I have been to three live concerts in total, the first was Imagine Dragons so obviously that one was massive in a basketball stadium, the next was Wardruna so slightly less massive in a concert hall and the last was Moon Walker in a pretty small venue. So standing through a whole concert kind of sucks and the most recent one didn't even have an option for sitting. And the one that I actually could sit at had the most uncomfortable sets I have ever been in. And despite having silicon ear plugs at the last two, I could understand most of the words being sung with the drums drowning out everything at the Wardruna concert. This was once I might have thought that venue had poor sound balancing but twice in a row? The nice thing about the most recent concert is that the openers offered to chat with fan at their merch tables but since they were in the same room at the on going concert so it never really felt quite enough to talk to anyone. I don't know it feels like everyone else there got way more out of it than me that is a sucky feeling.

Edit: I'm going to bed so won't reply for a while but you answers have been reassuring and helpful.

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[–] JigglySackles@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

If they are like those they should work well. You might try loop ear plugs if those aren't working out. I used loops for the past few concerts I've been to and they worked well. Variety of bands, venue types, sound quality.

The sound quality will vary. I don't care for arenas (other than being able to sit) very often unless it's a band that cares a lot about sound quality. Saw Nine Inch Nails at an indoor arena and they still sounded great (as much as that kind of venue allows at least, there are still unavoidable qualities).

I really like open air venues. But my top two favorite shows (Tiesto and The Midnight) have been indoor and small. Both were standing room only, which sucks, both were cramped and too warm, one was so humid from the people dancing and breathing that we started to get an indoor cloud, but the energy and excitement and sound pounding through my chest in that one and the sheer ecstasy of the live sax and friendly atmosphere in the other and the excitement of finally hearing bands I loved really made both worth it.

If the the way you listen to music and get enjoyment from it is all about deeply enjoying the intricacies and inflections and tonality, concerts aren't going to be your thing unless it's a venue built for that music's kind of performance. Like symphonies in a concert Hall, or opera in an opera house.

But every modality for music listening has its pluses and minuses. Concerts/live just may not be your thing at the end of it, and that's ok. 🙂 Just know every concert and location will be different. So go with people if they invite you even if you don't seek stuff yourself anymore, you might stumble on a combination that works for you.