Hammersmith (London) Mike & Bruce show, 4/4

[STE]

Good question... it must have been around 16:00, maybe a bit earlier

[John]

Thanks.

[Sam_BFC]

Does Mike still sing lead on all the songs that he originally sang lead on...On the PS podacast I think he said of Here Today that it was quite high for someone with his vocal range to sing...so these days he must find it even harder!

Cheers
Sam

[Smilin Ed H]

Just come back from the Newcastle show and it was excellent.  Crowd took a while warm up - not helped by a fair few empty seats.  I've seen Love once and heard many latterday boots (i.e. late70s onwards!!) and he was in great form tonight - if you don't mind his showbiz schtick (and Bruce's, for that matter).  And there were three of them. My God, that's as many real band members as you'd see at a CSN show    Seriously, they were on great form and the song selection was superb - though I'm not sure why Forever wasn't held over to the second half and played with Sail on Sailor, Til I Die, Disney Girls and All This Is That etc.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

Pretty close to full - a very few empty seats.

And here's a small teaser for you all: Forever, lead by David  [http://www.mediafire.com/?x0bd0qdtg11]

Enjoy!

Mahalo STE!  The BB's sound great (even thru this audience recording).  David Marks is fantastic singing this!  He definitely evokes the spirit of DW!

[MBE]

What are the youtube links?

Try this: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=beach+boys+brighton&search_type=

Thanks Rocker

[Sheriff John Stone]

If you've seen/heard the "car medley" or "surf medley" several times, I can understand why you MIGHT be tired of it (although I never am). But it doesn't make any sense to omit it.

To 99.9% of Beach Boys' fans, the surf and turf songs ARE The Beach Boys. Those are the songs people are traveling great distances and paying large sums of money to hear. Those songs are the reasons the people keep coming back, and keep buying the records.

While some might question it, the band does try to create a flow in their live shows. If they spread out the 3-4 car songs in the show, it probably would be a little awkward, affect the flow, and not have the same effect that stringing them together has. The medley does build to a certain climax with "I Get Around".

And one more thing....IMO the car and surf medleys, presented live in concert, are among the greatest pieces of rock and roll music ever performed to a live audience. I mean that. Those songs rival Elvis's early stuff, the Chuck Berry and Little Richard classics, and even the Beatles' early period. "Surfin' Safari", "Surfin' USA", "Shut Down", and "I Get Around" - performed live with electric guitars, the backbeat, Mike's lead vocal, the harmonies, the audience clapping and singing along - it literally doesn't or never did get any better than that. That's rock and roll!

[NHC]

If you've seen/heard the "car medley" or "surf medley" several times, I can understand why you MIGHT be tired of it (although I never am). But it doesn't make any sense to omit it.

To 99.9% of Beach Boys' fans, the surf and turf songs ARE The Beach Boys. Those are the songs people are traveling great distances and paying large sums of money to hear. Those songs are the reasons the people keep coming back, and keep buying the records.

While some might question it, the band does try to create a flow in their live shows. If they spread out the 3-4 car songs in the show, it probably would be a little awkward, affect the flow, and not have the same effect that stringing them together has. The medley does build to a certain climax with "I Get Around".

And one more thing....IMO the car and surf medleys, presented live in concert, are among the greatest pieces of rock and roll music ever performed to a live audience. I mean that. Those songs rival Elvis's early stuff, the Chuck Berry and Little Richard classics, and even the Beatles' early period. "Surfin' Safari", "Surfin' USA", "Shut Down", and "I Get Around" - performed live with electric guitars, the backbeat, Mike's lead vocal, the harmonies, the audience clapping and singing along - it literally doesn't or never did get any better than that. That's rock and roll!

Thank you.

Norm

[Alex]

If you've seen/heard the "car medley" or "surf medley" several times, I can understand why you MIGHT be tired of it (although I never am). But it doesn't make any sense to omit it.

To 99.9% of Beach Boys' fans, the surf and turf songs ARE The Beach Boys. Those are the songs people are traveling great distances and paying large sums of money to hear. Those songs are the reasons the people keep coming back, and keep buying the records.

While some might question it, the band does try to create a flow in their live shows. If they spread out the 3-4 car songs in the show, it probably would be a little awkward, affect the flow, and not have the same effect that stringing them together has. The medley does build to a certain climax with "I Get Around".

And one more thing....IMO the car and surf medleys, presented live in concert, are among the greatest pieces of rock and roll music ever performed to a live audience. I mean that. Those songs rival Elvis's early stuff, the Chuck Berry and Little Richard classics, and even the Beatles' early period. "Surfin' Safari", "Surfin' USA", "Shut Down", and "I Get Around" - performed live with electric guitars, the backbeat, Mike's lead vocal, the harmonies, the audience clapping and singing along - it literally doesn't or never did get any better than that. That's rock and roll!

That may be true, but as a diehard fan and as a young person, I don't want a string of hits show that appeals to the senior citizen crowd. Of course, throwing in a few hits now and then won't hurt, but throwing in a lot of rarities, especially SMiLE stuff, will make us hardcore fans go ga ga.

And I personally think having a car medley is nothing more than a lame gimmick. They still don't play the car engine sound when Mike introduces the medley, do they? Always makes me cringe. Mike and Bruce's act is pretty much just an extension of the lame-ass Kokomo/Summer in Paradise era of the Beach Boys. That's why I'd just rather go see Brian or Al.

[Smilin Ed H]

Looking at AGD's setlist, we got most of it but missed Here Today and Litttle Girl; instead, we got Still Cruisin' and Dance, Dance, Dance (and while I love the latter, it's hardly a fair swap!). The only real duffer was Everyone's in Love with You - and I'm talking about the song, not the performance, which, like all the others with the exception of Christian Love's lead on You're So Good To Me, were exemplary.

[NHC]

If you've seen/heard the "car medley" or "surf medley" several times, I can understand why you MIGHT be tired of it (although I never am). But it doesn't make any sense to omit it.

To 99.9% of Beach Boys' fans, the surf and turf songs ARE The Beach Boys. Those are the songs people are traveling great distances and paying large sums of money to hear. Those songs are the reasons the people keep coming back, and keep buying the records.

While some might question it, the band does try to create a flow in their live shows. If they spread out the 3-4 car songs in the show, it probably would be a little awkward, affect the flow, and not have the same effect that stringing them together has. The medley does build to a certain climax with "I Get Around".

And one more thing....IMO the car and surf medleys, presented live in concert, are among the greatest pieces of rock and roll music ever performed to a live audience. I mean that. Those songs rival Elvis's early stuff, the Chuck Berry and Little Richard classics, and even the Beatles' early period. "Surfin' Safari", "Surfin' USA", "Shut Down", and "I Get Around" - performed live with electric guitars, the backbeat, Mike's lead vocal, the harmonies, the audience clapping and singing along - it literally doesn't or never did get any better than that. That's rock and roll!

That may be true, but as a diehard fan and as a young person, I don't want a string of hits show that appeals to the senior citizen crowd. Of course, throwing in a few hits now and then won't hurt, but throwing in a lot of rarities, especially SMiLE stuff, will make us hardcore fans go ga ga.

And I personally think having a car medley is nothing more than a lame gimmick. They still don't play the car engine sound when Mike introduces the medley, do they? Always makes me cringe. Mike and Bruce's act is pretty much just an extension of the lame-ass Kokomo/Summer in Paradise era of the Beach Boys. That's why I'd just rather go see Brian or Al.

First of all, being a "hard-core" fan since 1963 and having considered myself a "senior citizen" since the day three years ago when I was finally able to order off the back page of the menu at Denny's, keep in mind that it was us senior citizens who in the 60's bought the records, called the DJ's and went to the concerts, even in the down years, that first made the Beach Boys a musical legend now spanning five decades.  As good as they are, and they are, it wasn't Sunflower or Holland that made the band a world-wide phenomena, it was Surfin' USA and I Get Around, and that's what a lot of us old timers want to hear.  When those songs are playing, for me it's 1965 all over again, I still have my hair and my first guitar, and I'm about to meet the girl I've now been married to for 35 years, 10 months and seven days. Sure, I want the album cuts, the rarities, some later things (even if they are 15-20 years old at their youngest), I've said that more than once.   And no doubt many many fans came to the band because of Sunflower, Holland, et. al., things that might have fit their own era better than Fun Fun Fun, and that's fine. Welcome aboard, however you got here. But the above set list defines the absolute core of a Beach Boys concert for me.

Second, as for Mike and Bruce just being "an extension of the lame-ass Kokomo/Summer in Paradise era ", not with a set list like this they aren't.

[Jon Stebbins]

If you've seen/heard the "car medley" or "surf medley" several times, I can understand why you MIGHT be tired of it (although I never am). But it doesn't make any sense to omit it.

To 99.9% of Beach Boys' fans, the surf and turf songs ARE The Beach Boys. Those are the songs people are traveling great distances and paying large sums of money to hear. Those songs are the reasons the people keep coming back, and keep buying the records.

While some might question it, the band does try to create a flow in their live shows. If they spread out the 3-4 car songs in the show, it probably would be a little awkward, affect the flow, and not have the same effect that stringing them together has. The medley does build to a certain climax with "I Get Around".

And one more thing....IMO the car and surf medleys, presented live in concert, are among the greatest pieces of rock and roll music ever performed to a live audience. I mean that. Those songs rival Elvis's early stuff, the Chuck Berry and Little Richard classics, and even the Beatles' early period. "Surfin' Safari", "Surfin' USA", "Shut Down", and "I Get Around" - performed live with electric guitars, the backbeat, Mike's lead vocal, the harmonies, the audience clapping and singing along - it literally doesn't or never did get any better than that. That's rock and roll!

That may be true, but as a diehard fan and as a young person, I don't want a string of hits show that appeals to the senior citizen crowd. Of course, throwing in a few hits now and then won't hurt, but throwing in a lot of rarities, especially SMiLE stuff, will make us hardcore fans go ga ga.

And I personally think having a car medley is nothing more than a lame gimmick. They still don't play the car engine sound when Mike introduces the medley, do they? Always makes me cringe. Mike and Bruce's act is pretty much just an extension of the lame-ass Kokomo/Summer in Paradise era of the Beach Boys. That's why I'd just rather go see Brian or Al.

First of all, being a "hard-core" fan since 1963 and having considered myself a "senior citizen" since the day three years ago when I was finally able to order off the back page of the menu at Denny's, keep in mind that it was us senior citizens who in the 60's bought the records, called the DJ's and went to the concerts, even in the down years, that first made the Beach Boys a musical legend now spanning five decades.  As good as they are, and they are, it wasn't Sunflower or Holland that made the band a world-wide phenomena, it was Surfin' USA and I Get Around, and that's what a lot of us old timers want to hear.  When those songs are playing, for me it's 1965 all over again, I still have my hair and my first guitar, and I'm about to meet the girl I've now been married to for 35 years, 10 months and seven days. Sure, I want the album cuts, the rarities, some later things (even if they are 15-20 years old at their youngest), I've said that more than once.   And no doubt many many fans came to the band because of Sunflower, Holland, et. al., things that might have fit their own era better than Fun Fun Fun, and that's fine. Welcome aboard, however you got here. But the above set list defines the absolute core of a Beach Boys concert for me.

Second, as for Mike and Bruce just being "an extension of the lame-ass Kokomo/Summer in Paradise era ", not with a set list like this they aren't.

You know its so rare to read a post with actual context on one of these boards. You have nailed a point that i am constantly trying to make in the face of waves of people who have little understanding of BB's history but consider themselves Brian aficionados because they have a Smile bootleg and a Leaf documentary. There is no Pet Sounds without Surfin USA...no one would have given a s%%T about what Brian had to say if it wasn't for all those car songs. If you love Till I Die then you should crawl on your bellys and worship 409 like a golden idol that bestowed endless orgasms on you for eternity. Brian did not fall out of the sky and land in the genius pool. The history of Brian and the BB's unfolded in a very precise and lucky way...lucky for Brian, luckier for the others...the surf songs, car songs are the things that gave the band stature, made them a phenomenon, gave them momentum, opened the doors to I Get Around, which opened the doors to California Girls, which opened the doors to Wouldn't It Be Nice, which opened the doors to Good Vibrations...and compared to all of that BWPS has very little importance. Don't get me wrong, SMILE in its original context would have been the grandest artistic statement by a pop artist ever...if it had come out in April of '67. it remains one of the most unique collections of music in history. But without Surfer Girl and Little Deuce Coupe and Fun Fun Fun, it would have been a dream in the back of Brian's mind that would have stayed there. Those 1963 - 1965 are a glorious foundation and remain jewel like reminders of a once in a lifetime happening, when Brian and his band went from being nothing to something.

[Alex]

If you've seen/heard the "car medley" or "surf medley" several times, I can understand why you MIGHT be tired of it (although I never am). But it doesn't make any sense to omit it.

To 99.9% of Beach Boys' fans, the surf and turf songs ARE The Beach Boys. Those are the songs people are traveling great distances and paying large sums of money to hear. Those songs are the reasons the people keep coming back, and keep buying the records.

While some might question it, the band does try to create a flow in their live shows. If they spread out the 3-4 car songs in the show, it probably would be a little awkward, affect the flow, and not have the same effect that stringing them together has. The medley does build to a certain climax with "I Get Around".

And one more thing....IMO the car and surf medleys, presented live in concert, are among the greatest pieces of rock and roll music ever performed to a live audience. I mean that. Those songs rival Elvis's early stuff, the Chuck Berry and Little Richard classics, and even the Beatles' early period. "Surfin' Safari", "Surfin' USA", "Shut Down", and "I Get Around" - performed live with electric guitars, the backbeat, Mike's lead vocal, the harmonies, the audience clapping and singing along - it literally doesn't or never did get any better than that. That's rock and roll!

That may be true, but as a diehard fan and as a young person, I don't want a string of hits show that appeals to the senior citizen crowd. Of course, throwing in a few hits now and then won't hurt, but throwing in a lot of rarities, especially SMiLE stuff, will make us hardcore fans go ga ga.

And I personally think having a car medley is nothing more than a lame gimmick. They still don't play the car engine sound when Mike introduces the medley, do they? Always makes me cringe. Mike and Bruce's act is pretty much just an extension of the lame-ass Kokomo/Summer in Paradise era of the Beach Boys. That's why I'd just rather go see Brian or Al.

First of all, being a "hard-core" fan since 1963 and having considered myself a "senior citizen" since the day three years ago when I was finally able to order off the back page of the menu at Denny's, keep in mind that it was us senior citizens who in the 60's bought the records, called the DJ's and went to the concerts, even in the down years, that first made the Beach Boys a musical legend now spanning five decades.  As good as they are, and they are, it wasn't Sunflower or Holland that made the band a world-wide phenomena, it was Surfin' USA and I Get Around, and that's what a lot of us old timers want to hear.  When those songs are playing, for me it's 1965 all over again, I still have my hair and my first guitar, and I'm about to meet the girl I've now been married to for 35 years, 10 months and seven days. Sure, I want the album cuts, the rarities, some later things (even if they are 15-20 years old at their youngest), I've said that more than once.   And no doubt many many fans came to the band because of Sunflower, Holland, et. al., things that might have fit their own era better than Fun Fun Fun, and that's fine. Welcome aboard, however you got here. But the above set list defines the absolute core of a Beach Boys concert for me.

Second, as for Mike and Bruce just being "an extension of the lame-ass Kokomo/Summer in Paradise era ", not with a set list like this they aren't.

I like a lot of the older songs, too. In fact, it was the early hits that made me aware of the boys, but it was Pet Sounds and SMiLE that really drew me in. Album and single-wise, the Beach Boys  really great from day one, and their early 60s live shows with Dennis pounding the hell out of the drums look like they were really good, despite the matching striped shirts. I pretty much like everything they did right up through Holland. As far as 60s music goes in general, I kinda have a bias toward counterculture-era stuff, and PS, SMiLE, and almost everything from Smiley Smile through Holland pretty much fits in with that. Plus, they had that period of excellent live shows from circa '71-'74, then they got all hokey and corny, and by the late 80s the Lovester had taken creative control of the group. I can't stand the "old guys in Hawaiian shirts" image of the Beach Boys which was prevalent during the Kokomo/Still Cruisin'/Summer in Paradise-era, and Mike still seems to be perpetuating that image of the Beach Boys. Just knowing that they used to be a lot better live makes me wish I was alive to see them live back when they were in their prime. But since that is impossible, and also knowing that Brian and Al put on excellent shows nowhere near as hokey as Mike's, they would be the ones worth seeing. To make a long story short, I'm too young to go on the Mike and Bruce nostalgia trip, and I refuse to be part of what Carl called "the meat and potatoes crowd". (C'mon Mike, add Cabin Essence and Surf's Up to the setlist, permanently.) As far as I'm concerned "The Beach Boys" as an actual group died with Carl, but the spirit of the group died much earlier with Dennis. "The Beach Boys" is nothing more than a franchise now, with Mike using the name to trick casual fans into thinking its the real group, singing the same bunch of oldies they throw off every night, doing the same corny "comedy" routines between songs, occasionally featuring John Stamos as a guest, and Mike laughing all the way to the bank. I just don't feel that Mike's intentions are genuine, as if he got into music solely for the money.

But at least they attempted some rarities. That kind of setlist must be an exception to what they normally do. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Andrew G. Doe]

But at least they attempted some rarities. That kind of setlist must be an exception to what they normally do. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

That setlist is, essentially, a UK-only thing because, as Bruce said "you listen deeper". That said, they do do a version of it in the US indoor venues sometimes (e.g. Lancaster AMT, 2005).

A question - when was the last time you saw a Mike & Bruce show ?

PS: they didn't merely 'attempt' the rarities - they did them, and they did them very well.

While we're talking about setlists, this was Brian's in the UK 2005 (Birmingham): titles in italics are common with Mike & Bruce...

01. Do It Again
02. Do You Wanna Dance
03. Then I Kissed Her
04. In My Room
05. Surfer Girl
06. I Get Around
07. When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)
08. Dance, Dance, Dance
09. Please Let Me Wonder
10. Little St. Nick
11. Breakaway
12. You're So Good To Me
13. California Girls
14. Sloop John B
15. Wouldn't It Be Nice
16. Pet Sounds
17. God Only Knows
18. Sail On Sailor
19. Marcella
20. Our Prayer
21. Heroes & Villains
22. Good Vibrations (Smile version)

Encore 1:
23. Johnny B. Goode
24. Help Me, Rhonda
25. Barbara Ann
26. Surfin’ USA
27. Fun Fun Fun

Encore 2:
28. Love And Mercy

But of course, it's Brian doing them, so that's different, and somehow OK.

I say... bullshit.

[Alex]

I stand corrected.

AGD's layin' down the law!
I'm glad he did, though. Gotta eliminate the misconceptions. If I had posted what I did over at the Blueboard, I'd probably just get a million people agreeing with me and no one to check the facts or to bring in a balanced perspective. Believe me, I can get very anti-Mike at times.

[tpesky]

Car medley and surf medley..I agree, I love those songs live. (Could live without Surf City) They are what drew me in to the music. My only critique is maybe play them a little faster! Last several times, really even back to Carl and Al days, those songs were played at the slowest tempos possible it seemed like. Although as I write this, I am thinking maybe Cowsill on drums has fixed some of this??

I saw Mike and Bruce Easter Weekend Late March 2005 in Torrington, CT. Very similar setlist to the Europe setlist, not quite as long but wow did we get a show that night!  I couldn't believe the songs I was hearing! They can deliver the goods, and that was before Christian. Although, I thought Chris Farmer did a super job. I put that show, Brian and Al in NYC Fall 06, and the 1993 tour as my top 3 all about equal that I have seen (only been going since 91 so I am on the younger fan side) , each special in its own way.  The only 3 shortcomings I have with Mike and Bruce are generally, both of their voices tend to be inconsistent sometimes, show to show and song to song usually. I have heard Bruce croak and Bruce sound vintage 70's in the last 2 years. Mike varies song to song in the show, his voice is weak in general.  I like Christian alot , a real lot! on some songs, thinking Getcha Back and Then I Kissed her. But I will say he has too many leads, Good Vibes is not for him and the You're So Good to Me I caught on YouTube not happening either for him. Randall is under utilized on leads I think, but his dad also isn't the boss:) and  number 3 at the US shows the creepy thing with the girls during Barbara Ann, when Scott plays his guitar around a girl who is most likely pretty young.  None of those are enough to discourage me from going to them however. I always have a blast and enjoy the music!

[MBE]

I stand corrected.

AGD's layin' down the law!
I'm glad he did, though. Gotta eliminate the misconceptions. If I had posted what I did over at the Blueboard, I'd probably just get a million people agreeing with me and no one to check the facts or to bring in a balanced perspective. Believe me, I can get very anti-Mike at times.

I would only go to see Mike and Bruce in an indoor gig if you are in the USA. Especally if they play with an orchestra. They really didn't put on the crappy type of show you think. They were much worse 10 years ago.  At a ballpark or county fair I wouldn't bother though.

[Rocker]

[While we're talking about setlists, this was Brian's in the UK 2005 (Birmingham): titles in italics are common with Mike & Bruce...

01. Do It Again
02. Do You Wanna Dance
03. Then I Kissed Her
04. In My Room
05. Surfer Girl
06. I Get Around
07. When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)
08. Dance, Dance, Dance
09. Please Let Me Wonder
10. Little St. Nick
11. Breakaway
12. You're So Good To Me
13. California Girls
14. Sloop John B
15. Wouldn't It Be Nice
16. Pet Sounds
17. God Only Knows
18. Sail On Sailor
19. Marcella
20. Our Prayer
21. Heroes & Villains
22. Good Vibrations (Smile version)

Encore 1:
23. Johnny B. Goode
24. Help Me, Rhonda
25. Barbara Ann
26. Surfin’ USA
27. Fun Fun Fun

Encore 2:
28. Love And Mercy

Don't think Mike and Bruce (plus Dave) did "Pet Sounds".
But as mentioned before, it's a very cool setlist and I'd love to hear some good recordings from this show

[Andrew G. Doe]

it's a very cool setlist and I'd love to hear some good recordings from this show

So would I but sadly, a 'certain someone' and their special coat weren't at Hammersmith.