Wembley sound quality

mook · June 2007

Please have a look at the poll on this link. I just got back from the show and i cant help but think that the sound quality at the Wembley show was very bad. I was extremely excited about this show, but I found myself wishing at times that they would finish the set with slow accoustic songs or just stop alltogether. Ed was quite pissed off about it at several occations.

Please click the link below to vote on my poll. I'd like to know what you made of the show.

http://mookiepics.blogspot.com/2006/11/pearl-jam-in-praha.html

Please don't be too negative on this post. I think the setlist was brilliant, but there was times when it would not have made a difference whether Mike was even there or not. I could not hear him in some songs.

chino · June 2007

I have nothing bad to say about the sound quality at all, I can't remember any time that I couldn't hear Mike.

Have you got any examples of when Ed was pissed off at the sound quality? Without them it's a kinda baseless comment.

Byrnzie · June 2007

mook wrote:

Please have a look at the poll on this link. I just got back from the show and i cant help but think that the sound quality at the Wembley show was very bad. I was extremely excited about this show, but I found myself wishing at times that they would finish the set with slow accoustic songs or just stop alltogether. Ed was quite pissed off about it at several occations.

Please click the link below to vote on my poll. I'd like to know what you made of the show.

http://mookiepics.blogspot.com/2006/11/pearl-jam-in-praha.html

Please don't be too negative on this post. I think the setlist was brilliant, but there was times when it would not have made a difference whether Mike was even there or not. I could not hear him in some songs.

Thank you for making me feel slightly better about missing the show.

Edit: Although someone else has posted that they've been to 36 shows and Wembley was top 3. :(

edwho · June 2007

Floor standing up-front you will miss the full sound because the main P.A. speakers are hanging above you.

Mike’s stage amps seem to get smaller and fewer every tour.

pdh1978 · June 2007

I was stood just right of centre, about 1/4 of the way back, and I couldn't hear Mike's guitar either. Severed Hand sounded really empty without it :(

And the only time Eddie seemed disappointed was when he asked the tech to do something for his acoustic guitar before No More...

jrd · June 2007

Great show. Shit sound.
Standing about 1/2 way to 3/4 of the way back, directly in front of Mike most of the time. Sound was very muddled, i found it hard to pick out either Stone or Mike alot of the time.

bertan · June 2007

i was standing right in the middle about 9th 10th row for the first half of the show and everything was ok. then i moved to the back and left, and it started getting shitty. insturments wasn't clearly heard at some points, i have a loud ringing in my ears which didn't happen at all in athens (first row).

the problems didn't bother me that much, but i couldn't hear anything jeff played in indifference and that was a real disappointment. did anyone else had that problem?

btw, just checked your blog, i am the guy with dreads who was next to you in the que

FinsburyParkCarrots · June 2007

chino wrote:

I have nothing bad to say about the sound quality at all, I can't remember any time that I couldn't hear Mike.

Have you got any examples of when Ed was pissed off at the sound quality? Without them it's a kinda baseless comment.

Sounded fine. I was actually pleased there wasn't too much top solo.

olddirtydoggy · June 2007

Its very easy to get back from a gig and get carried away with the hysteria of it all.
As has already been said from the point of view of hearing something new, 10/10 but the sound was quite bad with a lot of echo and boom bouncing off the high roof and back wall.
I thought the performance was average for the guys, by no means as strong as the performance from last years Reading fest, anyone who says different mightbe in denial.
Please don't flail me for any negatives, the show was the tits!.....but not as good as other performances I've attended.

Beck.. · June 2007

I think the sound wasnt that good at the back,got a bad fuzz that drowned eds voice out abit,but was still worth goin,amazing!

FinsburyParkCarrots · June 2007

olddirtydoggy wrote:

Its very easy to get back from a gig and get carried away with the hysteria of it all.
As has already been said from the point of view of hearing something new, 10/10 but the sound was quite bad with a lot of echo and boom bouncing off the high roof and back wall.
I thought the performance was average for the guys, by no means as strong as the performance from last years Reading fest, anyone who says different mightbe in denial.
Please don't flail me for any negatives, the show was the tits!.....but not as good as other performances I've attended.

I'm giving Ed nine thumbs up.

mook · June 2007

bertan wrote:

i was standing right in the middle about 9th 10th row for the first half of the show and everything was ok. then i moved to the back and left, and it started getting shitty. insturments wasn't clearly heard at some points, i have a loud ringing in my ears which didn't happen at all in athens (first row).

the problems didn't bother me that much, but i couldn't hear anything jeff played in indifference and that was a real disappointment. did anyone else had that problem?

btw, just checked your blog, i am the guy with dreads who was next to you in the que

Hi

I was thinking that you would be quite happy when they started playing indefference

mook · June 2007

chino wrote:

I have nothing bad to say about the sound quality at all, I can't remember any time that I couldn't hear Mike.

Have you got any examples of when Ed was pissed off at the sound quality? Without them it's a kinda baseless comment.

Around the second song or so, Ed looked slightyly upset, I took as him posssibly being in a bad mood. At stages he look to his left, at the tech guys and made gestures, and when they swapped mics for the first or second time, he shouted to the the guy from Cornwall somethings like "Can you hear that ringing sound?", the new mic picked that up very clearly. he had this look of dissaproval on his face when he picked up the cordless mic to go out to the corners of the stage. earlier his mic cord got stuck, and Stone had to untangle it for him.

There were stages when his voice sounded so drowned out by distortion and that incredibly high pitched sound that overshadowed the room at times, that i just stood there in disbelief. one of the things i enjoyed at Reading was the best concert audio I had ever heard, and now this. It was my fourth time at Wembley, and all the other act's sound was good or perfect.

I was about 3/4 from the front, on Stone's side. Even the crowd noise, had this high pitch over it, so maybe it was out of the band's control.

I'm very worried as I have this loud ringing in my ears that wont go away and I have never had it before.

Sorry for the rambling guys, I love PJ just as much as all of you, but I just need to get this out of my system.

mook · June 2007

olddirtydoggy wrote:

Its very easy to get back from a gig and get carried away with the hysteria of it all.
As has already been said from the point of view of hearing something new, 10/10 but the sound was quite bad with a lot of echo and boom bouncing off the high roof and back wall.
I thought the performance was average for the guys, by no means as strong as the performance from last years Reading fest, anyone who says different mightbe in denial.
Please don't flail me for any negatives, the show was the tits!.....but not as good as other performances I've attended.

i agree. i think the setlist ruled, but i didnt quite believe Ed when he said they are enjoying themselves. I am 6'8" tall and i reckon i was less than 15 meters from Ed, and I defenately saw him not beeing as happy as I have seen him in so many videos over the years. he was a little drunk when they started, and there was a few hints at his displeasure with the sound.

this was my 3rd show. first one was Reading. audio could not have been better, ever.

second one was Prague, and people sad then that the band, and many of the fans were not happy with the sound there.

i now find myself trying to cling on to the memory of the first two shows.

mook · June 2007

smile75 wrote:

I think the sound wasnt that good at the back,got a bad fuzz that drowned eds voice out abit,but was still worth goin,amazing!

i agree, it was well worth going. next time i'll be uneasy untill they start playing. i might be too obsessed with sound by the time i see them again.

i think those little soft earplugs will help.

Byrnzie · June 2007

mook wrote:

Around the second song or so, Ed looked slightyly upset, I took as him posssibly being in a bad mood. At stages he look to his left, at the tech guys and made gestures, and when they swapped mics for the first or second time, he shouted to the the guy from Cornwall somethings like "Can you hear that ringing sound?", the new mic picked that up very clearly. he had this look of dissaproval on his face when he picked up the cordless mic to go out to the corners of the stage. earlier his mic cord got stuck, and Stone had to untangle it for him.

There were stages when his voice sounded so drowned out by distortion and that incredibly high pitched sound that overshadowed the room at times, that i just stood there in disbelief. one of the things i enjoyed at Reading was the best concert audio I had ever heard, and now this. It was my fourth time at Wembley, and all the other act's sound was good or perfect.

I was about 3/4 from the front, on Stone's side. Even the crowd noise, had this high pitch over it, so maybe it was out of the band's control.

I'm very worried as I have this loud ringing in my ears that wont go away and I have never had it before.

Sorry for the rambling guys, I love PJ just as much as all of you, but I just need to get this out of my system.

I've seen about 10 bands play at Wembley and apart from the Cult - which was just loud as fuck, and when I was standing at the side not far from the stack of amps - the sound has been shit every single time. I'll say it again. A friend of mine just helped design the new Wembley complex, and he told me that there's a swimming pool under the arena which they can't touch because of the fact that it's been designated as a listed building. So basically, you were standing above a swimming pool last night - which will do very strange things to the acoustics.

mook · June 2007

bertan wrote:

i was standing right in the middle about 9th 10th row for the first half of the show and everything was ok. then i moved to the back and left, and it started getting shitty. insturments wasn't clearly heard at some points, i have a loud ringing in my ears which didn't happen at all in athens (first row).

the problems didn't bother me that much, but i couldn't hear anything jeff played in indifference and that was a real disappointment. did anyone else had that problem?

btw, just checked your blog, i am the guy with dreads who was next to you in the que

Did you get your merchandise after the shwow? I got the white t-shirt and the Wembley tour poster. very happy about that

mook · June 2007

Byrnzie wrote:

I've seen about 10 bands play at Wembley and apart from the Cult - which was just loud as fuck, and when I was standing at the side not far from the stack of amps - the sound has been shit every single time. I'll say it again. A friend of mine just helped design the new Wembley complex, and he told me that there's a swimming pool under the arena which they can't touch because of the fact that it's been designated as a listed building. So basically, you were standing above a swimming pool last night - which will do very strange things to the acoustics.

very interesting. thanks for helping me to get over the dissapointment. if they ever play Wmebley again, i'll either stand as far back as I can or get seated tickets along the side somewhere.

spiral out · June 2007

I was in n12, i thought the gig was brilliant, my fav pearl jam gig so far.

I was at reading and i saw them the last three times they played at wembley.

The sound probably wasn't great but every gig i go to someone complains about the sound so, i just don't pay attention to it any more. It certainly didn't ruin the gig for me.

I think being to close to the front though means your not going to hear it as well because the speakers are not pointed at you.

mook · June 2007

spiral out wrote:

I was in n12, i thought the gig was brilliant, my fav pearl jam gig so far.

I was at reading and i saw them the last three times they played at wembley.

The sound probably wasn't great but every gig i go to someone complains about the sound so, i just don't pay attention to it any more. It certainly didn't ruin the gig for me.

I think being to close to the front though means your not going to hear it as well because the speakers are not pointed at you.

yeah, think you are right. I learned my lesson. I love this band too much to stay sour over something like this, but for as long as i still have this ringing in my ears, i'll stay in this mood. i can't even hear my PC's fan.

spiral out · June 2007

mook wrote:

yeah, think you are right. I learned my lesson. I love this band too much to stay sour over something like this, but for as long as i still have this ringing in my ears, i'll stay in this mood. i can't even hear my PC's fan.

I can't stand near the front anymore as my ear drum really doesn't like being to close to those way to loud speakers. Back for me always, just to save my hearing so i can still listen to music when i hit 90.

Wembley sound quality

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