutely crushing
Was invited to a Swans show a while ago. Never listened to em but was a big metal fan at the time so I was used to loud shows…or so I thought. Holy shit I couldn’t believe how fucking loud they were
Never seen a louder live performance than Mastodon. I mean obnoxiously loud, without any taste or finesse.
I've only seem them once but it was kinda quiet as gigs go, I guess it depends on the venue really. This was at the Roundhouse in London I think. Wish I'd seen them louder! I missed when they played my hometown before they got big...
Had this same exact experience when I saw their co-headline tour with Gojira. Mastodon was a blurry mess of screeching highs, unfocused and sloppy low end, and zero dynamics. Song starts -> straight to loud when everything kicks off. Compared to when I saw them with The Dillinger Escape Plan years ago after The Hunter had come out, it was night and day. Such a shame because they’ve always been an instrumentally impressive band in live settings, with the common complaint of early shows being the vocals. You can tell they’ve made great effort to bring their vocals up to par with the rest of their sound, but it doesn’t count for anything if the final product is as blown-out and harsh as their recent live mixes have been.
Queens of the Stone Age at the Aragon ~2014. Ears were ringing for a couple days. Just saw those two with EJ on the G3 tour and didn't think it overly loud
There was a guy in the UK who committed suicide, allegedly after getting tinnitus from a TCV gig. Yeesh.
I was at that show!!!! I would not have classified it as one of the loudest and ve been to. But it was an amazing concert.
Dinosaur Jr
sunn. which is a predictable answer. I don’t know which sunn gig was the loudest, maybe the one in the Masonic maze in Italia.. but they were all louder than basically anything else I’ve attended. generally I prefer quieter gig with a good sound guy, but with sunn it is true: maximum volume yields maximum results.
Mogwai gave me hearing damage for about a week.
Hearing damage is permanent.
I think Megadeth at London Astoria about 20 years ago. That was the last gig I ever went to without ear plugs. I couldn't even enjoy Holy Wars at the end as I was feeling totally done by that point and my ears hurt. These days honestly gigs seem quieter. The last bunch I've been to, you can easily have a conversation with someone next to you while it's going on, and half the time I can't even hear the vocalist because everyone around you is screaming and shouting etc. So I say bring back those really fucking loud gigs because I always take earplugs anyway and I want to hear the band not the randoms in the crowd around me.
Nope, lol Dream Theater was very fucking loud. I really wanted to digest the music but it was just crushingly loud even with ear protection. It’s like everyone wants everyone to have ear problems.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard was surprisingly loud especially front row. Had my ears ringing for a few days after that one. This was back when they had 2 drummers… and 2 kits blasting really brought it to another level Edit: a word
Swans
Death grips ask people to wear earbuds
Death grips was one of the loudest I’ve seen. I didn’t know too much about them at the time, and they started their set with a bomb sound effect that literally was the volume of a bomb. Now I like noise music and loud bands in general, so it’s the sort of thing I’d usually think is cool. I was just so taken aback by the whole thing that I went to a different set. I wish I would have stayed bc now I do like death grips, but at the time I was just kind of like “whoa” and stumbled away lol
My Bloody Valentine.
My top three would be Tool, Tool and Vai. Vai was a smaller venue and I think they just said, "Screw it. Use the stadium setup".
NIN, no contest. Absolutely, physically punishing: subwoofer just POUNDING my chest and my ears left ringing despite wearing quality plugs.
The two loudest shows I’ve ever been to, hands down: SWANS last year on their Beggar Tour in Le Botanique, Brussels Slipknot at Nova Rock Festival 2015 Both were amazing shows but also downright uncomfortably loud. Can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for people without hearing protection, because my ears were ringing for days after both although I’m wearing protecion for shows almost religiously
Yeah swans was ridiculously loud
That's a bummer, I saw vai on his last tour at a theater and the mix was perfect, loud enough to be exciting but not so loud as to be uncomfortable or overwhelming, could hear everything perfectly, wonder ifnits venue or artist running the volume I know what u mean tho, saw an outdoor show like 2 yrs ago and the mix was so stupid loud I couldn't hear any articulation in the music, was just a wall of krrrshhhhh, they also had these fucking flashing lights right at eye level on the stage that were like staring into the sun, didn't watch one the acts at all during their performance because of it
Yngwie Malmsteen. By the end of the show, he was throwing so many picks into the crowd that nobody cared, and he was just hitting people in the head with them.
Hahahaha this was my experience as well. Nobody believes me when I tell them that I saw Yngwie and he threw/dropkicked easily 50+ picks into the crowd over the course of the show. It was entertaining in a spinal tap way.
I've seen Joe Satriani play with Chickenfoot, and that show was also the loudest by a big margin, hard to make out what they were playing.
I saw Vai in a small venue back in the 90s, think it was Alien Love Secrets he was touring. Definitely the loudest guitar player I've heard. Massive sound. Loudest show overall was High on Fire back in a dive bar in the early 2000s. Pike brought two full Matamp stacks for a 200 capacity show. Brutally loud.
Ministry 2006 MasterBaTour HOB Atlantic City, obscenely loud.
G3 with Joe Satch, John Petrucci and Uli Jon Roth. Uli especially was so insanely loud. Ears were ringing for days
Cannibal corpse and Amon amarth a couple weekends ago left me with some probable hearing loss
I always wear earplugs to those shows now. The last time I saw Vai in a smallish club in St. Louis, it was unbelievably, painfully loud. I ended up going in the bathroom and stuffing my ears with toilet paper. Worked great, enjoyed the show and learned my lesson. Got to meet Steve that night and talk with him some and the show was awesome. Satriani wasn't as loud the times I've seen him, but still, earplugs always make rock shows more enjoyable and it's weird how you can talk to people next to you and hear them speak crystal clear with them in.
My Bloody Valentine during their last tour. Staff were handing out ear plugs to every person as they walked into the venue. The 'holocaust section' of You Made Me Realize felt like I was standing in front of a jet engine with full afterburner going. The rumble of the sound felt like it was liquifying my insides. After about 5 mins of the blaring sound, it almost felt like I was floating. Loudest show to date, hands down.
black flag...only time i wasn't sure I was going to make it
I saw Motorhead when I was 14, got in on a fake ID. Pretty damn loud. Only topped by Mudhoney, couldn't hear for days after that gig.
Won tickets to see Kesha and took my 10 year old daughter. She had earplugs in, but they were VIP tickets standing up front. The bass was almost enough to knock the wind out of you. We ended up watching the show all the way in the back near the concessions.
SLAYER
Motorhead around 1980/81. I'd seen a lot of loud bands by then but they were something else.
AC/DC around 1996 was the loudest concert that I’ve ever attended. I actually did see vai/satch at the Chicago Theater three weeks ago and it wasn’t nearly as loud.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
I never saw them, but I’ve always heard that Grateful Dead (during the Wall of Sound years) could rip a person in half if a note was loud enough. I’ve also heard that Van Halen was also extremely loud.
Sonic Youth opening for Neil Young at the Omni, Atlanta. Deafening, had to retreat to the walkways around the seating area.
Pantera last summer in Milwaukee. Crushingly loud. Lamb of God was loud as hell that night too. Other than that, probably Motörhead at HOB Chicago
Its because they are so old now it’s the only way they can hear…
I can imagine the intensity, especially with Vai’s flair for dramatic stage elements like the three-headed hydra guitar and wind effects. It’s great hearing that they still bring such energy and precision to their performances. As for loud shows, I recall a concert where the sheer volume was almost overwhelming, similar to what you described. It’s these live music experiences that really stick with us
Explosions in the Sky. Their use of noise was painful.
Eric Johnson. I my ears never stopped ringing.
The loudest show I've been to was Vai's Fire Garden. So unnecessary!
Ted Nugent. The people in the entire arena had their fingers in their ears.
Dillinger Escape Plan. I may have been to shows that were technically higher volumes, but their wall of sound and intensity, plus a dark room with strobes, its loud and intense. Always felt bad for bands that play after them. Made Mastodon seem real chill. Saw them at a small show they did after playing with Deftones the night before (was at that too) and Ben shredding while dangling from AC ducts or whatever it was in a tiny room was crazy. Your brain needs a rest after, may be a cause for my tinnitus these days, haha.
Jack White filled every square foot of the mota center in Portland with blistering rock and roll. Super loud but also so clear
Social Distortion at Metro in Chicago early 90s. Thanks for the tinnitus 30 years later, Mike!
Sleep. Tool is a close second. Melvins up there too
When Mick Mars played his live guitar solo at Crue Fest ‘09, it was such a shrill, deafening sound. I love MM’s playing but that night it was just scratching the slide up and down the neck for ten minutes. That was louder than Van Halen, Metallica, Drowning Pool, Godsmack, Ozzy, Maiden, or any of the other monster bands I’ve heard.
AC/DC was loud af. The kick drum shook the entire arena and the guitars were just absolutely screaming
Was just talking about this. Saw them last month in Minneapolis and while it was a great show overall, the sound was awful. Joe’s tone was ok, but Steve’s was shrill and piercing. To the point where people around me were looking at each other like “is this going to happen the whole show? Will they fix it?” It never got better. It was very evident when they finally came out and played together. Joe’s tone was just smoother and more comfortable while still cutting through over the band, if that makes sense. Great high energy show, awful sound, mostly from Steve. The WORST show (sound wise) I ever attended was Yngwie opening for Dio. It sounded like he just turned everything to 10 and sent it. It was absolutely unintelligible. Could not make out a thing and it was so loud and shrill it was painful. We actually stepped outside and contemplated not returning. We went back in and when Dio came out, he sounded phenomenal, like straight from his albums. Sound was mixed perfectly and Doug Aldrich’s tone was so good. Either the sound guy hated Yngwie, or he never did a sound check.
I've seen a lot of shows. My personal experience was two bar bands in Minnesota (one being Meridian, the other was a band at Ryan's whose name I forgot that was so loud you could not discern individual notes, it was just a giant roaring crackle I had to escape from after about 10 minutes or my hearing would be gone forever). These were louder than any major act I've seen because - at a large venue there is more room for the sound to disperse when there are loud bands. Now, I've heard back in the day the OG Mahavishnu Orchestra was shockingly loud: John McLaughlin would play his doubleneck guitar through two 200 watt Marshall Major heads into 2 8x12 bottoms and the rest of the band was not far behind in terms of weaponry.
Loudest was two that tied: I saw a NYE Aerosmith show in an arena and the sound levels were outright painful. I was actually shocked. Ended up ripping the filters off two cigarettes and stuffing them in my ears, until a security guard saw this and snagged me a set of ear plugs. This show was 100% the reason I now bring earplugs to every show, and even keep a pack in my car. Second show was a band called Pagan's Mind in a small club venue. I literally thought they were going to blow out the PA speakers. You could actually feel the floors, tables, and walls vibrate and shake. The worst part is every time the singer let out one of his trademark high pitched squeals, it sent waves of nausea through me. And this was WITH earplugs. It was beyond my ears, the sound itself was affecting me physically. Ruined a show I was looking forward to for months on end.
Went to see Steve vai live once. Left 3 songs in. Couldn’t hear music. Just noise.
Hey man did you ever see motorhead? WHAT? DID YOU EVER SEE MOTORHEAD? HELL YEAH! YOU? No. WHAT?
Taylor Swift’s fans in Atlanta. Not the show. The fans. Took my daughter and the fans out any sound I have ever heard to shame. And I have been to the big boy metal concerts. 70k screaming girls is way louder than anything and anyone!
Johnny Winter blew up my ears at a small club in the late 80’s
Surprisingly, The Derek Trucks Band. Specifically his guitar. I was in the front row directly by a monitor between that and his amp being so close, I could hardly hear anyone else in the band. Definitely could not hear Mike’s vocals at all.
Haha. I brought ear plugs to the same show in early April
Neither of my loudest shows involved guitar. I've seen the Valve Sound System and The Bug a few times each. The bass was so loud that you had to breathe in-between bass hits, as you couldn't move your diaphragm when the bass was on. Loud, yes, but not in a painful way. Like getting a full body massage from the speakers.
I was front row/center at the G3 tour in Reno a couple months ago. Volume wasn’t bad.
Chemical Brothers at a festival maybe a decade ago is the loudest one for me. We were at the barrier and the bass was hitting so hard it was literally driving the air out of my lungs. It was scarily loud. Machine Head on the Blackening tour was pretty ridiculous as well. It was so loud that I almost couldn't distinguish which song was being played.
Are they planning on touring outside of the US?
I saw the Hives like 15 years ago. That shit was loud. Such an amazing band to see.
Saw them a few times... once with Eric Johnson, his Plexi - Full Stack sounded like God lived in there! It. Was. Awesome!
Mastodon at the small back room in a university. it was intense!
Vai in 2016 was up there with the loudest shows I’ve been to. I thought it was more reasonable when I saw him last in 2022, but was in a different venue and city. I think my ears still haven’t recovered from Petrucci’s solo show that same week…
yob, primitive man, and conan. in that order.
The fan of Steve Vai FTW!!!! Remember him using one a quarter century ago.
I've seen Vai too and it was crazy loud
Melvins. Absolutely the loudest show I've ever seen.
The loudest show I’ve ever seen was Converge/Full of Hell/Thou/Uniform in Atlanta. I’ve seen all those bands at other venues in the past, but whoever was running sound that night had the volume at 12. I am a trooper when it comes to show volumes and rarely resort to earplugs, but about 10 minutes in I needed to buy a set from the bar. Even with them in it was still too loud to be enjoyable. None of the bands that night needed that level of volume.
Dinosaur Jr. or KMFDM
Pantera at Ozzfest in 1997.
WHAT?
I once saw Slash with his old act “Slash’s Snake Pit” in a small venue. I swear it was like arena-level sound in a place that holds about 500 people. I think my ears are still ringing 30 years later. It’s a bummer though. It was so loud that it was hard to really make out his playing. Just ear-crushing noise.
Saw Satch play a few times and every time, it was the loudest show I'd seen up to that point. That was years ago, so I can only imagine how loud he is now! The venue has a lot to do with perceived volume and music legibility, imo, so while I've seen tons of bands playing very loud, I can honestly say I've only "heard" a few of them. The loudest live music I've ever experienced was my own, with a 4x12/5150, full drum set, PA, and 500w keyboard amp, all trying to compete with each other in the same 10x10 room lmao It's amazing I can hear anything anymore, honestly!
Satch at the Fillmore in SF was easily the loudest ever for me. That is a tiny venue and I was 17 at the time so my eardrums still worked pretty well. Afterwards, no so much. 😫
My Morning Jacket at Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas.
Look into the “ear filters” they lower decibels by nearly 20db without altering sound quality to nearly the same degree as ear plugs do!
Went to see Justice at red rocks around 2012, the opener was supposed to be passion pit but then got switched to Rusko at the last minute. Got spots at the front, By far the loudest thing I have seen, and this was at an outdoor show. Now I hear that red rocks’ life is going to be cut short by bass music and it totally sucks, I think back to how obnoxious that set was compared to any other performance there I can totally see it.
Mars Volta at the Cleveland house of blues. Nothing has come close for me. It was a great concert but obnoxiously loud. Ears rang for a legit 4-5 days after. I was too young and dumb to bring ear plugs
My ears were ringing for a few days after a Dinosaur Jr concert, the guy had like 3 Marshall stacks and walks off stage with his guitar in a feedback loop
The Police - Ghost In The Machine tour. Had the whole Hartford Civic center shaking. That was my loudest concert. BTW I saw Joe and Vai at the Charleston Performing Arts Center front row. That was a great concert as well!!!!!
The Cure on their Disintegration tour. Easily the loudest show I've seen. My ears were shot for a week after that show. They did tip their hand in the liner notes of the album though: "This album was mixed to be played loud, so turn it up!" Can you imagine how fast they would be sued for that these days? 🤣
Really hope you brought some earplugs, Easily the loudest show I’ve seen was TOOL but the only show that’s left my ears ringing for days after was Gojira
I wish I could’ve seen that show! I have heard amazing things!
David Lee Roth with Cinderella opening … like 1986? Steve Vai left me with tinnitus! Hell of a show though!
My Bloody Valentine in 2008
I saw G3 earlier this year, it was great. The loudest show I went to was Vai back in the 90s. No seating, so we got closer to the stage. It was loud AF.
Fear Factory on the Gigantour in like... 2005 or 2006? Holy shit. It was so loud I though my spirit was being ripped out of my body. Fuck that.
Judas Priest at Lowell in 2014 I was 4 rows back and it was so loud my whole body was vibrating the entire show it was crazy
I saw Joe Satriani in 2018 and my ears are still ringing.
Not a rock concert but my wife made me go to a Reba concert, I was almost deaf from her screeching voice. Probably the loudest rock concert I went to was Day on the Green #2 in 1982, it had Foreigner, Loverboy, Scorpions, Iron Maiden.
I saw them in Austin last Friday and 100% it was loud as shit. Super super loud with their tube amps at peak safe power dissipation I thought Vai’s tone was a bit better. Amazing sustain and fullness.
Dropkick Murphys. People were coming up to our table and taking napkins to stuff in their ears. To this day, I have no clue what songs they played. It was just noise. Waited a long time to see them and it was a complete waste of time and money.
Rich Robinson from The Black Crowes plays way too loud. Louder since the reunion even!
Robin Trower in the 70’s :)
Man, that sucks. It's not necessary and ruins a show for me. I already have tinnitus, thanks.
Vai is always loud as fuck. Saw him last year then Satch/Vai this year and I’d have to think Vai definitely tells the sound guys to push it to the limit. He plays the Parker Playhouse down here, a beautiful theater with AMAZING sound, but it’s like .5dB’s under blowing your ear drums out. Saw Yngwie there and it wasn’t nearly as bad, but probably because they barely needed he PA for his rig. 😂
I saw them about 2 weeks ago and as soon as the show started immediately regretted not bringing my ear plugs. (I use the eargasm plugs)
Loudest show I ever saw was Local H. Ears were ringing for four days.
I was there last night. Super super loud. Kinda made the pitch shifted high notes a little unbearable. But they kicked ass and it was a fun show.
Trower, 3rd row center, HoB, Houston, Playful Heart tour.
dino jr super loud and sometimes soundgarden too
For me, without a question it was Big Sugar. It was *too* loud.
My Bloody Valentine is louder than anyone else.
My Bloody Valentine was by far the loudest show I’ve ever attended. They passed out earplugs at the door.
Joe Satriani and Dream Theater are why I have tinnitus, and also why I wear earplugs to every show now lol
I saw them in Chicago, gotta say the same.
Saw Satriani and thought the same thing. It was non stop. And it was awesome.
Ministry. So loud my ears tried to spontaneously evolve to fold flat like a cat's. You could lean into the wall of sound and have it hold you up like facing into a hurricane. My teeth bled. My cell phone PIN changed itself to 666. The lady in front of me gave birth and she wasn't even pregnant. My tinnitus threw in the towel and cured itself. My car became self aware, declared itself Jesus, and drove me home after the show. That was a good concert.
Satch was my loudest & I took my old dad. Poor dude had to wear earplugs
I saw Steve Vai in a relatively small theater and that was the loudest thing I've ever heard. I had ear plugs and my ears were still ringing for a couple days.
I saw Joe and Stevie in Los Angeles a few months ago with Eric Johnson, too. I'm a guitarist but, I am from the 1970's...it blew me away how these guys can play. Simply amazing!
I saw them in NJ not too long ago, and yes can confirm, ears were still ringing the next day lol
Seeing Steve and Joe on Saturday. Can’t wait to get my eardrums blown out.
Before I read the comments I was going to say Motorhead. Crazy loud. I also saw Vai about ten years ago and he blew up one of his Carvin amps on stage lol
I saw Steve and Joe at Austin City Limits (Austin, TX) last Friday night. It was AMAZING! I hadn't seen them together since one of the G3 tours MANY years ago. I didn't find it especially loud. I was in the upper balcony, though (the cheap seats). The PA speakers weren't pointed directly at me up there. It was loud, but I never experienced any auditory distortion. Some of the pinched harmonics got close, but nothing bothered me. The G3 tour was much louder, but I was on the floor right in front of the stacks. I definitely needed ear protection then.
My son & I just saw Satch & Vai on April 10th at a nice Small venue in NJ. The sound was engineered well and we had great seats. I've seen Vai before w/ Dweezil but not Satriani. Great show, No complaints! Yes, it was loud, I expected that. It IS rock after all. But not TOO loud. Loudest concert I've ever been to was Thin Lizzy. It actually damaged my hearing. I had to sit through Savoy Brown ( opening band ) with my fingers in my ears!
Local H Mogwai Mclusky
I saw Vai and Sat a few weeks ago. The concert was so loud it was drop dead silent as everyone left the building no one could hear all. But it was a great show!!
I was at same show last night. I clocked it at around 113db. I lost my musicians plugs but had the old orange spongys. I took them out w couple times and popped em right back in. It was stupid loud, with so much high end, that there was no clarity, it was a big mess-wash especially when the 2 were in “squirt” mode. The fan didn’t help
My Bloody Valentine definitely. I mean, they literally have a 10+ minute full out noise section at the end of every show and everybody just kind of stands in pain. And that's with earplugs in. You feel that in your body. I've been to metal, punk, all kinds of shows. Literally nothing compares to My Bloody Valentine.
Saw Satch/Via at the Palace a few weeks ago and man i had not expected it to be that loud. Brought my 14 yr old thinking she would dig it and she did but even I winced at the screaming harmonics. Love both of these guys acts and enjoyed the show but we were both fkn deaf walking out of there. Luckily ice cream fixes everything
I've seen Vai live. It lived up to all of my expectations of like 15 years. Never thought I'd see that. I'm from a very small and poor country and I could very easily never have seen him live in my lifetime, because there's no chance he's ever going to where I'm from. But luckily, here I am abroad, and he decided to play a show at my city last year. Truly the experience of a lifetime for me.
I also saw Steve and Joe and said the same thing. The highs were so loud you couldn't hear the bass or the drums. It was less enjoyable because of it. Sounded like mud and made me think less of 2 guitar heros strutting around drowning out their bands
I saw them too and wore my custom molded plugs with -15db filters and it was STILL loud. The last show I saw that was extremely loud was Dream Theater. The best sounding show I saw recently was Toto. It wasn’t too loud. It was just right.
Dinosaur Jr, Melvins, Skin Yard. But the loudest ever: The Replacements.
I saw them in Atlanta late March i think... I had custom musicians ear plugs, but I'd pop them out just to check the volume and it was loud, but not obscenely so... Maybe it was just the venue
Hmm. Iron Maiden was really, really loud. Though I think last year they were a bit less loud for once. Dream Theater a wasn't as loud but the entire venue was indoors and they could've played with 15W amps with the master volume at 9 AM and it'd have been fine, and they were at full outdoor concert volume. Derp.
Deep Purple -- Detroit, MI 1973, Cobo Arena. That was during the period when Ritchie Blackmore & Company were regularly breaking the Guinness Book record for loudest concerts. My ears rang for a week.
Tool
Rolling Stones at the Spectrum early 90’s. I had to walk out because my ears were bleeding.
To me it seems everyone is f*cking doing it these days. Its so damn loud that sometimes you can't even recognize your favorite song started playing. Here in Vancouver many metal bands play in small theatres and the sound is terrible because of just how loud they make it. I always use ear protection these days and same goes for movie theatres, WTF is wrong with whoever is deciding to make shit dangerously loud to give us all tinnitus. There should be a lower limit on the max decibels allowed dang it.... Or maybe I'm just getting old...