Brian's piano playing on 2012

[Pablo.]

For those who attended the gigs, and were in a good position to watch him: what about Brian's piano playing? How much does he play? most of the videos I've seen (concert or tv performances) he isn't playing it or his playing is not audible. Is he playing the same amount of keys as his last tours?


The Newsweek article confirms that his instrument is not really a grand piano but a digital piano hidden inside the wood. But this is pretty common nowadays; even Jools Holland uses a fake grand on his tours.

[Justin]

He mentions in the Rolling Stone article how he's starting to get used to many aspects of the tour one of them includes playing the piano which he admitted he hasn't done so much on stage in a while.  I'd say he plays piano about 80% of the show...which is more I've seen him play in past solo tours.  His keyboard is hidden in the mix, buried under the three other keyboards on stage but it is plugged in.  Many times you can catch Brian singing a tune or playing around with chords in between songs---keyboard completely audible.

[bcdam]

I saw them at the Hollywood Bowl, and Brian was hammering away at some chords during an a cappella section. I couldn't hear the piano at all. Must be buried very deep in the mix, at least at the Bowl (or, not at all).

[Jason]

When I saw them in Camden, he played a bit, but I couldn't hear it at all. When I saw him in 2009 in Glenside and Wilkes-Barre, he played piano during maybe 80% of the show.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Guess they just want him to pretend, so he has something to do.

[Wirestone]

Guess they just want him to pretend, so he has something to do.

Except that he's not pretending. He is actually playing. Whether or not he's in the mix is another question. We don't hear much from Al instrumentally either.

[Autotune]

Guess they just want him to pretend, so he has something to do.

Except that he's not pretending. He is actually playing. Whether or not he's in the mix is another question. We don't hear much from Al instrumentally either.

He's playing indeed!
I was right in front of Brian at JazzFest and could see his hands. Not to mention the captions on the big screens. He's playing the right chords and rhythms whether we hear it or not.

[Lowbacca]

Anything that makes Brian comfortable on stage is fine by me. And this could mean much weirder things than playing rhythm on a piano that is low/unaudible in the mix. 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Guess they just want him to pretend, so he has something to do.

Except that he's not pretending. He is actually playing. Whether or not he's in the mix is another question. We don't hear much from Al instrumentally either.

He's playing indeed!
I was right in front of Brian at JazzFest and could see his hands. Not to mention the captions on the big screens. He's playing the right chords and rhythms whether we hear it or not.

My bad then, Dr. Lenny.

[bossaroo]

just gotta say it's so good to see Brian playing more keys. the big white baby grand is a classy touch, even if it's just for show.


leave the pantomime act to Mike, he's so good at it. 

[adamghost]

I'm sure all those guys have their instruments in their wedges.  It's a question of whether they're in the FOH mix, and that might vary from night to night.

Somewhere on youtube there is/was a video of a BBs concert in the Hague in 1980, and the camera guy was very close to Brian's monitor.  You could hear his piano loud and clear all the way through the set, and he sounds great.

[Lonely Summer]

What about Bruce's keyboard? When I see them on tv, he appears to be playing ...but then he starts waving his hands around, or handling his microphone....and I don't notice any keyboards suddenly dropping out of the mix..

[Justin]

Folks, when you have both Darian and Scott nailing the keyboard work on stage, you probably won't hear Bruce and definitely not Brian (Bruce's keyboard only comes up for Disney Girls).  Their instruments are perfectly audible only to them in their own monitors but they're going to be lost in the mix amongst the entire group's sound coming out of the PA.  So what's the point of having them?  A lot of musicians prefer to sing while playing an instrument.  It may not matter to them that they're not overpowering in the mix--as long as they can hear it and they're comfortable is all that matters.

While watching the band it's obvious that there are select people who are designated as lead men.  Scott Totten leads the way with most of the guitar work along with Probyn (solos of course go to Dave) and Darian and Scott take over the keys.  Whatever Bruce can contribute is mixed very low so as to not clash with Darian and/or Scott and Brian is mixed even lower than that so that he doesn't clash with all that's going on above him in the mix.  Al isn't even audible most of the time but we see that he takes guitar playing seriously.  They wouldn't be up there faking. 

[Pablo.]

Folks, when you have both Darian and Scott nailing the keyboard work on stage, you probably won't hear Bruce and definitely not Brian (Bruce's keyboard only comes up for Disney Girls). 

Yeah, that's basically Bruce's approach for the Mike&Bruce tours; although then his keys were a little more audible. Anyway, Bruce's stage playing has worked this way since the early 80s, when he played electric piano. There's an old interview with Brad Elliott where he says his keys are not really needed on stage when they had Meros, Brian (and someone else?)

Shame that Brian no longer plays that pounding piano like he did on the early 80s. A different Brian, from a neurological point of view, of course.

[Mikie]

Surprised we don't hear Al's guitar more.  He's playing Rhythm, but I guess he isn't turned up.

[Mikie]

Shame that Brian no longer plays that pounding piano like he did on the early 80s. A different Brian, from a neurological point of view, of course.

Nah, 'cause sometimes he was playing a completely different song or not playing at all.  

[bgas]

Shame that Brian no longer plays that pounding piano like he did on the early 80s. A different Brian, from a neurological point of view, of course.

Nah, 'cause sometimes he was playing a completely different song or not playing at all.  

That's one of the things that makes his playing great! 
Brian wrote em, so he plays what he wants; it's not his fault if the other guys are playing the wrong stuff

[NHC]

Shame that Brian no longer plays that pounding piano like he did on the early 80s. A different Brian, from a neurological point of view, of course.

Nah, 'cause sometimes he was playing a completely different song or not playing at all.  

That's one of the things that makes his playing great! 
Brian wrote em, so he plays what he wants; it's not his fault if the other guys are playing the wrong stuff

[zep tepi]

Surprised we don't hear Al's guitar more.  He's playing Rhythm, but I guess he isn't turned up.

At the show I attended (the 2nd NYC show), Al's guitar was definitely audible. It had a really nice spot in the mix that night.

[joe_blow]

I still think it's a shame that you go see The Beach Boys and all the playing is basically done by ringers.

[Moon Dawg]

I still think it's a shame that you go see The Beach Boys and all the playing is basically done by ringers.

 At this stage of the game, The Beach Boys are primarily a band of voices. Things might be different if Carl and Dennis were still with us, but it is what it is. Kudos to David Marks on the live shows; wish his guitar was more prominent on the new album.

[adamghost]

I'd bet Brian's keyboard is more in the mix than Bruce's.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

During the 8 June 2012 show, on several songs Brian was beating the sh*t out of the keys; couldn't hear him in the mix, but it looked like he did in Knebworth during 'Keeping the Summer Alive'.

[bcdam]

I'd bet Brian's keyboard is more in the mix than Bruce's.

Definitely heard Bruce's a little more at the Hollywood bowl, especially during "Disney Girls". Still, you can hear Darian and Scott above everyone else.

[anazgnos]

What about Bruce's keyboard? When I see them on tv, he appears to be playing ...but then he starts waving his hands around, or handling his microphone....and I don't notice any keyboards suddenly dropping out of the mix..

As far as the principals' instruments go, it's most likely that the sound guys mix the keys up and down as needed.  There would probably be a generally understood plan for each song, not just a set-it-and-forget-it approach for the whole show.  It makes sense for example that they'd cut his piano during an acapella section, especially if he has a tendency to just play through it.

I only really noticed Bruce's keyboard playing on Disney Girls, and it was set to a tacky, 80s DX-7 kind of sound, so good on them for mixing it low the rest of the time.