It is 100% the fault of the soundman. The musicians in the band are the LAST ones to know that they’re too loud (or soft). The mix in the monitors might sound just dandy to me behind my kit, but the audience can’t hear the kick drum and the guitar is deafening.
In any large venue, drums are miked and amplipfied just like every other instrument - they can be turned up or down at will. All it takes is a kind soul on the board with a good ear.
Or you can do the musicians a favor and approach them between songs and mention that the mix has WAY too much whatever and needs to be adjusted.
No professional musician will ignore such a comment (e.g., if you said something like that to me during one of my shows, I would thank you and simply shove my hi-hat up your ass and use the pedal to make you say things like, “Look at me, everybody, I’m a big critic!” and “I must be a rich record producer, because I thought the band wanted my opinion!”).
I can tell already that you have not played in a band. Am I right? There are a LOT of variables you have to consider when you make statements like you have here. First, how big is the place the band is playing in? Yes it’s true that “amplification equipment” makes it possible to adjust volume… sometimes. In a large stadium, ALL of the instruments are miked, including the drums. However, many times, in small bars, at parties, etc., they are not. It’s not the drummer’s fault that he doesn’t have a volume knob on his drum set. There is a certain volume that a drummer HAS to play at. Below that volume, it’s nearly impossible to keep everything sounding smooth and even.
You also have to consider what type of music is being played. Yes, I HAVE been asked to play louder. I played metal, and as people get drunker, and rowdier, they want it louder. “Crank it up, man!!!” Heard that more than once.
I really don’t think bands “try” to piss off their audience. What good is a band without an audience? It makes no sense. It may seem like they are intentionally trying to piss you off, but more than likely, they simply KNOW what the hell they’re doing, and just because someone who knows NOTHING about playing music live asks them to turn it down, it doesn’t mean they can. Yeah, they could turn it down, but they know it’d sound like shit, and believe me, I’d rather have people saying “the band was good, but they were just too loud” rather than “the volume of the band was great, but they sounded like shit!”
I’m coming sorta late here, but I remember an interview with Paul McCartney on TV once and one (funny) thing he said was that many times it didn’t matter how they sounded, because most people who paid for concerts never heard them play. Back in the Beatles’ heyday when the girls would attend and scream nonstop, he said there were many times that he could barely hear the music even though he was up on stage- right by the speakers. Early on, during one concert a curious soundman went 10 rows into the audience and just shook his head, because he couldn’t hear anything at all except girls screaming. - MC
I may be deaf but doesn’t each player need a monitor in front of them so they can hear the music? I often see monitors if the bands are worth listening to.
That’s why acoustic music is the best. A friend used to be in a Brazilian drum and bagpipe corps, which is the best form of acoustic music. They were a blast at acoustic music festivals.
