Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi all,
Was wondering what everyone's thoughts/feelings/experiences of gigs are?
On paper they're not the best places to be with so many things going on. For myself I tend to get uncomfortable when the crowds are packed too close and I get hyper-aware of how close I am to other people and feeling elbows etc brush against me. Feel like I constantly have to hold my breath. What I find weird for myself though is I love the feeling of the sound at gigs, not particularly the sound itself, but the vibrations of it in my chest and my body and limbs, I close my eyes to block out the lights and just feel it in my bones. For this reason I prefer rock gigs to anything else.
Anyway, just wanted to ask what others peoples thoughts and experiences were?
I last went to a gig in 2011 where some mainly 1960s music was performed (not hard or heavy rock) . I liked the music but I found the volume way too loud (I wasn't aware of anyone else in the audience feeling the same) and I had my fingers in my ears to provide some relief. As a result of this I am unlikely to go to any more rock concerts unless I have my noise cancelling earphones with me.
Anyone who goes regularly will either be fine with the high volumes (possibly helped by the hearing loss they've picked up) or wearing earplugs, so it's not just a you being weird thing.
You can get lots of kinds of earplugs these days that will massively cut down the volume without muffling the sound like earphones or regular foam earplugs would. In my experience it actually makes it sound better than no earplugs anyway because you get a much more balanced sound instead of things being drowned by bass. You should give it a go if it's something you want to do and the volume is the thing stopping you.