If you saw a classic rock band live, which had the best sound?

[RhyeInTheJar]

I've read many threads online about the loudest gigs people have attended, saying "so and so played so loud it was a deafening roar from the stage and my ears sizzled for a week after!" It makes for amusing stories but that just sounds like a bad gig to me.

So, which acts actually managed to put on a show where the music got across to the audience in a good way?

 

[Magic]

I saw Boston's first tour back in 1977. They opened for Foghat. It was an awesome sounding concert. They made Foghat look like amateurs. I saw them again in '78. Both times the sound was great, not too loud either.

Another concert that had a good sound, and fantastic light show, was Electric Light Orchestra.

 

[recgord27]

Saw Deep Purple in 1995 and they had perfect sound. Could hear all the instruments and singer clearly with no echo or feedback, and LOUD enough without feeling that you're being battered by the sound

 

[Romulus]

I think there are a lot of circumstances to combat before one could say if the live performance was good or not. For example the last Deep Purple gig at Hammersmith Odeon I took my daughter along with me. I loved it because it was Deep Purple with Ritchie Blackmore, and I knew the songs. However we were positioned on the left hand side near the front (facing the stage) so we got alot of one side sound and most probably weeks of ringing ears and deafness (I loved it because I was facing Ritchie) However someone else at the same concert may of been in the centre further back or up in the next tier in the middle and the sound for them may of been perfect. I think its a little bit similar to listening to two stereo speakers, some brand of speakers have a 'sweet spot' where one has to sit in a specific spot to obtain the full benefit of the sound and if there are more than one of you then one has to sit on the lap of the other, this maybe very pleasurable or a right pain depending on the person! And other speakers (eg ATC) have a wide spot so one can sit with others in comfort on a settee and not miss out on the full benefit of the sound.

 

[Sharp Dressed Man]

I agree with you about the sound @RhyeInTheJar. Gigs that are too loud, noisy and makes your ears ring for days afterwards are not fun. I'm there to enjoy good music and if I can hardly hear the music through all the noise, it kills the point of going to the concert in the first place.

I've been to tons of concerts over the years, anything from huge classic bands to small lesser known bands. To be honest, when it comes to classic rock bands, none of them ever had bad sound. Maybe I was lucky? When a was living in Vienna, Austria, there was a small venue notorious for having bad sound, no matter who played there - some bands simply wanted to be too loud for the room to handle. Needless to add, I've been to other small venues, even some smaller, that sounded perfectly fine, so I guess that room had more issues than just loud bands.

@Romulus is right too, of course. There's definitely other circumstances that can affect how enjoyable a gig is.

 

[bbif]

I'm lucky enough (and old enough) to have attended literally hundreds of classic rock gigs.

Can't recall a band ever having a better live sound than Floyd, with the Pulse tour being particularly awesome.

Genesis sound was always top notch too

But as alluded to above, I think most of the big rock bands cared enough to ensure the sound was right for the venue they were playing, and had the budget & the crew to do so

 

[BikerDude]

That's easy. Aerosmith 1978
They played a special Gig at the beginning of their spring tour in 1978 as a warm up and test of their new rig.
You had to mail in for tickets. My buddy got 2 and we went.
Their speakers were way way way too big for the little 2000 seat venue.
We stuffed toilet paper in our ears and went right down front.
I could literally feel all of my clothes moving on my body with every bass note.
It was ridiculously loud.
But still one of the best shows I've ever seen.
I remember Joe Perry looking at me and my buddy like we were nuts standing 10 feet away from a stack of speakers. But he and Steven were right there in front of us.
It was a no brainer.
The crowd had all moved to the middle to avoid the onslaught.
We stuffed our ears and went right into the storm.


Another at the same venue was Richie Blackmore's Rainbow.
Crazy loud.

The best sound would be a matter of when.
Concert sound has come a long long way.
They used to win with pure power. Especially outdoors.
They'd just pile up the speakers and overwhelm all obstacles.
But in reality the sound was not as good as it is now with much better technology.

 

[TeleCat]

Deep Purple always sounded loud and crystal clear every time I've seen them. Rush as well.

 

[Lynch]

First thing that comes to mind:

Pink Floyd on the Momentary Lapse of Reason tour