I recently read an article about turning down the PA system at concert venues to improve sound quality, and I couldn't agree more. The article, written in The Federalist by Jim Hanson is headed "Here’s A Simple Way To Fix That Notoriously Bad Concert Sound-
The sound at almost every concert venue could be vastly improved by just turning the PA system down."
I can't tell you how many times I have thought this! So many venues seem to think that louder means a better experience, but above a certain level, tones get really garbled and start to sound like garbage. Not to mention that more background parts and layers, which add so much depth and character to a song, are often lost in the noise. However, I think that guitar players may be partially to blame for the volume overload, especially at smaller venues and clubs.
Almost 100% of the time, the guitars are run through their own amps, and though a secondary output may be run to the PA system, the sound guy can't lower their volume, and is forced to turn everything else up to compensate. I love guitar players, don't get me wrong, but I think that years of standing in front of their amps and rocking out has made them deafer to certain frequencies that the rest of us can hear loud and clear, and then need to turn way up to hear themselves.
I saw Dinosaur Jr. play a show in Richmond Virginia a few years ago. It was cool, but it was so mind-blowingly loud that my brain was shutting down. You can see why, what with the wall of amps he plays in front of! When I worked at a small venue, the most professional and seasoned bands really had a knack for setting their volume for the room, and these were always the best shows. Even if they were playing hard rock, these bands would never get so loud that you couldn't talk to the person next to you, but this did not diminish their impact at all.