Quote:
Originally Posted by CrushLive
Are you talking about hearing the sound in the pit from their monitors? Maybe they’ve drastically updated speaker technology but pit is horrible for hearing the sound.
In general, you are right. Spac is a tough venue for the sound guy (friend of some of ours). The natural acoustics of the venue do not play nice with the speakers. However I will say I do enjoy the unique (echo-y) sound of
Spac. Go listen to Rye Whiskey. Amazing performance and the sound is super enjoyable on it.
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All I can do is speak to our experience. 2017 was our first time back at SPAC since '98. N1 in the pavilion middle lowers toward the back. We thought it sounded pretty good (although the fans singing did overpower D&T) until we were on the lawn for N2. There was just greater clarity and the crowd singing didn't overpower the fellas.
We had balcony seats both nights in 2018...being further to the right side for N1 and is sounded okay, but not great. The PA was pushing the limits of what the shed can handle. N2 center of balcony and the PA was definitely overpowering the shed...and the crowd singing drowning out a huge amount of the mid frequencies...Dave, his guitar, Tim, Buddy...they were all sounding muffled.
In 2019 we were near the back (last coupla rows before the lawn rail) of the lower pavilion and the sound was okay for N1. Some of similar issues as mentioned above, but not quite as bad. N2 we got the rail in front Tim and the little speaker stack in front of him has a killer mix. It was a bit loud, but you could hear Dave's voice and guitar with more clarity than any other seat we'd had in the shed. Again, just our experience.
For N1 this year we were in 6U to the extreme right of the stage...actually got to spend most of night on railing to the right where the buses are parked...and the lack of clarity was there and it was hard to clearly hear Jeff, along w/ Dave's voice. We finished the show on the lawn and the difference was massive in being to hear EVERYTHING and everyone clearly. For N2 we had seats in 9KK, but we did a swap and downgraded to lawns. The sound was even better than the end of N1, barring the assholes to our left and rear that talked for almost the entire show...why do these people bother going to shows?
The higher ceiling-ed non-balcony sheds handle DMB's sound system better than SPAC. I just think they need to dial it back a bit for SPAC, but I doubt they will.
Obviously not everyone has had our experience or shared it, which doesn't mean anything. I've got sensitive ears, but I know what I'm hearing. Hearing every note that Dave sings, his guitar, and Jeff's woodwinds are key to a great sonic experience for me when seeing the band. Unfortunately that's not happening at the level I expect or like within the SPAC shed these days.
Wolf Trap is basically a smaller version of SPAC and they have none of these issues. I'm guessing the bands are tuning to their needs more. At less than a 1/3 of SPACs total capacity and about 3,700 shed seats vs. 5,000 we're talking less popular artists, but still...
Regardless, we'll be trying to get pavilions again for SPAC in 2022...hopefully pits again for at least one night, but we'll downgrade again if that's how we're feeling.