ROCK RIGHT: Four ways to make rock concerts more awesome

I love rock shows, but I think they could be better. In the spirit of constructive criticism, here's four ways to improve them:

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ROCK RIGHT: Four ways to make rock concerts more awesome

POSTED: Thursday, May 19, 2011, 10:00 AM

Filed Under: Music

Make room for the shorties!

It’s pretty much standard etiquette to leave a rock concert saying it was amazing. How often does a friend tell you she saw a band, and it was terrible — or even middling? Such rare evaluations are usually accompanied by a tone of surprise: “Actually, they really weren’t that good, believe it or not!”

In part, this is because people go to see bands whose music they already love — and the music is loud enough to cloak any bad notes. Listeners already have the songs in their heads, so instead of hearing the show, they’re just watching the band and listening to a flawless mental soundtrack. That means artists and sound guys can get away with not-so-great performances and still garner rave reviews from the audience.

I love rock shows, but I think they could be better. In the spirit of constructive criticism, here’s four ways to improve them:

1. Clarity before loudness. Way too often, I go to shows and can hardly hear anything but a pulsing, bass-heavy mess. Loud is fun; it’s part of the rock mentality. But when venues have to sell earplugs at concession stands—a bizarre phenomenon—they’re acknowledging that the music is too deafening for comprehension. Would you ever blast your iPod, then put in earplugs before popping on your headphones? That’s the logic here.

But it’s not just about hearing damage. What’s most bothersome is the inability to hear any individual instruments. When the volume’s pumped up, often all that’s audible is bass and drums—rendering guitars, pianos, violins, and everything else pointless.

2. Vocals should take center stage. When you send in a demo to a record company, they say to make sure the voice is far and away the loudest instrument. The same should hold true for live performances. As you’ve probably noticed, it’s incredibly rare that you can actually make out the lyrics over a full band, unless you know them already and can fill in the gaps. But vocals are the heart of popular music, from Britney to Dylan. So unless you’re being deliberately experimental, the singer should be by far the loudest thing in the mix.

3. Rope off a section for short people. I think I speak for all of us when I say we’d love to have a little area devoted solely to people under five foot eight. There could be a little sign like at amusement parks, but instead of saying “you must be at least this tall,” it could say, “you must be at least this short.” The special section wouldn’t necessarily have to be in the front: I’ve found that if the people up to 10 feet in front of you are short, you can see—even if there are taller people nearer the stage.

4. Have some benches at the back. OK, it’s not very rock ’n’ roll to need to sit down, but getting a breather from time to time might refresh fans so they can be all the more hardcore when they stand up again.

Posted by Matt Cantor @ 10:00 AM Permalink | Post a comment

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