Brain's- excuse me, I mean "Brian's"- shows are based on a unique relationship among him and the band and the audience. He's not there to dazzle you with his stage-presence. What flows back from the audience is at least as important as what flows forth from the stage. You're there to celebrate something with thousands of anonymous friends- something that meant more to you than you could really express any other way. You're all there to say "Thank you" to Brian Wilson and share an evening of his music with him and his band, and to help keep him moving forward in his strange and difficult life. If you really don't get that, and you're focused on his sweat pants, then yeah, you should have stayed home.
Best moment for me at any Brian show was at the Roxy in 2000. It was right around the time the last TV movie debacle came out- not too long after, and a lot of people were still talking about that. Hoping I'm recounting all this correctly. I think Brian was setting up "Be My Baby" and he asked if people in the audience had ever had a "really favorite, favorite song"- one that was above all the others. Someone yelled "Good Vibrations!" and everyone cheered. Brian said " Wow, thank you." and someone yelled "No, THANK YOU" and the whole place went up. A really touching moment that captured the feelings of everyone there. Then in the lull that followed someone else yelled "MIKE LOVE SUCKS!" and everyone started laughing, including Brian, who really spontaneously just totally cracked up, which was really, really great to see. He looked startled as he busted up. Then he made a "tsk, tsk" type gesture- he wasn't having it- but he was still smiling. Great moment to be there.
Yep, I was there and remember that as well. Also remember someone shouting out "we love you, Carl" after Brian's introduction to God Only Knows, and Brian again saying "Thank you."
That's so cool, Southbay- what a night. Wonder who else here was in the room with us? I stood over next to Melinda, who was sitting at a table with her friend- Brian would have been a little to my left. Who was that guy who warmed up? Didn't he have Pete Buck from R.E.M. playing with him? I remember the bright red jacket...
One thing no one has mentioned- this was just a college kid. She was probably sent by the school paper to cover it and was clearly clueless about Brian- probably read an article about Brian being in bed for years and the collapse of
SMiLE, listened to
Pet Sounds, and thought (reasonably enough) that she had done her homework. And face it- Brian's not destined to have many people "get" him or his work. Hard as we were on her, I was hoping the comments would be helpful to her, give her a little insight, in case she wants a career as a writer.
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