Hi,

Just got back from the MEN Arena Manchester and I must say it was the worst sound I have heard during ANY gig that I have ever been to over the last 35 years!

I have been a lifelong fan of Roxy Music and saw them with Brian Eno in thier heyday at the Guildhall Preston.
I've got the Apollo DVD concert filmed 10 years ago and the sound, using my home hi-fi, was FAR superior to tonights performance!
It's first concert I have ever left before the encore (thats if they did one!)

Very disappointed

Whereabouts were you in the venue?

Experience can vary wildly in those big sheds. Down the front, the sound was great.

I was near the front as sound was OK, but I never thought I would leave a Roxy concert feeling disappointed. Been my band since 'Virginia Plain' was first released and have been to countless concerts.
Bryan spent a lot of time sitting at his keyboard, and lacked his usual vibrancy. Even on 'Editions of You' when he always sidled over to the keyboard after singing ;'this way' and he used to stand.
Phil, Andy and Paul were still up there, but is Bryan feeling his age ?

I made a special study of this very issue throughout the gig and I can say categorically that Paul spent more time seated than Bryan.

My Quick Review

The energy, enthusiasm and ferocity of the playing was fantastic and the best I have seen post reformation - the opening power chords of The Main Thing would not have disgraced The Who. I really enjoyed listening to a revamped set list, Prairie Rose and 2HB in particular, I felt were superb and Bryan's voice was in better shape than I had been expecting - this was definitely not a band going through the motions.

I did however have a number of reservations, the first being that I don't think I have ever been to a more darkly lit concert with most of the band performing in shadows for most of the concert. The other issue was that Bryan played a lot of piano, which in itself is not an issue, but he was located at the back and side of the stage behind a backing singer and was also enveloped in gloomy darkness (My preference would be a wooden piano at the front of the stage with a table cloth pinned to the back!!). The final thing for me was the set list. I am a lifelong Roxy Music fan and know every track from every album inside out and personally love hearing the more obscure tracks, however I went to the concert with a group of casual fans and there just was not enough well known tracks for them and I expect that a large portion of the crown would fall into this category. I think it is great that Roxy are not a nostalgia greatest hits band, but the omission of say; Like a Hurricane, MOL, TTYO, BS and replacement with AIWIY, Angel Eyes (album version) , Song for Europe, Oh Yeah and maybe Take a chance with me would not have been detrimental to the concert and indeed would have prompted more audience input. The other potential way to please both sectors of the crowd is to have an advertised two half concert (first half more Avant Garde or maybe all of FYP and the second half hits).

In summary however despite some reservations - they are still the best around by far and on cracking form and at least my friends can now add 2HB to the RM greatest hits section on their I pods.

I was in block 109 row R seat 3 and central to the stage.
It could be that it was the worst place to be with regards to the sound quality.
The sound was so bad that I didnt recognise some tracks at first!

BF's vocals were "lost" in the mash of Sax and lead guitar.
Perhaps the venue doesn't stack up when it comes to sound quality.
Saying that though, I saw OMD at the Liverpool Echo a year or so ago and the quality was superb.

Perhaps, if the sound quality was up to scratch, the "lesser known" tracks would have been more warmly accepted?
People around us in block 109 either left early, or just sat there and didnt even clap!

As I said, when FYP started, that was my cue to leave for the first time ever before an encore (or anticipated encore).

I think the Apollo DVD will be on tonight to restore my faith that "live" music CAN sound good.

Block 109 is almost at the back. The MEN holds between 13,500 and 15,800 in a fully-seated end-stage setup. It's one of the biggest arenas in Europe. Sat that far back, amongst very casual fans, I wouldn't be surprised if the sound was poor and the atmosphere tepid. As I said earlier, experience varies wildly in such venues. I'm sorry yours wasn't what you wanted. Even the cheap seats weren't that cheap.

Hi Peanut,

I've never been to the MEN before and yes, it is a large area to fill with sound. Surely the thing is that, whatever the venue, the sound quality should be just as good wherever you sit, if its fit for purpose that is?
I think it's more of a case of "I saw xxxx last night at the MEN and they were ace" "Oh yeah, What did they sound like" "$hxxx"
If thats the case, I certainly wont be going to the MEN again.

The Guildhall at Preston on the other hand was one of the first "acoustically" designed "new" venues in Britain at the time and every gig there has sounded awsome, including Roxy Music's back in the 70's.

The atmospere last night was the flattest I've experienced on Earth! Even the the 2 acts before sounded better!
You clearly could hear the guy on the double bass hand slapping the instrument and 1 Stations second track had awsome bass and sound quality, so they sounded ok at the back in block 109

So, it's smaller venues or live DVD's for me from now on

Ok guys, the discussions are great and i have to say that i agree with Vinny more than anyone. Also a long standing massive fan, seen them and Ferry on his own countless times, i found the setlist to be a little 'all over the place', and very much geared towards hard-core fans. Personally i didn't mind that as my brother and i sat and played "first one to guess the song" to the opening bars, but for others, it wasn't everything they wanted. No 'Dance Away' or 'More than This' for them, but i loved all the old 2HB, Bittersweet, FYP etc., we had goosebumps, seriously! If you're gonna go to see Roxy at this stage in their career, you have to be a hard-core fan, they play to the likes of us, they played to others as and when the singles were released all those years ago. I loved it, simple as that. Yes, there were issues with the sound and lights, but's that's production for you, it's hardly ever perfect and i work for a music promoter! The fact that it was being filmed also helped, they were always gonna be better than expected and i came away feeling quite emotional and not afraid to admit it!! Viva Roxy Music!!!!!

@ Barbados_Rum:

I hear you. I'm a regular gig-goer around Manchester. I'm out several times a month at university and club shows, venues in the region of 250-800 capacity. Rarely anything larger than that. I've seen a lot of arena shows in the past, and enjoyed many, but I'm not prepared to pay the outrageous prices most bands charge these days. I'd rather support young, up-and-coming acts in intimate venues, of which Manchester is blessed with many.

Roxy are one of the few bands I'm still prepared to break my own rule to see. But even then I have to have seats in the front block. If block 109 was all that was available, I'd pass, or go the tout route on the night. I haven't been that far back in over 20 years and no matter how great the performance, it's no way to experience a gig.