I’m kind of curious. My wife and I went to see them at The Carolina Theatre (Durham, NC) this evening and we walked out during the first song. The sound mix was terrible…way too loud and way too much compression. I was quite surprised, since The Zombies were not noted as being a super high-volume band in their heyday.
I realize that volume and compression can cover a multitude of musical sins, but this was (for me) unendurable. It’s a shame, too as I was looking forward to some of their classic tunes.
Anybody else? The theater was only about half-full.
BTW, The Carolina Theatre staff were very sympathetic and considerate, offering me the option to sit in the balcony or just stay in the lobby. But a bad mix is a bad mix. I’d just as soon sit at home and listen to a good mix at a reasonable volume with and adult beverage in my hand if I can’t see the performance.
Well, that’s disappointing. I had always thought of the Zombies’ music as depending on complex vocal harmonies rather than blasting you out of your seat.
We have a venue nearby called the Bull Run. They book all kinds of great acts. Sadly, the sound invariably sucks. Had to walk out on Albert Lee, who is not exactly a hard rocker, but everything sounded like mud. Loud mud. Saw James Hunter there this summer and it was barely tolerable. It’s frustrating as hell.
As a former sound engineer I can tell you that I find many live acts too loud for their own good. For many years now I have routinely carried a set of Etymotic Earplugs with me all the time. I generally dislike loud environments anyway so they get a lot of use. I often find at gigs that I need them for the support acts but not for the headliners.
Where were your seats in relation to the mixing board? I’m not familiar with that venue. Is it an arena? Open air? An old theater? A tiny club?
Personally, I try to stay right in front of, or right behind the mixer. Or all the way up front in the pit, if it’s that kind of show, as central as doable. Some venues just sound awful, especially outside of the centerline.
If you were in cheap seats all the way off to the side, I’d have no doubt it sounded like trash, regardless of whatever magic the audio engineers could summon.
However, after all that consideration, yeah, maybe those engineers just suck.
The venue is an older theater. Nice. Been there many, many times to see a multitude of performers (Judy Collins, Gordon Lightfoot, Cheap Trick, Justin Hayward, Happy Together Tour, etc.) and never had this much of an issue. The opening act (Wendy Colonna) was fine…good clarity and volume. The house equipment is good.
I always suspect an effort to cover up, er, “deficiencies,” when someone decides on a mix and sound level like that.
Again, just curious if this was typical of other spots on their tour.
Saw them outdoors two years ago, and the sound was great, and the vocals and keyboards was perfect.
So was their show: besides the Zombies stuff, they played a lot of oldies that influenced them, then some Alan Parsons tunes (Colin had done vocals on some). Then, of course, a bunch of Argent songs.
Decades ago I was at my friend’s bar one night hanging out. He had a Cow Punk band playing that night (like country western but they didn’t wear shirts, were louder, and yelled “fuck” a lot). The bar’s sound guy had a family emergency, so my friend asked me to fill in.
So I (my current profound hearing loss was pretty bad even back then) ran the sound board. I removed my hearing aid and turned everything up to 11. The band paid my bar tab and told me I was the best sound guy ever.
