Loudest show you been to?

[RMD]

Not sure if this topic has been covered before. For me it was Motorhead in about '86 or so in a less than packed club, they could have played a coliseum at that volume. Also Sugar was real loud, and also I saw Nugent open for one of those crappy incarnations of Skynyrd and be was brutal loud.

[Bill in CT]

Boredoms at CBGB circa the Pop Tatari album was very loud.

Jesus & Mary Chain at The Ritz for the Automatic album was too...plus tons of distortion.

DBT was really loud in Portland, OR in 2003.

Lots of metal shows have been loud...Slayer, Motorhead, Sepultura, Obituary, Overkill...but not as loud as Boris & SunnO))) at Masonic Hall in Brooklyn in 2010. The next night at the same venue, Sleep headlined and wasn't overly loud, but opener A Storm Of Light was absolutely too loud. SunnO))) was also really loud when I saw them headline a show in CT on the Black 1 tour.

[Lone Wolf1]

Ted Nugent. hands down

[beantownbubba]

The Who, '78 or '79ish, Madison Square Garden. I saw them several times, but this one was by far the loudest (and the best, tho not "by far").

[lotusamerica]

Ted Nugent. hands down

The Ramones damaged my ears substantially. Twice. Stupid youth. Mostly protected them since then, but have let the joy of DBT, and those quiet songs in the middle, fool me into some ear ringing several times.

I love how they just give out earplugs at the door at My Bloody Valentine shows. No reason to even pretend that you should try to listen to that unprotected.

[dogstar]

Loop at junction 10 in Walsall - I couldn't hear anything for about 3 days afterwards.

[tinnitus photography]

My Blood Valentine takes this for me...during the 'noise holocaust' portion of "You Made Me Realise," my eyeballs were vibrating.

other notably loud shows:

Throbbing Gristle
Melvins
Dinosaur Jr
Boris
Boris + Sunn O))) (same tour as Bill's mention, but different venue)
Mogwai
Motorhead


a friend of mine said the early 90s Swans tours were his high water mark, and he saw the MBV/Dinosaur Jr tours...


i haven't seen Jucifer yet. i bet they are loud

[acoxofrd]

Social Distortion at the Masquerade in Atlanta. I Couldn't hear for like 2 weeks afterward.

[scotto]

Dinosaur Jr

Opening act Kyuss, with Dinosaur Jr a very close second.

[sactochris]

A J Mascis solo show in 2001. It was so loud that I had to leave. That's when I knew that I was old.

[tinnitus photography]

I love how they just give out earplugs at the door at My Bloody Valentine shows. No reason to even pretend that you should try to listen to that unprotected.

this was Jamie of ATP handing them out before the gig I spoke of.



seriously, i cannot imagine someone w/o them not really fucking up their ears during that show.

[Cole Younger]

Caimera opening for Killswitch Engage at the Tabernacle in Atlanta. Loud doesn't begin to describe it.

Saw a really loud Widespread Panic show that rates right up there for loudest show.

The Truckers seemed extra loud this year in Athens.

Probably the Caimera/Killswitch show takes top honors for loudness.

[LuthierJustin]

The loudest was Jucifer, thank goodness I had earplugs, it was insane
Buckethead was really loud too, no ear plugs I was standing at the stage, my ears rang for 3 days after

I want to see Sunn O))) so bad

[bovine knievel]

DBT ::    2008-6-24    ::    Empire Room    ::    Sacramento, CA

3 days of ear ringing ensued...

[dime in the gutter]

dexateens-chelsea's
matthew sweet-varsity
flat duo jets/murphy's

[cortez the killer]

dexateens

[RevMatt]

Motorhead -- I had sense enough to wear earplugs

The Stranglers -- Caught them in '85. Didn't bring plugs. My ears are still ringing from that show, no lie.

Dick Dale -- I went to see him without realizing his reputation for loud shows. Went into the bathroom and stuffed my ears with toilet paper.

[pearlysnaps]

Probably seeing this shit band called Film School. My wife wanted to go and I appeased. Half way through the set she realized I was right and we split. My right ear has been ringing ever since.

[LBRod]

First time I saw Rush. UFO opened. Took three days for my hearing to get back to as normal as it will ever be again.

[Zip City]

Dinosaur Jr. at Lollapalooza '93

[ruthy2705]

Ac/dc in the Ulster Hall Belfast 1979 with Bon Scott singing let there be rock.

[Ty Webb]

Earth Crisis at Phat Cats in Melbourne, FL. 1997

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I really have no idea but when my ears didn't stop ringing after seeing the Static Minds (a now defunct local group who specialized in ear blistering garage rock) at Slim's in Raleigh back in 2008, I brought it to the attention of my audiologist. Here it is 2012 and my ears (especially the right one) are still ringing. I don't go to a show these days without wearing earplugs.

[Flying Rabbit]

Mogwai @ Ottobar (circa CODY)

Band was super loud to begin with, but when Stuart ripped off his guitar strings during "My Father, My King", and wrapped the strings to the microphone--it created an unholy communion of reverb-induced feedback. So much so that the speakers in the venue apparently blew, and prior to that were going in and out. The audience literally didn't know if it was the speakers or if we were all going deaf. I had no ear protection, and had a ringing in them for over a week. On the drive home, I noticed by the time we got to our destination my throat was sore. Apparently my friend and I couldn't hear well and were yelling at full volume the entire ride back as we talked.

Saw Boris in DC at the Black Cat, and they weren't anywhere near as loud as I had heard. Kinda a letdown.

[RMD]

Ac/dc in the Ulster Hall Belfast 1979 with Bon Scott singing let there be rock.

Sick, would have loved to see AC/DC with Bon.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Ac/dc in the Ulster Hall Belfast 1979 with Bon Scott singing let there be rock.

Sick, would have loved to see AC/DC with Bon.

I saw them around that same time period on a bill with Cheap Trick and Nantucket in Fayetteville, NC. I was pretty unfamiliar with AC/DC at the time but that didn't last long. It was around that same time that Nantucket and AC/DC became really good friends. So much so, that Nantucket named their third album after AC/DC's "Long Way to the Top" (which they also covered on that album). In at least one of the many books that have since been written about AC/DC, Tommy Redd (of Nantucket) has been kind enough to share some of his old war stories from their touring days with AC/DC (which included both the Bon Scott and Brian Johnson eras).

[Liftedmemory]

Call me crazy but the loudest show I went to was The Hold Steady at the Republic in New Orleans...

My wife was with me and she made me leave before the encore was over she just couldn't take it anymore..

[Gator McKlusky]

The Cure in 1984 Salt Lake City Fairgrounds. Incredibly fucking loud. They were playing a bunch of droning songs from Pornography and The Top and my ears rang for 3 days afterward. Scared me and I have almost always brought earplugs to every show since then.

[Sub]

Mogwai @ Ottobar (circa CODY)

Band was super loud to begin with, but when Stuart ripped off his guitar strings during "My Father, My King", and wrapped the strings to the microphone--it created an unholy communion of reverb-induced feedback. So much so that the speakers in the venue apparently blew, and prior to that were going in and out. The audience literally didn't know if it was the speakers or if we were all going deaf. I had no ear protection, and had a ringing in them for over a week. On the drive home, I noticed by the time we got to our destination my throat was sore. Apparently my friend and I couldn't hear well and were yelling at full volume the entire ride back as we talked.

Saw Boris in DC at the Black Cat, and they weren't anywhere near as loud as I had heard. Kinda a letdown.

I don't quite know why but this was easily the funniest story I've read all day.

[bold99]

tie between Sleep at ATP 10'
Dinosaur Jr. at the Middle East Club in Cambridge, MA