Mike Love Concert Caustic Comment and Comedy Thread.

[Pretty Funky]

Read a Mike Love onstage joke in a review recently ('In my day, 50cent would buy you 2 gallons of gas'  ) and I got to thinking about some of his jokes and comments over the years. I think the RnR Hall of fame speech and alleged negative comments about Brian, and Carls illness are terrible. I say alleged because I have yet to read of anyone hearing them in person, only second hand.

Some of the jokes get a good response though. Any other good examples, bad? Does he write them himself?

I was at a show prior to the 92 election where he pointed out some friends for some lobby group who the crowd didn't seem to impressed with. Don't know who. Must be some other clunkers over nearly 50 years of gigs?

edit...must use spelchek!

[Nicole]

What did he say about Brian and Carl?

I've never been to a Beach Boys show, so I haven't personally heard any of his comments or jokes. I remember Mike saying that he thought it was funny when his jokes bombed and got no laughter, though.

[Pretty Funky]

For Brian it was along the lines of 'my genius cousin, he wrote the songs, stays home, we pay him to play the songs, what a genius' and Carl referring onstage to Carls illness in a tactless way.

[Wilsonista]

Mike gave a real "winner" during the boot of the Seattle concert from '83. A shirtless Dennis rises from the drums to acknowledge the audience and Mike goes "ladies, don't forget to stuff Dennis' shorts with dollar bills". Some of you might have found it funny.

[JR]

I think the RnR Hall of fame speech and alledged negative comments about Brian, and Carls illness are terrible. I say alledged because I have yet to read of anyone hearing them in person, only second hand.

Hmm...I don't even know if that qualifies as "alleged," at least with Carl.  When did he crack a joke about Carl's illness ever?  I think one of the great myths of all time is that he wanted Carl out "because he was sick," and not the fact that he was just in no shape to keep playing with them.  More like "made up"?

[the captain]

"Alleged" doesn't require any truth, just that someone allege it. So it's alleged. Maybe wholly untrue--I have no idea--but pretty clearly alleged.

[TdHabib]

When I saw the Beach Boys Mike said "and here's a song for all the ladies here tonight, which proves to you we're not the village people!"

[Cam Mott]

Mike gave a real "winner" during the boot of the Seattle concert from '83. A shirtless Dennis rises from the drums to acknowledge the audience and Mike goes "ladies, don't forget to stuff Dennis' shorts with dollar bills". Some of you might have found it funny.

I'm sure Dennis stormed off in a huff.....in a minute and a huff.

[Outie 315]

  TM Time:

  http://fairfieldacc.com/cgi-bin/sitesearch.pl?mydatabase=db02&mytemplate=tp58&ID=119&method=perfect

 

[tpesky]

I have an 82 concert where Mike was surprised by the number of trees growing in NY  and said he thought the only thing they grew in NY was
Puerto Ricans.
Al quickly said he talks about the Irish too, don't worry.

[tpesky]

  TM Time:

  http://fairfieldacc.com/cgi-bin/sitesearch.pl?mydatabase=db02&mytemplate=tp58&ID=119&method=perfect

 

Perhaps they should perform the entire MIU album?

[Pretty Funky]

One subject I think Mike has never avoided onstage is the age of the group members, and the band. I can't recall anything similar from Mick Jagger!

[Aegir]

At a concert I was at, some guy from the audience shouted "I love you!" and Mike said, "I love you too, just not in a Catholic sense."

[donald]

What comes to mind is the unplugged concert from NY promoting the box.  Mike says "have you seen the new Clinton tax plan?  Now we gotta tour ALL YEAR"........really out of place comment in an otherwise joyful and well played celebration of BB music.   And he also seemed embarrassed about including Vegatables in he performance....."folks, not many bands have done songs about vegatables"

But, hey! thats Mike!

[Aegir]

In my opinion, the most annoying thing Mike's ever said was during the Knebworth show - "Put your hands together, as they say". Is the "as they say" part really necessary? Ugh.

[Dancing Bear]

'Having Fun with Mike Love on Stage', a bootleg that should be compiled as soon as possible.

[hypehat]

There's that one you can hear on the Big Sur festival where he lists every country that Cotton Fields was a hit in, and then going 'but not here', in a really prissy manner. You can almost hear the rest of the group blushing, not to mention the audience.

One thing i found really funny is from some other boot from the early 70's, as they tune up for Okie From Muskogee, you can hear Al go 'I hate this song' on mic, and then Mike goes 'You're going to love this song'.... 

He doesn't half go on, though, doesn't he? That's what annoys me about his stage patter. Like where he talks through the intro of a song, as the band are just waiting to start singing the damn thing, and he keeps on going....

[Marie Jayne]

For Brian it was along the lines of 'my genius cousin, he wrote the songs, stays home, we pay him to play the songs, what a genius'

Ooh, bitterness is never attractive is it!

[Amanda Hart]

I think the RnR Hall of fame speech and alledged negative comments about Brian, and Carls illness are terrible. I say alledged because I have yet to read of anyone hearing them in person, only second hand.

Hmm...I don't even know if that qualifies as "alleged," at least with Carl.  When did he crack a joke about Carl's illness ever?  I think one of the great myths of all time is that he wanted Carl out "because he was sick," and not the fact that he was just in no shape to keep playing with them.  More like "made up"?

I believe it was something along the lines of "Don't worry folks, he's not contagious"

[PongHit]

I think a recent one is: "At this point, we're closer to hip-replacement than hip-hop."

[Compost]

When I saw them in Calgary, 89 or 90, Mike wasn't there and Brian was filling in for him.  Carl said that "our cousin Mike is sick and couldn't make it" and Brian chimed in with "in fact he might die!"  Carl and Al looked unimpressed with him.  It was funny/awkward.

[southbay]

I am certainly no Mike Love apologist, but I did see the Boys on their 1997 tour (actually, one of Carl's last shows in August), and have a couple of live CD's of that tour.  I never heard or saw Mike display anything but the utmost respect for Carl and his condition that tour.  Actually, it was the most "un-Mike-like" behavior I recall him displaying.

[Amanda Hart]

I didn't actually hear it so I don't know for sure, someone asked what Mike supposedly said and that was something I had heard

[The infamous Baldwin Organ]

I like Mike's jokes. Even when they're not funny. It wouldn't be the same band without them, in my opinion.

[Wilsonista]

From Eric's Setlist Archive:

State Fair, Allentown, PA
September 3, 1983

This was the first of two shows on this particular day; both shows were at the same venue. Reportedly, "Graduation Day" was an impromptu performance for three girls in the audience who had just graduated and were travelling.

C-Man notes: "Prior to the Car Medley they performed about 30-seconds of 'Okie From Muskogee' (after Mike teased the audience about doing a country medley instead)...Bruce dedicated 'Disney Girls' to birthday boy Alan Jardine, saying 'I think it's really great a guy can be in a band 21 years and grow up not being a drug addict in rock 'n' roll or an alcoholic', to which Mike replied 'We can't all be Wilsons!'"