Gig Volume Levels
 

Apologies if this has been covered.

I first saw Bon Jovi on the KTF tour. It was an indoor arena and was very loud.

Next up was Wembley Stadium. Not as loud, but it was outside so nothing unusual there.

Saw them again on the TD tour, also outside but this time the volume was noticeably quieter. I was quite high up in the seated section so perhaps that was a factor.

I've since seen them live numerous times on every tour and it's clear the volume has lowered. Why is this? Even some of the support bands are louder than them!

Are there any reasons for this? I do understand the band are older etc but I've been to gigs by older bands who are FAR FAR louder than Bon Jovi. (Judas Priest were painfully loud!)

I've been in the Golden/Diamond circle and at times you can hear people talking while a song is playing.

Any else noticed this and does it bother you?

In addition, who are the loudest band you have seen. Mine were Judas Priest, maybe Saxon and The Scorpions a close second.

I think it´s not quiet in the GC oder DC area. It´s okay, more loud that quiet.. without my ear protection i would not be able to enjoy the concert...
But when i compare Bon Jovi with perhaps The Scorpions or Volbeat, it´s nothing.
These 2 Bands where the loudest i´ve every seen.
I´m Fine with volume at BJ Shows

It is definitely down to personal taste. While not quiet in the GC/DC, for me it's not loud enough.

They were louder on the KTF tour. I'm curious why the reduction in volume since.

Judas Priest were brutal live. It was actually painful haha

I've only seen them from 2003 and I noticed some fluctuations, but not a steady decline of the volume. For example, Dusseldorf 2011 might've been one of the loudest BJ concerts I've seen while the following one in Mannheim was a little too quiet for my taste.

However I had read some time ago that their volume back in the 80's (especially on the SWW tour) must've been brutally loud on most occasions.

Europe 2011 was very very loud in my oppinion

It is also down to the rules of each venue. For example, the Milan 2013 show was limited at 80dB, because San Siro has a history of complaints from the residents nearby and that's the volume limit decided by the municipality for all the acts playing there (even though there are exceptions when the limit is raised at 82dB, especially when Bruce is in town).

That's a good point actually. I wouldn't say every gig I've been to has been quieter than the previous. It's more a general point that their live shows are not as loud as they once were.

That I do understand. But I've been to Bon Jovi gigs were the support were louder.

Perhaps it is mostly just dependant on the venue and their regulations. Or maybe I've spent too many years listening to and playing rock music, but I'm sticking to my guns - they are not as loud as they once were!

I think they just want to achieve a good sound, one that's not totally distorted due to high(er) volume.

But yeah, it's not constantly the same volume. I went to 2 concerts in Germany 2011: Dresden and Munich. Dresden had the perfect sound and volume for me, but yeah, you could hear people in front of you talking (why the f*ck would they do that anyways is beyond me). Munich was louder, but you could only hear a "clear" sound with ear protection, otherwise it would sound distorted...

Loudest I've ever seen was The Offspring in a club in Hamburg in the 90s. Had my ears ringing for 4 weeks after the concert, and that was after I (and some other folks) had their fingers in their ears for the whole concert!

Disappointingly low volume levels has been a pet peeve of mine for years now with many acts. Bon Jovi was certainly much louder when I saw them in Denver back in 1987 on the Slippery tour.

The loudest shows I've ever seen were Metallica on the Damaged Justice tour and Ozzy on the No More Tears tour. The latter was outdoors and the ferocity of the volume was incredible for both Ugly Kid Joe and Ozzy.

I saw KISS in Vegas (recently released Blu Ray, which I'm in somewhere as the night I was at was filmed) and was very underwhelmed with the volume level. There was no bottom end and I was almost bored despite the playing of songs I was very happy to have back in the set. The show is more enjoyable watching it at home on DVD.

The show that really highlighted the volume issue for me was seeing Trans Siberian Orchestra in Vegas a number of years back. It had the same underwhelming volume... like it was being too safe. At one point, it was like someone plugged the power in and for about 15 seconds we were blasted with satisfying volume, and then it was taken off. We just figured it was for the benefit of the large number of elderly in attendance. The point was that those few moments demonstrated it wasn't an issue of acoustics or my imagination that concerts used to be impressively loud to offer a thunderous experience.

Turn the volume up and sell ear plugs with the band name imprinted. It's an opportunity to make money while also raising the energy level up. Volume does make a difference with how the crowd gets into it. When they set it at a low energy level that makes everyone feel like they are a spectator standing outside the event it results in low energy from the crowd.