What was the loudest concert you ever went to?

[NNN0LHI]

Scorpions. In the late 70's. They were really loud. Almost too loud as I recall.

Don

[Rambis]

1. Metalica

Couldn't hear for 2 days- As the person who gave me the tickets said... "I bet it was interesting in a Jane Goodall sort of way"

[kick-ass-bob]

65. I saw Metallica and GnR

It was probably quite loud if I had been closer than the upper deck of Williams-Brice Stadium.

The loudest event I have been part of was a Stanley Cup playoff game (Eastern Conf Finals)

[Rob H.]

69. Saw Metallica on the "Monsters of Rock" tour in 1988

at the Liberty Bowl Stadium in Memphis. If there'd been a roof on it, they would've blown it right off--they were by far the loudest band that performed that day.

[hifiguy]

2. A band called The Dictators

in a Minneapolis club back in 1979. I was standing in front of the lead player's amp (a 100W Fender Twin Reverb combo atop a Marshall 4x12 cabinet) about 30 feet away. My ears whistled/rang for three days.

For an arena concert, Metallica.

[Dr. Strange]

3. Violent Femmes

Inside a ball room--man was it loud.

[HopeHoops]

4. The Police - in the gym at Georgetown University

There was so much white noise that the ONLY way to hear the music was to mash both hands up against your ears to block it out. There was a 10' x 10' tower of speakers on either side of the stage (and the amps must have been at 11). The bass player spent the ENTIRE concert standing in front of one of the speaker towers. If he wasn't deaf by then, he had to have been shortly after that. Just not a good concert.

[KurtNYC]

59. Saw the B-52s in the gym at UCSB

and they had an all Klipsch sound system. Huge and pumped up but no feedback (because the B52s fake it while a studio recorded tape is played).

[tigereye]

83. are you serious? Is that still true when they tour?

Or was that in the old days?

[av8rdave]

5. Toss up...

The Doobie Brothers in '77, playing a fairly small venue, or Yes (90125 tour) in '84.

[abq e streeter]

6. The Cramps, Soul Asylum, Rancid all were incredibly loud.

[Avalux]

7. Jane's Addiction/Butthole Surfers.....and I was way to close to the amps. n/t

[MrCoffee]

8. When you stand as close to the amps as I used to, they're all loud.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

22. +1

what the hell was I thinking?

oh yeah

I wasn't.

[Lasher]

41. Me too.

My hearing has suffered from having stood in front of my bass amp, back in the day.

[hobbit709]

56. Yep. working the Backstage door at the 'Dillo, they were all loud.

[Tom_Foolery]

9. Barry Manilow...

That dude gets loud, especially when he does "Mandy"!

[RebelOne]

10. Deep Purple in the '70s in South Florida.

Great laser light show though.

[Tikki]

11. The Clash....but we hung in there near the front...

of the stage as long as we could but panicked a bit when we got separated by the moving crowd.

The Ramones were always good for a high velocity show and, of course, X.


The Tikkis

[7wo7rees]

12. Front row for Smashing Pumpkins...

...was louder than front row for the Rolling Stones.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Deafness.

[Luciferous]

23. Lucky! I had two chances to go see them, but turned them both down.

Now I wish I would have went, especially the second time because I was invited to go see their last concert in Chicago...

[MorningGlow]

13. REM, '83, Monroe County (NY) Fairgrounds, in an airplane hangar

But that was probably just because I was standing in front of the stack of speakers on stage right (no room anywhere else).

Also Billy Idol, '82, one of the college campuses in Rochester--can't remember which one. He was plain ol' damn loud.

[tigereye]

84. saw REM early on a few times, but don't remember them

being as loud as some other bands.

[progressoid]

14. Stones.

'82. It literally loosened the wax from my ears.

That was a good night.

[Brickbat]

15. Beastie Boys back in '92. Tiny venue. It was awesome.

[7wo7rees]

91. I thought about noise when I saw "Hey, I fuckin' shot that!"

It was LOUD in the Garden that night.
I saw 'em on the '98 "Hello Nasty" tour. They were terrific.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

16. Yes

1973.........did you say something? :bounce:

[dawg]

17. Diamond Rio.

Do not laugh!

We were right beside a huge speaker, and the mandolin guy kept motioning to the soundman to turn up his volume. It was excruciatingly loud for my tender ears.

Saliva, Yes, Kansas, the Rolling Stones, Living Colour, 3 Doors Down - none hurt my ears like this.

[NightWatcher]

18. Bob Weir and the rest of the Dead in 2009 at the Florida Theater in Jax

the sound system was messed up and it sent dozens of people into the streets. It was way too loud in the theatre to sit there

[Fire Walk With Me]

19. Gary Numan, 1981 or 82. Damaged my hearing a little.

Woke me up to the very good idea of earplugs at live shows, even small rooms with live bands (once saw every candle in a club flicker very visibly, jerking to the side, at every snare hit). I don't feel bad about losing a little upper-frequency detail to retain my general hearing.

I remember Einsturzende Neubauten as also being Very Loud...

[hack89]

20. Led Zeppelin 1977

ears rang for days.

[txwhitedove]

49. Led Zeppelin for me too, 1970, standing right by the 2-story stack of speakers.

I do not remember one single song.

[HERVEPA]

21. Matisyahu

[Luciferous]

24. VNV Nation at the Rave

[JanMichael]

25. 4th of July Fireworks in DC. Not a concert but damn it was LOUD! nt

[Tallulah]

26. In the late 70s

Day of Rock and Roll in the Superdome. Not only was I nearly deaf when we got out of there in the wee hours of the morning but I ate a piece of paper and stayed up for 3 days.

Heart, Van Halen, Blue Oyster Cult, so many I can't remember. Good times.

[Tikki]

27. Hi and welcome to DU....

:hi:

Those music festivals are a lot of fun. "Don't eat the brown paper..tee hee.."


Tikki

[Tallulah]

30. Hi

and thank you.

LOL, it was orange paper, no taste. I actually thought it was a joke.

It wasn't. I had a wondeful time. WIDE AWAKE. :rofl:

[NNN0LHI]

38. Did that lil' piece of paper have the image of the Disney character the Sorcerer's Apprentice on it?

If you can remember?

Don

[Tallulah]

42. No

It had a blurry smiley face. And boy did it make me smile. LOL !!!

[Iggo]

46. Welcome to DU.

:headbang:

[Tallulah]

48. Thanks !

Oh to be rockin' young again ! I ain't dead yet !

[Iggo]

51. Hey, us oldsters get better seats.

I sometimes feel kinda bad walking past those kids pressed up against the fence.

But I mostly feel good.

B-)

[Iggo]

28. Motorhead.

June 30th, 2008.

Glen Helen Pavilion, San Berdoo.

Permanent hearing damage. (Permanent so far...3 years later.)

[Lionel Mandrake]

29. I listen to real music.

It's played expressively, not LOUD.

In fact, it's so far from LOUD that
anyone in the audience who talks
while the music is being played
will be asked to kindly
shut the fuck up. :)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

31. Grand Funk Railroad, Cow Palace, "Shinin' On" tour...

...the same tour that was immortalized on their "Caught In The Act" album.

Those effers were LOUD.

[Throd]

32. TOOL. It was too loud to hear what was going on.

[slay]

33. WHAT??

i can't hear you! :evilgrin:

[livetohike]

34. Jo Jo Gunne - 1975 in the gym at college

and I was in the front row. I think my ears rang for a week.

Take Me Down Easy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r26aiQtuJmI&feature=related

[ThomWV]

35. "The Who", Miami Beach Convention Center, sometime around '72

[Mendocino]

36. Stevie Ray Vaughn

1984 in a 2000 seat venue. We were six rows from stage but to the side in front of huge bank of speakers. My ears rang for 3 days.

[flvegan]

37. Kidrock.

Before "Devil Without a Cause" became a hit, he toured little clubs, but he had arena equipment. I was actually sitting up on a counter area maybe 20 feet from the stage. It hurt.

Yes, I realize I just admitted to paying to see Kidrock. Matter of fact, I did so twice.

D'oh! Nevermind that last part.

[Bennyboy]

39. WEEN. Mettalica, Crue...

Ween was the loudest in quite some time too...

[applegrove]

40. U2 Auchtung Baby. Our seats were so far back in the stadium that Bono was nothing but a little ant.

The sound was great though. My friend wanted to go to their hotel after the show so we did. We 25 year olds were up all night with the teenagers while my friends husband went and slept. They either went to another hotel or slipped in. We never saw them.

[Tallulah]

43. Peter Frampton

had a hell of a show back in the day. Yes too.

[Maccagirl]

44. Cheap Trick

My ears rang for days.

[tigereye]

85. wished I had seen them back when...

[Canuckistanian]

45. A band called Great Big Sea

Very popular here in Canada. We won tickets to go see them 5 years ago.

Our seats were right behind some giant speakers. We had to stuff our ears with Kleenex, it was so bloody LOUD.

[mulsh]

47. The Swans at the Mabuhay in SF.

My friends and I couldn't hear very well for about a day.

at a larger venue it would be the Kinks at the Oakland Auditorium. those geezers surprised me with volume.

[nomorenomore08]

71. What year and date was that?

I saw them at the Regency Ballroom in March of this year, first time ever, I was way too young to have seen them back in the day. Amazing show though.

[shanti]

50. reggae on the river

one of them anyway. i usually ended up close to the speakers. i now suffer from tinnitus :(

[Initech]

52. Rage Against The Machine, also Devo on their most recent tour

[TrogL]

53. Pink Floyd

[krispos42]

54. Disaster Area

Obscure?

[MrScorpio]

55. General Public, Austin TX, 1984: It gave me hearing loss nt

[bobmorr1]

57. 1971

Grand Funk Railroad in 1971 in Chicago at the Amphitheater. Couldn't hear for a day afterwards. Probably damaged our ears at that concert. Chase in a neighborhood bar. To small for a concert but a great concert. That was about 1973 just before their plane crash.

[KurtNYC]

58. Lenny Kravitz at the Wiltern

very live room + huge PA.

[LeftyMom]

60. MDC.

Really tiny venue. My ears expressed their displeasure for days afterward.

[AngryAmish]

61. Replacements 1987 at the Riviera

I was about 2/3ds the way back and my chest was vibrating.

It wasn't just that show but I really fucked up my hearing. I can't hear people in crowds anymore. In loud restaurants I just nod and smile. Really don't enjoy rock and roll that much anymore because of the volume issues. (And the fact I go to bed early nowadays.)

[tigereye]

87. saw them in a small Pgh club - don't remember em being

that loud- but remember them being extremely drunk! :rofl: Think it was Pleased to Meet Me era.

[Bake]

62. Allman Brothers at Freedom Hall, Louisville

My ears rang for two weeks.

Bake

[givemebackmycountry]

63. UFO - Rainbow Music Hall in Denver in like 81 or 82.

Three encores closing with a 12 min version of "Rock Bottom"

[HughBeaumont]

64. Sunn (o)))), Wexner Performing Arts Theater

95 minutes of Kilohertz-laden drone, feedback and brown notes played through about a dozen miked cabs. People were actually standing in front of the PA stacks and meditating.

High on Fire at the Euclid Tavern, 2001. Their first Cleveland appearance.

godspeed you black emperor at the Beachland, 2005 (?) You wouldn't think of them as a "loud" group, but damn those Canadians blast.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

66. Bruce Springsteen 1978, Darkness on the Edge of Town tour.

the old Coliseum, Houston.
I remember walking out feeling like my head was wrapped in a bale of cotton for several hours.

I guess that was temporary hearing loss.

There was one concert I participated in in 1976 as part of the Bicentennial. I was playing in the Houston Civic Symphony, outdoors at Hermann Park. We were playing the 1812 Overture and instead of cannons, we had some civil war re-enactors out in front of the stage shooting muskets. This was probably ten to twenty feet to my right, since I was at the front edge of the stage playing first violin. Damn shots made me jump about a foot. Way too loud. I couldn't play at the end of the piece, it disturbed me so much.

:banghead:

Guess they thought classical musicians were immune to hearing loss? I don't know whose stupid idea it was to use guys with muskets.

[Ahpook]

67. Easy

Motorhead at the Merriweather Post. This is an outdoor venue and you still couldn't get away from the chaos of noise.

It was crystal clear, though :)

[Kaleva]

68. Journey, Heart, Cheap Trick and Ted Nugent in Milwaukee in 1978.

[Grantuspeace]

81. I was there too.

The "Grand Slam Jam".

[backwoodsbob]

70. Judas Priest

Turbo Lover tour in Charlotte N.C.

[NNN0LHI]

76. I will be honest with you. Scorpions and Judas Priest were close

I had to try and remember which one was really louder before I made the OP and it was a tough decision.

Judas Priest was really loud too. And we were sitting about as far away from the stage as you could get at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago when we seen them. And it was still real loud.

Scorpions we were closer to the stage. That is probably why I picked that one.

Don

[backwoodsbob]

94. yeah distance probably influenced my choice as well

I was main floor near the stage for Priest

[Rhiannon12866]

72. Bruce Springsteen.

I saw him at a fairly small venue, University of Vermont, when my brother was going to college there, 1980. I couldn't hear much for a couple of days, but it was a great show! :applause:

[DebJ]

95. Hubby and I saw Bruce in DC a few years ago. We couldn't

walk straight for quite awhile after the concert, nor hear much of anything.

[begin_within]

73. What?

[InternalDialogue]

74. INXS (I know! I wouldn't have thought so either!) in about 1987

And it was outside, too, which probably made it slightly less loud.

Same thing with a My Morning Jacket show in about 2005. Outside as well but deafeningly loud.

[Pendrench]

75. The Ramones - at Hammerjacks in Baltimore.

If I remember correctly, this was one of the last shows with Dee Dee.

Tim

[daggahead]

77. Rush ... at Cobo Arena in Detroit 1980. n/t

[RZM]

78. Slayer n/t

[midnight armadillo]

79. Atari Teenage Riot in 1997

I had foam earplugs (26 db reduction ones), with silicone earplugs over them. That protected my eardrums but the sound pressure levels induced nausea. Had to bail. Stepping out into the street was a huge relief.

[Highway61]

80. Frank Zappa

I was in the second row. Will NEVER hear Tied To The Whipping Post like that ever again. Amazing.

[tigereye]

82. hmm, X on the staircase inside a theater- my ears rang

for quite some time after. Amazing show.

[Skip Intro]

86. Metallica. Ears ringing afterward. KISS was pretty loud too.

Haven't yet had the pleasure to see Judas Priest or Slayer.

[Xicano]

88. Iron Maiden Long Beach arena 1985

n/t

[GReedDiamond]

89. HOT TUNA - Auditorium Theater, Chicago, IL, 1974...

...my ears have been ringing ever since.

[DBoon]

90. Sonic Youth

nt

[tammywammy]

92. Deftones

Both times.

[EFerrari]

93. Robin Trower at Winterland in 1974ish.

Good but 'way too loud.

[DebJ]

96. So loud I didn't have to go to it: Jimmy Buffett, year after year,

in Columbia Maryland at Merriweather Post Pavilion. I lived more than a mile away from the Pavillion, and on the other side of the big mall. But every summer he woke my children up as Margaritaville literally made our windows vibrate. You could not escape it. I hate that song now.

[Alexander]

97. Testament, Megadeth, and Slayer, 2010.

Testament and Megadeth were awesome, but for whatever reason, whoever did the mixing for Slayer completely screwed it up.

My ears were ringing for almost a week afterwards.

[blueamy66]

98. Scorpions for me as well!

I think that I was deaf for a week!