If you sell out Chop Suey you can afford you're own sound guy for the night. Let's don't put all the responsibility on the 'sound-people of Seattle' and put a little bit of it on the band. There is no reason they shouldn't have their own competent sound guy - unless they are cheap,lazy or just don't give a shit. (I know those are totally unheard of characteristics for a rock band)

I was going to say more or less the same thing, as someone mentioned in the Shins post below - do you know for a fact that it was the house sound person? If so, yeah, they should have done a better job, but still - why not bring your own sound guy if you're the Thermals (or Shins or Of Montreal).

Although, if you've heard their first album, you know sounding great maybe isn't a huge priority for them. Just sayin'.

Good point, @1. I think it may have been an outside person running sound. Chop Suey usually sounds great when any of their regulars is running things.

Was that Ben Gibbard back by the bar?

"Here's Your Future" did start off a little muted, but the rest sounded fine (at the front of the house). Maybe their speakers aren't adjusted for the back of the club?

Yeah, maybe. But at a sold-out show not everybody can stand in the front. It should still sound good at the bar.

I agree, except that I'd cut them some slack about the "coatcheck bar". The club just isn't designed for that area to have decent sound.

Oh, well sure. I've actually always kind of liked that about Chop Suey's back bar, that you can duck out of the sound for a minute if you want. It's especially nice at dance nights—you can hear just enough to know when to get back on the floor.

sound has always been an issue in that space, back from the breakroom days. it has less to do with the soundperson and more to do with the layout of the room.

the same is true with a lot of good clubs. a good looking space isn't necessarily a prime spot for live music. the chop seems to do a pretty good job dealing with difficulties presented by an angled stage, radio tower interference, and an oddly laid out room.

as for the showbox, it is one of the best-sounding rooms in seattle, with a really pro staff. i would imagine any sound issues (real or perceived) were at the hands of someone unfamiliar with the board and room.

Yeah, I've almost always had good experiences at the Showbox (and at Chop Suey too, especially for electronic shows). That's what made these recent let-downs so weird.

i didn't have the same sound issues last night, but i was right in one of the speakers too, so i was just fine with the sound (and had my earplugs in of course).

Damn, I guess I was just in a bad spot. This has to stop happening to me.

The sound seemed fine to me. The dirty jeans smell was a bit much though...

I'm with you Eric. The sound was shitty. I left after 5 or so songs and 7 or so elbows to the ribs from the fratty assholes next to me.

They did bring their own sound person, who was super nice. I saw their CD release in Portland, and yes the sound was better. It was a big hall that made the freakin loud guitars bounce all around and sound chaotic. Like their music should sound.

My problem with the sound at Chop Suey was that it was compressed, clean and I couldn't hear any of the fun sloppy guitar picking.

It was an awesome show they and they are a great band, it was great to see the place totally packed!

I was the house sound person at chop suey at the thermals show that night. They did bring their own sound person, his name was Paul, he was really nice and he let me use some of his mics. When someone comes in to mix a band, I always try to acomidate them and just let them do their job- after all that is what the band is paying them to do. I did think that the mix was a little quiet during sound check but he was pretty dead set on the way he was going to mix the band. The above person mentioned that the sound was compressed- actually, he was compressing the guitars a lot (the house system is not compressed) which does, well, make things quieter.
I'm just curious-how do people think the opening bands sounded?
Should I be more carefull when a band brings their own sound person? It seems like his mix ended up reflecting poorly on me and the club. Guess I'll just chalk it up to a learning experience!

"I'm just curious-how do people think the opening bands sounded?
Should I be more carefull when a band brings their own sound person? It seems like his mix ended up reflecting poorly on me and the club. Guess I'll just chalk it up to a learning experience!"

I think Alejandro just made history by the first sound person to actually take criticism well from an internet forum, even if he didn't mix the set in question.

I'd never thought I'd see that. Way to go, man.

Should I be more carefull when a band brings their own sound person?

If you hear flaws/problems, you should politely make it known to the band's sound person. Everyone will benefit. I'd rather a sound person's ego take a slight bruising than suffer through a shite-sounding set.

I sure as hell will next time!

For the record, Alejandro does a great job on sound, and it is pretty impressive to see anyone respond to online criticism with a level head. Cheers, buddy. I only made it up in time for the Thermals' set, but I'm sure he did a fine job with the openers.