Brian Wilson 30 minute ago in Vienna Virginia....Gershwin Show

[donald]

I realize this falls under concert reviews, but I didn't wish to relegate it to the back page.  The Gershwin material?  Don't miss it.  Brian was absolutely in voice and spot on.  The crowd responded well to it.   I ran into another fan there who agreed it was the best Brian has sounded.  AND, they had a string section.  But the strings came out earlier to add a BASS CELLO to GV.    Harmony and music was top notch.  The core band was 10 people.  PLUS the strings.  The surprise?

NO TAYLOR MILLS!  I was a little dissappointed at 1st, but, a new bass player?....did some of the vocals and it came off OK..  Taylor's highs were missing but it is surprising how this bunch of guys sounds like the Beach Boys.  Brian still has it vocally more than anybody would expect.  He still looks at JF alot for cues and stumbles a bit on lyrics, once or twice.......but really takes the lead vocally.  The crowd was smaller than I had expected....half capacity in a 6000 person outdoor arena.....much like the Paul Masson Winery venue in Saratoga CA.    Get out and see this tour.  I mean it!

[Chug-A-Lug]

I was there tonight, too.  For those not familiar with the venue, it's a covered pavillion (though it's far more beautiful than that suggests) with lawn seating on the outside.  It was a perfect night for the concert, but very few in the area seemed to recognize that as it was one of the smallest crowds at Wolf Trap that I have seen in the dozen or so times I have been there.   The lawn was mainly empty and only the front orchestra section was almost full.  I don't believe there were any people in the rear orchestra and have no idea about the upper level.  At any rate, I mention this just to give a sense as to what Brian is up against, particulalry when there is very little promotion for the show, as was the case here.  Makes you wonder why the focus on England the past few weeks when, at least for this venue, ticket sales were clearly not that high.  I got my ticket today and it was 8th row center if that gives any indication. 

Anyway, on to the music.  First off were the hits.  I haven't seen Brian since he was here in DC for the Al/Pet Sounds tour, so it's been a while.  The crux of the hits set there remained.  I don't think I'd seen Salt Lake City before, though I know it's been in for a while, so that was cool and he also did Shut Down/Little Deuce Coupe which my memory is telling me I hadn't seen him do live before either.  I may just be forgetting.  I was surprised somewhat that there was no mention of the Smile Box coming up.  I would have thought it a perfect opportunity to do a mini-set given all the interest there seems to be.  We got Good Vibes and Heroes (w/Cantina), but nothing else.  Brian was in generally good voice, but I was surprised that so many leads were given to Jeff and also Darlin' to Darian.  They did great, but I was disappointed Brian handed them off.  Saving his voice for Gershwin, I guess.  Brian was also prone to zoning out here and there, so Jeff picked up when he needed to.  In the first half, I felt like Brian's vocals were a little more buried than they should be - not sure if it was just based on where I was sitting, but I tend to think not. 

The second half, I thought, was much better.  Brian was far more into the material and I always find it's an improvement to hear him perform works he has more recently completed because the voice matches that on the cd.  Brian can still sing, but it's sometimes jarring to hear the current voice on the older material.  Brian was clearly nervous in terms of coming in on the songs at the appropriate time and would often look to Jeff for guidance.  But, once he got in there, he really soared.  Summertime and I Loves You Porgy for me were highlights, but by and large the whole thing was pretty great.  Much better for me than the cd.  Even the new songs, which I'm not the biggest fan of, came off really well. 

After Gershwin came the standard fare.  I really hate the Johnny B Goode, Rhonda, Barbara Ann, Surfin USA, Fun, Fun, Fun combo by now!  You'd think someone could have mixed it up a little more, but it certainly gets the man on the street going, so why screw with the formula...

I'm very glad to have gone, but the whole experience was kind of bittersweet.  I was embarrassed for Brian and Band that the audience was so small - really more ashamed of my fellow DC area residents for not appreciating this music we all hold so dear - and I couldn't help but wonder if this would be the last time that I saw Brian.  Even if he does tour again, I would think the powers that be might consider bypassing our area given the crowd size.  I would argue that a theatre would be a better draw next time, but I don't guess BriMel feel like arguing with me...

[punkinhead]

I was there tonight, too.  For those not familiar with the venue, it's a covered pavillion (though it's far more beautiful than that suggests) with lawn seating on the outside.  It was a perfect night for the concert, but very few in the area seemed to recognize that as it was one of the smallest crowds at Wolf Trap that I have seen in the dozen or so times I have been there.   The lawn was mainly empty and only the front orchestra section was almost full.  I don't believe there were any people in the rear orchestra and have no idea about the upper level.  At any rate, I mention this just to give a sense as to what Brian is up against, particulalry when there is very little promotion for the show, as was the case here.  Makes you wonder why the focus on England the past few weeks when, at least for this venue, ticket sales were clearly not that high.  I got my ticket today and it was 8th row center if that gives any indication. 

Anyway, on to the music.  First off were the hits.  I haven't seen Brian since he was here in DC for the Al/Pet Sounds tour, so it's been a while.  The crux of the hits set there remained.  I don't think I'd seen Salt Lake City before, though I know it's been in for a while, so that was cool and he also did Shut Down/Little Deuce Coupe which my memory is telling me I hadn't seen him do live before either.  I may just be forgetting.  I was surprised somewhat that there was no mention of the Smile Box coming up.  I would have thought it a perfect opportunity to do a mini-set given all the interest there seems to be.  We got Good Vibes and Heroes (w/Cantina), but nothing else.  Brian was in generally good voice, but I was surprised that so many leads were given to Jeff and also Darlin' to Darian.  They did great, but I was disappointed Brian handed them off.  Saving his voice for Gershwin, I guess.  Brian was also prone to zoning out here and there, so Jeff picked up when he needed to.  In the first half, I felt like Brian's vocals were a little more buried than they should be - not sure if it was just based on where I was sitting, but I tend to think not. 

The second half, I thought, was much better.  Brian was far more into the material and I always find it's an improvement to hear him perform works he has more recently completed because the voice matches that on the cd.  Brian can still sing, but it's sometimes jarring to hear the current voice on the older material.  Brian was clearly nervous in terms of coming in on the songs at the appropriate time and would often look to Jeff for guidance.  But, once he got in there, he really soared.  Summertime and I Loves You Porgy for me were highlights, but by and large the whole thing was pretty great.  Much better for me than the cd.  Even the new songs, which I'm not the biggest fan of, came off really well. 

After Gershwin came the standard fare.  I really hate the Johnny B Goode, Rhonda, Barbara Ann, Surfin USA, Fun, Fun, Fun combo by now!  You'd think someone could have mixed it up a little more, but it certainly gets the man on the street going, so why screw with the formula...

I'm very glad to have gone, but the whole experience was kind of bittersweet.  I was embarrassed for Brian and Band that the audience was so small - really more ashamed of my fellow DC area residents for not appreciating this music we all hold so dear - and I couldn't help but wonder if this would be the last time that I saw Brian.  Even if he does tour again, I would think the powers that be might consider bypassing our area given the crowd size.  I would argue that a theatre would be a better draw next time, but I don't guess BriMel feel like arguing with me...

I agree with the encore stuff, I think there should be a change in those...I don't care what the "fans" want...you're at a BRIAN WILSON SHOW, not BB...perhaps Brian wants to perform those, idk...There's far more superior things to do an encore with; hell, I'd accept something from any and every era, from Back Home to South America to Goin' On to Marcella to Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight.

[SMiLE Brian]

I was at that show for my first Brian Wilson concert and liked the beach boys set with a good mixture of songs. But the gershwin stuff blew me away because it sounded really like the album live. I'm glad i saw him because i don't think he will come back soon because of that tiny crowd.

[donald]

Chug a lug

Thanks for following my post so eloquently.    You said it well..  Brian sounded good.  The band was good.  As we both said....Brian was a little dependent on JF for cues and
Barbara Ann could have gotten lost for crying out loud!
Crowd disapppointing.

We listened to BWRI Gershwin a couple of days prior to the show and were knocked out by that material.

Where was Taylor...and how did you find it without her?

[jeffcdo]

It brings up an interesting point, that maybe it's time to ditch the "crowd pleasing" stuff, for a lack of crowds.  I certainly don't care if I ever hear "Barbara Ann" again. 

[SMiLE Brian]

The crowd pleasing songs were fun the first time, but i could see them getting old. Personally, I thought Darian was awesome on Darlin and think it would be cool for him to do more wild honey songs. Brian was in great voice but with his voice now he sings a lot of Mike's old leads I kept wondering how a reunion would work now between Brian and Mike ?

[donald]

The crowd pleasing songs were fun the first time, but i could see them getting old. Personally, I thought Darian was awesome on Darlin and think it would be cool for him to do more wild honey songs. Brian was in great voice but with his voice now he sings a lot of Mike's old leads I kept wondering how a reunion would work now between Brian and Mike ?

that occured to us (Jan and I) as well..........we saw Mike last summer and he was not as prominent or up front with his vocals as Brian was tonight on what used to be Mike vocals.   Seriously!  Brian was a good lead vocalist tonite...but JF did the old high BW parts.   To be fair, ML tours much more heavily.

Perhaps they could trade off leads in a reunion. 

[The Shift]

Someone posted a pic (on Facebook) of taylor recently singing with another band, Which One's Pink – looks like another Floyd tribute band – so presumably she had prior commitments. That, or Brian was jealous of her getting the audience guys' attention!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2125757221837&set=at.2125752461718.2130955.1183081612.628868483&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2125772342215&set=at.2125752461718.2130955.1183081612.628868483&type=1&theater

[Andrew G. Doe]

Not that I was there but...

New bass player ?  Not since spring 2008 unless they've dumped Brett Simons in the last few weeks.

Taylor has indeed been singing bvs for other folk very recently, so I'm guessing she may have been 'let go'.

"Barbara-fucking-Ann" will be in the set as long as Brian's in the band: he loves that song. Shame no-one else does.

Sad to hear about the sparse crowd - I hear Ridgefield is set to be much the same, and the RFH shows are less than sold out as well.

[smile-holland]

"Barbara-friggin'-Ann" will be in the set as long as Brian's in the band: he loves that song. Shame no-one else does.

A "shame no one else does"? Does this mean you actually secretly like the song?   

[Andrew G. Doe]

"Barbara-friggin'-Ann" will be in the set as long as Brian's in the band: he loves that song. Shame no-one else does.

A "shame no one else does"? Does this mean you actually secretly like the song?   

No (uttered in the coldest, most dismissive tone I can achieve).

[gxios]

I was there last night as well.  There has been no promotion at all- my friends who usually go to Brian shows didn't even know he was playing.  I had a lawn seat but there were very  few people on the lawn and we sat just behind the regular seating. DC may be doing somewhat ok economically, but people are struggling beyond the inner suburbs, and I think all shows will suffer this year.  The show was very good, I don't have more to add, except that Probyn used the theremin-thing a few times in the Gershwin set to good effect, especially in "Summertime".  Thinking back, the crowd was about the same size as the Baltimore show on the first Pet Sounds tour (2000?).  I had 2 extra 10th row seats for that show and couldn't sell them for half the price.  The Mike and Bruce show will be there later in the summer, they usually sell out.

[hypehat]

Sounds good! I don't mind Darian taking lead on Darlin', because it smokes, and it's, y'know, a band with several insanely talented vocalists. Can't wait for September now....

[donald]

How many people are usually in the band, including Brian?  Taylor wasn't there..........and there were 10 faces with one that looked unfamiliar....the bass.

[guitarfool2002]

I'd like to chime in - having not seen the show but very appreciative of the firsthand reviews - about the reasons why there are smaller audiences. When some of these Gershwin shows were announced, myself and a handful of other readers thought the ticket prices seemed a bit too high specifically for the New York shows, and that would keep people away from the venues. Would this be the main reason? Plus, the price of gas hasn't come down *that much* in the past weeks, so someone driving more than 50 miles to get to the show would factor that in.

Bring down the prices if possible, and ticket sales will increase. It's a shame the show wasn't promoted more, either. If folks read this board from Brian's camp, they could take note and fix that quite easily.

I'm wondering if someone might be able to list how much a "good" ticket sold for at these places this week, and compare that to how much a comparable Beach Boys ticket would cost. That might explain the sales.

[Mikie]

Chug-a-Lug, thanks for the detailed concert review, which was about three times longer than Donald's review.  Good thing you posted here to give us the lowdown, otherwise important things might have been left out.

I was planning on attending the Mountain Winery concert in Saratoga Ca. this August, but I'm not so sure now. I expect the crowd turnout will be very sparse, plus I don't think Brian will be doing more than one or two Gerschwin songs. The girlfriend will not react too kindly if she finds out Taylor Mills won't be there. She really enjoys her singing and stage presence. Not as much as me though!

We need to investigate to see where Taylor is. I hope she's still with the band!!

[Andrew G. Doe]

How many people are usually in the band, including Brian?  Taylor wasn't there..........and there were 10 faces with one that looked unfamiliar....the bass.

That would be Brett Simons, who's been with Brian since 2008.

[guitarfool2002]

Anyone in Sarasota California around August: Just for kicks I checked ticket prices at the "Mountain Winery" venue where Brian and the Beach Boys will both be playing within a few weeks of each other. The best seats available on Ticketmaster for the BB's August 7 would be $106. The best for Brian on August 24 would be $102. They're about the same. I thought perhaps the price of tickets were a factor if someone said the Beach Boys sold far more tickets than Brian at the same venue in Virginia. If that's not the case I wanted to clear that up - it was just speculation.

I will be in New York this weekend, and Brian is playing there for 150 per seat at a venue whose average ticket price is around 20 bucks. That was the show I had in mind from an earlier discussion here. Maybe the only chance I'll have to see Brian this weekend is if he heads to 46th to grab a bite...

[Mikie]

SARATOGA, California.  Sarasota is in Florida.  

Thanks for the heads-up on the best tickets.  Don't think I'll be springing for the best seats though - 'specially since it's not a "Gerschwin" show.

[Wirestone]

Jeff has been doing the falsetto leads for a few years now -- I believe I've heard him do "Don't Worry Baby" on his own, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (with BW doing the middle eight) and "Then I Kissed Her" as a duet with BW. Folks have griped since 99 that he didn't include the band on more lead vocals, and so they're doing that now. Which of course only leads to more griping. :-)

[guitarfool2002]

SARATOGA, California.  Sarasota is in Florida.  

Thanks for the heads-up on the best tickets.  Don't think I'll be springing for the best seats though - 'specially since it's not a "Gerschwin" show.

That was before my second cup of coffee this morning! 

It's interesting that both tours are hitting your local venue within weeks of each other, I don't know if that was good booking or bad since some fans might balk at buying tickets for both shows especially if songs overlap. Keep us posted on the promotions in that general area - the impression I got from earlier posts in this thread is the Brian show was woefully under-advertised in the area. Goes to show the fansites and message board promotions alone don't always guarantee a good turnout.

[punkinhead]

Jeff has been doing the falsetto leads for a few years now -- I believe I've heard him do "Don't Worry Baby" on his own, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (with BW doing the middle eight) and "Then I Kissed Her" as a duet with BW. Folks have griped since 99 that he didn't include the band on more lead vocals, and so they're doing that now. Which of course only leads to more griping. :-)

Really? I've actually never heard anyone complain about giving leads to band members since I've been a fan around 2000.

[Shady]

Sad to hear about the sparse crowd - I hear Ridgefield is set to be much the same, and the RFH shows are less than sold out as well.

Ridgefield is 98% sold out

[Andrew G. Doe]

Sad to hear about the sparse crowd - I hear Ridgefield is set to be much the same, and the RFH shows are less than sold out as well.

Ridgefield is 98% sold out

Excellent - only a week ago I read that the sales were slow.