[ghshephard]

This comment caught my attention:

"I won't be coming back. I'd have had better luck by just looking at the schedule and punching names into YouTube, then waiting for those bands to come to SF."

I wonder what the odds are we'll see within 10 years Occulus like VR environments that can capture the concert experience, reducing somewhat the need to track down bands in crazy canceling venues like this if all you are interested in is the music experience (as opposed to the Social "Concert Experience")

[TylerE]

Won't happen. No amount of VR wizardry will ever replace massive arrays of 12" woofers driven by vacuum tubes.

[ghshephard]

Agreed that the the big environment concerts will have a place for a long time to come - but many of the bands we see are in small venues, usually seating < 200 people. I'm willing to wager that those types of experiences will be given a run for their money pretty soon.

Also - think of all the concerts with crappy sound balancing, poor sight lines, and long lines for the bathroom.

[skyebook]

Well, the vacuum tubes have already been replaced. (I do agree with you though)

[Jugurtha]

Wrong again, not in the music scene. A lot of people still prefer amps made out of vacuum tubes, because they feel the sound is more human, has more texture, and is more smooth.

Whether it's correct or not is not the point, but proves the point TylerE was making: This is an emotional thing. And some will make the point of theatre and cinema, but there's still theatre and theatre has never really been as interactive as a music concert / DJ on the deck anyway.

[skyebook]

For a PA system? I'm pretty sure all of that is using transistors now.

For a guitar amp, I hear you (though I also think the quality of things like guitar rig in the last few years have started to sound pretty believable)

[Jugurtha]

I meant both. I've talked to guitarists/electronics engineers who design amps for their guitars, but they're still in use, I think. If my memory serves me well, Marshall still uses them.

[bennyg]

Nor should they.

Don't try to abstract away the experience of going to a live concert. That's the whole point.

[cfreeman]

Not to mention, you know, actually meeting other people.