The Beach Boys: Stamos, Love, Johnston

[Pretty Funky]

Opening act for Paul Simon Tour 2001 for me.

[SMiLE Brian]

Mike is also running his voice into the ground with all the touring. The C50 interviews even showed his speaking voice is rough from all the touring.

And how do we know Brian hasn't been asked to play Sea World? I honestly don't think he would... Brian and his band are willing to go out and lose money but play less insulting places and retain some dignity.... I think Mike and Bruce actually have the better band, so it sucks to be saying this... I mean, Springsteen could go play some local bowling alley saying that he needs even more people to know who he is and buy his records, but what's the point? He's already Bruce Springsteen!!!!

What's the lowest Brian's ever gone venue-wise?

That bar mentioned in the H&V book where Brian(circa 1978-1982) played piano for beer.

[AndrewHickey]

Mike is also running his voice into the ground with all the touring. The C50 interviews even showed his speaking voice is rough from all the touring.

And how do we know Brian hasn't been asked to play Sea World? I honestly don't think he would... Brian and his band are willing to go out and lose money but play less insulting places and retain some dignity.... I

And that's fine and good, and that's what they want to play. And it's what I want to see -- I like seeing long theatre shows where the slower, more complex music fits better. I know Brian's band don't want to play county fairs and don't see why anyone else *would* want to -- and I actually agree with them.

But because they don't want to play those venues doesn't mean it's bad for other people to play them. Because I don't especially want to see the band play at SeaWorld or wherever doesn't mean that no-one should, and I think it's odd that people seem to want to impose their personal taste on the hundreds of thousands of people a year who go and see Mike's band and enjoy it.

People will go to this SeaWorld show, they'll have their beer and barbecue, look at some marine animals, and see a great band play a load of songs they know and love. It won't be great art. It won't compare *in any way* with how I felt last August watching the band performing I Just Wasn't Made For These Times at Wembley, or how I felt seeing Brian live in 2002 when he opened with a medley of Smile material, or for that matter with seeing Mike and Bruce doing Til I Die and All This Is That in 2004 or 2008.

But not everything *has* to be great art. I bet it'll be fun, and that everyone who goes along will have a great time. They'll sing along to I Get Around and Fun Fun Fun, and maybe one or two of them will hear something like In My Room for the first time and be pleasantly surprised at how much more there was to the band than just the surf and car songs. But even if they don't, they'll enjoy themselves.

I don't care about "bringing the music to people" or "making new fans" -- I couldn't care less who likes the Beach Boys, except insofar as them having an audience at all enables me to see the shows and buy their records. But by the same token I couldn't care less how 'dignified' they are. The Beach Boys have *never* had any dignity -- why on earth should they start now?

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Mike is also running his voice into the ground with all the touring. The C50 interviews even showed his speaking voice is rough from all the touring.

And how do we know Brian hasn't been asked to play Sea World? I honestly don't think he would... Brian and his band are willing to go out and lose money but play less insulting places and retain some dignity.... I think Mike and Bruce actually have the better band, so it sucks to be saying this... I mean, Springsteen could go play some local bowling alley saying that he needs even more people to know who he is and buy his records, but what's the point? He's already Bruce Springsteen!!!!

What's the lowest Brian's ever gone venue-wise?

That bar mentioned in the H&V book where Brian(circa 1978-1982) played piano for beer.

Didn't that book also claim Brian was living at the bar as well?

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Mike is also running his voice into the ground with all the touring. The C50 interviews even showed his speaking voice is rough from all the touring.

And how do we know Brian hasn't been asked to play Sea World? I honestly don't think he would... Brian and his band are willing to go out and lose money but play less insulting places and retain some dignity.... I

And that's fine and good, and that's what they want to play. And it's what I want to see -- I like seeing long theatre shows where the slower, more complex music fits better. I know Brian's band don't want to play county fairs and don't see why anyone else *would* want to -- and I actually agree with them.

But because they don't want to play those venues doesn't mean it's bad for other people to play them. Because I don't especially want to see the band play at SeaWorld or wherever doesn't mean that no-one should, and I think it's odd that people seem to want to impose their personal taste on the hundreds of thousands of people a year who go and see Mike's band and enjoy it.

People will go to this SeaWorld show, they'll have their beer and barbecue, look at some marine animals, and see a great band play a load of songs they know and love. It won't be great art. It won't compare *in any way* with how I felt last August watching the band performing I Just Wasn't Made For These Times at Wembley, or how I felt seeing Brian live in 2002 when he opened with a medley of Smile material, or for that matter with seeing Mike and Bruce doing Til I Die and All This Is That in 2004 or 2008.

But not everything *has* to be great art. I bet it'll be fun, and that everyone who goes along will have a great time. They'll sing along to I Get Around and Fun Fun Fun, and maybe one or two of them will hear something like In My Room for the first time and be pleasantly surprised at how much more there was to the band than just the surf and car songs. But even if they don't, they'll enjoy themselves.

I don't care about "bringing the music to people" or "making new fans" -- I couldn't care less who likes the Beach Boys, except insofar as them having an audience at all enables me to see the shows and buy their records. But by the same token I couldn't care less how 'dignified' they are. The Beach Boys have *never* had any dignity -- why on earth should they start now?

Yeah, very well put and on the money.... I guess it's us geeks who try and give them dignity... For me it was the baseball game shows of the early 80's that signaled the end.....

[Shady]

Opening act for Paul Simon Tour 2001 for me.

I need to know how that came together..

How weird

[AndrewHickey]

Opening act for Paul Simon Tour 2001 for me.

I need to know how that came together..

How weird

I think I read at the time that Simon was impressed by Brian and his band at the TNT Tribute show (where Simon played a lovely solo acoustic version of Surfer Girl) and asked for them as support because of that.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Mike is also running his voice into the ground with all the touring. The C50 interviews even showed his speaking voice is rough from all the touring.

Whereas Brian ruined his with drugs and smokes. But that's OK, cause, y'know, it's Brian...

If it was Brian playing SeaWorld, I'd guarantee the fuss would be roughly 1% of what it is now. Fact: from 1962-1998, The Beach Boys played venues ranging from Pandora's Box to the Washington Mall and all points inbetween, which included a sh*tload of county fairs, baseball games, highschool sock hops and other such non- prestigious venues. The equation is very simple: venue offers enough cash and fulfills the terms of the contract, band will play.

Brian and his band are willing to go out and lose money but play less insulting places and retain some dignity....

I have to disagree with the notion that Brian's management are content to do that... and anyway, it's the promoters that take the major hit. As for less insulting places... Brian's played casinos.

I think Mike and Bruce actually have the better band...

I would respectfully disagree with that. The lineup of the C50 band would support me.  

Re: the Paul Simon tour, for me the funniest thing was Brian's people turning themselves inside out at the time insisting that he wasn't opening for Paul but that they were co-headliners. Yeah... right. There's some interesting tales to be told about that little jaunt.

[KittyKat]

Brian played the Pullayap Fair in Washington and as well as numerous Indian and Nevada casinos (including at least one Vegas casino gig that was off-strip, as I recall, which is lower class than on-strip, while Mike was playing the Beach at Mandalay Bay, which is higher-prestige in Vegas gig terms). Not every venue Brian's played has been "classy."

[Andrew G. Doe]

Not every venue Brian's played has been "classy."

Of course they have been !! Don't you understand, this is Brian-fucking-Wilson we're talking about - absolutely EVERYTHING he does is the epitome of classy !!!!!!!!


Lil' sarcasm there... 

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Didn't he play some private shows, like some rich dude's birthday or something, recently?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Not recently, but Moscow for sure a few years back, and the Bahamas too, I believe.

But that's OK, that's cool, 'cause it's Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

I'm sure all here get my point, but just in case, I've not suddenly been lured to The Dark Side (it would take Karen Allen to do that...) but just standing up for truth, justice, fair play and the American Way.

[halblaineisgood]

.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

AGD, I agree completely that the reunion band takes the prize, but I meant if it's between Brian's solo gig band or the Mike/Bruce crew, I'd go with the Mike/Bruce band all the way. Mainly for Cowsill.

I'm a massive Mike fan, so if Brian was playing Sea World, I'd be of the same low opinion... In fact, it would be worse because Brian would likely look miserable whereas Mike owns every damn stage he steps foot on.

[Mike's Beard]

As long as the band and venue owner make money, the venue has good acoustics and a decent sound system, the fans have a good time and don't have to spend a weeks wages to see them I fail to see what the problem is. The only people that seem to take issue are the music snobs.

[SMiLE Brian]

AGD, I agree completely that the reunion band takes the prize, but I meant if it's between Brian's solo gig band or the Mike/Bruce crew, I'd go with the Mike/Bruce band all the way. Mainly for Cowsill.

I'm a massive Mike fan, so if Brian was playing Sea World, I'd be of the same low opinion... In fact, it would be worse because Brian would likely look miserable whereas Mike owns every damn stage he steps foot on.

Knowing Brian, he might just randomly make the seaworld show one of his career best. A live album could come out of it.

[lance]

I don't see the problem with the venue, either. At all.

[SMiLE Brian]

Mike is also running his voice into the ground with all the touring. The C50 interviews even showed his speaking voice is rough from all the touring.

And how do we know Brian hasn't been asked to play Sea World? I honestly don't think he would... Brian and his band are willing to go out and lose money but play less insulting places and retain some dignity.... I think Mike and Bruce actually have the better band, so it sucks to be saying this... I mean, Springsteen could go play some local bowling alley saying that he needs even more people to know who he is and buy his records, but what's the point? He's already Bruce Springsteen!!!!

What's the lowest Brian's ever gone venue-wise?

That bar mentioned in the H&V book where Brian(circa 1978-1982) played piano for beer.

Didn't that book also claim Brian was living at the bar as well?

I think so, its the story where Brian went missing in San Diego for a while.

[Andrew G. Doe]

AGD, I agree completely that the reunion band takes the prize, but I meant if it's between Brian's solo gig band or the Mike/Bruce crew, I'd go with the Mike/Bruce band all the way. Mainly for Cowsill.

Plus, Cowsill is a flat-out great guy.  To use a food analogy, if M&B are Arby's (and I loves me some Arby's), then Brian might be (on a good night) fine dining, and an exclusive diet of haute cuisine soon palls. I love the phrase 'music snobs'. I'm guessing they're the same folk who have extreme top-end hifi systems yet listen to the signal path, not the music.

[AndrewHickey]

AGD, I agree completely that the reunion band takes the prize, but I meant if it's between Brian's solo gig band or the Mike/Bruce crew, I'd go with the Mike/Bruce band all the way. Mainly for Cowsill.

Plus, Cowsill is a flat-out great guy. 

He is. One of the nicest people I've ever met, and he's definitely a better drummer than any of those that have played with Brian's band.
But on the other hand, Mike's band doesn't have Probyn.
My own take on the two bands is that Brian's band sometimes sound less enthusiastic than Mike's when playing the surf and car material while Mike's band can't reproduce the subtle textures of the Pet Sounds/Smile type material like Brian's can. Both bands do both things very well, but Mike's band make music for dancing while Brian's make music for listening might be the best way to put it.
Personally I'd choose Brian's band every time out of the two (though the reunion line-up was *exactly* the group I'd have chosen if I'd been asked), but then I'd choose Brian's band over any band I've ever heard, so that's not a reflection on Mike's band.

[NHC]

Mike is also running his voice into the ground with all the touring. The C50 interviews even showed his speaking voice is rough from all the touring.

And how do we know Brian hasn't been asked to play Sea World? I honestly don't think he would... Brian and his band are willing to go out and lose money but play less insulting places and retain some dignity.... I think Mike and Bruce actually have the better band, so it sucks to be saying this... I mean, Springsteen could go play some local bowling alley saying that he needs even more people to know who he is and buy his records, but what's the point? He's already Bruce Springsteen!!!!

What's the lowest Brian's ever gone venue-wise?

"Less insulting places"? Insulting to whom?  Probably not the people who go there and get the chance to see the Beach Boys. Some families are on a budget.

As for the ball game shows, that gave me a chance to see them four times in seven years in San Francisco that I otherwise would not have been able to - and meet Les Chan in the process.

Playing off-Strip venues in Las Vegas is not a terrible thing either.  During our time there 2006-12, the Beach Boys played over-priced glitzy places like the Mandalay as well as The Orleans, a great establishment a mile off the Strip on Tropicana.  Nothing wrong with that, nor the Suncoast, where Al Jardine has played, or The Cannery. for example.  And let's not forget, the reunion concert I attended was at the Red Rock, which is as far west of the Strip you can go and still be in Las Vegas. Being on the Strip usually just means you're paying a lot more than you need to.

[AndrewHickey]

Mike is also running his voice into the ground with all the touring. The C50 interviews even showed his speaking voice is rough from all the touring.

And how do we know Brian hasn't been asked to play Sea World? I honestly don't think he would... Brian and his band are willing to go out and lose money but play less insulting places and retain some dignity.... I think Mike and Bruce actually have the better band, so it sucks to be saying this... I mean, Springsteen could go play some local bowling alley saying that he needs even more people to know who he is and buy his records, but what's the point? He's already Bruce Springsteen!!!!

What's the lowest Brian's ever gone venue-wise?

"Less insulting places"? Insulting to whom?  Probably not the people who go there and get the chance to see the Beach Boys. Some families are on a budget.

Exactly.

[Shady]

Re: the Paul Simon tour, for me the funniest thing was Brian's people turning themselves inside out at the time insisting that he wasn't opening for Paul but that they were co-headliners. Yeah... right. There's some interesting tales to be told about that little jaunt.

Care to digress?

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

AGD, I agree completely that the reunion band takes the prize, but I meant if it's between Brian's solo gig band or the Mike/Bruce crew, I'd go with the Mike/Bruce band all the way. Mainly for Cowsill.

Plus, Cowsill is a flat-out great guy.  To use a food analogy, if M&B are Arby's (and I loves me some Arby's), then Brian might be (on a good night) fine dining, and an exclusive diet of haute cuisine soon palls. I love the phrase 'music snobs'. I'm guessing they're the same folk who have extreme top-end hifi systems yet listen to the signal path, not the music.

My dad had a saying...'Son, champagne and sh*t is nice for a while, but sometimes you need a shot of whiskey to cleanse the palate'. Funny part is, he had stopped drinking before I was born, but said that analogy fit just about any situation.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

AGD, I agree completely that the reunion band takes the prize, but I meant if it's between Brian's solo gig band or the Mike/Bruce crew, I'd go with the Mike/Bruce band all the way. Mainly for Cowsill.

I'm a massive Mike fan, so if Brian was playing Sea World, I'd be of the same low opinion... In fact, it would be worse because Brian would likely look miserable whereas Mike owns every damn stage he steps foot on.

I'm a massive Mike Pinder fan.