Brian Wilson 2016 Tour Thread (Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary Tour)

[HeyJude]

What I don't get is that if there's a "boredom" issue going on, and there's no way around not playing all 13 PS songs, then why are they keeping the first set so stagnant? They've actually reverted back to a less interesting setlist than the beginning of the tour, dropping "Funky Pretty" and going back to "Sail Away" for instance.

They've had Blondie in the band on and off for three years now and haven't found something else for him to sing or do?

I'm a few weeks out from my show, and I'm sure it will be a transcendent experience. But I do wish they'd work a little more on the setlist and change things up a bit. They could change up some of Al's or Blondie's stuff if Brian doesn't feel comfortable changing his tracks up.

Still wondering if "Monster Mash" will return some time in October.

[WonderfulLittlePad]

Presale code for NOLA show is "NICE".  I got three tickets.  Will be my second time seeing him this tour.

[guitarfool2002]

in my opinion, Brian's vocals have terribly degraded since the start of the tour.  more flubs, missed words, unclear, and
different vocal phrasing and adlibbing.  He is probably tired and maybe bored at this point.
really found is strange they have added more dates to the tour.

I had the pleasure and what I consider one of the rock and roll experiences of my lifetime to see two PS 50 shows this past weekend. I saw none of what you're describing, and from all of the fan reviews both posted and discussed in conversation personally, fans were pretty universal in saying this past week in particular was a spectacular run of shows where everything was "on". Brian was "on", and the band was as tight and as energetic as I've seen them despite being on a run of one-nighters in different cities. They were anything but bored - and Brian's performances included some songs in that first set that were as good as both myself and other fans speaking from experience were as good as we've heard. No hype, no hyperbole - Just read the reviews and add our personal observations to those. It has been a terrific run over the past week. No boredom from anyone I saw.

I have to ask - Have you seen any recent shows that led to these observations? To be blunt, those comments were the distinct opposite of what I saw and heard up-close.

[petsoundsnola]

Presale code for NOLA show is "NICE".  I got three tickets.  Will be my second time seeing him this tour.

Thank you so much for the code!!!

I got two tickets -so excited that Brian is playing this venue in my hometown.  It is a beautiful theater!

WHO DAT!

[Robbie Mac]

in my opinion, Brian's vocals have terribly degraded since the start of the tour.  more flubs, missed words, unclear, and
different vocal phrasing and adlibbing.  He is probably tired and maybe bored at this point.
really found is strange they have added more dates to the tour.

I had the pleasure and what I consider one of the rock and roll experiences of my lifetime to see two PS 50 shows this past weekend. I saw none of what you're describing, and from all of the fan reviews both posted and discussed in conversation personally, fans were pretty universal in saying this past week in particular was a spectacular run of shows where everything was "on". Brian was "on", and the band was as tight and as energetic as I've seen them despite being on a run of one-nighters in different cities. They were anything but bored - and Brian's performances included some songs in that first set that were as good as both myself and other fans speaking from experience were as good as we've heard. No hype, no hyperbole - Just read the reviews and add our personal observations to those. It has been a terrific run over the past week. No boredom from anyone I saw.

I have to ask - Have you seen any recent shows that led to these observations? To be blunt, those comments were the distinct opposite of what I saw and heard up-close.

For what it's worth, the crooner tone on the PS songs definitely are deliberate and, IMHO, add something fresh to the performance.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

in my opinion, Brian's vocals have terribly degraded since the start of the tour.  more flubs, missed words, unclear, and
different vocal phrasing and adlibbing.  He is probably tired and maybe bored at this point.
really found is strange they have added more dates to the tour.

Oddly, I've noticed just the opposite from the videos online, like the past 2 months have been much better than the start of the tour.

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

I attended the show in Easton on Sunday; if you were there, guitarfool, I would have liked to have met up!

This was my first BW solo gig, after attending two C50 gigs previously. The wife, who was less than enthusiastic going into it, was smiling and dancing (when appropriate) the whole time. She was actually rather agitated that so many people just sat completely still in their seats during so many songs. HOW CAN YOU SIT STILL DURING "DANCE DANCE DANCE"!?!?!

So yeah, boring crowd. I tried to make up for it by screaming my bloody head off after Wake the World and Add Some Music, which most people clearly didn't recognize and barely received any applause. I have avoided this thread (and setlists generally) in the hopes of surprising myself, and Wake the World and Add Some Music really made my night. The house was dark, the crazy piano chords for "Wake the World" filled the air... so special. SO FLIPPIN SPECIAL.

Wait-- holy crap, Darian's "Darlin'" blew my mind, too. He sounded so much like Carl at some points-- and not at others, but Carl is a tough act to follow -- that I kept closing my eyes to pretend. That guy's amazing.

"Sail Away" rocked live, I'm glad we got something newer than "Love & Mercy" in the set. First time hearing L&M live. Is Every L&M different? It just seemed so personal, so of-the-moment and so special, that I felt like that was *our* version.

Man, I wish Blondie had more to do. But it made the missus and I smile every time he loped onto the stage, whether for guitar and vocals or just some tambourine pyrotechnics. That's what this band needed! Some high energy from a bona fide rock star. Nicky Wonder has some flash, but Blondie! They must limit his appearances in order to prevent him from stealing the show all night long.

Al was Al, and I love him all the more for it. Corny, calm, steady. Pleasant.

Brian. Brian was either having a great time, or was feeling up to making it seem like he was. Either way, I kick myself for not taking advantage of every opportunity to see him live in the past. He missed cues, yes. His delivery on his Pet Sounds leads was that weird, breathy lounge thing. We cringed a few times, but I already knew what to expect, as did the wife. It made the experience bittersweet, much like the album itself. I was a little sad that Brian wasn't what he was 50 years ago, but since that's a ridiculous thing to expect, I just got over it. In the end, our hearts were filled to bursting.

Brian was funny, and made us laugh quite a bit. The "That's Not Me" bit made us lol, and the "Did you come to hear 'Bad' Vibrations? Or did you come to hear 'Silly' Vibrations? How about 'Good' Vibrations?" did, too. He almost skipped over Pet Sounds (instrumental), and after a gentle, sweet reminder from Darian, blamed it on his teleprompter guy. Gold. I didn't take my phone out once, but I wish I had a HD recording of the show and a soundboard boot. I don't want to forget a thing.

The band had a few moments where things didn't go quite perfectly, and I heard a few bum notes on a few harmony blocks that weren't Brian or Al. Matt Jardine was the wife's favorite, and I definitely enjoy his falsetto more than Foskett's.

 JESUS what a band, what a show. I was satisfied, and left wanting more. It actually made me want to catch the M&B Beach Boys the next time they play the local Elks lodge.

Cheers!

[HeyJude]

So, the songs that have been performed on the tour this year but not currently in the rotation are:

Honkin' Down the Highway
Funky Pretty
Hushabye
Monster Mash
Then I Kissed Her
Cotton Fields (though this was performed recently, swapped out with "California Saga")
All Summer Long
Do It Again
Our Prayer/Heroes and Villains (though this returned for a gig recently)
Marcella (only performed once in the UK?)
Do You Wanna Dance (performed for a short run in July)
Catch a Wave (a few times in August)
You're So Good To Me
Girl Don't Tell Me (a few shows in May/June)
One Kind of Love

plus the little song snippets (River Deep, etc.)

I'm may be forgetting a few as well.

[tpesky]

I was at the Wallingford, CT Tuesday night show.  Great show! Glad I saw this tour. No Darian, so no Darlin which I was definitely hoping for. They had a female keyboard player who had spent time touring with Heart. Can't remember her name.  Brian was relaxed right from the start and into the performance.  Either he or Al introduced every song. Brian introduced Al in a very genuine and caring way. He was very appreciative of Al and Matt throughout the night. Both Brian and Al were in great voice throughout the night. Sail Away sounded much better than I expected. Blondie was cool, but the Wild Honey guitar solo was way too long.

Still miss Al on WIBN. Some amazing moments in the Pet Sounds set.  The weakest Brian lead was YSBIM.  That might be cool to have Al and Matt do that one together.  Brian impressed me on many others especially That's Not Me and I'm Waiting for the Day . Brian introduced Sloop by saying this was an arrangement he and Al came up with about half a century ago. Made me chuckle. IKTAA was amazing as was I Just Wasn't Made for These Times. Encore really really rocked. Brian and Al traded off a lot of the leads. Al forgot to come in on the second verse of Barbara Ann which was funny.

[HeyJude]

A quick look at YouTube clips from last night and some googling of the Heart connection shows the keyboardist may be Debbie Shair, who also appeared earlier this year at that Wild Honey Orchestra show that many Brian cohorts appeared at.

[tpesky]

Yes that's her.

[Sound of Free]

A quick look at YouTube clips from last night and some googling of the Heart connection shows the keyboardist may be Debbie Shair, who also appeared earlier this year at that Wild Honey Orchestra show that many Brian cohorts appeared at.

I guess my post on the previous page was so long that no one got to the bottom of it. 

[tpesky]

ha ha ha sorry about that, I missed that part about your post.

I think Brian sounds better than when I heard him circa 2005, less shouty. I like his singing more now. He definitely misses some lines and slurs very wordy vocals but I like that his voice is softer and more controlled.

[HeyJude]

A quick look at YouTube clips from last night and some googling of the Heart connection shows the keyboardist may be Debbie Shair, who also appeared earlier this year at that Wild Honey Orchestra show that many Brian cohorts appeared at.

I guess my post on the previous page was so long that no one got to the bottom of it. 

I do apologize, that can be annoying. I was probably thrown off because someone posted a detailed review of the previous show in Easton (which included Darian) after you posted your detailed review of the next night's show without Darian, so I didn't look back behind the Easton review looking for Wallingford reviews.

But I appreciate all show reviews; I started this thread, and it definitely relies on folks reporting on shows. It truly is much appreciated. Even when phone browsing, I'll do my best not to skim things.

[Bhw]

University of Buffalo Wednesday night

someone will chime in with setlist. It was very similar to the night prior.

The concert was awesome!  The crowd was treated to a very animated and vocal Brian. He sounded great - strong voice, sweet voice, holding all notes!  A world of difference from the Syracuse show one month prior. Al was his awesome self and blondie rocked the house.   Al band members were suburb. The aforementioned girl was on keys and did a very nice job.

Buffalo was treated to an excellent night of Pet sounds, indeed!!

[WonderfulLittlePad]

Anybody know what Darian's schedule for the remaining part of the tour should be?

[HeyJude]

Anybody know what Darian's schedule for the remaining part of the tour should be?

I don't know Darian's schedule, but it appears that his recent return was not planned and was a result of Billy Hinsche having to leave. They apparently went with no fill-in for a few shows, then Darian returned and my 100% total guess is that he only came back temporarily until they could find (and perhaps Darian could help "train") another keyboardist.

As mentioned awhile back, Billy Hinsche was originally only slated to fill-in for Darian through the June 19th show, but then when the tour resumed at the end of June, Billy was still there and remained until earlier this month. I don't know if Darian was originally scheduled to return at the end of June, or if they were planning on getting yet *another* replacement at that time. I would guess the original plan was for Darian to return, but he wasn't able to, and Billy was able to continue to fill in.

Considering the main "North American" leg of the tour ends in a couple of weeks, I would guess Darian probably won't be back in October. Who will reappear for the October/November/December gigs outside the US is anybody's guess at the moment.  

This is probably a pretty common thing for a band that is doing *extensive* touring (the schedule has to be at or near 100 shows at this point) in a given year when they are not normally on a round-the-clock contract/retainer all year long with Brian. Whereas, say, Mike Love's guys rarely are missing because they have a year-long, year-after-year schedule and thus don't need to take other engagements, the members of Brian's band on typical years are usually doing other things, and clearly at least in Darian's case he wasn't able to clear the entire year to tour because of other commitments. This year's near full-time schedule between March and October is a relatively rare thing for Brian.

[Emdeeh]

I am astounded by the number of shows he's doing this year. Brian's turning into quite the road warrior, isn't he?

[the captain]

I'll be sad if Darian isn't in Minneapolis Sunday.

[SMiLE Brian]

Could you sit in for him if he is not?

[the captain]

I'm fully capable of sitting, yes. Performing? There might be a slight differential in quality of performance!

[SMiLE Brian]

Hehe

[rab2591]

I attended the show in Easton on Sunday; if you were there, guitarfool, I would have liked to have met up!

This was my first BW solo gig, after attending two C50 gigs previously. The wife, who was less than enthusiastic going into it, was smiling and dancing (when appropriate) the whole time. She was actually rather agitated that so many people just sat completely still in their seats during so many songs. HOW CAN YOU SIT STILL DURING "DANCE DANCE DANCE"!?!?!

So yeah, boring crowd. I tried to make up for it by screaming my bloody head off after Wake the World and Add Some Music, which most people clearly didn't recognize and barely received any applause. I have avoided this thread (and setlists generally) in the hopes of surprising myself, and Wake the World and Add Some Music really made my night. The house was dark, the crazy piano chords for "Wake the World" filled the air... so special. SO FLIPPIN SPECIAL.

Wait-- holy crap, Darian's "Darlin'" blew my mind, too. He sounded so much like Carl at some points-- and not at others, but Carl is a tough act to follow -- that I kept closing my eyes to pretend. That guy's amazing.

"Sail Away" rocked live, I'm glad we got something newer than "Love & Mercy" in the set. First time hearing L&M live. Is Every L&M different? It just seemed so personal, so of-the-moment and so special, that I felt like that was *our* version.

Man, I wish Blondie had more to do. But it made the missus and I smile every time he loped onto the stage, whether for guitar and vocals or just some tambourine pyrotechnics. That's what this band needed! Some high energy from a bona fide rock star. Nicky Wonder has some flash, but Blondie! They must limit his appearances in order to prevent him from stealing the show all night long.

Al was Al, and I love him all the more for it. Corny, calm, steady. Pleasant.

Brian. Brian was either having a great time, or was feeling up to making it seem like he was. Either way, I kick myself for not taking advantage of every opportunity to see him live in the past. He missed cues, yes. His delivery on his Pet Sounds leads was that weird, breathy lounge thing. We cringed a few times, but I already knew what to expect, as did the wife. It made the experience bittersweet, much like the album itself. I was a little sad that Brian wasn't what he was 50 years ago, but since that's a ridiculous thing to expect, I just got over it. In the end, our hearts were filled to bursting.

Brian was funny, and made us laugh quite a bit. The "That's Not Me" bit made us lol, and the "Did you come to hear 'Bad' Vibrations? Or did you come to hear 'Silly' Vibrations? How about 'Good' Vibrations?" did, too. He almost skipped over Pet Sounds (instrumental), and after a gentle, sweet reminder from Darian, blamed it on his teleprompter guy. Gold. I didn't take my phone out once, but I wish I had a HD recording of the show and a soundboard boot. I don't want to forget a thing.

The band had a few moments where things didn't go quite perfectly, and I heard a few bum notes on a few harmony blocks that weren't Brian or Al. Matt Jardine was the wife's favorite, and I definitely enjoy his falsetto more than Foskett's.

 JESUS what a band, what a show. I was satisfied, and left wanting more. It actually made me want to catch the M&B Beach Boys the next time they play the local Elks lodge.

Cheers!

Fantastic review! Due to a scheduling conflict I couldn't make it to Easton this year (I did last year and it was one of the best experiences of my life). My parents went to this show and sometime during the show my father texted me and said "Brian is on fire tonight!" - I'm bummed I missed out on it!

I'm really glad that Brian, the band, and the audience had such a great night.

[thorgil]

Yes, wonderful review, thanks a lot MarcellaHDF!

[Debbie KL]

I attended the show in Easton on Sunday; if you were there, guitarfool, I would have liked to have met up!

This was my first BW solo gig, after attending two C50 gigs previously. The wife, who was less than enthusiastic going into it, was smiling and dancing (when appropriate) the whole time. She was actually rather agitated that so many people just sat completely still in their seats during so many songs. HOW CAN YOU SIT STILL DURING "DANCE DANCE DANCE"!?!?!

So yeah, boring crowd. I tried to make up for it by screaming my bloody head off after Wake the World and Add Some Music, which most people clearly didn't recognize and barely received any applause. I have avoided this thread (and setlists generally) in the hopes of surprising myself, and Wake the World and Add Some Music really made my night. The house was dark, the crazy piano chords for "Wake the World" filled the air... so special. SO FLIPPIN SPECIAL.

Wait-- holy crap, Darian's "Darlin'" blew my mind, too. He sounded so much like Carl at some points-- and not at others, but Carl is a tough act to follow -- that I kept closing my eyes to pretend. That guy's amazing.

"Sail Away" rocked live, I'm glad we got something newer than "Love & Mercy" in the set. First time hearing L&M live. Is Every L&M different? It just seemed so personal, so of-the-moment and so special, that I felt like that was *our* version.

Man, I wish Blondie had more to do. But it made the missus and I smile every time he loped onto the stage, whether for guitar and vocals or just some tambourine pyrotechnics. That's what this band needed! Some high energy from a bona fide rock star. Nicky Wonder has some flash, but Blondie! They must limit his appearances in order to prevent him from stealing the show all night long.

Al was Al, and I love him all the more for it. Corny, calm, steady. Pleasant.

Brian. Brian was either having a great time, or was feeling up to making it seem like he was. Either way, I kick myself for not taking advantage of every opportunity to see him live in the past. He missed cues, yes. His delivery on his Pet Sounds leads was that weird, breathy lounge thing. We cringed a few times, but I already knew what to expect, as did the wife. It made the experience bittersweet, much like the album itself. I was a little sad that Brian wasn't what he was 50 years ago, but since that's a ridiculous thing to expect, I just got over it. In the end, our hearts were filled to bursting.

Brian was funny, and made us laugh quite a bit. The "That's Not Me" bit made us lol, and the "Did you come to hear 'Bad' Vibrations? Or did you come to hear 'Silly' Vibrations? How about 'Good' Vibrations?" did, too. He almost skipped over Pet Sounds (instrumental), and after a gentle, sweet reminder from Darian, blamed it on his teleprompter guy. Gold. I didn't take my phone out once, but I wish I had a HD recording of the show and a soundboard boot. I don't want to forget a thing.

The band had a few moments where things didn't go quite perfectly, and I heard a few bum notes on a few harmony blocks that weren't Brian or Al. Matt Jardine was the wife's favorite, and I definitely enjoy his falsetto more than Foskett's.

 JESUS what a band, what a show. I was satisfied, and left wanting more. It actually made me want to catch the M&B Beach Boys the next time they play the local Elks lodge.

Cheers!

Fantastic review! Due to a scheduling conflict I couldn't make it to Easton this year (I did last year and it was one of the best experiences of my life). My parents went to this show and sometime during the show my father texted me and said "Brian is on fire tonight!" - I'm bummed I missed out on it!

I'm really glad that Brian, the band, and the audience had such a great night.

Agreed - Add me to the thank you's for a great review.