[kj] OT: Loud Shows

[CEPLASTER at aol.com]

As far as loud shows go,   I used to do live sound for bands  around the 
Boston area, which allowed me to check out lots of shows over and  above the ones I
 would go to see as a fan.   A bunch of the bands I  worked for did support 
for some of the bands in question here.   Saw  Sugar a bunch of times and they 
were loud as hell, no doubt.    I  think I may have been at the WUST show 
someone was talking about.  Saw Dino  Jr. at the old Ritz in NYC when Murph and 
Lou were still in the band, which was  easily one of the most painfully loud 
shows I ever experienced.    During the show, watching the band from the dressing 
room that was directly over  the stage, even with all the doors shut and 
earplugs in, it was like having a  spike being driven into your head.  Never saw 
MBV, but their reputation for  loud was well established.
     Now,  if you want to talk about the absolute  loudest one I can 
remember,  their was a Swans show I saw at the Rat in  Boston, it was '86 I think, and 
at that point the Rat had a really nice beefy  system in there.  When you 
walked into the club that day, the first thing  you noticed was that there was 
extra p.a. there, as the band had brought in  extra subs for the show. At that 
point there were two drummers in the band "Holy  Money" period I think,  
Westberg had a mountain of guitar cabs, and the  bass player had two huge cabinets 
stacked on top of each other. 
      When they were playing,  there was a  physical component to the sound, 
where you really felt like you were being  physicly assaulted.  Not so much in 
the ears, but in the GUT.  It was  really remarkable.  At that point they 
were using CBGB's sound people for  their touring sound, who at the time were all 
quite good. At the Boston  show I think Steve McAllister was doing the sound 
(later went on to do some  studio production,
COC among others.  In addition to being one of the loudest shows I  ever saw, 
 it was also one of the best sounding gigs I have seen before of  since.   It 
was SO loud,  but at the same time it was so clean  and clear,
truly a remarkable job that he  did.                 - Carl P. Boston



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