Sunday, October 28, 2007

loud


loud
Originally uploaded by madabandon.

Now I know that I have officially crossed a line, a line of age. Last night I went to see Morrissey at Hammerstein Ballroom. I love The Smiths and I think Morrissey is a great singer. But Hammerstein Ballroom has no seats on the main floor (which is where the ticket put me). And I cannot handle the volume, both of the sound, which was ear-splitting, and that of the crowd. At other shows there I have hung out on the periphery, but the people I was with wanted to be in the center of things, literally, and I was a victim of acute claustrophobia as people closed in on me from all sides. The decibel level made it impossible for me to really hear the music, even with my fingers in my ears. It all sounded like an undifferentiated roar. So what might have been a wonderfully fun evening turned into a kind of torture. I will know better next time. I should have left my friends and hung out in the far back, but I didn't want to feel like I was there alone. Oh well. No more auditorium concerts without earplugs, and no more standing for three hours. My knee is quite painful today.

When the music was not ear-splitting and I could actually hear, Morrissey sounded great. He really possesses one of the best voices in the history of popular music (as far as I am concerned) and it has not deteriorated over the years either. And his band was very tight.

2 comments:

SHE said...

me too... sensitive to loud noise and crowds. that picture is exactly what i looked like when my daughter talked me into shopping inside two teenage-centric retail stores in our local mall recently

THE MUSIC WAS VERY LOUD

it went practically unnoticed by the preteens and teens, but the adults left quickly

"here, take the money.. shop on your own. i'll be waiting outside.."

-what a technique!

anyway.. good advice. earplugs and good seats for concerts

and intrigued to hear morrissey

medusa said...

I feel too old to stand around in a packed room (i.e., I now hate bars unless we're sitting at a table) so I completely understand.