Expecting Rain

Morning all,

I'll soon be seeing the good man at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on 5th May and of course very much looking forward to it - this'll be by third time seeing Bob, but my father-in-law's first, which he's very excited about.

The two times I've seen him before were at the Albert Hall, and both were excellent, however I do have some reservations about how the concert's going to be in the Motorpoint Arena.

This place, although I haven't been before, has a capacity of 10,000, it's giant, it's cavernous and usually caters to bands/musicians with a 'bigger sound'. Luckily we've got really good seats but I do worry for those in the notsogood seats who, without the big screens that Bob dislikes, won't get to see too much and I'm concerned the sound isn't going to be the greatest either...

If anyone has any words of comfort I would be very grateful!

Hibbs

Sadly, your premonitions are correct.

Depending on how very good your seats are, the sound might suffer close to the front, but be better further back. Don't worry about the crowds, they can always get another drink.

The sound production on Bob's 2015 (and presumably 2013) UK tour was relatively quiet and natural sounding compared to those that came before. The lower volume was well suited to the delicacy of the performances and the smaller halls, and contributed in no small part for the improved quality of Bob's singing. It was commented on one of the other recent threads that in 2017 they are starting to go for a louder sound again, at least at some of the shows. So this should suit the arena-type venues better, whilst also sacrificing the subtleties and detail of a quieter performance.

It would be interesting to know if all the recent shows have had the volume cranked, or just those in larger venues.

And as JP alludes to, seats at the very front will generally have muddier sound and a less balanced sound mix. The first few rows will often be hearing more of the onstage mix than the beefier PA mix intended for the audience. This lack of clarity and definition particularly affects Bob's voice, which can obviously sound quite indistinct even at the best of times. The seats at the very back will definitely lose some volume and intimacy, even with the volume cranked. So from purely a sound-quality perspective you are best off somewhere in the middle.

Even with the potentially louder volume it strikes me that the show will still be best suited to the mid-sized arenas rather than 10,000+.

Worth noting too that the Albert Hall itself (despite only seating approx. 5000 and it's reputation as an intimate venue) is a deceptively large building, mainly due to the layout and generous spacing between some of the seating areas.

I quite like a messy front-of-stage mix. To quote Van Morisson, it's closer to the wire.

Bob's sound isn't too refined, so it won't really suffer, unless it's echo-y, which can be quite annoying.

Yeah, It can sound okay and be enjoyable, but it's also not really comparable to what the performers themselves are hearing, or what the artist is intending the crowd to hear.

The musicians onstage are hearing a combination of their monitors with whatever particular onstage amplification they are nearest to. So the sound reaching the very front rows tends to be much more unbalanced, which can easily cause the mix (particularly the vocal) to lose it's clarity and sense of presence.

As long as the OP is far enough back to get a healthy dose of the PA mix then it should be fine. And obviously being front/center has plenty of it's own advantages.

Interestingly enough, while the artist could step down to the floor during soundcheck to hear the FOH mix or listen to recordings later, it's mostly what the *sound guy* intends for the crowd that will be heard by the public.

Having said that, I've heard great sounding Bob shows in sheds and shitty sounding one in tiny theaters. Also, more important than the sound is the performance of course. I've seen only okay-sounding shows were Bob was on fire and that was all that mattered and I've heard crystal-clear shows that only highlighted the fact that Bob sounded tired that night.

You never know.

Very fair points, but the fact remains that someone qualified is mixing the PA sound; tailoring it to the wishes of the artist and the peculiarities of the venue. Whereas the on-stage sound mix (from the audience's perspective) is much more random, depending entirely on exactly where you are standing and which amplifiers you are directly stood in front of. What you won't hear much of is the properly-amplified vocal and acoustic instruments, which are generally only supplied via the monitor system and the front-of-house mix.

I do agree absolutely that the performance is the most crucial aspect (transcending most sound quality concerns); but a good sound mix can only enhance it!

Also very true is that the larger arenas can often have better sound, not least because they are outfitted with more heavy-duty PA systems and a more open space to cater for. The gigs I've seen at Cardiff arena have all sounded great, not least because the venue doesn't (or didn't) have it's own PA, and so the bands' sound crews bring there own more-familiar systems to use instead.



I know what you mean, when it gets too out of control and overbearing. I do like a bit of the echo you get in arenas, I think it suits Bob's voice better than the very flat sound of the outdoor gigs. Neil Young and Crazy Horse are also known for their fondness for that spacey arena sound, with Neil's drummer Ralph Molina going by the nickname "Arena Molina".

This show fits larger venues better than the 2015 one. This applies both to the overall sound and to the light conditions. While people who are really far away will still fail to see much (that's always the price to pay for having shows at that type of venue), there will be more people who are actually able to see something, since there's a lot more light this time around.

Also, I assume people who buy tickets for the not-so-good seats know that their experience won't be the best. Even with other acts, all they do is watch TV, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Couldn't disagree more; Bob's continued decisions to play these sheds, and not have any kind of screens for those people further away, effectively limits them to a concert without visuals. Which, when you stop to think about it, sort of negates the point of going to see somebody in concert.

For me, when I saw that Bob was 'only' (at the time) playing the 02 Arena in London, I wasn't interested - not the kind of venue for this kind of show, to me; the music and show are too intimate for the aircraft hangar+ that is the 02.... it was only when they announced the Palladium shows that I got interested... managed to get tickets for Friday night at the Palladium and I'm looking forward to it very much.

They were sentiments exactly.