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

[Cliff1000uk]

Just thought I'd post my two cents about Friday's show. I can't really add to what's been said about the performance-the band were 'on', especially Nicky and Blondie was loving it up there pulling poses with his tambourine. I can only compare to the Bristol show and the main difference was the audience-the London crowd seemed very aware how Brian would be on stage and was up for most of the first set. If the oldish posh woman next to me reads here (OSD?), I apologize for giving you a faceful of my bag whilst trying to sit down.

Now....afterwards, there was about 30 of us by the stage door. We were told by security that Brian had left the stage and gone straight into a taxi, which didn't put anyone off meeting the others. Al and Blondie came out together with security. Blondie looked at my copy of Rock n Roll and said, "Sh*t, man, I'd love to but I can't-sorry, man". He looked a bit lost as the taxis were further down the road so I said, "Gotcha" and he happily signed the LP and said he loved that album. Al signed a few items too before heading to the cars. The band then came out and told us Brian had gone. There was no after show so they left straight away. It seems on the Saturday night, they signed items and had photos taken, which is cool

It was also really good meeting up with others before the gig and I bumped into the tour photographer, who had been given the task of having the first three songs to get a photo of Brian smiling!

Anyways, without rambling, it was an incredible day topped off by a fantastic performance. Yeah, Brian's voice may be a bit croaky at times but Matt and Al sure do make up for that.

[HeyJude]

At intermissions, questions about Brian come up at every show that I attend. Not everyone that goes to shows are all familiar with Brian on stage. Also, I was watching the Cardiff show I believe, on YouTube yesterday, and it sure looked like Brian was playing on Sail On Sailor. The side shots showed both hands playing chords.

Surely any show has a scattered selection of much more casual fans, or people who were just dragged to the show by someone else.

I just can't imagine going out of one's way to pay a good price for a "Brian Wilson" show while not knowing the bare minimum about him and being surprised by his stage demeanor. You don't even have to be a hardcore fan to know Brian's deal. One would have to have not seen *any* live footage of him from the past several decades to be surprised by his stage presence.

Certainly, even the biggest hardcore fans might see something extra out of the ordinary and discuss it. But I've seen too many of these incredulous comments over the last few years, presumably from newer fans I guess.

I can actually understand more potential confusion, and/or lack of super familiarity, among casual fans buying "Beach Boys" tickets. But who seeks out a Brian Wilson "Pet Sounds" ticket at an intimate theater, usually for a pretty hefty price, and doesn't know how Brian acts on stage? The answer is apparently that there are some folks in this category. That's cool, and I hope despite their misgivings that they do enjoy the show as people have reported here. But I'm not going to sympathize with them too much, and I may occasionally see an incredulous, apparently less-informed and less contextualized review that I might take issue with.

[drbeachboy]

At intermissions, questions about Brian come up at every show that I attend. Not everyone that goes to shows are all familiar with Brian on stage. Also, I was watching the Cardiff show I believe, on YouTube yesterday, and it sure looked like Brian was playing on Sail On Sailor. The side shots showed both hands playing chords.

Surely any show has a scattered selection of much more casual fans, or people who were just dragged to the show by someone else.

I just can't imagine going out of one's way to pay a good price for a "Brian Wilson" show while not knowing the bare minimum about him and being surprised by his stage demeanor. You don't even have to be a hardcore fan to know Brian's deal. One would have to have not seen *any* live footage of him from the past several decades to be surprised by his stage presence.

Certainly, even the biggest hardcore fans might see something extra out of the ordinary and discuss it. But I've seen too many of these incredulous comments over the last few years, presumably from newer fans I guess.

I can actually understand more potential confusion, and/or lack of super familiarity, among casual fans buying "Beach Boys" tickets. But who seeks out a Brian Wilson "Pet Sounds" ticket at an intimate theater, usually for a pretty hefty price, and doesn't know how Brian acts on stage? The answer is apparently that there are some folks in this category. That's cool, and I hope despite their misgivings that they do enjoy the show as people have reported here. But I'm not going to sympathize with them too much, and I may occasionally see an incredulous, apparently less-informed and less contextualized review that I might take issue with.

Geez, no one is asking you to sympathize with anyone. All I am saying that there are people who go to shows that are somewhat surprised by Brian's stage presence. He is not your typical headliner, is all. I think most folks know he is a Beach Boy and are familiar with the music, just not always with his persona on stage.

[HeyJude]

Geez, no one is asking you to sympathize with anyone. All I am saying that there are people who go to shows that are somewhat surprised by Brian's stage presence. He is not your typical headliner, is all. I think most folks know he is a Beach Boy and are familiar with the music, just not always with his persona on stage.

Not to tread the same old internet tropes, but I didn't say anyone was asking me to sympathize with anyone. Discussion boards are not places to plop down observations and then end it at that. I'm just pontificating on other observations. I don't ask people to respond to what I write, and my responses are not elicited by people asking me to opine. It's the natural back and forth, that's all.

Anyone that sees Brian and says "WTF is wrong with him?" (or, to be less hyperbolic, express incredulity about his stage demeanor) can feel free to express that, here or elsewhere. Some folks clearly are surprised by his stage presence. I'm surprised by their surprise.

Brian's shows attract far less "casual" fans than "Beach Boys" shows. I don't sense a ton of people just looking to hear some Beach Boys hits are apt to look up Brian's shows, and certainly a fan who is tuned in enough to have enough of an affinity for "Pet Sounds" to want to hear it in full in concert would, I would think, know enough about Brian to have some level of a familiarity with history and his stage presence.

In other words, if people (fans or reviewers) want to go into a Brian show and discuss it without any context (e.g. his history), I'm going to weigh that accordingly. (And yes, I'm aware nobody is asking anyone to weigh in on a given review or impression of a show. Again, it's a discussion board so that's what's going to happen regardless.)

I do think Brian fans can be too forgiving sometimes, and an outsider viewpoint actually IS important. But those types usually tend to be acquaintances of fans who catch some Brian footage in passing, or see him on TV or something. I'm just a bit surprised that someone could seek out Brian's show, buy tickets, and be unfamiliar with him to the point of being surprised by his stage demeanor. It's good information for me to have; if more "casual" fans are showing up (and masses of sellouts suggest more people *are* seeking this tour out), that's good to know, and not a bad thing. Hopefully, Brian and his PR folks also are aware that they are going to get more scrutiny on this tour, sometimes from folks not well versed in his history and thus unable to see the show in what some would argue is a better, more accurate context.

[Fire Wind]

Blondie gets around the place a bit, doesn't he?  Always moving, always dragging one's eyes towards him.  It's a touch showy for a Brian Wilson gig, but then he's a bit more 'rock' and that's okay, because he's Blondie Chaplin and I appreciate getting this slant in a BW gig.  But I have a question, was Blondie this showy back with the Boys in the early 70s or more a muted stage presence?  I see a little bit of old footage and he seems to be just singing and playing in an ordinary, fashion, doing what the music requires.  Has hanging around with that Mick Jagger person rubbed off on him?

Brian did that 'walking back out on-stage when Al's getting his cheers' both nights I went.  Does he just do that for fun or is he winding Al up?  On Saturday, he totally cut Al off in mid-speech and talked over him in introducing Girl Don't Tell Me.

[drbeachboy]

Blondie gets around the place a bit, doesn't he?  Always moving, always dragging one's eyes towards him.  It's a touch showy for a Brian Wilson gig, but then he's a bit more 'rock' and that's okay, because he's Blondie Chaplin and I appreciate getting this slant in a BW gig.  But I have a question, was Blondie this showy back with the Boys in the early 70s or more a muted stage presence?  I see a little bit of old footage and he seems to be just singing and playing in an ordinary, fashion, doing what the music requires.  Has hanging around with that Mick Jagger person rubbed off on him?

Brian did that 'walking back out on-stage when Al's getting his cheers' both nights I went.  Does he just do that for fun or is he winding Al up?  On Saturday, he totally cut Al off in mid-speech and talked over him in introducing Girl Don't Tell Me.

I saw Blondie 3 times with the Beach Boys and no, he never danced around the stage like he has on the Brian tours. He pretty much stayed near his mic all show. Hell, back then even Mike was low key on stage.

[Emdeeh]

I don't remember Blondie being so animated in the early '70s BBs. He seemed mellower then. I think he really honed his rock'n'roll (but I like it ) swagger during his stint with the Stones. I think he adds a lively element to Brian's shows.

[kwan_dk]

I'm not trying to be the old cranky internet dude, and I know it's not always easy for newer fans to go back and read 17-year-old fan discussions (or even find them), but some of these are "1999 questions" for lack of a better way to put it. And frankly, some of these issues go back to Brian's 1976 return to the touring band. The last time Brian gave a totally unaffected, not-weird-in-any-possible-way live performance on stage, was probably 1965. Even his brief 1970 Pacific Northwest stint got a few sketchy reviews.
 
I don't think some questions about Brian's stage demeanor are unwarranted. But really, who buys tickets to a Brian Wilson show not *already knowing* what his deal is? There are a million YouTube videos, numerous official video releases (Brian's stage presence is *never* not at least a little weird, even on the official DVD releases), and so on.

It's like going to a Bob Dylan gig and asking why his voice sounds weird, or asking why McCartney does his "now all the boys, now all the girls" bit during "Hey Jude", or why Mike Love points to his temples or "drives" the mic stand like it's a steering wheel (dunno if he still does that one), or why Bruce claps and points. It's just part of the gig.

Brian has never looked completely relaxed and slick on stage. Ever. I've seen him come surprisingly and pleasantly close on some occasions (when I saw him on the 2000 "Pet Sounds" tour, he didn't touch the piano and just sat on his chair and sang a bunch of the show with his eyes closed, like he was recording in the studio; he sounded good, was in a *great* mood, etc.).

But I can't imagine dropping major coin for a BW show and being surprised by his stage demeanor and performance. He sometimes lacks energy, he hits a sour note once in while, he biffs the lyrics once in awhile. Sometimes some of those things are more on point, sometimes not as much.

The leaving before the last song thing is something Brian has been doing for years. I always assumed, while stilted, he's doing the same thing George Harrison did at the "Concert for Bangla Desh." He's leaving for slight dramatic effect and letting the band play out. Many leaders of bands have done this over the years. Brian's not great on showmanship, so it does kind of have the comical effect of just abruptly leaving. But again, this is all par for the course for Brian.

Go watch TV shows and live shows going back to the 70s. Brian (and the BBs on the whole at varying times over the years) have had moments where casual fans probably asked "Wtf?"

The piano thing is mostly for comfort. Brian does play some, often not. Go watch his late night Dick Clark talk show performance from 1988. *That's* why Brian doesn't just grab a mic and stand and perform!

When Brian first started touring in 1999, I think he probably felt the same as he does now: He mainly wants to just sing at his shows. We know he *can* play piano, but he doesn't want to at live gigs too much. So for early 1999 gigs, someone (whether it was someone else or Brian himself) made the weird and misguided decision that led to him feeling like he needed to keep moving his hands on the keyboard even if he wasn't playing. That *was* fake, obviously so, and was misguided for numerous reasons including that it gave the incorrect impression Brian couldn't play. Thankfully, by later in that same year, and certainly by 2000, he just kept the piano on stage but didn't play it.

Some good points there. Well put.

My two cents in regards to Brian's performance,...

I was at the Saturday show in London and although I enjoyed it I must say Brian's vocals threw me off a bit. Prior to going to the show, I'd read some nice reviews by other fans. As someone who's seen Brian a few times before, starting with the second Smile premiere show in London in 2004, I've heard my fair share of shaky BW live vocals, but to my ears his performance Saturday was the worst I've heard. Not for a lack of effort as such, I'm sure he did his best, but he just seemed to sing more off-key than usual as well as run out of air much quicker than before. That's just my experience of course, others obviously enjoyed it immensily which is great.

During 'Caroline No' he left the stage in a hurry before ther song ended... Has it been so during the other shows? I don't think I've seen him do this in any of the shows I've seen. Maybe I've just been lucky. It did seem a bit odd in a sort of 'get me out of here NOW' way but you could just as well regard it as a bit of BW quirkiness, I guess. ;-)

The band was, as usual, stellar with Matt Jardine doing a surperb job - 'Don't Worry Baby' and 'Wouldn't It be Nice' were the highlights for me. And the Palladium was a beautiful setting...

[Mentalist]

The Smiley Smile Message Board
1996-2016
RIP

What?

Keep in mind who defended you when the majority of posters commenting to your own thread about hating Mike Love were accusing you of trolling, of deliberately stirring up the sh*t to cause problems, and demanding that the thread be locked/deleted. And I honestly don't remember, but there may have even been calls to ban the thread's author, one Iain Lee. I remember it well because knowing who you were and knowing your previous interviews and general fan enthusiasm for music like The Monkees (which I share), you were getting a raw deal and I was one who tried to show support. And you were not banned, the thread was not deleted despite calls to do so, and lo and behold the truth of who you really were did come out. Did anyone apologize for getting it wrong, or for suggesting things based on false or untrue information about you or your motives?

If not, join the club.    

I also hope my positive comments directed your way, as written to another board member who you know, reached you as well, because I basically said I hoped all was well with you especially with what you had been dealing with earlier this year, and hoped you would reconsider coming back to have a dialogue about your article, despite those accusing you of trolling and worse and the reactions it generated, some of which were very out of line.

So I'm hoping in light of the reality of my own support of what you went through being called a troll and worse and blamed for things you were not doing, you're not trying to pin the hypothetical death of this board on me personally, because that would be a real kick in the ass on many levels. And I was, honestly, 100% sincere in what I said and hoped would reach your eyes or ears as well.

Ok

No. It wasn't a dig at you. At all. But. This whole thread is an embarrassment to Beach Boys fandom. I came here to see what people thought of last nights Palladium show. Instead I have To wade through pages of off topic rants from various people. I could not care less about who is banned or why. I want to know if people dug Funky Pretty as much as me. That's it.

I never hid who I was on this message board. That's why I always use my real name on message boards. Always.

No. I never got your message. At least I don't think I did. Thank you though. It is appreciated.

And I'm fine. I can take a few people calling me a troll or whatever. I know I'm not. My question was a genuine one to try and unpick people's attitudes to Mike, a lyricist, performer and singer I happen to have a lot of respect for. I think Mike love is brilliant. I love Kokomo. Could not care less if that upsets people.

Seriously, you all need to chill. I agree with Enily, none of this should be in this thread. Or maybe it should. Really, I don't care. I just think a lot of people are looking silly. And it's stuff like this that scares ME away from contributing. I can't speak for others.  Only myself.

Anyway, now I've contributed more to this off topic theme. I apologise. So. Let's see if I can bring it back.

Last night was a joy. Loved seeing Brian at the Palladium. As I said, his voice was perhaps croakier than I've seen in the past, but he seemed to be into it. He made a few jokes and chatted to the audience. Al seemed to get a little upset that the autocue wasn't working for him on This Whole World but part of me dod think 'this song is over 40 years old, learn the words Al'

Still, his voice is incredible. He's lost a tiny bit of his higher register but he really has still got a great voice. Rhonda just rocked it. My son fell asleep during Pet Sounds (he's 6) so for the encore I was carrying a sleeping child while doing my best to dance.

And again, I feel blessed to have seen Blondie singing Sail On Sailor and a few more. The Flame period of BBhistorh is I think my favourite, not necessarily in terms of musical output but just because it seems like such a nuts time.

Darian was missed. I thought the band lacked a little oomph. But. That may just be me.

As always at a BB or BW gig, a great atmosphere before and during and I ended up chatting to a lot of people from around the world.

I was sat next to a French guy who was surprised at how little security there was.  He's used to seeing shows in Paris after those awful attacks where apparently everyone going into a venue now is patted down

A great night and my son made me spend a fortune on merch. Ooh. They were selling the "Help Me Rhond" t shirt that Brian wore in the 70's. Very cool piece of niche merch

Anyone else there? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Peace to everyone. I'm gonna keep quiet on everything else. Don't want to get trolled or booted off.

Pretty much spot on in my opinion. I'd never seen Blondie before... so that was great and Al's voice really pleased me. I suppose I am so used to the classic BW band that I did miss DS and JF but there was plenty of oomph and Brian was certainly engaged. I talked to quite a few fans afterwards, nearly all of whom liked different things to me but then that's the joy of the BBs - we all get our own thing out of them. We all, without exception, seemed to be uplifted by the night.

Oh, and I am not the biggest fan of Mike Love by many a long stretch but I wandered into a pub in Camden last week and just about the entire bar, staff included, were singing and dancing to Kokomo, so I of course joined in. I hope nobody will hate me.

[Fire Wind]

I saw Blondie 3 times with the Beach Boys and no, he never danced around the stage like he has on the Brian tours. He pretty much stayed near his mic all show. Hell, back then even Mike was low key on stage.

I don't remember Blondie being so animated in the early '70s BBs. He seemed mellower then. I think he really honed his rock'n'roll (but I like it ) swagger during his stint with the Stones. I think he adds a lively element to Brian's shows.

Ah, I see.  Well. that's kind of interesting in itself.  I see he occasionally gets some off comments online for his moves, but it didn't bother me.  Hearing him sing those songs is a gift for those that missed it first time round.  The real deal, as Von Mertens says.  And it's great that Brian is presenting something a little different, another piece of the history in these shows.

[Douchepool]

Oh, and I am not the biggest fan of Mike Love by many a long stretch but I wandered into a pub in Camden last week and just about the entire bar, staff included, were singing and dancing to Kokomo, so I of course joined in. I hope nobody will hate me.

Why would people hate you for that?

[Smilin Ed H]

Pretty much spot on in my opinion. I'd never seen Blondie before... so that was great and Al's voice really pleased me. I suppose I am so used to the classic BW band that I did miss DS and JF but there was plenty of oomph and Brian was certainly engaged. I talked to quite a few fans afterwards, nearly all of whom liked different things to me but then that's the joy of the BBs - we all get our own thing out of them. We all, without exception, seemed to be uplifted by the night.

Oh, and I am not the biggest fan of Mike Love by many a long stretch but I wandered into a pub in Camden last week and just about the entire bar, staff included, were singing and dancing to Kokomo, so I of course joined in. I hope nobody will hate me.

Now if you'd danced like Kate Bush and sent the beers flying, that might be something to get annoyed about.

[Mentalist]

Pretty much spot on in my opinion. I'd never seen Blondie before... so that was great and Al's voice really pleased me. I suppose I am so used to the classic BW band that I did miss DS and JF but there was plenty of oomph and Brian was certainly engaged. I talked to quite a few fans afterwards, nearly all of whom liked different things to me but then that's the joy of the BBs - we all get our own thing out of them. We all, without exception, seemed to be uplifted by the night.

Oh, and I am not the biggest fan of Mike Love by many a long stretch but I wandered into a pub in Camden last week and just about the entire bar, staff included, were singing and dancing to Kokomo, so I of course joined in. I hope nobody will hate me.

Now if you'd danced like Kate Bush and sent the beers flying, that might be something to get annoyed about.

I danced like John Stamos and not a precious drop was wasted.

[mabewa]

I'm not trying to be the old cranky internet dude, and I know it's not always easy for newer fans to go back and read 17-year-old fan discussions (or even find them), but some of these are "1999 questions" for lack of a better way to put it. And frankly, some of these issues go back to Brian's 1976 return to the touring band. The last time Brian gave a totally unaffected, not-weird-in-any-possible-way live performance on stage, was probably 1965. Even his brief 1970 Pacific Northwest stint got a few sketchy reviews.
 
I don't think some questions about Brian's stage demeanor are unwarranted. But really, who buys tickets to a Brian Wilson show not *already knowing* what his deal is? There are a million YouTube videos, numerous official video releases (Brian's stage presence is *never* not at least a little weird, even on the official DVD releases), and so on.

It's like going to a Bob Dylan gig and asking why his voice sounds weird, or asking why McCartney does his "now all the boys, now all the girls" bit during "Hey Jude", or why Mike Love points to his temples or "drives" the mic stand like it's a steering wheel (dunno if he still does that one), or why Bruce claps and points. It's just part of the gig.

Brian has never looked completely relaxed and slick on stage. Ever. I've seen him come surprisingly and pleasantly close on some occasions (when I saw him on the 2000 "Pet Sounds" tour, he didn't touch the piano and just sat on his chair and sang a bunch of the show with his eyes closed, like he was recording in the studio; he sounded good, was in a *great* mood, etc.).

But I can't imagine dropping major coin for a BW show and being surprised by his stage demeanor and performance. He sometimes lacks energy, he hits a sour note once in while, he biffs the lyrics once in awhile. Sometimes some of those things are more on point, sometimes not as much.

The leaving before the last song thing is something Brian has been doing for years. I always assumed, while stilted, he's doing the same thing George Harrison did at the "Concert for Bangla Desh." He's leaving for slight dramatic effect and letting the band play out. Many leaders of bands have done this over the years. Brian's not great on showmanship, so it does kind of have the comical effect of just abruptly leaving. But again, this is all par for the course for Brian.

Go watch TV shows and live shows going back to the 70s. Brian (and the BBs on the whole at varying times over the years) have had moments where casual fans probably asked "Wtf?"

The piano thing is mostly for comfort. Brian does play some, often not. Go watch his late night Dick Clark talk show performance from 1988. *That's* why Brian doesn't just grab a mic and stand and perform!

When Brian first started touring in 1999, I think he probably felt the same as he does now: He mainly wants to just sing at his shows. We know he *can* play piano, but he doesn't want to at live gigs too much. So for early 1999 gigs, someone (whether it was someone else or Brian himself) made the weird and misguided decision that led to him feeling like he needed to keep moving his hands on the keyboard even if he wasn't playing. That *was* fake, obviously so, and was misguided for numerous reasons including that it gave the incorrect impression Brian couldn't play. Thankfully, by later in that same year, and certainly by 2000, he just kept the piano on stage but didn't play it.

Some good points there. Well put.

My two cents in regards to Brian's performance,...

I was at the Saturday show in London and although I enjoyed it I must say Brian's vocals threw me off a bit. Prior to going to the show, I'd read some nice reviews by other fans. As someone who's seen Brian a few times before, starting with the second Smile premiere show in London in 2004, I've heard my fair share of shaky BW live vocals, but to my ears his performance Saturday was the worst I've heard. Not for a lack of effort as such, I'm sure he did his best, but he just seemed to sing more off-key than usual as well as run out of air much quicker than before. That's just my experience of course, others obviously enjoyed it immensily which is great.

During 'Caroline No' he left the stage in a hurry before ther song ended... Has it been so during the other shows? I don't think I've seen him do this in any of the shows I've seen. Maybe I've just been lucky. It did seem a bit odd in a sort of 'get me out of here NOW' way but you could just as well regard it as a bit of BW quirkiness, I guess. ;-)

He did the exact same thing in Osaka...  when he was done singing, he just walked off stage.  I remember thinking it was a bit odd, but perhaps it's something he's been doing in multiple shows. 

The odd thing for me about Brian's vocals is that they seemed unexpectedly strong in the first set and encore set (I was especially surprised by how well he sang 'One Kind of Love'), but he struggled with a fair bit of the Pet Sounds material, especially the stuff from the first side, though God Only Knows and Caroline No were pretty well-sung...  he really seemed to concentrate and got those ones right. I was kind of surprised...  it was a long first set, so I thought maybe he had strained his vocals in the first set and was struggling for Pet Sounds, but then in the encore, he sounded fine.  Maybe the PS stuff is just hard to sing (and maybe that's why this will be the last PS tour). 

[Emily]

He did the exact same thing in Osaka...  when he was done singing, he just walked off stage.  I remember thinking it was a bit odd, but perhaps it's something he's been doing in multiple shows. 

The odd thing for me about Brian's vocals is that they seemed unexpectedly strong in the first set and encore set (I was especially surprised by how well he sang 'One Kind of Love'), but he struggled with a fair bit of the Pet Sounds material, especially the stuff from the first side, though God Only Knows and Caroline No were pretty well-sung...  he really seemed to concentrate and got those ones right. I was kind of surprised...  it was a long first set, so I thought maybe he had strained his vocals in the first set and was struggling for Pet Sounds, but then in the encore, he sounded fine.  Maybe the PS stuff is just hard to sing (and maybe that's why this will be the last PS tour). 

Every detail here was exactly the same in Dallas.

[Jonathan Blum]

The leaving before the last song thing is something Brian has been doing for years. I always assumed, while stilted, he's doing the same thing George Harrison did at the "Concert for Bangla Desh." He's leaving for slight dramatic effect and letting the band play out. Many leaders of bands have done this over the years.

The leaving before the band finishes, Brian's done sometimes for years.  The hurrying back out on stage again before they even finish introducing him, seems to be new at some shows this time around.  It's the combination of the two, plus the awkwardness of his movement as he goes (I really hope his back's not playing up again) which makes it look less like Ringo Starr following up doing jumping-jacks during his finale by breezing offstage, and more like a guy who just wants to get through the rest of the show as quick as he can.

This doesn't mean Brian should retire from the road.  None of us should quit our jobs just because we have a few off days either.  But I don't think any of us should really deny, Brian does have off days sometimes.

Cheers,
Jon Blum

[Rentatris]

TODAY IS THE DAY! 

 My meet and greet with the big man and chance to watch him live for the first time. Excited is not the word! Watching the clock tick, tick, tick so bloody slowly!

 So anyone else on here doing the meet n greet? I don't think I'll be leaving the venue before the gig to join others in the pub but more than happy for general chat pre and break in the venue. I'll be the excited looking one in a 'Love You' T-shirt

[STE]

I will be uploading videos from the London shows, most of them from the front row.  I will update this post as videos are up.
Apologies in advance for the shaking but hard to stand still when Blondie is rocking the house..  


Wake the World: https://youtu.be/Fvq1xFp747c
Cottonfields: https://youtu.be/dT2kmY3x_Zk
Funky Pretty: https://youtu.be/AaY0kMMGAog
Wild Honey: https://youtu.be/L1PST4ek-eU
Sail On, Sailor: https://youtu.be/tZqhlo2nAy4


My personal comments on the London shows:

- the highlight for me was definitely Blondie. He's like a separate gig inside the gig, a complete different show and energy.  Can't believe I got to see Blondie singing Sail On Sailor and the other two songs.  During the intermission I heard people saying that they didn't know who this guy was but it blew their minds
- a second highlight is of course Al Jardine. I loved every single second of his singing and actually most of it was in-mike.  I feel the teleprompter makes him feel more secure now
- much has been said about Brian.  It was not the greatest performance of his I have ever seen but I nevertheless feel blessed to have been in the same room with him one more time
- Gary and Billy did a great job, continuously switching instruments and sounds.  The vocal blend is a bit different than with Darian and Scott as well as their keys/vibes playing. Not worse, just different.
- "One Kind of Love" was probably the weakest song each night.  It felt rushed (especially on Saturday) and Brian doesn't seem very confident singing it yet.   The drums in the chorus could be played differently, in my opinion. Also it has an odd position in the setlist, right between "Do It Again" and "Wild Honey"
- I surprisingly actually enjoyed the car songs but I think that's because they were sung by Al
- It was cool to hear the band playing "Black Night" by Deep Purple!
- The Pet Sounds set felt less polished that I was used to, e.g. compared to 2002 or 2006.  Also, it often kinda felt like "Matt Jardine presents Pet Sounds"
- The mix was not perfect. On Saturday Nicky's guitar was way too loud all the way through, as well as the keyboards as the beginning of some songs
- The background vocals seemed less up front than other shows I've seen.  The leads were clear and loud but the background vocals were somehow not prominent enough
- The coda of "Funky Pretty" could have especially used louder and longer background vocals
- The lights also had some issues, e.g. not illuminating the right singer/player at the right moment

[RiC]

My comments on fridays and sundays London shows and VIP Meet and greet.

The meet and greet experience was worth it, even though the one I did with Mike Love's band a year ago in Royal Albert Hall was much more better experience. You actually got to talk with the guys. In this one you only get to be in the same picture. They guide you behind Brian, Al and Blondie who are the same time signing your 2 objects (which you even can't hand to them personally, assistant does that). The guys didn't seem too interested in making any contact to the fans, as I walked in front of them after the picture to take my signed LPs' and thank them, they were just talking to each other and looking other direction. Actually Brian was the only one I had even a small eyecontact, but I have to admit that I went totally blank and don't know if I would've been even able to say anything if I would've been given a chance. Anyway, I wasn't expecting more so that was fine by me. I'm very thankful I got two of my favorite Beach Boys albums (Holland and Carl and the Passions) signed by three of my favorite living members.

The soundcheck was pretty short. Brian quit it early to get over with the meet and greet which was right after the soundcheck. It was still nice though. Brian played and sang a tiny bit of some song which I didn't recognize. The concert itself was fantastic. The band was amazing, I'm not going to go to details because pretty much everything is said already. Blondie is amazing. He nailed Wild Honey and did an amazing performance on Funky Pretty. Highlight of the show!

But I have to say that in my opinion Al was in shadow for both of these shows I attended. He didn't have that much songs to sing leads on, if the early car songs are excluded. He was great as always, but I'd hope he would be given more space and a couple more leads. And those early car songs (Shut Down, Little Deuce Coupe, etc.) should be thrown away. They were mood killers in the otherwise amazing first set.

Brian wasn't having his best day. I saw him in the 2012 Wembley show and man that night he was like a whole different person. He had a huge smile during the whole show, singing as great as ever, doing even the high parts on many songs and being very engaged overall. In this show he was a lot like the opposite of that. Though he did sing most of the time great, he just didn't seem very interested in the show or the audience. For me the best sounding song was propably Dont Talk. He and Matt sounded just heavenly together.

Sunday's show was pretty much the same, but they added Cottonfields and Please Let Me Wonder. Brian was a bit more comfortable and even smiled at one time (during Blondie's set). He sang better than in the friday's show and the show was overall a little bit better than the friday's. Brian struggled with couple words in some songs, but nothing serious or bad.

The audience gave huge applauds after every song. God Only Knows was of course the one that just blew everyone's mind (in the good way), even though Brian's vocals weren't the best. But anyway, I think Brian did an excellent job overall. He seems calm and relaxed on stage, even though he at some points looks like he just wants to get out of there. It must be hard and exhausting to tour in his age. If I have another chance to see him on this tour, promoted as his last European tour, I will go see him, no doubt. But I don't know if I can afford that. We'll see!

[Heteronym]

TODAY IS THE DAY! 

 My meet and greet with the big man and chance to watch him live for the first time. Excited is not the word! Watching the clock tick, tick, tick so bloody slowly!

 So anyone else on here doing the meet n greet? I don't think I'll be leaving the venue before the gig to join others in the pub but more than happy for general chat pre and break in the venue. I'll be the excited looking one in a 'Love You' T-shirt

I take it you are referring to the Manchester gig? I'll be there, but not for the m&g. What pub is everyone meeting?

[HeyJude]

I have to say, while I'd glady toss "Shut Down" out of the setlist to get "Santa Ana Winds" or "Goin' On" or even "California Dreamin'" or something, I don't think a few car songs is that big of a deal. They're still good songs, and Al actually sings them with some zeal (as does Brian sometimes too; when I saw opening night on the 2015 tour, Brian sang "Shut Down" and literally sang *over* Al on "Little Deuce Coupe"). I've never felt they hinder the setlist or the flow of the show. My only lament has ever been thinking of what they could be playing *instead*.

Promoters still probably expect Brian to do some early hits. The PS set and encore are set in stone pretty much ("All Summer Long" is about the only thing in the encore that has floated in and out), so that leaves a typically 18-19 song setlist to work both "hits" and "deep cuts" in. Factor out Blondie's three tracks, and several essentially "must-play" hits ("California Girls", "Surfer Girl", etc.), and there's very little room to work with.

I'd probably be willing to dump "Dance Dance Dance" first.

It will be interesting to see if "Honkin' Down the Highway" makes it back into the setlist at some point.

I was wondering if they would try to have Al do "Lady Lynda" since it was a UK hit. I know he de-Lynda'ed it on an early 90s UK tour, and normally I would think there would be any chance. But I recall that someone claimed Al had it in his setlist some years back when he was going to do that Pop Overthrow Festival gig, so I don't think he's outright opposed to doing that one.

[Marty Castillo]

The meet and greet experience was worth it, even though the one I did with Mike Love's band a year ago in Royal Albert Hall was much more better experience. You actually got to talk with the guys. In this one you only get to be in the same picture. They guide you behind Brian, Al and Blondie who are the same time signing your 2 objects (which you even can't hand to them personally, assistant does that). The guys didn't seem too interested in making any contact to the fans, as I walked in front of them after the picture to take my signed LPs' and thank them, they were just talking to each other and looking other direction. Actually Brian was the only one I had even a small eyecontact, but I have to admit that I went totally blank and don't know if I would've been even able to say anything if I would've been given a chance. Anyway, I wasn't expecting more so that was fine by me. I'm very thankful I got two of my favorite Beach Boys albums (Holland and Carl and the Passions) signed by three of my favorite living members.

Completely agree about the two different meet and greet experiences. I actually had some interaction with Mike and Bruce, while I was barely given a chance to say thanks to Brian and Al. In my opinion this had more to do with the various assistants on the tours than the performers themselves. Brian's meet and greets are done in a much more assembly line fashion: give the assistants your camera and your items to be signed, get behind the guys, grin and get out. With Mike and Bruce, it was broken up in two parts with a brief signing and chat, then get your photo taken. At the end of the day, I'm just thankful for both experiences and looking forward to my meet and greet with Brian, Al and Blondie in Detroit later this year.

I have to say, while I'd glady toss "Shut Down" out of the setlist to get "Santa Ana Winds" or "Goin' On" or even "California Dreamin'" or something, I don't think a few car songs is that big of a deal. They're still good songs, and Al actually sings them with some zeal (as does Brian sometimes too; when I saw opening night on the 2015 tour, Brian sang "Shut Down" and literally sang *over* Al on "Little Deuce Coupe"). I've never felt they hinder the setlist or the flow of the show. My only lament has ever been thinking of what they could be playing *instead*.

Promoters still probably expect Brian to do some early hits. The PS set and encore are set in stone pretty much ("All Summer Long" is about the only thing in the encore that has floated in and out), so that leaves a typically 18-19 song setlist to work both "hits" and "deep cuts" in. Factor out Blondie's three tracks, and several essentially "must-play" hits ("California Girls", "Surfer Girl", etc.), and there's very little room to work with.

I'd probably be willing to dump "Dance Dance Dance" first.

It will be interesting to see if "Honkin' Down the Highway" makes it back into the setlist at some point.

I was wondering if they would try to have Al do "Lady Lynda" since it was a UK hit. I know he de-Lynda'ed it on an early 90s UK tour, and normally I would think there would be any chance. But I recall that someone claimed Al had it in his setlist some years back when he was going to do that Pop Overthrow Festival gig, so I don't think he's outright opposed to doing that one.

I'm guessing the same pressures Brian gets for playing the early hits is similar to Mike's need to do Rhonda--the promoters and audience expect it to a certain extent and it gets a great response from the seats. I'm not going to lose sleep over any of those songs being included in Beach Boys related concerts.

[Fire Wind]

I loved hearing Al do Shut Down.  A nice, more casual feel about it.

I thought the sound was a bit ropey down in the stalls.  Granted, I was off to the side, so had the skewiness of hearing mostly the speakers that were placed there.  I guess the middle of the stalls might be better, unless you're overhung by the balcony above, but I wondered overall how good it could be compared to the Royal Circle, which had a much clearer, precise sound, and was nicely balanced during the PS set.

Regarding Brian's aging and performance, I thought he struggled a lot on Friday with the ballads on side 1 of Pet Sounds, the sense of which was only heightened by Matt Jardine taking over so many lines.  Sure, Brian can often veer in vocal quality between songs, but this was the first time ever I kinda felt uncomfortable listening, particularly on That's Not Me.  I put the deficiencies down to age, which happens to everyone, not any other reasons.  For a sec, I felt I could see the Telegraph reviewer's point of view.  Funnily enough, he then kicked back in with I'm Waiting For the Day and it was great from there on in.  I did notice that he didn't struggle quite so much on That's Not Me on the following show.  I think with these kind of ballads, he just has a breath issue with getting the lines out.  They're harder work.

[Rocker]

I will be uploading videos from the London shows, most of them from the front row.  I will update this post as videos are up.
Apologies in advance for the shaking but hard to stand still when Blondie is rocking the house..  


Funky Pretty: https://youtu.be/AaY0kMMGAog
Wild Honey: https://youtu.be/L1PST4ek-eU
Sail On, Sailor: https://youtu.be/tZqhlo2nAy4


My personal comments on the London shows:

- the highlight for me was definitely Blondie. He's like a separate gig inside the gig, a complete different show and energy.  Can't believe I got to see Blondie singing Sail On Sailor and the other two songs.  During the intermission I heard people saying that they didn't know who this guy was but it blew their minds
- a second highlight is of course Al Jardine. I loved every single second of his singing and actually most of it was in-mike.  I feel the teleprompter makes him feel more secure now
- much has been said about Brian.  It was not the greatest performance of his I have ever seen but I nevertheless feel blessed to have been in the same room with him one more time
- Gary and Billy did a great job, continuously switching instruments and sounds.  The vocal blend is a bit different than with Darian and Scott as well as their keys/vibes playing. Not worse, just different.
- "One Kind of Love" was probably the weakest song each night.  It felt rushed (especially on Saturday) and Brian doesn't seem very confident singing it yet.   The drums in the chorus could be played differently, in my opinion. Also it has an odd position in the setlist, right between "Do It Again" and "Wild Honey"
- I surprisingly actually enjoyed the car songs but I think that's because they were sung by Al
- It was cool to hear the band playing "Black Night" by Deep Purple!
- The Pet Sounds set felt less polished that I was used to, e.g. compared to 2002 or 2006
- The mix was not perfect. On Saturday Nicky's guitar was way too loud all the way through, as well as the keyboards as the beginning of some songs
- The background vocals seemed less up front than other shows I've seen.  The leads were clear and loud but the background vocals were somehow not prominent enough
- The coda of "Funky Pretty" could have especially used louder and longer background vocals
- The lights also had some issues, e.g. not illuminating the right singer/player at the right moment

Thanks so much for the videos, especially Funky Pretty!!

[Rentatris]

TODAY IS THE DAY! 

 My meet and greet with the big man and chance to watch him live for the first time. Excited is not the word! Watching the clock tick, tick, tick so bloody slowly!

 So anyone else on here doing the meet n greet? I don't think I'll be leaving the venue before the gig to join others in the pub but more than happy for general chat pre and break in the venue. I'll be the excited looking one in a 'Love You' T-shirt

I take it you are referring to the Manchester gig? I'll be there, but not for the m&g. What pub is everyone meeting?

Think we're all going to an Irish pub that's bang next to the venue. Come join!!