I love live music. I love listening to music while I eat dinner. What I don't love is when the waitress at Margaritaville is screaming over the deafening din just to take our order. Why don't bands turn the volume down a notch when playing in restaurants? You're playing Tom Petty, stop screaming into the microphone!
I'd blame that on the restaurant, no the band.
Now all I can think of is: 
I've heard a couple bartenders say that when the music gets played louder, people drink faster. Why restaurants think this applies to them, I don't know, but there may be some validity to it. I have a hard time filtering out sound sources and it's extremely hard for me to hold a conversation if something like what you're describing is going on. Makes for a frustrating experience and I usually don't go back to places like that.
Just enjoy the Ozzy and keep your mouth shut.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEk6UQUnjM0
N Sperlo wrote: I'd blame that on the restaurant, no the band. Now all I can think of is:
Why is that old lady singing Eddie Money songs?
KatieSuddard wrote: Why don't bands turn the volume down a notch when playing in restaurants?
Every amateur and semi-pro band I have ever heard plays too loudly. Always, and without exception.
loudness is the fault of the sound guy -and- management of the restaurant. I have worked more than enough small restaurant gigs were management keeps coming up and asking for the volume to be turned up... till the point where you can't think, let alone eat and have a conversation.
Best thing I ever read was a soundguy who retrofitted a useless knob on his board. All it did was turn the gain up to an LED display.. so when people complained that it was not loud enough, he would turn the knob some, the display would read higher and they would go away happy
I agree, I came in for dinner and you are supposed to be background noise not rattling my cutlery off the table. Its almost as annoying as when my wife and I go to Mexico and the mariachis come over....I know you are trying to make a living, but if I have to hear guantanamera or la cucaracha again, I may become violent.
If there is one person playing, it will be background sounds unless you want to hear it. If its a band it WILL be loud as berk.
Blame it on the ramones, rip what a great band
Fobroader wrote: I agree, I came in for dinner and you are supposed to be background noise not rattling my cutlery off the table. Its almost as annoying as when my wife and I go to Mexico and the mariachis come over....I know you are trying to make a living, but if I have to hear guantanamera or la cucaracha again, I may become violent.
Request Sweet Home Alabama. It's hilarious and heartbreaking all at the same time.
I think it increases table turnover rate because people want to get the berkeley out. There's a great pizza joint down from us that always has a solo guy on acoustic guitar on Fridays. He plays so loud it's a crime. we avoid the restaurant on those nights even though we love the place. If we walk into a place and they have live music we always tell the hostess to seat us as far from the band as possible or we just leave if it's too damn loud.
and I LOVE loud music....
mad_machine wrote: Best thing I ever read was a soundguy who retrofitted a useless knob on his board. All it did was turn the gain up to an LED display.. so when people complained that it was not loud enough, he would turn the knob some, the display would read higher and they would go away happy
^This would solve all problems. My wife drags me to shows all the time. Every time during the sound check all you see is each individual band member giving the the 'thumbs up' gesture to the sound guy to turn it up higher. Every musician feels their mic needs to be at 11 and every time it sounds like ass because of distortion. Of course the singer is completely drowned out too.
This is why I hate live music in a restaurant. If I can't talk to the person across from me in a normal tone, I'm leaving.
I got out to dinner to have dinner and a conversation with my companion, I don't go out to listen to bad covers of Simon and Garfunkle.
I leave early and tip less if there is awful live music.
Hope that works well for the management.
If its too loud, you're too old. \m/
No, if it's too loud, the band sucks. 
In reply to logdog:
I'm 19, are you really going to tell me I'm too old?
If I'm there to eat, yeah, make it background music. If I'm there to see a band, make it loud.
Toyman01 wrote: This is why I hate live music in a restaurant. If I can't talk to the person across from me in a normal tone, I'm leaving.
I'm the same way.
I worked at a bar in Ormond Beach during my college days. I never remember it being so loud I couldn't talk to patrons or the rest of the staff.
Now if it's someone big or semi well known crank it up since ovbiously people are there for that. Though generally that's after food service stops.
Listening to the local radio station in Vancouver one day, Bruce Allen (music promoter) is telling a story about being in a local bar.
Apparently, he's at the bar, having a beer with Van Morrison.
The live band is playing a cover of Brown Eyed Girl or some other Van Morrison tune.
Once they take a break, Van wanders over to them and says "Hey, would you guys mind if I sung a couple songs with you?"
The band tells him to bugger off or something along those lines.
Van leaves to go back to his hotel room while Bruce goes up to tell the band who they just brushed off and to stop being a bunch of idiots.
Not really related to the topic but talking about awful live bands reminded me of it.
for what it is worth.. here at the Borgata, you will never guess what the loudest venue is. It is not the Event Center where we do all the big shows, it is not the Music Box which is a more intimate 1000 seat theatre, nor is it our two clubs.. it is the Gypsy Bar where they have a live band 5 nights a week. They require us to wear earplugs when working in there due to OSHA standards.. we are talking regularly getting over 120dB when the band is playing
I love music. I hate loud music. Even when I was 19.
Duke wrote:KatieSuddard wrote: Why don't bands turn the volume down a notch when playing in restaurants?Every amateur and semi-pro band I have ever heard plays too loudly. Always, and without exception.
yep …. lots of bands seem to try to make up for lack of talent with excessive sound … I guess if it's loud enough you won't notice how bad it is ….
(walter who won't eat in restaurants that have loud live music)
There is a Mexican restaurant around the corner from our house that has some pretty good food but also has a band playing most of the nights. We went there once when they had a band and never again. I want to be able to talk to the person I'm dining with.
There is a time and place for everything. If I'm at dinner, I want background music at most. But for some reason everyone in Austin believes that everything is better with a loud band killing a cover of a good song. If I wanted to hear loud bad music, I just have to sit my front porch and let my eardrums be assaulted by the crappy cover band down the street.
The best live dinner music I've experienced was a guy playing a harp. No, not a harmonica - a real, concert harp. That was nice dinner music.
Runner-up was a solo acoustic guy playing in the bar section of the restaurant. You could hear him well enough to know what he was playing, but not so much that you didn't have to hear him.
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