Michelle Branch Philadelphia Concert reviews
Garish sound system
In a word, the music was probably well played, as individual talents were displayed early by the sidemen. The quality of the sound system was unfortunately south of a kazoo convention. Every instrument was over-amplified, with the worst being the bass fiddle. It was unlistenable. The bassist, clearly talented, could be heard in rare distinguishable moments when a tone fought its way to the surface. Mostly, it was just boom, boom, boom through the speakers at no recognizable frequency. By the middle of the third tune, my companion and I were giving each other the eye - "do you want to leave or stay?" We gave them five tunes in the hope that their sound man would improve the set up, but after that, we walked out. Fortunately, we were on the aisle in the balcony, causing minimal disruption. We were very much looking forward to an evening of sophisticated Large Band rock. Unfortunately, we found ourselves in a boiler factory. How sad that such an experienced musician and group brought such atrocious sound to Knoxville.