Loud and Louder

I have been to two concerts of two highly-regarded groups in a week--Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and two other punk bands in a church basement, and Los Campineros at the Black Cat, a DC rock club. And both suffered from over the top loudness.

The sound systems at each venue were ill-equiped to handle the sounds of either group, and the resulting muddled music mix was a thick cereal of noise. But in both cases, the crowd seemed to eat it up with enthusiasm. The difference between the rest of the crowd and me may have been that I was not really familiar with either band's catalog of music, and the fans were--they could make out the songs even with the murky mix. But that should not matter. Judged on the quality of the real sound that was present for all, the fans and all music listeners deserve much more from the groups and the clubs, and until the groups and clubs ensure the appropriate sound, the appropriate place for the fans and music listeners is at home.