The sound at live shows is horrible....

I just got back from my 5th show (Hammersmith) and I'm really pissed. GA are a great band but they are letting themselves down by playing shows where you can't hear Brian sing above the muddy instruments. Are they just going for the headbanger crowd? I don't get it. Brian can sing so is it just inexperience in not knowing how sound travels around venues or are they intimidated by audiences? I'm tired so probably haven't written this post very well, but I needed to vent...

Have you been on the rial for the shows?

Yeah I disagree pretty much 100%

The only time I've ever had a complaint about their sound was at Clifton Park a few weeks ago and I was told by someone else (here?) and by a friend on a different tour that it was that particular venue's issue.

at radio city his voice was 2x louder than everything else. depends on the venue probably.

When i saw em at the Wiltern, it seemed like someone had hit the mute button on Alex L's mic and the bass.
I am pretty sure its all on the venue.

it totally takes away from the experience

Venue acoustics I would imagine. Also unless they take their own sound engineer on tour to do FOH sound then its not really their fault if the levels are off especially once you factor in the venues acoustics. This is all impart guessing but it would seem logical.

kieran wrote:

Venue acoustics I would imagine. Also unless they take their own sound engineer on tour to do FOH sound then its not really their fault if the levels are off especially once you factor in the venues acoustics. This is all impart guessing but it would seem logical.

They have their own sound guy, and a new one (this was his first show) because they had had complaints before. The sound in front of the stage was great, much better than in Brixton and you could actually hear what he was saying this time.

Thanks for the replies. It's interesting to hear what others think.

I agree it makes a big difference on where you are sat/standing and on the venue itself. I’ve always had standing tickets to their shows, but last night I was sat in the front row of the circle.

I’ve seen a fair number of concerts by various acts and certainly I’ve heard my share of poor sound but with the Gaslight Anthem I have a specific frustration with the instruments being played far too loud in comparison with the vocal. And it’s a reoccurring problem with their shows. I guess they are still a young band and haven’t quite figured it out yet.

It’s such a shame, because they are a great band but I don’t know if I want to risk seeing another show.

No band has a consistant live sound. It depends so much on the venue & where you are in the venue. I was at the back & I noticed if I moved a few feet away from the pillar then the sound was twice as powerful.

And besides, when you have thousands of people singing the same song, you'll struggle to hear the vocalist.

It was a good gig. However too many people have weak bladders & the inability to go a minute without having an alcoholic substance in their hands.

dude, get down the front and hear what the band can hear, awsome live.

even the biggest artists like u2 and springsteen suffer from sound issues when you are further back

oli1980 wrote:

dude, get down the front and hear what the band can hear, awsome live.

even the biggest artists like u2 and springsteen suffer from sound issues when you are further back

Springsteen's live sound is one of the worst of all the big acts I've seen, the best sound in 10 shows has been at Glastonbury and Hyde Park when he wasn't using his own rig.

Last night I thought the sound was very good, certainly compared to all the shows I'd seen before, it is a subjective thing though with so many factors having an impact.

oli1980 wrote:

dude, get down the front and hear what the band can hear, awsome live.

even the biggest artists like u2 and springsteen suffer from sound issues when you are further back

True, but I've gotten broken bones, including a broken wrist which I forgot about when clapping furiously at the end.

NeverTrustAJunkie wrote:

The only time I've ever had a complaint about their sound was at Clifton Park a few weeks ago and I was told by someone else (here?) and by a friend on a different tour that it was that particular venue's issue.

i had spoken to benny after the show and he pretty much said alex r and brian were having issues all night

rem999 wrote:

NeverTrustAJunkie wrote:

The only time I've ever had a complaint about their sound was at Clifton Park a few weeks ago and I was told by someone else (here?) and by a friend on a different tour that it was that particular venue's issue.

i had spoken to benny after the show and he pretty much said alex r and brian were having issues all night

yeah Northern Lights is a really really bad venue. Its notorious for having terrible sound. I've seen a couple of shows there and its been pretty bad every time.


Needless to say they probably wont be coming back to upstate NY after that show. Its a shame too they could have played at the Palace in Albany which would have been much better.

I agree that even veterans can still have issues. I just saw a recent video of Billy Joe Armstrong tossing a guitar across the stage because a string broke. Sound and equipment failure are two things that are probably daily worries for bands.

I guess this kind of critique can be subjective too. I thought the Stone Pony gig this summer was fantastic, but then someone on here was not satisfied with the sound, particularly the echo, which I actually liked. So I dunno.

I wouldn't bail out on TGA just yet. How many times have you seen them? Maybe you've just been unlucky.

Hammersmith sucked, but I was in an extremely poor position for sound, so it was to be expected. Bristol I was almost within touching distance of the main left-hand stack - crystal clear. Mix did sound MAYBE a little muddled, not that I'm a professional or anything.

Wolverhampton good not great - then again I was on the rail and I find that's usually a bit of a deadzone. All that was pointed at me was one single tiny little filler speaker at Alex R's feet. Obviously their stage monitors are pointing in the wrong direction so they're effectively useless. Main speakers are way off to the side too much.

I've heard worse. Certainly, when you take location in the venue out of the equation there's nothing really wrong with it IMO.

The Arena in Vienna last night had absolutely amazing sound, I still can't get over it. Brian's vocals were just at the perfect level. And I was even standing next to a speaker. One of the best sounding venues I have seen them play.

oldgospelchoir wrote:

When i saw em at the Wiltern, it seemed like someone had hit the mute button on Alex L's mic and the bass.
I am pretty sure its all on the venue.

Yeah I saw 'em at The Wiltern too, and the sound was pretty bad, still an amazing show

I just saw them soundchecking and they take it pretty serious as far I can tell. It's a lot of technical talk I don't really understand ;o)

belfast ulster hall , sound was very good especially the drums and bass from where I was 3 rows from the barrier

No complaints in Brussels a couple of weeks ago: sound was nearly perfect.

I also saw them at the Wiltern (LA) in july, and indeed, especially in the beginning the sound was a little bit problematic. But even that didn't bother me that much: the enthousiasm of the band and the simple excellence of the songs makes up for just about everything.