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Photo of Theater District tagged "Bostonist" by Antydiluvian. Boston's worst live music venue, the Wilbur Theatre, on the left.
We watched the show last night while standing in a god-foresaken zone of the dimly appointed venue called "Floor 6." "Floor 6" is less a floor than a pen, a space about 5 by 20 feet fenced off from the rest of the general admission area by wrought iron and patrolled by zealous security people with bright flashlights and black baseball caps. We were two years old the last time somebody wanted to keep us in a pen for three straight hours, but this is how the Wilbur treats adults.
"Floor 6" has the misfortune of being directly below the venue's crumbling mezzanine, which hovered two feet above our heads. Not only did the mezzanine keep us from seeing the entire stage, the overhang offered enough baffling that we only heard the high notes by chance. It was a problem that got worse when the Feelies were on the stage.
The Feelies play music that's as harmonically rewarding as anything in rock. Unfortunately, those harmonies call for high notes as well as low ones. The Wilbur's sound guy, for his part, has never met a low tone he hasn't plugged into an amplifier, cranked to a bowel-trembling volume, and ridden into the red. Watching the band from "Floor 6" was like standing on a corner of Washington Street and hearing the Feelies rumble from the Alpine speakers of a fleet of El Dorados. When Bill MillionGlenn Mercer, sunglassed, shredded through his solos, the resulting muddle was a crime against the guitarist as well as his fans.
Sonic Youth, despite a noticeably more competent sound person, fared little better. The cavernous Wilbur swallows sound and regurgitates it in a shadow form—music sounds to a Wilbur concertgoer how images looked to the man in Plato's cave. Guitars that we should be describing as "searing" sounded instead like the tinny racket from a Fisher Price My First Detuned Electric Guitar. The highlight of the whole experience was Kim Gordon's dress, which looked, from afar, as if it were attached to her body with electrical tape.
Sonic Youth plays the Wilbur again tonight with the Meat Puppets, but here's how you can save your $30 and still feel like you got the experience. Put your Meat Puppets and Sonic Youth records on your stereo, turn the bass all the way up, and then go stand in your closet. To make it more realistic, call up your simian-jawed landlord, give him a flashlight, a black baseball hat, and the instructions not to let you leave your closet until the music is done. Press play and enjoy.
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sounds like the wilbur is even worse than the house of blues when it comes to sucky venues...
I can't believe that I am saying this, but after reading the above article, I am glad that I missed that show. The Feelies are my favorite live act, so I would have been furious to hear them with bad sound.
Excellent article overall, but I must point out, though, that "When Bill Million, sunglassed, shredded through his solos..." is mistaken. Glenn Mercer is the sunglassed lead guitar player, not Bill Million.
Thanks for the correction.
Or try and make sure you're in the main GA area.
Agree the sound wasn't the best (especially for the Feelies) but I enjoyed last night's show, though I felt bad for the folks inexplicably corraled in those weird cattle pens, and had trouble understanding why I had to pass through three increasingly confusing checkpoints (initial ID, initial ticket scan, another ticket viewing to direct me to another staffer who gave me a wristband (my second, along with the one that let me buy overpriced beer) to be looked at by yet another staffer manning the extrance to central floor space).
You'd think the Wilbur singlehandedly keeps the MA unemployment rate a point lower than it would be otherwise.
I was at in a slightly less annoying pen, or "indie rock jail" as I called it. I really enjoyed the show, but I might have had a better location. My view was great, and the sound for SY was great. I think you should have mentioned the 7 dollar beers, as that was a sore point with me beyond everything else. It's still better than the House Of Blues. Anything is better than the House of Blues.
I was in the mezzanine center section, three rows back and the sound was pretty horrible there as well. It was still a great show, but the Wilbur is just awful. The acoustics of that place will never support loud rock shows, but they haven't done anything to improve the situation from the looks of their sound system. It made me long for the days of shows at the Roxy.
I was in the mezzanine left, third row, and I don't think the sound was *that* bad. The Feelies vocals could have surely used better mix / higher volume
I was in the Mezzanine (which didn't look or feel crumbling) and thought the whole thing sounded pretty good, actually. I could feel the thump of the kick drums and actually I thought the bass could have been louder all night. Glenn Mercer's solos were not lost to me, they jumped right out. And SY's guitars had good tone and definition in the mix. I thought the vocals could have been louder, but vocals are never perfect live. I saw the Dandy Warhols there and it sounded horrible but that was because it was way too loud. Last night I used no earplugs and my ears didn't hurt at the end.
Every seat in a venue sounds different, and to me, the mark of a good sound-person is someone who wanders around the venue to see what's sucking where. A band sound person stays behind the board with earplugs in and says "sounds fine to me!"...
It is crumbling from beneath. There are huge chunks of molding missing from the overhang that made my experience so terrible.
Ah, hmm. So much for those "renovation fees"! Maybe I'm paranoid but I'm glad I was on the top-side of that view, and I still fear for the GA folks standing under the large, old chandelier...
So, how about some good music in a good venue with a good sound system:
JT7L @ TT's, Fri Nov 27 9PM
I meant, a "bad" sound person. :-)
Gotta agree with Rick on the sound. It was just fine directly in front of the sound board, but definitely muddy under the balcony overhangs. I didn't check it out from the mezzanine but I can imagine it was likely better there than elsewhere.
I thought the Feelies' vocals were mixed way, way low -- but then again, that's been the case every time I've seen them over the past 20-odd years.
The mix for SY was definitely better, though....
The sound guys for both bands of these bands DO walk around the room during the set up and sound check.
What they found at the Wilbur was an in house sound system totally inadequate in terms of output and audience coverage for their bands.
They are not usually in a position to cancel the show until a proper system is brought in. They just have to get on with it and do the best they can.
The speaker system visible in pictures of the show is MAYBE okay for the stand up comedy shows they do a lot of but for any kind of rock band definitely NOT.
If the overhang under the mezzanine does not have unobstucted direct line of sight to one of the main loudspeakers the bass tones will get in and the highs and mids will not. Just the laws of physics. The venue needs to put small delayed speakers under the balcony for the vocals to be clear under the overhang.
As for amped up security, cattle car "seating" and overpriced beer, welcome to the 21st Century rock venue model.
And yes, it DOES suck.
I didn't find the sound catastrophic by any means, nor was it the worst I've ever heard in Boston. (Venus de Milo, hands down, night in and night out....)
Your point about the sound having to overcome the physical limitations of the building is a good one.
For the record. ANyone can access a venue map of the floor plan atthe Wilbur. Seriously, though unfortunately all of this suckyness is largely a part of fire code. Thats why they have to corral, thats why all the employees, thats why the hullabaloo. Wnat a better concernt experience go to Europe.
those venue floor plan maps don't show the fenced in "pens" on the main floor and they certainly don't show the guys with the ball caps and flashlights.
Most importantly for music shows they don't show what 30 percent of the room that the theatre's own speaker system actually is aimed at.
Eventually good bands, and their sound guys, will refuse to work with the "not really ready for rock and roll" equipment provided.
The the theatre will have to buy or more likely rent an adequate system or the better bands will go elsewhere, even if it isn't anywhere in Boston.
What the fuck? Feelies sounded worse than Sonic Youth because they *are* worse than Sonic Youth. From Mezz-Right Third Row, Sonic Youth sounded amazing. You should have taken your ear plugs out or something.