[Lurbuk]

So I'm seeing the Hip live for the very first time in April and I'm very excited to finally see than, but there's one thing that's worrying me. I've read a few reviews of Hip shows from 2013 that complained about the sound being too loud. Like this one:


"The songs were great but the Tragically Hip cranked up the volume way too high for a venue such as the Orpheum. The sound was so loud that many people were holding their hands over the ears and the high volume distorted the lyrics and music. I stayed right to the end of the concert but I noticed a number of people who were holding their hands over their ears end up leaving the theatre and they did not come back."

Are the Hip normally this loud? I know that rock concerts in general tend to be quite loud but are they any louder than the average rock band?

[Escape@Hand]

I've seen them 18 times and never noticed them to be abnormally loud. I do wear earplugs to every concert I go to though; I don't appreciate the ringing in my ears the next day, and I find things sound better when I wear them (especially with my custom fit ones).

[bstrauss24]

50 shows and I can tell you without question, it varries. And from experience, the louder the band is, the worse it is for everyone as Gords screams instead of sings.

[Killer Whale Tank]

Maybe I sound like an old man, but: I saw them in Vancouver on the 'Plan A' tour, and let me tell you: way too loud. I was seriously worried about my hearing for days and days after. And I'll never see them again without earplugs. Nothing stupider than suffering tinnitus just to go see a rock band. And really, there's no reason why a good band needs to crank the volume up to ear-splitting levels. The whole thing is dumb.

[gsmacleod]

I've never thought of them as being extremely loud - typical rock show levels. Everytime I've seen them I've had a bit of ringing in my ears the next day and back to normal after that.

However, after seeing Monster Truck open for Alice in Chains, and I noticed my ears ringing between songs, I've started wearing ear plugs to shows. I picked up some Etymotic plugs (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.etymotic.com">http://www.etymotic.com</a><!-- m -->) have a fairly flat noise reduction profile so after you adjust to them (5 minutes) you really don't notice that you're wearing them. They're also great for playing as things aren't muffled, just quieter.

ETA - if you order, Canadian shipping is crazy but for any order under $50, they reduce shipping and refund (I think I paid $5 S&H).

Shane

[spottrax]

Being in the older demographic on here, I usually bring ear plugs (almost never end up using them) to rock shows. The venue and where you sit/stand make all the difference in the world. Ideally, the closer you are to the soundboard, the better (and appropriate volume) the show should sound. Obviously if you are standing in a small venue against the PA speakers, its going to be incredibly LOUD. I've seen the Hip something like 25 or 26 times and they've never been too loud IMO. In fact a couple of times I thought they could've been a bit louder. Usually just right though..... I for one, want to feel JF's drums rumble the floor and GS bass hit me in the chest!

[WesleyC.]

WHAT!!!!!!