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| Front row at a live rock concert |
In Switzerland, there's a law that says concerts can't excel 100dB, and that concert promoters have to provide free earplugs. Bands make fun of the law ("What are they gonna do? Arrest us all?" said one Duff McKagan, who, given his biography, probably needs the 100dB on the monitors to even be able to hear himself). Concert promoters team up with whoever wants to put their ad on the box to be able to provide the free earplugs. I grab tons of them when I go to shows, 'cause I've gotten used to sleeping with my ears shut when I lived next to a train line.
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| Duff McKagan, formerly of Guns N' Roses, performing with new band Loaded |
But the quality of the free plugs sucks, naturally. You can't hear the audience. Then this great singalong song comes up. You take the plugs out. You forget that you should put them back in. Back to square one.
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| Fans holding up lighters and cell phones during Guns N' Roses' performance of Knockin' On Heaven's Door in Baltimore, MD |
So I went to the music shop to get better plugs, and spent 60 bucks on a pair of plastic thingies with "filters". They sucked as much, and I decided to live with the sucky free ones. At least they are always available, just in case you forget yours. But it kept sucking.
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| Custom made "in-ear" earplugs keep the noise out without distorting the sound - highly recommended if you watch a lot of concerts live! |
Now I got myself a pair of custom earplugs. Yes, you're looking at the inverse of the inside of my ears (no worries, the pics were taken before any serious use ;-) . They cost 300 Swiss. That's a lot of money. But see it this way: If you had tinnitus, or were deaf, how much would you give to be able to enjoy music again?
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| custom made earplugs, as worn by this photographer while shooting pictures at live concerts |
Protect yourself!!
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