Show 3: New Orleans Jazz Fest- New Orleans, LA 4/27/12 (SETLIST/PICS/REVIEWS)

[Shady]

Well, I suppose he'd show up SOMEWHERE. The git.

Brian looks a bit cool in shades, btw.

Very cool..

Dude's 70 and just like he was when he was 22, effortlessly cool

[Autotune]

Back from it. Did not keep track of the setlist. Smebody else post it, please. Random thoughs...

Shorter set (90 mins. No intermission)
I was up front, but my estimate is somewhere between 5.000 and 15.000 people.
It was a strange sight, seeing all the boys onstage, Brian in front of me.
No tour stage setup (no screen, no surfboards).
All of them dressed nicely. Pictures will come out eventually.
Stamos came out and introduced them. He was really nice, I have to say. Read his introduction from a computer screen on the floor in fron of him, it seems.
He came back for BTTYS (they did he usual skit), and then for the encore (minus GV, probably, can't remember him there). He played Guitar on FFF and drums on another song.
They put his congas center stage up front for Kokomo... Nevertheless, he was not annoying and came as a genuine fan who did not stand in the way of this kickass band. In total he was up there for like 8 minutes maybe.
There was no soundcheck, so the live mix improved -substantially- as the show progressed.
Mike was in great voice. If he keeps it during the tour, you guys are in for a treat.
So where the other guys. Too bad there was not a Bruce lead.
No rarities, save for Cottonfields.
Alan sang lead on WIBN doubled subtly by Foskett. It sounded very nice.
Foskett has to be acknowledged for being right there all the time, hitting the notes that have to be hit. Sang a very pretty DWB.
Brian was just Brian... He was awkward all of the time, yawned during songs (even during some of his leads!), and gave a few frown-like smiles like the ones Leaf described in his 1977 tome.
Nevertheles, his vocal performance was rather good (VERY good by BW live standards, I think).
I've never been enthusiastic about Brian's live vocal performances (gee look at my posts from a couple days ago!), but he did sing well most of the time.
Given that he doesn't sing a lot of the time, and thus will not wear his voice, and given that he's growing confident and has no real specific pressure on him, my guess is that by the middle of the tour he'll be doing great.
NO AUTOTUNE or pitch corrector to be detected, what you saw is what you got with all the wilsonian charm and imperfection.
He sang YSGTM nicely, completely alone and strong in the verses, sometimes doubled by Alan during the chorus (BTW Alan seemed to be very careful to Brian all the time), he gave a good Sloop John B. (as good as ever), a pretty solid H&V, a good SOS (excellent as long as he did not fluff the words), was ok in GV (for whatever reason Jeff ended the first verse on his own), and sang a VERY PRETTY GOK (no video tributes this time). Then played random piano that I could not hear (it's an electric keyboard set into a white baby grand body) and sang backgrounds on a number of songs.
On Kokomo he played some piano but did not sing a note, just like the record!
TWGMTR came out powerfully. Brian missed all of his cues and had trouble reading the words... Other than that he was terrific!

Don't know what else to say folks. I wanted to be  part of history. That's why I bought my ticket -when I heard this would kick of he tour- and flew to NO to see the boys. It's been a long journey.

[Autotune]

Well, I suppose he'd show up SOMEWHERE. The git.

Brian looks a bit cool in shades, btw.

Very cool..

Dude's 70 and just like he was when he was 22, effortlessly cool

Yeah, those look like his 1982 shades!

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Sounds like an amazing show Lenny! I don't even care how BDW sounds, just NO AUTOTUNE haha!

I'll be in the second row at my show, in the pit. I wonder if i can high five  Mike Love haha!

[Autotune]

Would like to add two things:

1. Once they got the proper mix, the live blend was beautiful. Unmatched by an other BB-related or unrelated recording or touring entity.
2. The additional vocalists, with the exception of Foskett's high parts, sing occasionally and are easy to spot. You are hearing mostly the original guys all of the time.

[LostArt]

Would like to add two things:

1. Once they got the proper mix, the live blend was beautiful. Unmatched by an other BB-related or unrelated recording or touring entity.
2. The additional vocalists, with the exception of Foskett's high parts, sing occasionally and are to spot. You are hearing mostly the original guys all of the time.

Thank you!  Great to hear that it's the Beach Boys doing most of the singing.

[Autotune]

Would like to add two things:

1. Once they got the proper mix, the live blend was beautiful. Unmatched by an other BB-related or unrelated recording or touring entity.
2. The additional vocalists, with the exception of Foskett's high parts, sing occasionally and are to spot. You are hearing mostly the original guys all of the time.

Thank you!  Great to hear that it's the Beach Boys doing most of the singing.

Well yeah. Mike never misses his part (his bass kicking ass when the mix was right), and Bruce the same... This guy is always spot-on, singing high and blending smoothly. BTW the high oohs at the end of FFF is Bruce alone -no Jeff or Scott. But now you have to add Alan into the equation, whose voice is so colorful. AND Brian. When Brian joins the harmony, and those four guys sing together, it doesn't get any better. In fact, I was expecting that they sing some Four Freshmen tune, given the jazz environment. But alas, they did not. I still cannot identify David easily, and he is not singing all the time, but eventually his sound will become familiar.

One more thing: the hits, including Barbara Ann, never sounded better. In fact, I was surprised at how tight this tune sounded. Granted, we can do without it, but if the performance is inspired and committed, keep it coming.

[NatureShowInStereo]

Though I'm not a huge fan of the pre-Today! material, all of the recordings I've heard of that specific material being played on this tour sound really fresh and nice. The songs sound better now than ever, almost, it seems. I'm just so excited that this entire reunion thing is being done in such wonderfully good taste. We can all go to sleep after this tour/album knowing that our favorite band triumphed the odds and came full circle after 50 years and kicked ass while doing it.

[SG7]

Though I'm not a huge fan of the pre-Today! material, all of the recordings I've heard of that specific material being played on this tour sound really fresh and nice. The songs sound better now than ever, almost, it seems. I'm just so excited that this entire reunion thing is being done in such wonderfully good taste. We can all go to sleep after this tour/album knowing that our favorite band triumphed the odds and came full circle after 50 years and kicked ass while doing it.

Amen!

[astroray]

From USA Today:

As Bon Iver strummed their tunes, The Beach Boys continued their reunion tour on the far side of the fairgrounds. Celebrating their 50th anniversary, The Beach Boys have reunited with Brian Wilson for a summer (of course) tour of which Jazz Fest was an early stop. After an intro by actor John Stamos, the group applied its trademark barbershop harmonies to Do It Again. A bit plodding but the crowd loved it. Early hit Surfin' followed as twentysomethings did the Frug.

Surfer Girl was just as creamy as it was a half century ago and the crowd cheered as Wilson took his turn at the microphone. Al Jardine's voice seemed the strongest, especially on And Then He Kissed Me. Car culture got its due with a revved up medley of Little Deuce Coup, 409, Shut Down and I Get Around.

By that point, even the Southern women in the crowd wished they could be California girls, if only for a moment.

[DonnyL]

[Wirestone]

God, look at that profile and hair. Brian looks incredibly awesome sometimes.

[pixletwin]

Those are some great pics DonnyL. 

[SG7]

Some powerful pics of Brian there. Second to last one, wow.

[DonnyL]

Those are some great pics DonnyL. 

Best reunion photo of ML so far !

More here:

http://www.nola.com/jazzfest/index.ssf/2012/04/beach_boys_rolled_out_surf_and.html

A decent photo of 'Mike Johnston' in there too ...

[Runaways]

brian looks like Beethoven, old music genius, odd.  I don't know if he's happy though, after this tour, i hope he takes a long break.  

[Shady]

wow, great pic of Brian and Scotty, very moving

[Justin]

You're a star, DonnyL!  Nice ones!

[Runaways]

i wish brian would smile (i'm not critiquing, just want him to be happy)

[Shady]

 

[Shady]

The Beach Boys stage being prepared

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV4fdNEBD8I

[mammy blue]

OK y'all, I'm back home from the Fest. Here are my comments.

First, rough setlist. This may not be perfect or in correct order, but these were the songs by my recollection. They were done in mostly rapid succession to fit the 90 min timeframe..

Stamos introduced the band. Very reverential.
Do It Again - no soundcheck, so there were problems hearing the vocals early in the concert. Mike's first line or so was completely inaudible.
Catch a Wave
Don't back Down
Surfin safari
Surfer Girl - as Brian sang the bridge Mike started dancing with some woman... kinda cheezy and distracting
Then I Kissed Her - Al sounds like the record... in very fine voice
You're So Good To Me
Why Do Fools Fall in Love
When I grow up to be a man - this went over really well
Cottonfields
Be True to Your School - w/ Stamos
Don't Worry Baby - Jeff
Little Deuce Coupe
409
Shut Down
I get around
Sloop John B
Wouldnt It Be Nice
Sail On Sailor
Heroes and Villains
God Only Knows: no Carl video, sung by Brian who did fine on it
That's Why God Made the Radio: sounded good but Brian kept missing his cues on the verses
California Girls
Help Me Rhonda
Barbara Ann
Surfin' USA
Kokomo - Stamos on bongos
Good Vibes
Fun Fun Fun - Stamos returns again

The band seemed to go over really well with the ENORMOUS crowd that was there. It was a sea of people as far as the eye could see. I noticed Bruce and David pausing as they exited to take it all in. The sound was an issue at the beginning but there was no soundcheck, so you can hardly fault them for that. The musicianship was excellent. The harmonies mostly sounded GREAT.

Brian: looked utterly bored and not engaged through much of it, although there were a few moments when he looked out at the crowd and smiled and took in some of the good vibes. He didn't participate vocally in many of the songs in which he didn't sing lead, but when he did sing lead, he generally did a good job, and the crowd showed a lot of appreciation. He also sang God Only Knows (I imagine synching with the Carl video would have been a disaster at this venue). He did fail to sing several of the verse vocals for Radio.

Mike: clearly was having fun, engaged well with the audience and sounded pretty good.

Al: sounds the most like the records. Really amazing, actually. He comes off really well. He seems to look over at Brian a lot and is concerned about him.

David was having a blast and his solos were tight. He and Bruce didn't get to do any lead vocals today though.

I'm sorry we missed the Dennis and Carl tribs, but pulling them off would have probably been a technical miracle.

I have to say that with such a shortened time to perform, I could have lived with a little less Love/Stamos banter, although that was mostly Mike, with Stamos mostly trying to be humble about being there. There might have been room for another song without all that.

From my vantage point though, I could often see Stamos watching from the side of the stage, clearly in awe of his heroes. And when Brian was performing God Only Knows, there was Stamos, who seemed very moved and was recording it on his phone. So I'm inclined to cut him some slack. The crowd really responded well to him being there.

So, not a typical venue or setlist, but all in all I think it was a successful date. Sure, I missed hearing more of the deep tracks but it was still amazing to see them there. Other than Brian, everybody seems to be having a lot of fun and enjoying themselves. My overall impression is that this tour has gotten off to a very good start and is definitely worth checking out!

[stack-o-tracks]

And when Brian was performing God Only Knows, there was Stamos, who seemed very moved and was recording it on his phone. So I'm inclined to cut him some slack.

Too bad he's not going to upload it to YouTube. 

[Wirestone]

Brian's apparent disinterest is most likely fear. He's simply not used with performing with the guys and is performing in an unfamiliar setting. I have to imagine he will get more comfortable as the tour wears on.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Really don't understand all the "Blondie's playing today" nonsense, seeing as he denied it on his own website many weeks ago.