Mike's 1970 Breakdown - Too Much Fasting or Dosed?

[Ganz Allein]

The recent "How Much Did Brian..." thread got me wondering about Mike's breakdown and hospitalization in March 1970 - the one documented in Gaines' and Badman's books, during which Mike was replaced by Brian for three shows in the northwest. Supposedly Mike's three-week fast caused him to get extremely oversensitive and neurotic, taking off his clothes during a TV interview, thinking he could talk to birds if he tried hard enough, biting his brother, and doing/saying other strange things which eventually resulted in him being straightjacketed. But all of those things sound much more trippy than fasting-induced. Lots of people fast for extended periods and don't get wacked out like that - and poor people in impoverished countries get scant nutrition for weeks at a time and don't go berserk.

When this story is recalled, much is made about the giant fruit juice jug that Mike carried everywhere - his only source of nourishment during the fast. Could it be that someone dosed him with acid by surreptitiously slipping it into the jug? Back then surprise dosing wasn't uncommon. Also, I do remember MBE mentioning once that he was told Mike had actually tried acid, which was surprising to me. Anybody know more about this story?

[Magic Transistor Radio]

The unofficial story from a source in the upper regions of my brain informed me that Dennis slipped it in as a prank.

[Jon Stebbins]

The unofficial story from a source in the upper regions of my brain informed me that Dennis slipped it in as a prank.

As far as what multiple inside sources have told me...you've got who dosed who backwards.

[Curtis Leon]

The unofficial story from a source in the upper regions of my brain informed me that Dennis slipped it in as a prank.

As far as what multiple inside sources have told me...you've got who dosed who backwards.

Mike Love... dosing Dennis? No way. Just no way.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

So that WAS true then.

I owe someone a huge apology then.

[Jay]

Mike Love, taking his clothes off during a TV interview? Did it actually get aired on TV, or did somebody cut it off the air?  For some sick, twisted reason...I actually kind of want to see that. 

[MBE]

Mike Love, taking his clothes off during a TV interview? Did it actually get aired on TV, or did somebody cut it off the air?  For some sick, twisted reason...I actually kind of want to see that. 

Steven wrote it was a local show so I bet it's not around. Yes Mike did do some acid but not a whole lot I imagine. I think he liked weed for around 3 years or so.

[oldsurferdude]

The recent "How Much Did Brian..." thread got me wondering about Mike's breakdown and hospitalization in March 1970 - the one documented in Gaines' and Badman's books, during which Mike was replaced by Brian for three shows in the northwest. Supposedly Mike's three-week fast caused him to get extremely oversensitive and neurotic, taking off his clothes during a TV interview, thinking he could talk to birds if he tried hard enough, biting his brother, and doing/saying other strange things which eventually resulted in him being straightjacketed. But all of those things sound much more trippy than fasting-induced. Lots of people fast for extended periods and don't get wacked out like that - and poor people in impoverished countries get scant nutrition for weeks at a time and don't go berserk.

When this story is recalled, much is made about the giant fruit juice jug that Mike carried everywhere - his only source of nourishment during the fast. Could it be that someone dosed him with acid by surreptitiously slipping it into the jug? Back then surprise dosing wasn't uncommon. Also, I do remember MBE mentioning once that he was told Mike had actually tried acid, which was surprising to me. Anybody know more about this story?

The live act would have been better with him in the straightjacket-just think, no more chicken dance.

[Stegibo]

When was the last time Mike did the chicken dance?

[oldsurferdude]

When was the last time Mike did the chicken dance?

Last night after the show-and in his sleep.

[Stegibo]

After a great concert you asked him if he would do it, right?

[Mike's Beard]

The unofficial story from a source in the upper regions of my brain informed me that Dennis slipped it in as a prank.

As far as what multiple inside sources have told me...you've got who dosed who backwards.

If that's the case, then if I was in Big D's shoes I too would have taken great delight in puking all over Mike's meditation room, whipping his hat off during live shows to show the world his bald spot and knocking up his illegitimate child.  
 

[oldsurferdude]

After a great concert you asked him if he would do it, right?

"...great concert" and "him"(Myk Luhv) in the same sentence?? Don't think so.

[Curtis Leon]

The recent "How Much Did Brian..." thread got me wondering about Mike's breakdown and hospitalization in March 1970 - the one documented in Gaines' and Badman's books, during which Mike was replaced by Brian for three shows in the northwest. Supposedly Mike's three-week fast caused him to get extremely oversensitive and neurotic, taking off his clothes during a TV interview, thinking he could talk to birds if he tried hard enough, biting his brother, and doing/saying other strange things which eventually resulted in him being straightjacketed. But all of those things sound much more trippy than fasting-induced. Lots of people fast for extended periods and don't get wacked out like that - and poor people in impoverished countries get scant nutrition for weeks at a time and don't go berserk.

When this story is recalled, much is made about the giant fruit juice jug that Mike carried everywhere - his only source of nourishment during the fast. Could it be that someone dosed him with acid by surreptitiously slipping it into the jug? Back then surprise dosing wasn't uncommon. Also, I do remember MBE mentioning once that he was told Mike had actually tried acid, which was surprising to me. Anybody know more about this story?

What were these shows? Ironic, though, that for a brief period, Mike Love was more wracked out than Brian!

[Ian]

The tour without Mike was 1970: Feb 26 (Spokane), Feb 27 Vancouver, Feb 28 Seattle and Mar 1 Portland.  A tape exists of the Seattle show-which I have heard-it is pretty good in my opinion-Brian takes the lead on some songs-far more involved in the show than he'd be in the late 70s.  His falsetto still sounds good.  Keith Badman made a hash of that tour in his book (he wrote that the tour was delayed till late March-but the ads and reviews that exist don't bear that out at all-he clearly had some erroneous info). The Seattle Times reviewed the Feb 28 show in the March 2 1970 paper and said the BBs harmonies sounded sloppy-though the reviewer said that this was not Brian's fault-but more to do with the whole group-however I think, based on the tape, the harmony sounded good.  Carlin wrote a nice bit about the tour-though unfortunately he mistakenly assumed that the first show was Seattle-when that was actually the third night.   By the way-I have an article from the California papers that shows that Mike was briefly arrested on Feb 20 1970-six days before the tour-for refusing to stop after a minor traffic violation and forcing police to give chase-lends credibility to the story in Gaines.

[summerinparadise.flac]

What I would give to hear one of those shows...
Also all this stuff confirms that Mike is cool as hell.