When live performances go wrong! In a recently captured video, singer Jamie Stewart of the band Xiu Xiu delivers a no-holds-barred scolding to his sound technician after an onstage mishap that caused ear-splitting feedback. Mid-performance, Stewart was left visibly enraged as piercing, distorted sound tore through the venue, jarring both the band and their audience.
With the kind of intensity that only years of live performances could bring, Stewart addressed the sound technician directly, his frustration palpable. Many Redditors, particularly those with live performance experience, sympathized, sharing similar horror stories. “I’ve played live shows,” commented one user, adding that loud feedback “physically hurts, and once the show starts, you don’t mess with the settings. That’s what sound checks are for.”
The high-pitched screech from the speakers was so intense that even viewers through their screens flinched, recalling their own uncomfortable experiences with sound feedback. Several users offered insights into just how physically painful and disorienting feedback can be for artists onstage. As one former sound engineer pointed out, “Loud feedback is worse than you’d imagine if you haven’t experienced it… it’s like scraping your eardrum with a Brillo pad q-tip.” The impact of such moments can linger, potentially leading to lasting ear fatigue or even tinnitus.
Feedback issues like this aren’t rare, and the comments quickly revealed how divided audiences can be over the role of sound technicians in these scenarios. Some users felt sympathy for the sound guy, noting that sometimes, the crowd or even the venue’s own setup can lead to unexpected audio issues. One comment noted, “Sometimes they put the sound booth in the back, and it sounds completely different from what the audience hears up close,” emphasizing the challenges sound engineers face in balancing audio across a room.
Others saw Stewart’s reaction as warranted, though, seeing it as a genuine reflection of the agony feedback can cause onstage. “He wasn’t unfair,” said one commenter, pointing out that Stewart’s reaction was direct but professional, refraining from insulting the technician. In fact, some longtime fans of Xiu Xiu pointed out that Stewart’s intensity is part of his character on stage, remarking that a Xiu Xiu show without his passion would feel incomplete.
This incident also reignited conversations on modern sound engineering practices, with some users sharing that many sound engineers now use remote tablets to control the levels in real-time from various spots around the room. One sound engineer pointed out, “The Behringer X32 and other digital boards now make it possible to adjust things while actually hearing how it sounds in the crowd,” which many see as a huge advantage.
In the end, the viral video underscores the challenges of live performances. As one Redditor humorously summed up, “The sound guy wasn’t delivering feedback, so [the singer] delivered it himself.”
