What is the LOUDEST show you've ever seen?- Page 5

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 11:02am

You ever go to those Shen Yun shows? Went to one at Radio City and Beacon - each time was seated towards the back, and literally had to cover my ears to deaden the sound. I wasn't the only one.

[artscallion]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 11:03am

Little Shop of Horrors revival tour was amped up like it was a rock concert. It was so loud that if I hadn't already known what they were singing, I wouldn't have been able to make out a single word. Someone unfamiliar with the show went with me and complained later that they had no idea what was going on most of the time.

[Jay94]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 1:23pm

For me the first song in Jersey Boys was really loud.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 1:59pm

Billy Elliot! I was also in the rear mezz and had trouble making out a lot of the words, and it wasn't the accents or the actors- it was the acoustics. During quiet moments, the sound of rustling papers was deafening, and during intermission, I couldn't even hear my voicemail messages since the audience was so loud.

[LFazin]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 4:27pm

American Idiot, without a doubt.

[Patash]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 4:30pm

I saw Rent just after it moved to Broadway. I honestly couldn't understand more than about 10% of all lyrics -- there was screeching and feedback -- and afterwards I remember going to dinner and actually couldn't hear my friends talking. I suffered temporary deafness.

[DefyGravity777]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 6:01pm

Wicked is only loud in certain scenes and songs. When the Wizards head comes out, Defying Gravity,No Good Deed to mention a few.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 6:57pm

Loudest moment(s) related to a musical. Our HS suddenly encouraged the arts began having assemblies showcasing the musical for the season. There were always some kind of problems relating to tech issues. Mics gone haywire (tech kid practically shadowing the performers to work it out), full of static or sketchy sound quality, leaving some performers to do a performance straight from a microphone in-hand. So came the latest production of Little Shop of Horrors. Somewhat off on a tangent, but this particular school production got major local attention after our Audrey II actor (who was universally beloved at our school) died in a car accident and everybody had a heavy heart just thinking about that presence missing. Leaving the assembly, some of us thought we had gone deaf. The replacement for Audrey II, who also played the Dentist, almost did not need a microphone. Between his loud voice and the volume up to 11, nobody's hearing seemed normal for the remainder of the school day.

Loudest show I have actually seen on Broadway? Wicked. Young Frankenstein also had surprising punch considering the size of the theaters (Broadway and National Tour) that I saw the show in.
Updated On: 6/12/11 at 06:57 PM

[Hank]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 7:19pm

Memphis, I sat in C1, right in front of the speakers.

[DK69]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 7:23pm

Mamma mia !!!!!!! and Priscilla...

[nexttotheheights]

Posted: 6/12/11 at 7:48pm

IMO American Idiot wasn't that bad.
Next to Normal early in the run was super loud and I was sitting in row G. Later on I thought they fixed it but I think they overcompensated because it was almost too quiet and you couldn't hear the actors at some points.

[PReeves2]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 1:12am

American Idiot. Couldn't understand a word, nor did I really care to since I felt that I was being screamed at the entire show.

[roadmixer]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 4:31am

One thing to concern when determining "loudness" is the tonal quality of the system, of the mics and the acoustical effects in the venue. A system ca actually lower in decibels and yet still come across as more painful to listen to. Once example is when the low frequency information is removed for gain before feedback putting the vocals into this laser-beam like or tunnel quality where they really irritate your ear. A system with extra high frequency information will feel louder than one with balanced highs. A distorted (underpowered, speakers the wrong type etc.) system will almost always seem louder than a clean system with proper spectral response. Next time you listen to a show and think that it's too loud, ask yourself these questions...

1.) Is it loud throughout or only in parts of the show. Obviously having dynamics in a musical can really help to tell the story and just slamming the level for 2 hours is a lot different than having some big crescendos where needed or the ends of numbers or end of an act loud.

2.) What is actually loud? Guitars? Drums? Keyboard? Horns? If it is live instruments in an open pit or certainly when the band is onstage, the source of a trupmet can be blasting compared to the rest of the mix. If live elements are not behind screens or controlled through dynamics, the music can be aggressive sounding or patchy with some things reflecting all over the house and way too present in the "mix" whereas the sound design team has more control over items like keys which don't have a local sound coming out of them.

3.) Is the music too loud to hear the lyrics? If so, maybe listen to the lyrics, the diction and ask yourself if you would hear the lyrics even if the music went away. Music should be written AROUND the singing and dialog underscore moments so that it doesn't get in the way. If it does, the mixer needs to keep a steady hand on the band gas pedal and adjust throughout the piece in order to maintain intelligibility which is job # 1 in our business of theatre sound.

4.) What is the EQ like on the sound system? Does the system seem to be cohesive or does it seem to be uneven and not helping out with the intelligibility. Bad delay settings, bad level setting and bad EQ can cause some decent components to not play well together and often the quick fix is to turn it up to try to overcome the various cancellations and interactions which are making the sound nasty. Does the PA sound nice? Probably not if you get a headache and complain about too much volume.I would guess that the system is being made harsh sounding due to a number of the factors that I have touched on and when the vocals and/or band are pushed up beyond a point, it doesn't sound pleasant.

5.) I have done a large number of higher SPL shows over the years in not only live music but also musicals. WWRY in Las Vegas was a show that I did (also in Toronto). I have done 10 productions of Mamma Mia! around the world. I can say that the levels on those shows are in keeping with the artistic intent of the piece. They are pop shows and are treated to a pop-sensibility with a higher volume. Our systems were not IMHO shrill or nasty in any way and it was quite pleasant to listen to a kick-ass band play Queen at a level commensurate with what you would expect at a rock concert.

6.) All of the shows that I have been involved with fall well below OSHA standards for audio overexposure. We've even had some of them professionally tested and they needed no adjustment to play for audiences on Broadway or anywhere in the USA. Sitting in the wind section immediately in front of a bunch of brass blowing full out is another story. The exposure in many symphony orchestras in Europe currently contravenes government guidelines for occupational health. Some companies are actually changing their playing programs so that the 1812 overture and big loud pieces are not being performed as often due to acoustic damage to players' ears while sitting in the orchestra - no speakers or amps to blame.

Most people are in more danger of injuring their ears by listening to their iPod too loud then through overexposure on Broadway. Are some shows too loud? Absolutely. People feel that louder is funnier, louder will keep the audience awake and involved in the show more, loud will allow the audience to hear everything more easily and not have to work as hard to understand the story. If a scene is not working... mixing it louder is often tried before re-writing the text!

A well designed and well-tuned PA system with a sensitive, experienced operator can really bring a great level of creative freedom and excitement to a piece as long as you have a good reason for making it "loud". "Loud" should enhance the piece and not take you out of the story. "Loud" should still sound like the actors and seem to emanate from the actors and not from some piles of speakers at the prosc. Certainly much of the pop-music writing for Broadway these days lends itself to a fuller sound and it works in the context of those pieces. It would be ridiculous thought to apply the mix from Sister Act or Mamma Mia! to a show like Light In The Piazza or a revival of Sweeney Todd. Having said that, a pit orchestra should still have the full treatment of being amplified in order to balance the sound coming out of these shrunken numbers of musicians and to allow 17 people to approach the ability to crescendo like 40 people when needed. Most people have stopped reading, I know...

[Steve2]

Posted: 6/13/11 at 7:59am

American Idiot with Priscilla being a close second.