Brian's Fall US tour ('new' old songs)

[Chris Brown]

My wife and I are big fans of B.W., but we've never seen him live.  We're seriously considering flying out to one of the shows this fall, but everything I've read and the clips I've seen on youtube make me worry that the whole experience could be a downer.

The thrill of seeing Brian live for the first time, combined with the power of the music that is generated by the band, along with community feeling of being with others like you - IMO, would make for a very enjoyable concert.

Don't make your entire decision based on YouTube; most artists sound worse on YouTube. At a Brian Wilson concert, especially your first or second one, you will be so engrossed watching Brian, digging the music, and trying to capture every detail, that time will fly by!

Agreed completely.  Being in the presence of Brian and other fans like you is such an incredible experience.  Plus the band always sounds fantastic, and you get to hear some great tunes for a few hours.  I'd definitely recommend trying to make one of the shows.  Who knows when Brian will be done touring and we won't have the chance to see him? 

[Aegir]

Everything sounds better live, especially if it's the first time you're seeing that act. When I saw Brian live, he sounded amazing to me, even though others said he wasn't at his best that night.

[Jonathan Blum]

This might sound a little extreme, but surely on this evidence, Brian is in not much of a better situation than he was during the 'Brians Back' period or dare I say it - later periods? I'm not talking about health or happiness wise but 'forced to do a particular musical type of thing' wise.

Probably worth going back and looking at the concert footage from 1976-1982, with a slack-faced Brian chain-smoking at the back behind a piano, only occasionally singing and sometimes playing a completely different song.  If he were in anything like that sort of place now, it'd be obvious.

What we've got is more like an ordinary joe who's got a bit of a dull day job, that still has some actual good bits that make it worth doing.  Cause the current set list has a share of new material that by all accounts genuinely does engage him.

Let he who has never looked at his watch during a business meeting cast the first stone...

Cheers,
Jon Blum

[TonyW]

Yep I was a card carrying member as well. I didn't go to the Hawaii bash, buit I friend of mine did. He made audio recordings throughout the whole get together and you can hear the frustrations while they are trying to get to meet the band. Totally in keeping with BB managements way of dealing with things.

Hey Mooger, I don't know if you have heard this but in January 2008 when Brian was in Sydney we organised a get together for the local crew - older generation fans included Stephen McParland and the Professor - to our surprise Brian (his people/whoever) decided that Brian would attend (with Jeff and a few other band members) - it was kept a secret so when Brian arrived in the room it is was chaos ... Brian looked around, saw the Professor, recognised him from the Hawaii shows and said hi straight at him, that really seemed to settle Brian down - complete recognition. Sometimes you think Brian is on another planet and then something like that happens. (I'm pretty sure Jonathan Blum was in the room at the time). I'm sure you could imagine that the Professor was in 7th heaven after that ... 

[The Shift]

Touring is part of the way Brian makes a living

Er... not in general - the tours themselves generally loose money and, with one plausible exception, none of his tours have resulted in significant chart action.

Brian makes the huge bulk of his money from his work back in the 60s.

Which I guess suggests that for him there must be an upside to touring. If it doesn't make him money, then why would his people (who allegedly are interested in his income streams rather than his indulgence) want him to tour? I don't see any merit in it as far as promoting poor-selling CDs goes, and the Mike & Bruce band are doing enough to promote the old 60s stuff without Brian having to lift a finger.

This leads me to the assumption, Dr Watson, that Mr Wilson must derive some please or other spiritual benefit from the act of touring and that those around him care enough to humour this.

Those of us who were at the 2002/2004 PS/BWPS tours saw a tangible change in the man in that time, as regards confidence.

Doesn't explain him playing the greatest hits stuff  unless he's into self-discipline as well.

[Outie 315]

 The GH stuff will always go over.

 Anyone go on The Big Red Boat?

[Mr. Cohen]

This leads me to the assumption, Dr Watson, that Mr Wilson must derive some please or other spiritual benefit from the act of touring and that those around him care enough to humour this.

My guess is that it keeps him active, which helps out with his songwriting and other creative endeavors. If Brian wasn't touring, what else would he do? Dig ditches? He'd probably wind up sitting around doing nothing. Not only that, but it probably makes him feel important. Fame is addictive, I don't care who you are. One of the members of his entourage said that Brian misses hearing his songs on mainstream radio. He liked being Brian the boy genius. Who wouldn't?

Let he who has never looked at his watch during a business meeting cast the first stone...

I don't see the analogy. Music is art. This isn't accounting, you don't do it out necessity, but desire. Art is about passion. If you're not passionate about your art, then you shouldn't be an artist. Not that I don't think Brian should be an artist, he seemed to clearly enjoy making That Lucky Old Sun at least at times, but that it's obvious that he has little interest in utilizing live performances as a mode of artistic expression. Maybe he liked performing That Lucky Old Sun or Smile now and then, but that was it. To me, he is disrespecting the art form. It also shows a quite warped way of thinking. The man has no qualms about putting on a lackluster performance for people who may have paid over $100 for their seat. I would be so embarrassed if I acted like that under those conditions. I don't think I'd leave my room for days. I like Brian for his music but he does seem to think the universe revolves around him. I think that's what Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips was trying to get across a few years ago when he was criticizing Brian in public. Just because Brian made great music and tries to be a sympathetic figure, it doesn't mean he should be coddled, but people do it. Sometimes people need to face reality.

Honestly, I hate that I know as much about Brian Wilson as I do. It's a waste of gray matter. His music can be so alluring though, it just makes you want to know what was going on in the head of the person who came up with. I have a hard time reconciling the man we see today with the man who made that wonderful music so long ago.

[Sam_BFC]

Hey I have never been aware of Wayne Coyne's comments is there anywhere they can be read?

Ta
Sam

[The Shift]

I have a hard time reconciling the man we see today with the man who made that wonderful music so long ago.

To me he's just the same guy - the same guy who quit the road in the early-mid 60s to concentrate on his art, and on using the studio as his canvas. I agree that the touring must fire him up and of necessity massage his ego. But his art is what comes out of the studio. Playing it live must be like an artists having to stand at the photocopier churning out cheap Xeroxes of your best work.

[Alex]

Wow. Could you use a hug?   
[/quote]

Thanks, but I'm actually not embittered. It's just an observation I happened to make a few times, and at Thurday's Bonn gig the stock-standard procedure as I detailed above presented itself once again!

I am currently very closely involved with NASA, and it is interesting to compare the differences between the Space Agency and Rock Promoters. I call up the NASA archives and ask for an obscure photograph of some training facility from 1962. Not only do I get the photo, I get a list of names and numbers of every single engineer who worked at the facility in question.

I call up a rock promoter and require a battering ram just to get past the secretary sitting at the main entrance.

I cant help but recall the 25th anniversary BB thing in Hawaii. A whole bunch of fans had flown out to Hawaii to have a special meet with the band. Guess what happens when they get there? They are bunch in a makeshift holding room as there is no record of their backstage permission despite the get-together having been flaunted and described for the last 6 months on the official fan club website - which itself is supposed to have first hand contact with the band. (No I wasn't there but I know several people who were)

Bizzare, but true.
[/quote]

The Beach Boys Fan Club had a website in 1986??

[Mooger Fooger]

Nope it didnt have a website. But it did have a newsletter which regularly made the rounds.

When I write "website" it shall be henceforth noted to also mean "newsletter" for any discussion prior to the emergence of the web.

 

[Sheriff John Stone]

Let he who has never looked at his watch during a business meeting cast the first stone...

I don't see the analogy. Music is art. This isn't accounting, you don't do it out necessity, but desire. Art is about passion. If you're not passionate about your art, then you shouldn't be an artist. Not that I don't think Brian should be an artist, he seemed to clearly enjoy making That Lucky Old Sun at least at times, but that it's obvious that he has little interest in utilizing live performances as a mode of artistic expression. Maybe he liked performing That Lucky Old Sun or Smile now and then, but that was it. To me, he is disrespecting the art form. It also shows a quite warped way of thinking. The man has no qualms about putting on a lackluster performance for people who may have paid over $100 for their seat. I would be so embarrassed if I acted like that under those conditions. I don't think I'd leave my room for days. I like Brian for his music but he does seem to think the universe revolves around him. I think that's what Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips was trying to get across a few years ago when he was criticizing Brian in public. Just because Brian made great music and tries to be a sympathetic figure, it doesn't mean he should be coddled, but people do it. Sometimes people need to face reality.

Honestly, I hate that I know as much about Brian Wilson as I do. It's a waste of gray matter. His music can be so alluring though, it just makes you want to know what was going on in the head of the person who came up with. I have a hard time reconciling the man we see today with the man who made that wonderful music so long ago.

Ooh, Dada, excellent post. Telling it like it is, a dose of the truth, and the truth hurts sometimes, doesn't it....

[pixletwin]

I always have to shed a tear when I hear "Salt Lake City" because I know he is lying when he sings "We'll be comin' soon!" 

[Sheriff John Stone]

Everything sounds better live, especially if it's the first time you're seeing that act.

And then later, you hear a recording of the concert or see a YouTube video, and you go, "What!?"

[Smilin Ed H]

"The man has no qualms about putting on a lackluster performance for people who may have paid over $100 for their seat. I would be so embarrassed if I acted like that under those conditions."

This could - does, in fact - also describe several Dylan shows over the years, including this year's.  However, I saw Brian last night and it was a pretty damn good show.

[Amanda Hart]

For anyone that was curious...

I emailed the facilities manager for the venue in Creative Arts Center in Morgantown, WV and he said that the link from Brian's site is wrong and should be this:  http://www.events.wvu.edu/uas/index.shtml

That didn't really lead to any more information but it least it had the show listed.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Everything sounds better live, especially if it's the first time you're seeing that act.

And then later, you hear a recording of the concert or see a YouTube video, and you go, "What!?"

Exactly - my first Pet Sounds gig was, on the night, sublime... then I heard a boot, a true WTF ?!? moment if there ever was one.

[PongHit]

However, I saw Brian last night and it was a pretty damn good show.

That's the thing w/ BW, the quality of his performance varies a lot.

[Andrew G. Doe]

However, I saw Brian last night and it was a pretty damn good show.

That's the thing w/BW, the quality of his performance varies a lot.

Truly true - saw him at HCP in 2005, sucked majorly. A month or so later in Brum, excellent.

[TdHabib]

Just once more AGD, check the PMs.

[Menace Wilson]

Hey I have never been aware of Wayne Coyne's comments is there anywhere they can be read?

Ta
Sam

http://www.stopsmilingonline.com/story_detail.php?id=224

http://www.stopsmilingonline.com/story_detail.php?id=225

It seems to me that Coyne took it personally that Wilson gave a bad interview (as if that was a surprise).  To be fair, Coyne wasn't much of an interviewer either....

[Chris Brown]

Hey I have never been aware of Wayne Coyne's comments is there anywhere they can be read?

Ta
Sam

http://www.stopsmilingonline.com/story_detail.php?id=224

http://www.stopsmilingonline.com/story_detail.php?id=225

It seems to me that Coyne took it personally that Wilson gave a bad interview (as if that was a surprise).  To be fair, Coyne wasn't much of an interviewer either....

Wow, he does come across as a dick in that second interview.  The talk he had with Brian wasn't too bad by Brian interview standards.  Coyne expected way too much from Brian (a dissertation on his songwriting, apparently).  He acknowledges that Brian has been asked about his music ad naseum through the years, but still expects detailed and insightful answers about it.

And I don't think Brian comes off egocentric at all; quite the opposite actually.  Brian didn't appoint himself a genius, and it's not his fault that others continually praise his work.  So he needs more positive reassurance than most other people...so what?  Brian isn't out there telling the world "I'm a genius" over and over again trying to get attention.  Coyne doesn't really seem to "get" Brian at all.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Merged, since these are basically the same topics.

don't see the analogy. Music is art. This isn't accounting, you don't do it out necessity, but desire. Art is about passion. If you're not passionate about your art, then you shouldn't be an artist. Not that I don't think Brian should be an artist, he seemed to clearly enjoy making That Lucky Old Sun at least at times, but that it's obvious that he has little interest in utilizing live performances as a mode of artistic expression. Maybe he liked performing That Lucky Old Sun or Smile now and then, but that was it. To me, he is disrespecting the art form. It also shows a quite warped way of thinking. The man has no qualms about putting on a lackluster performance for people who may have paid over $100 for their seat. I would be so embarrassed if I acted like that under those conditions. I don't think I'd leave my room for days. I like Brian for his music but he does seem to think the universe revolves around him. I think that's what Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips was trying to get across a few years ago when he was criticizing Brian in public. Just because Brian made great music and tries to be a sympathetic figure, it doesn't mean he should be coddled, but people do it. Sometimes people need to face reality.

Honestly, I hate that I know as much about Brian Wilson as I do. It's a waste of gray matter. His music can be so alluring though, it just makes you want to know what was going on in the head of the person who came up with. I have a hard time reconciling the man we see today with the man who made that wonderful music so long ago.

100% agreed. Actually, I'm going to go a step further. You folks have probably noticed I've been offline more than online lately. The thing is...I'm so fed up with all of the B.S. surrounding Brian that honestly I'm starting to lose my love for his music, and that's friggin' sad. It seems to me that a lobotomized monkey could do a better job of managing Brian's career then these fools have done. It's obvious Brian doesn't give a sh*t, so why should we? And honestly, who could blame him? Brian obviously enjoys playing rarities way more than the oldies, so , hey...let's make him perform merda Down! I don't get it...the setlist has gradually shifted towards the casual fan...who probably couldn't differentiate our Brian Wilson from Giants pitcher! "Duh, Jethro, Brian Wilson is singing Beach Boys songs tonight, wonder if Tom Glavine's playing the banjo dur hur hur". Those folks are already at the Mike & Bruce show, anyway. It seems to me that the strategy is to piss off the die-hards and lose as much money as possible.

Mission Accomplished.

edit

I meant "Shut Down"...guess it was a Freudian Slip.

[Menace Wilson]

Hey I have never been aware of Wayne Coyne's comments is there anywhere they can be read?

Ta
Sam

http://www.stopsmilingonline.com/story_detail.php?id=224

http://www.stopsmilingonline.com/story_detail.php?id=225

It seems to me that Coyne took it personally that Wilson gave a bad interview (as if that was a surprise).  To be fair, Coyne wasn't much of an interviewer either....

Wow, he does come across as a dick in that second interview.  The talk he had with Brian wasn't too bad by Brian interview standards.  Coyne expected way too much from Brian (a dissertation on his songwriting, apparently).  He acknowledges that Brian has been asked about his music ad naseum through the years, but still expects detailed and insightful answers about it.

And I don't think Brian comes off egocentric at all; quite the opposite actually.  Brian didn't appoint himself a genius, and it's not his fault that others continually praise his work.  So he needs more positive reassurance than most other people...so what?  Brian isn't out there telling the world "I'm a genius" over and over again trying to get attention.  Coyne doesn't really seem to "get" Brian at all.

I completely agree. 

[Menace Wilson]

Merged, since these are basically the same topics.

don't see the analogy. Music is art. This isn't accounting, you don't do it out necessity, but desire. Art is about passion. If you're not passionate about your art, then you shouldn't be an artist. Not that I don't think Brian should be an artist, he seemed to clearly enjoy making That Lucky Old Sun at least at times, but that it's obvious that he has little interest in utilizing live performances as a mode of artistic expression. Maybe he liked performing That Lucky Old Sun or Smile now and then, but that was it. To me, he is disrespecting the art form. It also shows a quite warped way of thinking. The man has no qualms about putting on a lackluster performance for people who may have paid over $100 for their seat. I would be so embarrassed if I acted like that under those conditions. I don't think I'd leave my room for days. I like Brian for his music but he does seem to think the universe revolves around him. I think that's what Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips was trying to get across a few years ago when he was criticizing Brian in public. Just because Brian made great music and tries to be a sympathetic figure, it doesn't mean he should be coddled, but people do it. Sometimes people need to face reality.

Honestly, I hate that I know as much about Brian Wilson as I do. It's a waste of gray matter. His music can be so alluring though, it just makes you want to know what was going on in the head of the person who came up with. I have a hard time reconciling the man we see today with the man who made that wonderful music so long ago.

100% agreed. Actually, I'm going to go a step further. You folks have probably noticed I've been offline more than online lately. The thing is...I'm so fed up with all of the B.S. surrounding Brian that honestly I'm starting to lose my love for his music, and that's friggin' sad. It seems to me that a lobotomized monkey could do a better job of managing Brian's career then these fools have done. It's obvious Brian doesn't give a sh*t, so why should we? And honestly, who could blame him? Brian obviously enjoys playing rarities way more than the oldies, so , hey...let's make him perform merda Down! I don't get it...the setlist has gradually shifted towards the casual fan...who probably couldn't differentiate our Brian Wilson from Giants pitcher! "Duh, Jethro, Brian Wilson is singing Beach Boys songs tonight, wonder if Tom Glavine's playing the banjo dur hur hur". Those folks are already at the Mike & Bruce show, anyway. It seems to me that the strategy is to piss off the die-hards and lose as much money as possible.

Mission Accomplished.

edit

I meant "Shut Down"...guess it was a Freudian Slip.

I agree with this too (except for the losing the love for the music part)!  It boggles my mind to think what B.W.'s handlers/management could possibly be thinking.  It takes a hell of a lot to make me second guess going to see B.W. live, but that's where I'm at with it.