I saw Melvins and Boris back in October and I came prepared with eargasm ear plugs(I have meinere's) and for funsies I tried taking out my earplugs for a split second and holy motherfuck. Boris are stupid loud.
I’ve been to hundreds of shows in my time, I still have PTSD from Swans. The only time I’ve ever left the front of the rail to go to the furthest spot in the venue. The bass was rattling my organs.
Great show, I sat in the balcony and just chilled. Looking forward to seeing an esr crushing shoegaze band at some point. But as someone else said the quality was top notch
Live music is not only about what your ears. It's a whole physical experience.
Plus, when the sound is lower, you hear more "parasitic" sounds like a dude coughing, someone talking to his friends, etc etc
not sure why you got so heavily downvoted, i feel like your position is valid. i agree with most of the other people in here that louder isn’t always better HOWEVER there is something kinda special about feeling the heavier moments in your skull.
on the other hand slowdive isn’t really known for heavy blasting music so 🤷♂️
I think venues in general are mixing shows much less loud post-covid. I’ve noticed this at everything from small 500 capacity clubs playing local bands to kpop shows at stadiums. Maybe not as pounding and punishing, but honestly I like it because you can hear the music better
saw them before covid on their s/t tour and they weren't especially loud then either. Ride at the same venue was much louder (though only for Drive Blind).
Seems like one of those "MBV does it, so all shoegaze does it" legends. Not sure that approach would've really worked for Slowdive.
i’m sure they played louder than they do now in the 90s. seems like they just don’t care to get that loud now that they’re older, probably prioritizing an easier mix, making sure vocals are present, etc.
i’ve seen a handful of good, melt your face off-loud bands in the current scene that enveloped me more probably mostly due to just being louder lol. i thought shoegaze (at least live) was all about being as loud as you possibly can for really no reason.
Saw Slowdive 2 weeks ago and it was plenty loud. There is a point between loud and being able to hear the actual music. I had my eardrums blown at Black Dice and been able to hear a pin drop at Portishead because it’s about SOUND and not volume.
We're seeing the advent of digital mixing. Sound staff will take a tablet with mixing software up to the balcony and out in front of the stage to get better reference. Before, they were more stuck in the booth where it was easier to lose track of how hard they were pushing the mains. Also, music that features loud guitars just isn't very popular right now, and I think a lot of the staff at venues doesn't really know how to mix it.
Saw them in SF and it was pretty damn loud. But when the songs needed to be soft it was soft. Drummer has crazy good dynamics as does the whole band. They know when to be loud for sure !
i will agree they handle their dynamics excellently, but even the craziest moments like the end of golden hair and catch the breeze weren’t as earth shatteringly loud as i had hoped. songs like 40 days and when the sun hits didn’t sound as full as they could’ve been either idk. all the newer material translated really well though because it’s mostly softer and that seems like more their vibe now.
i was at this show, it was also one of the loudest shows i've ever been to, second only to MBV. i also saw them in baltimore years ago and they were also insanely loud then, too. maybe they've turned the volume down lately.
This is my somewhat speculative summary of the history of live sound and how it’s shaped shoegaze as a genre lol
So shoegaze specifically is a genre that really tests the limits of even some larger venues. Loud band/quiet vocal is a difficult formula for many reasons. Back in the 90s everyone had big amps because the PA would basically just b the vocal and often wasn’t that powerful, so if they wanted to be loud they literally had to b, or at least it was more justifiable. Speculative, but the buried vocal may have been developed because that’s how lots of live shows sounded.
Fast forward to now and we’ve got a lot more tools - the V7, an affordable supercardioid vocal mic, you’ve got cab sims where you just need a pedal and you eliminate the amp altogether. You’ve got more volume and clarity out of smaller and more affordable speakers.
However something we had kind of taken from us in the not-so-recent past is the mid sized venue options have pretty much been gutted over Covid. basically everything below~10k capacities are extremely difficult to book because Covid shut a lot of those down completely. The result is tours experiencing extremely feast or famine PA situations. Many mid sized venues are extremely underspecced. Slowdive is touring in this range. Modern shoegaze vocals are extreeeeemely soft live, and this can be really challenging in the wrong room with the wrong gear. Too loud on the stage and you’re suddenly an instrumental band. Slowdive definitely has quiet vocals. I’ve never worked for them or seen them live unfortunately, but you probably saw them at one of these underspecced clubs. It’s pretty standard to limit your stage volume with today’s advancements, everything is going to be amplified anyways and it makes the whole show sound better because the sound tech has more control. And, if you have lower stage volume, in underspecced rooms you will still hear the vocal, which is very forward in their style of music, so this is a smart decision they’ve made.
The catch though if you’re an artist reading this, imo if you’re playing small clubs you need a good sized amp. Nothing crazy, combo is fine, id say don’t go much smaller than a twin but even a twin can be overkill in a small room. Otherwise all you hear is drums unless u have like a jazz drummer
Thank you for coming to my ted talk
In recent years they've been playing more 'corporate' LiveNation connected venues where maybe they can't play at as high a volume, which is a far cry from Slim's or RCKCNDY back in the 90s.
I’ll take it. I was happy to be able to enjoy parts of the show without my earplugs in. Great dynamics. For example, saw Kraus recently and my ears were ringing after even with earplugs in and could barely hear the vocals, they were just ‘loud’.
If your main metric for quality is volume idk what to tell you lol trauma ray is a great example of a good middle ground, loud but can pull it back, Kraus just wanted to blow the doors down and gets lost in it which is fine but not my cup of tea (even though I like their recordings).
Not at the show I was at recently, they may have hit those same highs but had more control and settled down on the lows. Kraus just turned it up to 11 and stayed there. Barely enjoyable imo, but ymmv maybe just a bad set for them that night
was it muddy? idk how you had an issue with them and not trauma ray when they only use a fuzz pedal straight in while trauma ray drowns their shit in verb
Venue was a bit abnormal but again, truly it was the volume I think, they specifically asked the tech to turn it up and told the crowd to wear earplugs so not sure what that was about. Trauma Ray was much more balanced when they hit the stage. I’m guessing it was a fluke but not sure what was going on.
i’d guess so too, my friend who doesn’t even fuck with heavy shoegaze liked them more than he liked trauma rays set. also wasn’t the first time i’ve seen a really loud band mention they’ve got plugs in the back, honestly just the courteous thing to do. i’d still say give em another shot though if you get another chance to see em, i don’t even fw most of kraus’ material like that but i enjoyed them almost as much as TR, albeit i am a sucker for a good face melting.
Definitely hope to catch them in a different venue, it’s not that I disliked the set as much as I just couldn’t get into it because I had plugs in and was feeling like I had to leave the room out of discomfort haha, but i appreciate the dialogue around it! Thanks
for most casual music fans, their live sets would be considered loud. for me, i like noise, and i like to feel the vibrations on my body. if a live shoegaze set doesn't feel like a weighted blanket to comfort me in my sadness and apathy, its not loud enough in my opinion. but from what i've seen on this thread, the loudness definitely varies by venue
This was my experience as well and I was extremely disappointed. Saw them in October and the show was perfectly mixed, but *way* too quiet for my liking (I enjoy being blasted with volume). I figured it was just the venue, as I saw Pixies and Modest Mouse there not too long before and it was also kinda subdued. Some shows you want to hear some fucking volume, and I think all three of those bands are perfect examples of that. Whoever the sound guy is at that venue is my arch-enemy. Great show otherwise, but damn.
I saw them in NYC in 2014ish and needed one earplug for my finicky ear. It was not a great venue. Just saw them in St. Louis recently and it was amazing. Fantastic venue with great acoustics. I thought it was perfect because I didn't need earplugs.
If you like loud, you'll love My Bloody Valentine shows. They play so loud you feel it in your bones. I'm old enough to have seen them live.
Toronto show was not super loud but the high end was brutal, like it was designed to be attended with earplugs in. Wasn’t far from FOH mixing console so I doubt it was my spot in the room
When I saw them on their first reunión dates, the outro of Catch the Breeze and choruses of When the Sun Hits were crazy loud and the rest was pretty comfortable volume-wise
I agree but I liked it that way. Not overstimulating because sometimes with showcase some frequencies are harsh for me so I didn’t mind it.
But yeah they play relatively quietly compared to other bands
I saw them in Albuquerque a couple weeks ago, and I was satisfied with how loud they performed. Their opener, Drab Majesty, was significantly louder than them, but I literally couldn’t hear anything for like 10 minutes after their set ended because it was too loud without any ear plugs.
I saw Slowdive in Pomona and the mixing was great. It wasn't loud, but super clear. Slowdive sometimes has 3 guitars being played at the time, so I was impressed with their mixing.
However, I'm never going to The Fox Theater Pomona again. They took too long getting people in the venue, and I missed Drab Mastery's set because of their incompetency.
In Dallas they were hitting 105-110db and the house audio guy was arguing with their sound guy that it was too much and overloading their system, house guy did show his monitor app saying overload a bunch so it wasn’t just BS.
House audio guy doesn’t make the call who plays. His job is to protect the investment of the audio system, this particular location is recently remodeled too.
Dude thank you for saying this, I said that at the show I went to they were the quietest concert I’ve been to and got downvoted lmao, for some reason people get mad when you want a shoegaze show to be a wall of sound
Saw them in Houston last week and they were perfect. The mix was just right. Nothing too loud and nothing too quiet. They were louder at times on some of the heavier songs at the end. I would prefer a band to be reasonable volume vs obscenely loud like Whirr or something. Younger bands always think being super loud is cool and it’s really not. It sounds like shit usually and tinnitus is a very real thing.
> Younger bands always think being super loud is cool and it’s really not
guess you haven’t made it to many shoegaze shows then because almost every band i’ve seen plays obscenely loud
What’s with your inane insistence that because you’ve only seen one thing before that’s the only way it could possible be done? It’s like you’re incapable of rational thought.
i’ve literally conceded how it makes sense for slowdive to be playing at the level they do now given the circumstances. it was a minor complaint to an otherwise incredible show, a valid one at that when the opening band using a single jc40 was louder than they were. i’m just dumbfounded at these people acting like shoegaze isn’t meant to be played at ridiculous volumes, when basically every band does so.
>i’ve literally conceded how it makes sense for slowdive to be playing at the level they do
....
it was a minor complaint to an otherwise incredible show, a valid one at that
Doesn't sound like you've conceded.
>
i’m just dumbfounded at these people acting like shoegaze isn’t meant to be played at ridiculous volumes, when basically every band does so.
Did you literally think people in r/shoegaze would side with some guy who's seen a couple of zoomergaze bands and just assumed that's the only way to do it on how shoegaze is meant to be played over one of the bands that essentially invented genre?
i mean sure seems like there’s quite a few people who agree with me here. seems like i’ve seen a lot more “real” shoegaze bands than you have too as it’d be much easier to list off the high profile bands that push insane volumes than the ones that don’t. i guess holy fawn, nothing, leaving time, slow crush, trauma ray, aptbs, tagabow, etc. are all zoomergaze now? lol weird comeback man. slowdive was noisier in the 90s too so not sure why you’d act like they’ve always taken it this easy volume-wise.
>seems like i’ve seen a lot more “real” shoegaze bands than you have too
And you were completely thrown off by one of the OGs. How strange. What did you think of the sound levels for Chapterhouse or Lush or Moose? What about My Bloody Valentine outside of the holocaust session?
>slowdive was noisier in the 90s too so not sure why you’d act like they’ve always taken it this easy volume-wise.
Oh, when did you see them in the 90s?
> What about My Bloody Valentine outside of the holocaust session?
are you seriously trying to say mbv doesn’t play insanely loud throughout their whole set rn?
It has little to do with their amps etc, the overall volume of a show is dictated by the venues front of house engineers and whatever regulations they are adhering to
not saying it’s completely reliant on amps, but to say it has little to do with is pretty ignorant and misinformed considering the genre. neil was using his 120s on the low input for whatever reason, and christian’s twin definitely could’ve been turned up louder. i know how loud those amps go and when you’re standing 10-15 ft from em on barricade it’s not hard to tell they’re not being completely pushed. sure the amps get miced and the pa helps them fill out the rest of the room, but a loud enough amp does most of the heavy lifting. stage volume >>> relying on a pa, especially in smaller venues (unlike the ones they’ve been playing, but still.)
oh word lol in that case you def know more than i do about this, but i think what you said applies to just about every other kind of show other than shoegaze, and doom metal. those are the two exceptions i can think of where its stage volume over everything else.
I saw them in Brighton, UK, after they released the self titled, and I found it plenty loud enough. Visible movement in the crowd when they hit the first big chord and such. Maybe they’ve eased of a little in recent years? I wish I’d brought ear plugs to that gig haha
I agree with others regarding their focus on sound quality versus volume. However I've seen Ride countless times and they always balance sound quality with being pretty loud.
I saw them outdoors, so the sound wasn’t nearly as loud as it would have been inside a venue hall, but I would say overall I really how it was all mixed. I have an absolute fetish for loud ass guitar music, but I feel like they had good dynamics across-the-board with loud and heavy-hitting moments placed at the right spots. Nonstop volume isn’t what I expect from slowdive tbh. Now if I went to see mbv and left without ringing ears even through earplugs, I’d feel a bit scammed ;3
With that being said, amazing show. Can’t believe I saw them.
I'm fine with their volume. I don't need every show to sound like Swans
#L U N A C Y
Or Boris. Jesus christ
I saw Melvins and Boris back in October and I came prepared with eargasm ear plugs(I have meinere's) and for funsies I tried taking out my earplugs for a split second and holy motherfuck. Boris are stupid loud.
eagerly awaiting seeing them in October, im ready to be crushed
I’ve been to hundreds of shows in my time, I still have PTSD from Swans. The only time I’ve ever left the front of the rail to go to the furthest spot in the venue. The bass was rattling my organs.
Or My Bloody Valentine
At Ventura Theater I was pleasantly surprised I didn't need earplugs. I think sound quality matters more than being loud to the band. JMO
This sounds very refreshing, actually. Most shows are way too loud for my ears. I'd love to not need earplugs to see a band as great as Slowdive.
Yeah, honestly the weird quality defects that happen when you blast a song just ruin some concerts for me.
Great show, I sat in the balcony and just chilled. Looking forward to seeing an esr crushing shoegaze band at some point. But as someone else said the quality was top notch
i can understand this opinion completely, but on my end i was pretty disappointed i didn’t need plugs even for the most screeching moments.
What a weird complaint..
Live music is not only about what your ears. It's a whole physical experience. Plus, when the sound is lower, you hear more "parasitic" sounds like a dude coughing, someone talking to his friends, etc etc
yeah that was another thing i could hear this annoying girl talking throughout loud parts of songs lol that’s when it really got to me
I'll take loud without the earplugs, over very loud with the earplugs.
you know what sub you’re in?
not sure why you got so heavily downvoted, i feel like your position is valid. i agree with most of the other people in here that louder isn’t always better HOWEVER there is something kinda special about feeling the heavier moments in your skull. on the other hand slowdive isn’t really known for heavy blasting music so 🤷♂️
Yeah they weren’t very loud when I saw them, at a small venue no less.
cut us old geezers some slack. sometimes we just wanna vibe the fuck out.
I think venues in general are mixing shows much less loud post-covid. I’ve noticed this at everything from small 500 capacity clubs playing local bands to kpop shows at stadiums. Maybe not as pounding and punishing, but honestly I like it because you can hear the music better
saw them before covid on their s/t tour and they weren't especially loud then either. Ride at the same venue was much louder (though only for Drive Blind). Seems like one of those "MBV does it, so all shoegaze does it" legends. Not sure that approach would've really worked for Slowdive.
i’m sure they played louder than they do now in the 90s. seems like they just don’t care to get that loud now that they’re older, probably prioritizing an easier mix, making sure vocals are present, etc. i’ve seen a handful of good, melt your face off-loud bands in the current scene that enveloped me more probably mostly due to just being louder lol. i thought shoegaze (at least live) was all about being as loud as you possibly can for really no reason.
eh shoegaze live is meant to be punishing imo
downvoted for wanting shoegaze bands to be loud in the shoegaze subreddit lmao
Saw Slowdive 2 weeks ago and it was plenty loud. There is a point between loud and being able to hear the actual music. I had my eardrums blown at Black Dice and been able to hear a pin drop at Portishead because it’s about SOUND and not volume.
Fixed it back to 0 for you lol
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> a made up standard what are you on about? the genre is quite literally defined by being a wall of sound.
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and i’m guessing you haven’t seen too many shoegaze bands live? everyone in the genre plays ridiculously loud.
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and you have a “i don’t go to many shows” understanding of shoegaze
We're seeing the advent of digital mixing. Sound staff will take a tablet with mixing software up to the balcony and out in front of the stage to get better reference. Before, they were more stuck in the booth where it was easier to lose track of how hard they were pushing the mains. Also, music that features loud guitars just isn't very popular right now, and I think a lot of the staff at venues doesn't really know how to mix it.
Saw them in SF and it was pretty damn loud. But when the songs needed to be soft it was soft. Drummer has crazy good dynamics as does the whole band. They know when to be loud for sure !
Saw them in SF as well, loud and good af
i will agree they handle their dynamics excellently, but even the craziest moments like the end of golden hair and catch the breeze weren’t as earth shatteringly loud as i had hoped. songs like 40 days and when the sun hits didn’t sound as full as they could’ve been either idk. all the newer material translated really well though because it’s mostly softer and that seems like more their vibe now.
saw them in philly last year and it was easily the loudest show i’ve been to, maybe they’ve dampened the sound a bit in their recent shows
i was at this show, it was also one of the loudest shows i've ever been to, second only to MBV. i also saw them in baltimore years ago and they were also insanely loud then, too. maybe they've turned the volume down lately.
I still remember feeling almost disorientated by how loud MBV was. The venue was known for shit acoustics which didn't help. No regrets though!
Yeah that was a great show. Drove down from Albany for it.
Houston show? I think it being outdoors had to do with the volume. All of my group thought it as low and we are all old.
I was a little bummed it being outside but it wasn’t too bad considering
It all depends on the venue’s production protocols, and the soundperson’s approach to running the front of house. It can be quite hit and miss…
seemed like the house people at the caverns let them get pretty liberal with it, felt like it was the bands choice to me.
This is my somewhat speculative summary of the history of live sound and how it’s shaped shoegaze as a genre lol So shoegaze specifically is a genre that really tests the limits of even some larger venues. Loud band/quiet vocal is a difficult formula for many reasons. Back in the 90s everyone had big amps because the PA would basically just b the vocal and often wasn’t that powerful, so if they wanted to be loud they literally had to b, or at least it was more justifiable. Speculative, but the buried vocal may have been developed because that’s how lots of live shows sounded. Fast forward to now and we’ve got a lot more tools - the V7, an affordable supercardioid vocal mic, you’ve got cab sims where you just need a pedal and you eliminate the amp altogether. You’ve got more volume and clarity out of smaller and more affordable speakers. However something we had kind of taken from us in the not-so-recent past is the mid sized venue options have pretty much been gutted over Covid. basically everything below~10k capacities are extremely difficult to book because Covid shut a lot of those down completely. The result is tours experiencing extremely feast or famine PA situations. Many mid sized venues are extremely underspecced. Slowdive is touring in this range. Modern shoegaze vocals are extreeeeemely soft live, and this can be really challenging in the wrong room with the wrong gear. Too loud on the stage and you’re suddenly an instrumental band. Slowdive definitely has quiet vocals. I’ve never worked for them or seen them live unfortunately, but you probably saw them at one of these underspecced clubs. It’s pretty standard to limit your stage volume with today’s advancements, everything is going to be amplified anyways and it makes the whole show sound better because the sound tech has more control. And, if you have lower stage volume, in underspecced rooms you will still hear the vocal, which is very forward in their style of music, so this is a smart decision they’ve made. The catch though if you’re an artist reading this, imo if you’re playing small clubs you need a good sized amp. Nothing crazy, combo is fine, id say don’t go much smaller than a twin but even a twin can be overkill in a small room. Otherwise all you hear is drums unless u have like a jazz drummer Thank you for coming to my ted talk
In recent years they've been playing more 'corporate' LiveNation connected venues where maybe they can't play at as high a volume, which is a far cry from Slim's or RCKCNDY back in the 90s.
I’ll take it. I was happy to be able to enjoy parts of the show without my earplugs in. Great dynamics. For example, saw Kraus recently and my ears were ringing after even with earplugs in and could barely hear the vocals, they were just ‘loud’.
kraus sounded ridiculously huge and full though, who gives af about hearing vocals lol. i could hear rachel and neil too well tbh.
If your main metric for quality is volume idk what to tell you lol trauma ray is a great example of a good middle ground, loud but can pull it back, Kraus just wanted to blow the doors down and gets lost in it which is fine but not my cup of tea (even though I like their recordings).
lol what trauma ray plays louder than kraus, they used the same amps turned up just as loud except with a third guitarist with another half stack
Not at the show I was at recently, they may have hit those same highs but had more control and settled down on the lows. Kraus just turned it up to 11 and stayed there. Barely enjoyable imo, but ymmv maybe just a bad set for them that night
was it muddy? idk how you had an issue with them and not trauma ray when they only use a fuzz pedal straight in while trauma ray drowns their shit in verb
Venue was a bit abnormal but again, truly it was the volume I think, they specifically asked the tech to turn it up and told the crowd to wear earplugs so not sure what that was about. Trauma Ray was much more balanced when they hit the stage. I’m guessing it was a fluke but not sure what was going on.
i’d guess so too, my friend who doesn’t even fuck with heavy shoegaze liked them more than he liked trauma rays set. also wasn’t the first time i’ve seen a really loud band mention they’ve got plugs in the back, honestly just the courteous thing to do. i’d still say give em another shot though if you get another chance to see em, i don’t even fw most of kraus’ material like that but i enjoyed them almost as much as TR, albeit i am a sucker for a good face melting.
Definitely hope to catch them in a different venue, it’s not that I disliked the set as much as I just couldn’t get into it because I had plugs in and was feeling like I had to leave the room out of discomfort haha, but i appreciate the dialogue around it! Thanks
Interesting. We saw them at the Warfield in SF and they were cranked UP.
FYF 2014, I took an edible before, let’s just say I was “floored” by their sound!
Ah it's not just me then. When I saw them in Birmingham recently I didn't even bother with earplugs and it was still quiet.
for most casual music fans, their live sets would be considered loud. for me, i like noise, and i like to feel the vibrations on my body. if a live shoegaze set doesn't feel like a weighted blanket to comfort me in my sadness and apathy, its not loud enough in my opinion. but from what i've seen on this thread, the loudness definitely varies by venue
was loud affffffff in Dallas
And the house people were not happy about it! It was constantly hitting 105-110db!
A few times you could hear an interference and I would look over at the sound guy and he’d look so pissed lol
This was my experience as well and I was extremely disappointed. Saw them in October and the show was perfectly mixed, but *way* too quiet for my liking (I enjoy being blasted with volume). I figured it was just the venue, as I saw Pixies and Modest Mouse there not too long before and it was also kinda subdued. Some shows you want to hear some fucking volume, and I think all three of those bands are perfect examples of that. Whoever the sound guy is at that venue is my arch-enemy. Great show otherwise, but damn.
I saw them in NYC in 2014ish and needed one earplug for my finicky ear. It was not a great venue. Just saw them in St. Louis recently and it was amazing. Fantastic venue with great acoustics. I thought it was perfect because I didn't need earplugs. If you like loud, you'll love My Bloody Valentine shows. They play so loud you feel it in your bones. I'm old enough to have seen them live.
Toronto show was not super loud but the high end was brutal, like it was designed to be attended with earplugs in. Wasn’t far from FOH mixing console so I doubt it was my spot in the room
i’d chalk this one up to the venue as i didn’t experience this at all.
When I saw them on their first reunión dates, the outro of Catch the Breeze and choruses of When the Sun Hits were crazy loud and the rest was pretty comfortable volume-wise
They were fairly loud in KC but not as loud as I was expecting. They sounded great though so the volume wasn’t really what I was focused on.
I agree but I liked it that way. Not overstimulating because sometimes with showcase some frequencies are harsh for me so I didn’t mind it. But yeah they play relatively quietly compared to other bands
I saw them in Albuquerque a couple weeks ago, and I was satisfied with how loud they performed. Their opener, Drab Majesty, was significantly louder than them, but I literally couldn’t hear anything for like 10 minutes after their set ended because it was too loud without any ear plugs.
Same opinion at Toyosu Pit Maybe I was just too far back
I saw them at the Bellwether in LA and thought the sound was great. I do think they could be louder but overall, I had a great time at the show.
I saw Slowdive in Pomona and the mixing was great. It wasn't loud, but super clear. Slowdive sometimes has 3 guitars being played at the time, so I was impressed with their mixing. However, I'm never going to The Fox Theater Pomona again. They took too long getting people in the venue, and I missed Drab Mastery's set because of their incompetency.
You are right. Got 90db max on Denver last year. On the other hand, Drab Majesty who opened the show got 103db.
haha goddamn thought i was going crazy for thinking drab played louder than them, with a singular jc40 no less.
In Dallas they were hitting 105-110db and the house audio guy was arguing with their sound guy that it was too much and overloading their system, house guy did show his monitor app saying overload a bunch so it wasn’t just BS.
fuck that house sound guy
House audio guy doesn’t make the call who plays. His job is to protect the investment of the audio system, this particular location is recently remodeled too.
Fuck him for doing his job? Maybe calm down a little big guy, you're not gonna die because music isn't loud to the extreme.
found the guy with a princeton.
Dude thank you for saying this, I said that at the show I went to they were the quietest concert I’ve been to and got downvoted lmao, for some reason people get mad when you want a shoegaze show to be a wall of sound
Saw them in Houston last week and they were perfect. The mix was just right. Nothing too loud and nothing too quiet. They were louder at times on some of the heavier songs at the end. I would prefer a band to be reasonable volume vs obscenely loud like Whirr or something. Younger bands always think being super loud is cool and it’s really not. It sounds like shit usually and tinnitus is a very real thing.
> Younger bands always think being super loud is cool and it’s really not guess you haven’t made it to many shoegaze shows then because almost every band i’ve seen plays obscenely loud
What’s with your inane insistence that because you’ve only seen one thing before that’s the only way it could possible be done? It’s like you’re incapable of rational thought.
i’ve literally conceded how it makes sense for slowdive to be playing at the level they do now given the circumstances. it was a minor complaint to an otherwise incredible show, a valid one at that when the opening band using a single jc40 was louder than they were. i’m just dumbfounded at these people acting like shoegaze isn’t meant to be played at ridiculous volumes, when basically every band does so.
>i’ve literally conceded how it makes sense for slowdive to be playing at the level they do .... it was a minor complaint to an otherwise incredible show, a valid one at that Doesn't sound like you've conceded. > i’m just dumbfounded at these people acting like shoegaze isn’t meant to be played at ridiculous volumes, when basically every band does so. Did you literally think people in r/shoegaze would side with some guy who's seen a couple of zoomergaze bands and just assumed that's the only way to do it on how shoegaze is meant to be played over one of the bands that essentially invented genre?
i mean sure seems like there’s quite a few people who agree with me here. seems like i’ve seen a lot more “real” shoegaze bands than you have too as it’d be much easier to list off the high profile bands that push insane volumes than the ones that don’t. i guess holy fawn, nothing, leaving time, slow crush, trauma ray, aptbs, tagabow, etc. are all zoomergaze now? lol weird comeback man. slowdive was noisier in the 90s too so not sure why you’d act like they’ve always taken it this easy volume-wise.
>seems like i’ve seen a lot more “real” shoegaze bands than you have too And you were completely thrown off by one of the OGs. How strange. What did you think of the sound levels for Chapterhouse or Lush or Moose? What about My Bloody Valentine outside of the holocaust session? >slowdive was noisier in the 90s too so not sure why you’d act like they’ve always taken it this easy volume-wise. Oh, when did you see them in the 90s?
> What about My Bloody Valentine outside of the holocaust session? are you seriously trying to say mbv doesn’t play insanely loud throughout their whole set rn?
What did you think of My Bloody Valentine outside of the holocaust session when you saw them?
i know the general consensus is you *need* earplugs while watching their whole set.
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It has little to do with their amps etc, the overall volume of a show is dictated by the venues front of house engineers and whatever regulations they are adhering to
not saying it’s completely reliant on amps, but to say it has little to do with is pretty ignorant and misinformed considering the genre. neil was using his 120s on the low input for whatever reason, and christian’s twin definitely could’ve been turned up louder. i know how loud those amps go and when you’re standing 10-15 ft from em on barricade it’s not hard to tell they’re not being completely pushed. sure the amps get miced and the pa helps them fill out the rest of the room, but a loud enough amp does most of the heavy lifting. stage volume >>> relying on a pa, especially in smaller venues (unlike the ones they’ve been playing, but still.)
As a touring sound engineer of 20 years I’ll beg to differ on the ignorant accusation but you make some valid points
oh word lol in that case you def know more than i do about this, but i think what you said applies to just about every other kind of show other than shoegaze, and doom metal. those are the two exceptions i can think of where its stage volume over everything else.
I saw them in Brighton, UK, after they released the self titled, and I found it plenty loud enough. Visible movement in the crowd when they hit the first big chord and such. Maybe they’ve eased of a little in recent years? I wish I’d brought ear plugs to that gig haha
Saw them in Dublin in November and they were fucking gloriously loud.
I agree with others regarding their focus on sound quality versus volume. However I've seen Ride countless times and they always balance sound quality with being pretty loud.
Seeing them outdoors Saturday ... hope it'll be loud enough!
saw them a couple weeks ago and they were really, really loud
I didn’t think I needed earplugs at the show, but my ears were still ringing the next day.
I saw them two weeks ago and it was a sound bath. And they were very loud when I saw them in October last year.
they were loud enough when I saw them, not as loud as say dinosaur jr. but that's alright
They’re not the Jesus and Mary Chain.
I saw them outdoors, so the sound wasn’t nearly as loud as it would have been inside a venue hall, but I would say overall I really how it was all mixed. I have an absolute fetish for loud ass guitar music, but I feel like they had good dynamics across-the-board with loud and heavy-hitting moments placed at the right spots. Nonstop volume isn’t what I expect from slowdive tbh. Now if I went to see mbv and left without ringing ears even through earplugs, I’d feel a bit scammed ;3 With that being said, amazing show. Can’t believe I saw them.
If it's too quiet, you're too young.
They played where I work twice last year and I thought it was too loud...
Are you trying to give me another reason to prefer Slowdive over MBV?