Brian playing RFH in London, September 2011

[Andrew G. Doe]

Hmmmm... just been to the RFH site where it says:

"BRIAN WILSON REIMAGINES GERSHWIN
"Friday 16 September 2011 - Sunday 18 September 2011
"Legendary songwriter, producer, arranger and co-founder of the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson returns to Royal Festival Hall following hugely celebrated concerts here in 2007 to perform tracks from his latest critically-acclaimed Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin as well as classics from the Beach Boys back-catalogue."

So they're BWRG gigs.

As bsten says, he's touring a year after the fact... no Disney covers in the interim?

Mind you, it took him 34 years to tour Pet Sounds, 37 years to tour SMiLE ... I guess this is swift promotional activity by comparison!

http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/music/gigs-contemporary/tickets/brian-wilson-reimagines-gershwin-55331

 But does anyone think that's really what he'll be playing a year from now?
And will there be a hue and cry from the ones buying tickets now, if by that time he's playing a newer Disney album with only a few Gershwin pieces, and of course, opening the show with "Surfin" ?

The Disney album will be out by then, unless something unpleasant happens in the interim... and the "Surfin'" suggestion has already been forwarded. 

[Margarita]

Ugh...I'm a teacher in the States.  It doesn't look good to take time off in September, just after school starts, though I do have a lot of sick time banked!  Hmmm...

Unlike many of the whiners in the fan community, I don't disparage the UK at all for getting Brian gigs.  But I am a little disappointed that gigs have been announced for the UK and Austrailia, with nothing for the US.  When we found that BWRG was being released in the US first, I was sure that we would get concerts first as well...like a gala show at Disney Hall, which is also home to the LA Philharmonic.  This was all speculation on my part, so it's only my fault if I'm disappointed.  But it seemed so obvious!  I really wonder what's up with the promotion, and if Disney is going to do more to back the covers album.

[bgas]

Arse to you, Brian. I haven't got the bloody money now to buy the no doubt ridiculously expensive tickets to these shows, but if you made them available in, i don't know, january or feburary I would. By that time, of course, the whole thing will have sold out. ARSE.

If it's any consolation, I've very likely got less £££ than you... no chance to buy tix tomorrow, but I doubt the place will have sold out by 9/11 - the only 100% sull RFH gigs I've ever been to were the first nights of Pet Sounds and Smile.

What are the ticket prices?  I suppose the "best" seats will sell first; will a non-sellout mean the remaining seats are still good?
never been to RFH, heck never been to the UK; but if you're a member and I can float the $$, maybe it would work...  Do they take Paypal?
But You get your  seats comped by Brian/the band anyway, don't you?

[The Heartical Don]

Arse to you, Brian. I haven't got the bloody money now to buy the no doubt ridiculously expensive tickets to these shows, but if you made them available in, i don't know, january or feburary I would. By that time, of course, the whole thing will have sold out. ARSE.

If it's any consolation, I've very likely got less £££ than you... no chance to buy tix tomorrow, but I doubt the place will have sold out by 9/11 - the only 100% sull RFH gigs I've ever been to were the first nights of Pet Sounds and Smile.

What are the ticket prices?  I suppose the "best" seats will sell first; will a non-sellout mean the remaining seats are still good?
never been to RFH, heck never been to the UK; but if you're a member and I can float the $$, maybe it would work...  Do they take Paypal?
But You get your  seats comped by Brian/the band anyway, don't you?

The RFH is a gorgeous hall. Acoustics are great IMHO, and even the lesser seats are still dandy - well, the distance is large of course, but my first Pet Sounds Live I had opera glasses, and the sound was brilliant, even on the balcony and far away. Plus: it's located wonderfully, and it has a nice bar with affordable prices for a good bitter (I'll not easily forget the time when I went to order beers, heard a familiar voice, looked to my right, and there was Paul Weller talking to Richard Ashcroft).

[Andrew G. Doe]

Arse to you, Brian. I haven't got the bloody money now to buy the no doubt ridiculously expensive tickets to these shows, but if you made them available in, i don't know, january or feburary I would. By that time, of course, the whole thing will have sold out. ARSE.

If it's any consolation, I've very likely got less £££ than you... no chance to buy tix tomorrow, but I doubt the place will have sold out by 9/11 - the only 100% sull RFH gigs I've ever been to were the first nights of Pet Sounds and Smile.

What are the ticket prices?  I suppose the "best" seats will sell first; will a non-sellout mean the remaining seats are still good?
never been to RFH, heck never been to the UK; but if you're a member and I can float the $$, maybe it would work...  Do they take Paypal?
But You get your  seats comped by Brian/the band anyway, don't you?

Tickets are £55/£45/£35, which considering I've paid £65 for, I think, TLOS in 2007, is reasonable.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Arse to you, Brian. I haven't got the bloody money now to buy the no doubt ridiculously expensive tickets to these shows, but if you made them available in, i don't know, january or feburary I would. By that time, of course, the whole thing will have sold out. ARSE.

If it's any consolation, I've very likely got less £££ than you... no chance to buy tix tomorrow, but I doubt the place will have sold out by 9/11 - the only 100% sull RFH gigs I've ever been to were the first nights of Pet Sounds and Smile.

What are the ticket prices?  I suppose the "best" seats will sell first; will a non-sellout mean the remaining seats are still good?
never been to RFH, heck never been to the UK; but if you're a member and I can float the $$, maybe it would work...  Do they take Paypal?
But You get your  seats comped by Brian/the band anyway, don't you?

The RFH is a gorgeous hall. Acoustics are great IMHO, and even the lesser seats are still dandy - well, the distance is large of course, but my first Pet Sounds Live I had opera glasses, and the sound was brilliant, even on the balcony and far away. Plus: it's located wonderfully, and it has a nice bar with affordable prices for a good bitter (I'll not easily forget the time when I went to order beers, heard a familiar voice, looked to my right, and there was Paul Weller talking to Richard Ashcroft).

I know, amazing - I nearly knocked Roger Daltrey arse over tit at a Pet Sounds gig. he seemed most amused. I was dying.

[The Heartical Don]

Arse to you, Brian. I haven't got the bloody money now to buy the no doubt ridiculously expensive tickets to these shows, but if you made them available in, i don't know, january or feburary I would. By that time, of course, the whole thing will have sold out. ARSE.

If it's any consolation, I've very likely got less £££ than you... no chance to buy tix tomorrow, but I doubt the place will have sold out by 9/11 - the only 100% sull RFH gigs I've ever been to were the first nights of Pet Sounds and Smile.

What are the ticket prices?  I suppose the "best" seats will sell first; will a non-sellout mean the remaining seats are still good?
never been to RFH, heck never been to the UK; but if you're a member and I can float the $$, maybe it would work...  Do they take Paypal?
But You get your  seats comped by Brian/the band anyway, don't you?

The RFH is a gorgeous hall. Acoustics are great IMHO, and even the lesser seats are still dandy - well, the distance is large of course, but my first Pet Sounds Live I had opera glasses, and the sound was brilliant, even on the balcony and far away. Plus: it's located wonderfully, and it has a nice bar with affordable prices for a good bitter (I'll not easily forget the time when I went to order beers, heard a familiar voice, looked to my right, and there was Paul Weller talking to Richard Ashcroft).

I know, amazing - I nearly knocked Roger Daltrey arse over tit at a Pet Sounds gig. he seemed most amused. I was dying.

Wonderful story! I find the irony so funny, us middle-aged guys bumping into elderly rock stars and feeling like small kids...

[Paulos]

Darn it, I shall be in Australia next year and will obviously be unable to go.

Does anyone else think that the dates of these shows indicate that Brian will not be joining in a BB reunion tour?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Darn it, I shall be in Australia next year and will obviously be unable to go.

Does anyone else think that the dates of these shows indicate that Brian will not be joining in a BB reunion tour?

No, I think these dates indicate that Brian will be playing in London between September 16th & 18th next year.   

Seriously, it's (so far) five days out of a year. That leaves 361.

[The Heartical Don]

Darn it, I shall be in Australia next year and will obviously be unable to go.

Does anyone else think that the dates of these shows indicate that Brian will not be joining in a BB reunion tour?

Ha - I thought the same but forgot to bring it up. I think our AGD can make an educated guess. I'd say: if the RFH dates are a major game plan in relation to both BWRG and the forthcoming Disney album, it seems unlikely that he will also join a reunion, as this will be a challenge with tensions all of its own.

Furthermore: I guess the RFH sets will be part of a world tour centered around the two solo albums. Perhaps it won't be on the scale of BWPS, but Brian has his loyal followers who will guarantee good ticket sales, esp. in the light of the performance of new material.

Good call, Paulos.

[The Heartical Don]

Darn it, I shall be in Australia next year and will obviously be unable to go.

Does anyone else think that the dates of these shows indicate that Brian will not be joining in a BB reunion tour?

No, I think these dates indicate that Brian will be playing in London between September 16th & 18th next year.   

Seriously, it's (so far) five days out of a year. That leaves 361.

Love your wit!

[Paulos]

Darn it, I shall be in Australia next year and will obviously be unable to go.

Does anyone else think that the dates of these shows indicate that Brian will not be joining in a BB reunion tour?

No, I think these dates indicate that Brian will be playing in London between September 16th & 18th next year.   

Seriously, it's (so far) five days out of a year. That leaves 361.

I know, it's just that the logical date for a reunion would be around September which makes me think that Brian will not be part of any BB tour.


I just realized I used the word 'logical' in relation to The Beach Boys......

[Andrew G. Doe]

Darn it, I shall be in Australia next year and will obviously be unable to go.

Does anyone else think that the dates of these shows indicate that Brian will not be joining in a BB reunion tour?

No, I think these dates indicate that Brian will be playing in London between September 16th & 18th next year.   

Seriously, it's (so far) five days out of a year. That leaves 361.

I know, it's just that the logical date for a reunion would be around September which makes me think that Brian will not be part of any BB tour.


I just realized I used the word 'logical' in relation to The Beach Boys......

The Beach Boys have historically celebrated their anniversary - when they remembered - in late December, based on the now-disproven belief that the Ritchie Valens Memorial show on 12/31/61 was their first show.

[Myk Luhv]

How have you let them go on that way, AGD? They must correct their inaccuracy and set the anniversary date proper! You know what you must do... _{Email Melinda!}

[The Shift]

I think we all need to calm down before someone offers to make Smiley-board name badges for all posters who're planning to go to the gigs.

[Andrew G. Doe]

How have you let them go on that way, AGD? They must correct their inaccuracy and set the anniversary date proper! You know what you must do... _{Email Melinda!}

Email, hell - I'll phone. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

I think we all need to calm down before someone offers to make Smiley-board name badges for all posters who're planning to go to the gigs.

Actually... that's a damn fine idea.

Joking, just joking... 

[Pretty Funky]

Darn it, I shall be in Australia next year and will obviously be unable to go.

Does anyone else think that the dates of these shows indicate that Brian will not be joining in a BB reunion tour?

No, I think these dates indicate that Brian will be playing in London between September 16th & 18th next year.   

Seriously, it's (so far) five days out of a year. That leaves 361.

I know, it's just that the logical date for a reunion would be around September which makes me think that Brian will not be part of any BB tour.


I just realized I used the word 'logical' in relation to The Beach Boys......

The Beach Boys have historically celebrated their anniversary - when they remembered - in late December, based on the now-disproven belief that the Ritchie Valens Memorial show on 12/31/61 was their first show.

Also they celebrated their 20th in late 1980 from memory so end of this year could be used as the 50th!

[donald]

may have to finally renew my passport and plan a little vacation. 

have not been to england/scotland since 1988.

Been about that long for us too.  If we are all still on this side of the grass then maybe we could together......would require a little more planning than Morgantown...but definitely within the realm of possibility. 

[Custom Machine]

The Beach Boys have historically celebrated their anniversary - when they remembered - in late December, based on the now-disproven belief that the Ritchie Valens Memorial show on 12/31/61 was their first show.

Yes, it was not their first show, but significantly it was The Beach Boys themselves who considered the Ritchie Valens Memorial Concert on Dec 31, 1961 to be their first true concert performance.  This could have been due to faulty memory, but perhaps they considered the Valens Memorial Concert to be their first real concert appearance because they felt it was the first time they appeared with a well performed setlist featuring mostly their own material.

I was amazed ten years after the fact, when I heard Mike Love announce at the Long Beach Arena, that their first concert had been almost 10 years ago "next door" at a Ritchie Valens Memorial Concert at the Long Beach Auditorium.  (The Long Beach Arena is still there, but the Auditorium, although still next door in December 1971, is now long gone, replaced with a huge convention center.)  Ritchie Valens, up until the release of The Beach Boys Today in 1965, had been my all time favorite artist. With the release of The BB Today it became a tie.  Valens had only a six month recording career, whereas The Beach Boys, by mid 1965, had been recording for around three years.  By the time Pet Sounds was released the following year, The Beach Boys had moved to number one, where they remain today, hence this post on the SS board.  

And, for anyone unfamiliar with the amazing talent and guitar work of 17 year old Ritchie Valens, whose guitar instructor later taught Carl Wilson and David Marks, please check out any of Ritchie Valens CDs.  Incredible stuff, imo.  In addition to Valens' influence on Carl and David, Bruce Johnston worked for Valens' label, Del-Fi, and his manager Bob Keene/Keane/Kuhn in 1960.  Finally, if you find any of this historical info of interest, and for some reason you have not read Stebbins/Marks book The Lost Beach Boy, get off your butt and order it today!  

[smile-holland]

I think we all need to calm down before someone offers to make Smiley-board name badges for all posters who're planning to go to the gigs.

I wouldn't be surprised if there's someone around here making a nice design for those badges as we speak ...

(no, not me)

[Andrew G. Doe]

Just tried the RFH website, and it's playing silly buggers, so best order through box office at 0844 847 9910.

Seems Sunday night might be your best bet for a center stalls seat as of five minutes ago.

[absinthe_boy]

I shall do my best to be at one of the RFH gigs.

[Cliff1000uk]

Well, being that I was there for the first nights (and a few others) of Pet Sounds, Smile and TLOS, I'll have to be there but I won't be able to get tickets until early next year.

Would the shows sell better if they were after a reunion had taken place? Just thinking if these 'free gigs in each continent' did take place, wouldn't it make sense to do them in the Summer?

Either way, I'm off to make my badge and hope I can scrounge another Meet and Greet pass!

Out of interest, how many M&G's did Brian do after the Smile gigs at RFH? I went to the first one but I heard he may have only done one more after?
Thinking about it, the one at The Roundhouse got cancelled too.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Well, being that I was there for the first nights (and a few others) of Pet Sounds, Smile and TLOS, I'll have to be there but I won't be able to get tickets until early next year.

Would the shows sell better if they were after a reunion had taken place? Just thinking if these 'free gigs in each continent' did take place, wouldn't it make sense to do them in the Summer?

Either way, I'm off to make my badge and hope I can scrounge another Meet and Greet pass!

Out of interest, how many M&G's did Brian do after the Smile gigs at RFH? I went to the first one but I heard he may have only done one more after?
Thinking about it, the one at The Roundhouse got cancelled too.

As I recall, he did M&Gs after all the Smile gigs, and the TLOS ones too. And there was an M&G at The Roundhouse - before the gig. Brian was in good form