# How I experienced Hans Zimmer Live yesterday



## Mr Greg G (Apr 8, 2022)

Yesterday evening in Paris was my 4th live experience with Hans Zimmer's music over the past 10 years. I really enjoyed the changes in the setlist with the addition of Dune, Dunkirk and especially The Last Samourai. The show was also a step up from the last tour which was already great, but the lights, the use of both screens, dancers and guests (Loire Cotler!!) made the experience really awesome and unique. There were also 2 drum sets in the center which was kinda cool. At least it looked cool.

Unfortunately... the sound was sometimes ... aweful. I won't say it ruined the experience but it severly reduced it for the loudest parts. I had seats in one of the best categories, still it was often impossible to understand what the orchestra was playing or if it was playing at all. The sound was crumbling under a wall of drum kicks, snares and drunken Kirk Hammett guitar/cello solos with the worst EQ possible (please Tina ... ditch the Helix for ... anything else!). Even Metallica in a stadium with 4 or 5 times the capacity of yesterday's venue had a better sound. In open air.

This is how I heard the Dark Knight suite yesterday:


No wonder I didn't even get a copyright claim for this 😅

Fortunately when there were no guitar/cello solos or kick drums, it sounded alright and could leave the venue smiling with tons of great pictures engraved in my mind. I will definitely come back for the next tour crossing my fingers I won't have the same sonic experience!

For those who also went to see HZ this year, what was your experience with the sound mix?


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## ridgero (Apr 9, 2022)

I've seen his show 3 times (2x Vienna, 1x Leipzig)

His regular "Hans Zimmer Live" tour is awesome, the only drawback: These concerts are mostly held in huge halls where the acoustics are bombastic, but not good.

My best experience was definitely "The World of Hans Zimmer" which was more sensitive, emotional and for me personally on a completely different level. I really love the room sound of the "Wiener Konzerthaus" very much.



If you have the chance, you should definitely attend a concert from the "Hollywood in Vienna" series. Before Covid the concert series was held annually, always with a different composer (Horner, Newton Howard, Desplat, Zimmer, Elfman etc...)


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## patrick76 (Apr 9, 2022)

I don’t have experience with the HZ show, but I can relate to the horrible sound at many concerts. I love rock music, but I won’t even consider going to a show unless I know the venue has the potential for good sound and it won’t be so loud as to sound like distorted mush and thumps (which unfortunately most shows do). So I see way less shows, but enjoy them more.


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## Mr Greg G (Apr 9, 2022)

@ridgero These were 3 shows of this 2022 tour?

Yes these shows are taking place in huge venues but I saw Pink Floyd, Rammstein, Genesis among others in venues twice as big and the sound was huge and pretty good! I may be wrong but I thought there was a big balance problem in the mix, that's why I'm asking how other people from the audience perceived it. I'm not talking about 2-3dbs of this and that here and there but more like 10-12dbs for the kick drums and solo guitars/cello destroying everything else like in the montage I made in the first post 😅

Yes, I need to attend one of these World of Hans Zimmer shows too they seem gorgeous. 

@patrick76 I understand what you're talking about. But this is the first time I had a real issue with what I was hearing and I'm attending pretty loud shows!


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## Loïc D (Apr 9, 2022)

Mr Greg G said:


> Yesterday evening in Paris was my 4th live experience with Hans Zimmer's music over the past 10 years. I really enjoyed the changes in the setlist with the addition of Dune, Dunkirk and especially The Last Samourai. The show was also a step up from the last tour which was already great, but the lights, the use of both screens, dancers and guests (Loire Cotler!!) made the experience really awesome and unique. There were also 2 drum sets in the center which was kinda cool. At least it looked cool.
> 
> Unfortunately... the sound was sometimes ... aweful. I won't say it ruined the experience but it severly reduced it for the loudest parts. I had seats in one of the best categories, still it was often impossible to understand what the orchestra was playing or if it was playing at all. The sound was crumbling under a wall of drum kicks, snares and drunken Kirk Hammett guitar/cello solos with the worst EQ possible (please Tina ... ditch the Helix for ... anything else!). Even Metallica in a stadium with 4 or 5 times the capacity of yesterday's venue had a better sound. In open air.
> 
> ...



Which venue in Paris?
Looks a bit like Zenith.


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## spacewizmusic (Apr 9, 2022)

I attended it in London (O2 arena) and my experience was somewhat similar.
I mean it was my first experience in such a big venue and HZ soundtracks.
But I indeed was expecting better mix than what I was hearing.
I was right at front of stage but way further back in terms of rows, the sound was quite direct.
Sometimes I felt like sound was somewhat squashed and sometimes way louder than expected making it just worse.

I'll say the last samurai and Gladiator suite was rather decent compared to all others.
I was bit hesitant to say this before coz I thought may be it is how it sounds and everyone was quite enjoying it.

In contrast to this I also attended another concert (film music gala) in Royal albert hall, London
where they had little amount of amplification and Game music festival (Royal festival hall, London) (they played Ori's music for 2 hours) and no amplification (apart for woodwind solos and choir)
Both of these were much more musical experiences for me because of the size of the halls I believe.


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## Dietz (Apr 9, 2022)

ridgero said:


> I've seen his show 3 times (2x Vienna, 1x Leipzig)
> 
> His regular "Hans Zimmer Live" tour is awesome, the only drawback: These concerts are mostly held in huge halls where the acoustics are bombastic, but not good.
> 
> ...



Hey, that's my mix you're linking to here! Thanks.  ... see 1:35:42

->


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## quickbrownf0x (Apr 9, 2022)

patrick76 said:


> I don’t have experience with the HZ show, but I can relate to the horrible sound at many concerts. I love rock music, but I won’t even consider going to a show unless I know the venue has the potential for good sound and it won’t be so loud as to sound like distorted mush and thumps (which unfortunately most shows do). So I see way less shows, but enjoy them more.


Same here. I just do a Youtube search (also for this one - great show!) and probably have a better time. My laziness, the fact I'd have to get up and out of my favorite chair don't help either. I'd rather sit at home with some cheese and crackers and decent audio. I might even nod off for a bit. But at least no one else but my wife will hear me snore like a bear.  But I've got old people's rights, so whatever. 

Having said that - for HZ I would've made an exception. Too bad I wasn't able to go see the gang earlier here, in Amsterdam.


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## Mr Greg G (Apr 9, 2022)

Loïc D said:


> Which venue in Paris?
> Looks a bit like Zenith.


That was Bercy (Accor Arena) like on the previous tour.


spacewizmusic said:


> I attended it in London (O2 arena) and my experience was somewhat similar.
> I mean it was my first experience in such a big venue and HZ soundtracks.
> But I indeed was expecting better mix than what I was hearing.
> I was right at front of stage but way further back in terms of rows, the sound was quite direct.
> ...


Glad to see I'm not the only one, but still we're only 2 people out of 150-200 000 for the whole tour 😅
Exactly what I was feeling, the whole orchestra was squashed, as if it was bombed by the other instruments. I felt bad for the Ukrainian musicians but they probably had a very different mix in their ears with birds singing instead of the click sound.

@Dietz Have you attended (worked on?) one of the HZ 2022 shows?


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## Mr Greg G (Apr 9, 2022)

quickbrownf0x said:


> But at least no one else but my wife will hear me snore like a bear.


You can trust me on this, no one would have noticed ... especially if you were synced to the kick drums 😅


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## Dietz (Apr 9, 2022)

Mr Greg G said:


> @Dietz Have you attended (worked on?) one of the HZ 2022 shows?


No, not yet, but the good looking fellow you saw conducting in the video (from the Vienna Konzerthaus) does, so maybe I'll get another chance - who knows.  
_(Just to avoid misunderstandings: I have nothing to do with live sound, I'm a studio guy who mixes music.)_


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## paul (Apr 9, 2022)

WHAT?!?!


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## Loïc D (Apr 9, 2022)

Mr Greg G said:


> That was Bercy (Accor Arena) like on the previous tour.


Hmmm I have mixed experiences with Bercy. Zenith is quite awful but there are many venues with good acoustics.
Lately, I’ve attended to ElectroDeluxe at Salle Pleyel and the sound was fantastic (it’s jazz/funk).


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## spacewizmusic (Apr 9, 2022)

Mr Greg G said:


> Glad to see I'm not the only one, but still we're only 2 people out of 150-200 000 for the whole tour 😅
> Exactly what I was feeling, the whole orchestra was squashed, as if it was bombed by the other instruments. I felt bad for the Ukrainian musicians but they probably had a very different mix in their ears with birds singing instead of the click sound.


Since we listen to so much of music all the time, I think we have higher expectations than most of the crowd. Especially when it comes to orchestra, I think we definitely are used to so called "perfect" sound 
May be it's difficult to deliver it the same way after amplification on big venues. 
I might be wrong, but that's just a thought. 

I'll say the sound worked quite well for the Dark Knight pulses and synth stuff. It added more grit.


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## davidson (Apr 9, 2022)

I've watched him twice - Hammersmith apollo and Wembley arena. Both sounded amazing, especially hammersmith. I didnt catch this years tour but I'd be surprised if his shows are sounding worse rather than better at this point. Some venues just sound a bit crap no matter what. Have you ever been to that venue before?


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## spacewizmusic (Apr 9, 2022)

It was first of mine, so can't really say anything. 
I believe everybody working on show is experienced enough and they should have been aware of how it sounds. May be that's the best they could do for the venue.


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## odod (Apr 9, 2022)

Mr Greg G said:


> Yesterday evening in Paris was my 4th live experience with Hans Zimmer's music over the past 10 years. I really enjoyed the changes in the setlist with the addition of Dune, Dunkirk and especially The Last Samourai. The show was also a step up from the last tour which was already great, but the lights, the use of both screens, dancers and guests (Loire Cotler!!) made the experience really awesome and unique. There were also 2 drum sets in the center which was kinda cool. At least it looked cool.
> 
> Unfortunately... the sound was sometimes ... aweful. I won't say it ruined the experience but it severly reduced it for the loudest parts. I had seats in one of the best categories, still it was often impossible to understand what the orchestra was playing or if it was playing at all. The sound was crumbling under a wall of drum kicks, snares and drunken Kirk Hammett guitar/cello solos with the worst EQ possible (please Tina ... ditch the Helix for ... anything else!). Even Metallica in a stadium with 4 or 5 times the capacity of yesterday's venue had a better sound. In open air.
> 
> ...



The drum sounded like a VSTi .. and the strings :( 
Somebody in the FOH needs to be responsible for this hahaha


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## Gil (Apr 10, 2022)

Mr Greg G said:


> Glad to see I'm not the only one, but still we're only 2 people out of 150-200 000 for the whole tour 😅
> Exactly what I was feeling, the whole orchestra was squashed, as if it was bombed by the other instruments. I felt bad for the Ukrainian musicians but they probably had a very different mix in their ears with birds singing instead of the click sound.


Hello, you can count 3 with me  I was at the 2nd row the day before you at Accor Hotel Arena in Paris...
It seems to be that the previous tour was better in term of mixing.


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## Guffy (Apr 10, 2022)

I had pretty much the same experience both times i saw him live. I think it was his 1st and 2nd EU tour. I can't imagine it being easy to get everything perfect when you have that much variation in terms of music + different venues


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## Mr Greg G (Apr 10, 2022)

spacewizmusic said:


> Especially when it comes to orchestra, I think we definitely are used to so called "perfect" sound
> May be it's difficult to deliver it the same way after amplification on big venues.
> I might be wrong, but that's just a thought.


Thing is I wouldn't moan at all over a 4-5db correction here and there because it's not that important if the sound is perfect (ie what one's ears would like to hear) or not. But I'm talking about at least a 10-12db correction so that's quite a huge difference! I think?



davidson said:


> I've watched him twice - Hammersmith apollo and Wembley arena. Both sounded amazing, especially hammersmith. I didnt catch this years tour but I'd be surprised if his shows are sounding worse rather than better at this point. Some venues just sound a bit crap no matter what. Have you ever been to that venue before?


Well it sounded worse to my ears this time. I've seen him 4 times in 4 different tours and orchestral configurations. I think the best sound I experienced was for his 1st world tour in 2016. That was empowering. And yes, I'm quite familiar with this venue, I saw about 15+ artists there and the sound was alright.



Gil said:


> Hello, you can count 3 with me  I was at the 2nd row the day before you at Accor Hotel Arena in Paris...
> It seems to be that the previous tour was better in term of mixing.


Yes it was better but IIRC there already was an issue with the electric guitar solos destroying my ears (again, I'm used to see live bands like Metallica, Rammstein, Meshuggah etc so it's not an issue with me not being used to heavy guitars.)


Guffy said:


> I had pretty much the same experience both times i saw him live. I think it was his 1st and 2nd EU tour. I can't imagine it being easy to get everything perfect when you have that much variation in terms of music + different venues


You mean you had the same experience I had twice?
Sure it's probably easier to mix The White Stripes live (2 musicians) vs HZ (40-50 musicians?) 😅


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## Dr.Quest (Apr 10, 2022)

I saw the original Zimmer tour when they were at the Greek Theater in Berkley. One of the best shows I've seen. The sound was brilliant and the performances top notch. Thrilling concert!


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## Inventio (Apr 10, 2022)

I attended the concert in Milan (Mediolanum forum in Assago). I enjoyed the show and it was wonderful to see all these musicians live but low freqs were crazily out of control... I really had trouble enjoying the sound.

Bass drums, taikos, timpani, basses were eating almost everything else at times. 

Only the modular synth (moog?) up there at the centre of the stage survived


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## lucky909091 (Apr 10, 2022)

I wached the premiere of the European tour 2022 in Hamburg. 
I was excited.
Everything was as great as the last concert in 2019, but with some small disadvantages:

1.
The musical tension of the program was a little bit less than 2019

2.
less musicians than 2019 (owed to the Ucraine war - I think)

3.
Hans was not so charming and he did not talk so much in German as 2019

But all in all it was a great experience as in 2019. 
I loved it and I will definitely visit the next concert, too.


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## JyTy (Apr 11, 2022)

I saw the show yesterday... now I have been going to concerts for 20+ years now and I have seen most of the biggest acts of our time live. And this was easily one of the best live concerts I've ever seen!

The sound was amazing considering the huge live orchestra setup - this is never a simple thing to mix in a huge concrete arena. The amount of beautiful musical moments, great craftsmanship and the respect the band shares towards one another was amazing!

But this is not some intimate orchestral show, this is a full on arena ROCK act if you ask me  The energy was amazing... I really hope this one will be released as a live album so I can revisit it again multiple times.


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## 1d10t (Apr 11, 2022)

Yesterday was in Ljubljana, perfect sound !!!


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## Vhrka (Apr 13, 2022)

Does anyone know if Hans' live show will be coming to the US as well? I saw there was a US leg in 2017 so I'm guessing it's a good chance right?


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## mussnig (Apr 13, 2022)

Mr Greg G said:


> Yesterday evening in Paris was my 4th live experience with Hans Zimmer's music over the past 10 years. I really enjoyed the changes in the setlist with the addition of Dune, Dunkirk and especially The Last Samourai. The show was also a step up from the last tour which was already great, but the lights, the use of both screens, dancers and guests (Loire Cotler!!) made the experience really awesome and unique. There were also 2 drum sets in the center which was kinda cool. At least it looked cool.
> 
> Unfortunately... the sound was sometimes ... aweful. I won't say it ruined the experience but it severly reduced it for the loudest parts. I had seats in one of the best categories, still it was often impossible to understand what the orchestra was playing or if it was playing at all. The sound was crumbling under a wall of drum kicks, snares and drunken Kirk Hammett guitar/cello solos with the worst EQ possible (please Tina ... ditch the Helix for ... anything else!). Even Metallica in a stadium with 4 or 5 times the capacity of yesterday's venue had a better sound. In open air.
> 
> ...



Had the same experience yesterday in Vienna. Performances were great and especially Tina Guo has such a great and captivating stage presence!

But the sound quality was at times really not good. Some tutti parts were just loud and a bit mushy. Especially during the first half of the Dark Knight I could only hear drums and bass and the rest was barely perceptible - and probably only because I already knew the music I was expecting to hear.

However, a friend who saw them in Ljubljana told me that the sound was good there. So it probably varies with the venues ...


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## Mr Greg G (Apr 14, 2022)

mussnig said:


> But the sound quality was at times really not good. Some tutti parts were just loud and a bit mushy. Especially during the first half of the Dark Knight I could only hear drums and bass and the rest was barely perceptible - and probably only because I already knew the music I was expecting to hear.
> 
> However, a friend who saw them in Ljubljana told me that the sound was good there. So it probably varies with the venues ...


Yes, that's too bad because it could have been one of the best shows I've ever been to but the sound mix... let's say I expected way better based on my experiences in the same venue.

Where were you seated?



Inventio said:


> I attended the concert in Milan (Mediolanum forum in Assago). I enjoyed the show and it was wonderful to see all these musicians live but low freqs were crazily out of control... I really had trouble enjoying the sound.
> 
> Bass drums, taikos, timpani, basses were eating almost everything else at times.
> 
> Only the modular synth (moog?) up there at the centre of the stage survived


I have to agree on that.


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## mussnig (Apr 14, 2022)

Mr Greg G said:


> Where were you seated?


Südpaterre, which means about 50 m from the stage a bit to the side but also elevated. Some members of my family were sitting quite central about 20 m from the stage. And today I spoke with someone sitting further away but also quite high. They all told me the same regarding the sound.


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## 1d10t (Apr 16, 2022)

I had seats in front row in Ljubljana. First row. I didn't expect spectacular sound, I wanted to see this show up close. But sound was spectacular. Everything was perfect. Go see hans zimmer live, it is one of things that will bring hope back for you. I travelled 600km just to see the show. And it was greatest concert experience in my life ( and I have like 200+concert under my belt). Btw, my day job is mixing live music... so I know what I am talking about.


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## Mr Greg G (Apr 17, 2022)

Were you able to hear disctincly the orchestra?


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## 1d10t (Apr 17, 2022)

Absolutely, in fact mix was so perfect that for james bond tune you have royal aesthetics while for pirates you can literally see drunken pirate on strings...


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## jononotbono (Apr 17, 2022)

I saw HZ live at Wembley and it was one of the best gigs/concerts I've ever been to. The sound was fantastic and even in surround at times.


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## Lex (Apr 29, 2022)

I just came back from Oslo show and it was amazing. I loved the 2017 show, but this was even better. The arrangements were great, the set list perfect, and it sounded awesome. The energy was so charged and positive, @Rctec so charming and great at connecting with the audience. And the talent on stage, my god the talent and hard work of all those musical geniuses was breath taking. Loire Cotler was out of this world. 

One of the best live shows I ever went to.

alex


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## Sheridan (Apr 30, 2022)

Lex said:


> I just came back from Oslo show and it was amazing. I loved the 2017 show, but this was even better. The arrangements were great, the set list perfect, and it sounded awesome. The energy was so charged and positive, @Rctec so charming and great at connecting with the audience. And the talent on stage, my god the talent and hard work of all those musical geniuses was breath taking. Loire Cotler was out of this world.
> 
> One of the best live shows I ever went to.
> 
> alex


Thanks for the short review Alex. One question: I’m going to the Stockholm show today and the venue opens at 18:00, but when does the band take the stage? Thought you might be able to provide an estimate based on the Oslo experience.


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## espen (Apr 30, 2022)

Sheridan said:


> Thanks for the short review Alex. One question: I’m going to the Stockholm show today and the venue opens at 18:00, but when does the band take the stage? Thought you might be able to provide an estimate based on the Oslo experience.


I was also at the Oslo concert. They entered roughly 5 minutes after scheduled concert start at 20:00.


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## Sheridan (Apr 30, 2022)

espen said:


> I was also at the Oslo concert. They entered roughly 5 minutes after scheduled concert start at 20:00.


Many thanks Espen. My tickets don’t say at what time the concert starts, only when the venue opens.


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## Lex (Apr 30, 2022)

Sheridan said:


> Many thanks Espen. My tickets don’t say at what time the concert starts, only when the venue opens.


Hope you enjoy!

alex


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## Jotto (Apr 30, 2022)

I saw the Oslo show yesterday. It was fantastic. I loved it. I dont think you could expect a better sound in that venue. Hans was very charming and i think he had a very good time. I was hoping for a bit more Dark knight and Interstellar (the last part of that was the evenings highlight imo) but nevertheless it was a great great show. I would have loved to go to Stocholm today


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