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

[Shady]

I'm excited to hear reports from the Hollywood bowl show, should be special .

[marcella27]

I just got back from the Ottawa show.  It was the shorter "festival set".  Brian's voice was better than it was when I saw them in Vermont two weeks ago, but it looks like he's having real trouble walking - he was helped onstage and didn't look too steady.  Al's voice was great.  Here's the setlist to the best of my memory.   I'm not totally sure about the order of the first set but I'm pretty sure of the songs.   

Our Prayer
H and V
River Deep Mountain High (one verse, with Blondie)
California Girls
Dance Dance Dance
You're So Good to Me
Surfer Girl
Don't worry Baby
I Get Around
California Saga
Wild Honey
Sail on Sailor
_
Pet Sounds
Good Vibrations
_
All Summer Long
Rhonda
Barbara Ann
Surfin USA
Fun fun Fun
Love and Mercy

[Mitchell]

That seems about right from what I recall. Al forgot the words to California Saga, which was awesome to hear, regardless. Wild Honey blew people away.

I was very happy to see that this show was a "triumph" in a sense, since his previous two Ottawa shows were a horrid festival appearance marred by technical difficulties and a great Gershwin show played to about 500 people in a 2500 seat concert hall (and I maintain that his Gershwin live performance was the best vocally I've ever seen him do). Brian himself wasn't the star per se but he seemed in good spirits and I noticed that he seemed to genuinely like what he was hearing from his band when he wasn't 'engaged'.

Al and Paul did a great job keeping the energy going (while not to my taste, the  extended flute and sax solos got the requisite cheers), Matt won people over with his DWB, and Blondie stole the show with his great vocals and wandering solos (and his sporadic appearances). It made for a really enjoyable concert, even without the Pet Sounds performance. I wish that the crowd had gotten into it a bit more. They were coaxed out of their seats to dance during Good Vibrations and then the encore was the usual party.

Al's fretting hand seemed to be bothering him but he nailed his vocals, especially during Pet Sounds. That extra level of authenticity made it that much better. I'm really glad he's on the tour and that I got to see him with Brian.

[marcella27]

Yes, that Gershwin show at the NAC was great, and it was painful that it was so empty. That was the first time I saw Brian live and we were stunned by how good the band was.

[coco1997]

Hopefully "River Deep Mountain High" appears on the fabled rock 'n roll album.

[srv1303]

I went to the Las Vegas show and Soundcheck, and it was amazing! Met some great people too.

The highlight though was getting in the elevator at my hotel to head to the show, and when i got to the lobby, there was Matt Jardine rushing to get into the limo to the show!! I may have freaked out a little bit and he gave me a hug.

[Rich Panteluk]

If anyone has, or knows of, great seats (I need 3 tickets total) for sale to the hollywood bowl show, I am looking to upgrade.  I currently have 3 seats in Section N2, row 11 but I would like something closer (terrace or garden boxes preferred).  I am going to sell my 3 seats in section N2.  PM or e-mail me if interested in my seats or if you have seats to sell.  Thanks.  Looking forward to seeing Brian and his wonderful band soon!

richp20@hotmail.com

[Juice Brohnston]

That seems about right from what I recall. Al forgot the words to California Saga, which was awesome to hear, regardless. Wild Honey blew people away.

I was very happy to see that this show was a "triumph" in a sense, since his previous two Ottawa shows were a horrid festival appearance marred by technical difficulties and a great Gershwin show played to about 500 people in a 2500 seat concert hall (and I maintain that his Gershwin live performance was the best vocally I've ever seen him do). Brian himself wasn't the star per se but he seemed in good spirits and I noticed that he seemed to genuinely like what he was hearing from his band when he wasn't 'engaged'.

Al and Paul did a great job keeping the energy going (while not to my taste, the  extended flute and sax solos got the requisite cheers), Matt won people over with his DWB, and Blondie stole the show with his great vocals and wandering solos (and his sporadic appearances). It made for a really enjoyable concert, even without the Pet Sounds performance. I wish that the crowd had gotten into it a bit more. They were coaxed out of their seats to dance during Good Vibrations and then the encore was the usual party.

Al's fretting hand seemed to be bothering him but he nailed his vocals, especially during Pet Sounds. That extra level of authenticity made it that much better. I'm really glad he's on the tour and that I got to see him with Brian.

Nice to see some OTown representation on the board. True,  the Bluesfest show a few years back was a low point, not Brian's fault on the technical glitches. Lol I remember Jeff throwing the promoters under the bus on that one.

Great weather last night. I saw the 'original' Pet Sounds Tour in Toronto, and Al and Blondie definitely added a deeper dimension.

[Alex]

Getting pumped for the Burlington show on Wednesday!!! WHOOO!!!!

[Ninten]

I was at the Toronto show. Pretty great, as usual. I was excited for Funky Pretty, but I actually didn't really care for their live rendition that much. Highlights were One Kind Of Love (I absolutely love this song, and as a bonus Brian remembered all the lyrics this time!--last year he forgot how the verse went), Let's Go Away For A While, Here Today, Pet Sounds, and Good Vibrations. Brian's singing was hit and miss as usual. I also love that they played the sound effects at the end of Caroline No. And Matt Jardine totally stole the show. He does Brian's parts way better than Foskett ever did.

Also, I'm not sure if this has been asked already in this massive thread, but does someone have a list of all of the little song snippets they used when introducing the band members? I recall Smoke On The Water, Carry On My Wayward Son, and Day Tripper. What were the other ones?

[marcella27]

They played Start Me Up for Blondie. It's not unusual for Billy Hinsche, tonight they played Walk on the Wild Side for Nicky Walusko but I think it was something else for him last night.

[marcella27]

Ninten - it wasn't Day Tripper, it was Bulldog. They played it when introducing Paul von Mertens. 

[Mayoman]

It was Brown Sugar for Blondie a few shows ago.

[Ninten]

marcella27 -- Oh, you're right, it was. And that's one of my favourite Beatles songs. How embarrassing. >.>

[HeyJude]

Thanks everyone for the reports/reviews.

Interesting to see that Billy Hinsche is still filling in for Darian. I wonder how long that will continue. No complaints; Billy's the perfect guy to fill in.

[marcella27]

marcella27 -- Oh, you're right, it was. And that's one of my favourite Beatles songs. How embarrassing. >.>

Well, it was only about five seconds of the song, so I think you can be forgiven! 


I think they also did Ballroom Blitz for Nelson Bragg.

[Shady]

A few people turned out for the Massey Hall show

[Mitchell]

One was the Standells' Dirty Water. For Nelson Bragg, I think?

[SonoraDick]

Review from last month's show in Burlington, Vermont (it didn't appear until two weeks later). Brian returned and played the same venue tonight as well. AFAIK, his first two shows ever in Vermont.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/entertainment/2016/06/30/brian-wilson-curates-beach-boys-songs-burlington/85825472/

[marcella27]

I have been fortunate (or crazy, depending on who you're talking to) enough to have seen four concerts in the past month. Tonight I saw the band in Montreal and while one might think that the thrill would wear off after that many shows, it was quite the opposite. I was completely stunned, again, by this band, and by seeing Brian and Al together, sounding so amazing. 

The only bad thing was that it was a shorter set, with no intermission. This was kind of odd because even though the show was pa‎rt of the jazz festival, it was a separate ticketed event.  The car songs were absent, as was In My Room and Funky Pretty. 

They added a new song to the show - Hushabye. The sound in the auditorium (Place des Arts) was spectacular - everything was clear and beautiful. As trivial as it sounds, the lighting was gorgeous - during I Know There's an Answer the stage was bathed in this shimmering, wave-y light. The entire show sounded and looked stunning. The audience was on its feet more often than not. 

Brian's voice was a little off on a couple of occasions and at others it sounded very strong. ‎ He sounded absolutely great on Love and Mercy - strong and confident. 

It was Blondie's birthday and the band and the audience sang happy birthday to him. As usual, he was outstanding. I wish he had a few more songs to sing lead on - I still don't quite understand why he's not onstage more. (Oh, and in an earlier post I said that the song play when they introduce him was Start Me Up - ‎I was wrong, it is Brown Sugar after all.) 

When Brian introduced That's Not Me he said "this is a song that my cousin Mike sang, but he's not here tonight so I'll do it". I found that touching, funny and a little sad.

And Al - where to start? It has been really clear to me that Al is playing a huge role in the success of this tour. ‎He sings lead on a lot of songs, and he does it seemingly effortlessly.   There are times when others are singing, and it sounds really good, and then Al will come in and it goes from good to great. Or maybe it's that it goes from "great" to "Beach Boys".  He is gracious with the audience, his bandmates, and the fans.‎  And there is something very special about seeing him next to Brian, watching them interact - seeing Al laugh at the Brianisms, and seeing Brian watch Al when he's singing.  

All in all, a spectacular night.

[HeyJude]

Thanks for the detailed reviews. Interesting to see "Hushabye" in the setlist. That's one of those songs that it's hard to characterize as a "deep cut" or not. The BBs were doing it in the 90s with Matt singing, but it was certainly only a sporadic setlist inclusion.

Has Brian ever done it live? Setlist.fm suggests no. I thought he might have done it during some of those acoustic opening sets in the 2004-2007 era, but apparently not?

The site also suggests Mike hasn't done the song since 2002.

Obviously, that site is incomplete and there's also the factor that it's a cover version and if someone listed the song without cross referencing it as a "Mystics" cover, then it wouldn't show up when searching for it under that listing.

Also, does anyone have a setlist for the July 6th Burlington, VT show?

[Rich Panteluk]

I've got 2 sets of 3 tickets each to the Hollywood Bowl show on Sunday if anyone still needs tickets.  No scalping just face value.  3 tickets seated together in Section N2 Row 11, and 3 tickets seated together in Section K1 row 5.  I am going to the show and can meet there and do an exchange if anyone is interested PM me or better yet e-mail me at :
richp20@hotmail.com
Thanks,
Rich
Can't wait to see Brian and his wonderful band again!!!

[ontor pertawst]

At the Bowl now and a man just passed who was the spitting image of Mike Love. An omen? A warning?

Who cares.... Pet Sounds!

[Pretty Funky]

Several posters on the boards have said Brian's back seems to be bad. He's confirmed it.....

After bringing “Pet Sounds” to a close with a gorgeous performance of “Caroline, No,” the band returned to treat the fans to one more set of greatest hits. "I threw my back out the other day," Wilson announced. "I can hardly walk. Now we're gonna do the encore." A spirited “All Summer Long" gave way to “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Barbara Ann,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and “Fun, Fun, Fun."

http://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/07/10/brian-wilson-review-pet-sounds-phoenix/86919536/

[SonoraDick]

"Wake The World" was played Saturday night, July 9, in Phoenix. My memory is pretty lousy, but with a search I couldn't find any mention of it played previously by any of the groups. Certainly a deep cut, and possibly quite a rarity, in terms of live performances.