Loudest of the loud: Dinosaur Jr. 2005 or My Bloody Valentine 1992?

Yes, this is true. I saw one Sugar show, and in the middle of the set they played a short acoustic set. My ears were ringing so much from the electric songs that I could barely hear the acoustic guitars.

I thought Body Count were incredibly loud at Lollapalooza 1991, maybe the loudest band I'd heard to that point (note: I hadn't heard too many bands to that point), but it was an outdoor stadium show. I'd have to think that the 2005 version of me, who has been to loads of noisy gigs in tiny clubs since then, wouldn't find them all that loud. Maybe it's a good thing that I didn't see MBV in 1992. I probably would have melted.

I have to say however the most intense live listening experience i have ever had was Zbigniew Karkowski, polish noise-meister. it really felt as if the sound had entered my cranium and started to burrow it's way out. i could not even form a thought. it is actually stated that he blew up a toilet somewhere once... the thing with him that is scary however is that is not so much the decibels but, the frequencies. he has cleared out whole venues and he almost inspired a panic attack in me. i suppose that is the effects of training with xenakis. he even said in an interview once "my work won't hurt as long as you allow it to enter you and you don't become upset." or something to that effect. insane.

the only other serious competition is the cannons during AC/DC's "For Those About To Rock."

The Dream Syndicate (1983 at the Anti-Club)
Curve ("Cuckoo" tour in 1995 or so)
Husker Du (1985 at some hotel in downtown LA)
Yes ("90215" tour at the LA Forum 1984?)... I'm not kidding about this by the way, for an arena show this was amazingly skull-poundingly loud. Old prog-heads were holding their ears all the way through.

Sugar at Cambridge in 94 were so loud and the acoustics of the venue so shite that you struggled to make out one song from another at times.

Surprise nomination: Wedding Present at Birmingham Institute circa 'Seamonsters'.

Winner (surprise surprise): Swans on 'Children of God' tour. Ow.

The Mego laptop orchestra (Merzbow, Hecker, PIta, Farmer's Manual, Russell Haswell etc.) at Sonar Festival years ago was pretty goddamn ear-destroying. I reckon loud high end feels far more punishing than loud low end, amirite?

I played a show with Pleasurehorse at Fort Thunder years ago and that dude had his own tall ass stack of amps on a roll up dolly and he was shit-yer-pants loud.

Black Sabbath reunion show at San Jose Arena = surprisingly not all that loud.

Slayer was also pretty fucking loud, too.

I saw the Blur/MBV/Dinosaur Jr Rollercoaster at the Manchester Apollo, and that was not nearly as exciting.

Ha ha, yup. Saw em at Instal. The venue staff were actively forcing ear plugs on people. I'm glad I'd got slightly better ones from Boots. Could only take so much, but it was a lot of fun.

Borbetomagus were also hellaciously loud and a bit lame cos of it. When I stepped into the street I could actually hear all the free jazz undertones that had been buried under the white noise. It was such a small venue and I was unprotected so it made me feel a bit queasy and indeed drained. I needed a bag of chips and a stiff drink afterwards.

I saw Dinosaur a dozen times or so in the mid to late '80s and never remember them being *that* loud, by the way. I mean, not like Husker Du or Black Flag or MBV or Motorhead loud. Husker Du used to play so loud you basically couldn't hear anything, they just created this huge vacuum, it was really weird.

The only person I've seen that people have mentioned here is Zbigniew Karkowski - I remember it was kind of loud, but I'm glad it wasn't as loud a performance as ehbenoit heard (I say this assuming it was a different one). The sounds were also not constant or even long, and I could tell when they would come from his movements. I remember Oval being quite unpleasant to hear perform because of the extreme loudness as well as the changing frequencies causing shifting sympathetic vibrations in my body. I didn't leave (I was working during the performance) but was at least able to protect my ears. I don't know if he wanted to harm the audience or not, but I wasn't happy about being there.

audience cover their ears at MBV show.
it's a miracle Kevin Shields isnt deaf yet..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6xZgskezbk&feature=related

i meant this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_po0RTKjsC8&feature=related

gf passed out during you made me realise loud bit. it wasn't punishing, it was a nice loud. noise gigs in basements w/low ceilings and shitty pa speakers are the ones that really do damage imo

noise gigs in basements w/low ceilings and shitty pa speakers are the ones that really do damage imo

yep, like that Unwound show I saw in 1991.

other contenders - Nice Strong Arm circa 1988, Kawabata Makoto at Terrastock 6.

Nice Strong Arm circa 1988

Ach, jealous of this!

but they were so goddamn loud! I remember hiding in the back of the bar. Super nice dudes, they stayed at our house even! I think I saw them twice.

Kawabata Makoto at Terrastock 6

Good lord, that set. I think Elvis Telecom said afterwards "That one separated the living from the dead." (He also indicated the best listening spot was outside, leaning against the wall.)

thats a clip from the Roundhouse shows we did which were (other than an ICA warmup) the first reunion shows. Most of the people who'd seen them in 1992 said 2009 was a lot louder... in fact lots of people on the guestlist laughed when we offered them earplugs saying "Oh i've seen them before." and then ran out 2 songs in to ask for some. It was pretty loud. much louder than any time i've seen Dino.

Okay I'd like to know what the hell the 1992 attendees laughing off earplugs two years back were thinking because Christ on a bike that was goddamn plenty loud enough as it was.

fun fact: every member of MBV has tinnitus

Dino wasnt loud when i saw them back in 2008

I saw one of the MBV reunion shows at Roseland in NYC and it was definitely the loudest show I've ever been to. Never saw them in the '90s ... did see Dino Jr. around the time of Green Mind and it probably gets 2nd place for loudness but the MBV show was like, supernaturally loud. And that's in a much bigger room than where I saw Dino Jr.

i think i've said this before, but J Mascis & The Fog in 2000 was possibly the loudest show i've ever seen. and the one time I saw Dinosaur Jr., in 2005 (in a bigger venue!), it wasn't nearly as loud, if still pretty loud.

noise gigs in basements w/low ceilings and shitty pa speakers are the ones that really do damage imo

pretty sure a Medicine gig @ the Shelter in Detroit (under St. Andrew's Hall) permanently fucked my shit up.

MBV 1992 was so loud

HOW LOUD WERE THEY?

saw DJr 3x 1990-1992 and saw MBV 2x in same period. Both were incredibly loud, I'd give the edge to MBV.

That is to say, I only saw DJr 1990-1992... never before or after.

I did see MBV on one of the reunion gigs a few years back, it was pretty loud but not as much as I remembered (maybe I am deaf from all the shows I went to as a youth).

That is to say, I only saw DJr 1990-1992... never before or after.

I did see MBV on one of the reunion gigs a few years back, it was pretty loud but not as much as I remembered (maybe I am deaf from all the shows I went to as a youth).

The most unexpectedly loud band I ever saw was Broadcast circa NMBP, I think this is discussed on a couple other threads. That was fukkin loud as fukk.

funner discussion would be 2008-era MBV vs original motorhead tour. dino jr is loud, assuredly, but not loud enough that it doesn't surprise me there's an entire discussion about it... p much every 90s grunge act was comparable, methinx

nah, not really

other bands that used feedback as much as Dino Jr. didn't play that loud, no one is ever like "loudest gig ever - MBV vs Sonic Youth"

maybe that's partly cause Dinosaur Jr and MBV toured together though

Dino wasnt loud when i saw them back in 2008

― nostormo, Monday, 19 September 2011 20:09 (1 hour ago) Bookmark

idk, i remember seeing dinosaur at an atp they picked, & i guess because it was after seeing a bunch of other shows/being on your feet all day, it was like just being repeatedly kicked in the face. and they played for ages. i think this is where the delineation between their various kinds of noisiness comes in -- mbv's, which is warm & enveloping & quite immersive*, vs dino's which is kind of more of a racket and spikier & squallier.

* i think one of my first ilx posts is unconsciously quoting a ned interview w/kevin shields, in which he talks about 'stomach loud' or something, in respect to kinda balls-out volume loud versus the kind of thing you feel.

mbv this time around were pretty nutso loud anyway.

https://www.reddit.com/r/shoegaze/comments/1grhhg2/my_parents_were_friends_with_mbv_in_the_90sfrom/

To the thread question. All tomorrow's parties melbourne 2013. Gy!be to Swans to MBV to finish the day, but none of them were as ear curdingly loud as Thee Oh Sees playing the early afternoon spot. I've got a high tolerance for volume but they were legitimately painful.

i can't take high-pitched treble at all anymore. my ears are too fucked up for it. i saw the band Midnight play in a huge cavernous theatre and all the way up in the balcony their insane in-the-red skreeeeeeee nearly made me pass out. i didn't think i would need ear plugs. their sound was just obnoxious. i mean it sounded like shit and it was so loud. kinda like a noise act. but a noise act that gets to play in a massive old space.

The Body though. in the basement of my store. they were as loud as when i saw Swans in the 90s. they are a really really loud band.

there is no way i could take MBV at this late date. they would kill me. i deejayed a Dino Jr. gig at the basement bar here in town awhile back and i was afraid but they just sounded awesome. not sickening. they had a lot of family there. maybe they didn't want to kill their families. they are a band who i think has just gotten so good at what they do. it sounds really cool and they can probably do it forever a la neil young.