Terri and I have endured a really shitty run of concerts over the past year...to the point of coming close to saying no mas. Sensational talent...but really horrible sound. It's as if this next generation of audio geeks posing as sound professionals only know 11.
Mercifully, that all changed last weekend as we found ourselves in an acoustically challenged outdoor venue in downtown Madison to see Robert Plant and Allison Krause with J.D. McPherson.
Sublime perfection. Their vocals were PERFECT on their own and intricately intertwined on cue. And the sound crew was dead on. I can't remember a concert in which the sound was that perfect. Almost studio quality.
As he walked off stage, Robert said, "come see us again...I have no fucking idea where we're going next but you can look it up."
Well, I did. They're in Toledo tonight and hanging with Willie and Dylan next weekend in Charlotte.
On this Music Friday, this was one of our faves last weekend. And, the original.
We might just venture out to another concert.
Having always been a clarity guy (ask my kids), I get your frustration with the sound quality having been to concerts where everything is precisely balanced (Eagles, Michael Buble and yes, even Kiss) and then enduring audio overload on Wednesday (John Waite, Styx & Foreigner) making it hard to enjoy. The musical talent was deserving of better. Reminded me of a bad version of the old Maxell commercial. BTW, Waite closed with a cover of "Whole Lotta Love" that was fantastic! Pretty good for a 71-year old guy;)
Posted by: Lee T | June 14, 2024 at 09:51
We've seen John a few times...always a great show. And funny...her duet with John shuffled forward on our drive to see her and Robert.
The sound at Jason Isbell was so bad, we couldn't make out a single word he sang...and I've heard great concerts over the years in that venue, so it was the sound crew. And Journey in Providence? We walked out (with several others) after 4 or 5 songs, the sound was so bad. And, it's not the venue there either because Toto (who opened) sounded great. So, it wasn't the house crew. It was Journey's sound techs.
Posted by: Bill Geist | June 14, 2024 at 12:48