Steven Wilson Steven Wilson Tour In Quad

[timbre4]

He really played Trains??

SW had previously taken pains not to play any PT songs. He made it a point that he played all the instruments on Radioactive Toy so that made it okay.

 

[ProgRules]

Just wondering if any of you wore earplugs; I read somewhere (here?) that the bass is so powerful, it overwhelms. If no plugs, any ringing in the ears after the show?

 

[timbre4]

Having seen them several times , I can say that it's not unreasonable. Volume is dependent on the venue and your position to PA cabinets. The theater shows have been reasonable at mid floor or balcony for sure.

The Clifton Park show was in a huge bar room and the room + PA were geared to a more brittle sound overall. (Co headline with Opeth might be why it sounded this way. I risked getting beside. a PA cab to be within 15 feet of Guthrie, Adam and Theo. Once I got past it, I could see and hear well.

During start of Holy Drinker there are two basses going. Deep keyboard textures there and during Watchmaker too. All great.

Bottom line: take earplugs if concerned.

 

[uffeolby]

No earplugs and no ringing. The sound quality at RHA was good but not as good as on my previous SW shows (In Stockholm and London Shepherd's Bush). From my position the bass was good but the highs was a bit schrill/harsch when the whole band got into the more heavy stuff.

 

[César]

I tried in the heaviest moments to wear earplugs (a pair of etymotics) but didn't like them a lot. I could distinguish better one instrument from another, but there was no bright at all, sound was a bit dull with the plugs.
Even though I found the volume a bit too high and bass was making vibrate some loose structures at the RAH, most of the time I didn't use the earplugs and no ringing at all.

 

[capsid]

He really played Trains??

SW had previously taken pains not to play any PT songs. He made it a point that he played all the instruments on Radioactive Toy so that made it okay.

He opens the show with an acoustic solo version of that (segued from a video running of as a backscreen projection; neat stuff), so the other band members are not involved. He's played it as a solo acoustic version on earlier shows for the encore when they didn't have so much material to draw on.

 

[colsky]

No earplugs and no ringing. The sound quality at RHA was good but not as good as on my previous SW shows (In Stockholm and London Shepherd's Bush). From my position the bass was good but the highs was a bit schrill/harsch when the whole band got into the more heavy stuff.

I had no ear ringing the next day either, and I sometimes do after gigs. The sound quality at RAH, lovely venue though it is, seems to vary depending on where you're sat. I've been to gigs there with superb sound, but also to gigs there with lousy sound. The sound for SW the other night was overall excellent. One thing seemed to change after the break though. In the first half I thought the bass was quite loud, and I struggled to hear the flute and sax. In the second half however the bass seemed to have been turned down a bit, but I could then hear the flute and sax well. I was sat towards the front, on the right hand side of the stage.

 

[ProgRules]

Thanks for the info guys. I've only had ringing after 1 concert, Yes at the House of Blues, where I was standing close to a PA. My understanding is that ringing in the ears is a sign hearing has been damaged and I value my hearing above any of the other senses; age alone has taken enough of it away, don't want to lose any more.

 

[César]

Hi all,

In the end I'll have one spare ticket for Steven's concert in Madrid on Friday this week. If anyone wants it, please send me a PM (price is negotiable from face value to 0) :sun