Stamos accused…

[Heywood]

. Their hatred of Stamos seems to know no bounds and extends to people who have presumably never seen him in concert with the group. Odd.

don't need to have seen him in concert to dislike everything he represents in the BB saga.
As someone else said, particularly when it was the one moment when Dennis was getting some recognition, something that had been missing for a long, long time at a BB show.
I think there is quite an American versus the rest component in this one. The rest of the world really don't care about him, and a lot of people rate the Beach Boys legacy just a little bit higher than the whole Stamos, cheerleaders, county fair thing.

The two camps are never going to come even close to agreeing.

Now, back to the beer connoisseurs ....

[Lowbacca]

Haha, some apology.

Haha he called it "frat boy BS", somebody in this thread called it that.

I was thinking the same thing.^^

[puni puni]

Who starts to sing the lead before the chorus comes in? All they get out is "fill your heart with joy I'd sing forever."

Its looks as though BDW makes an attempt at singing vocals but his mic was turned off.

[Lowbacca]

Cowsill replied to Bragg's apology on Facebook:

I am soo not perfect Nelson and sorry for flinging sh*t. I deleted my rant five minutes after I put it up but someone from smiley smile grabbed it and ran with it..OY! SO my apologies as well...ahhh humans. tuff being us aint it...

 





Both, good guys.

[filledeplage]

It's interesting to read the viewer comments on the actual video of the performance from YouTube, right after it was posted it seems some were skeptical...two years before this thread.

Just consider how many musicians and techs not named Wilson, Love, Jardine, Marks, or Stamos were involved that night. Due to professional reasons I'm sure not one wants to touch this with a ten foot pole.  

The band or at least the drum section would most likely have been playing to a click track, having to sync up with the video for the parts where Dennis is "singing", right? They'd have the click and at least Dennis' vocal and perhaps some additional tracks playing in their ear so the video stayed as close as possible with the live band and live vocals being performed.

I'm just wondering how and why it worked out so the video feed crapped out, which would mean whatever was syncing with the audio tracks containing Denny's voice must have gone down too for this to happen...if it were just the video feed going down, you'd  still have the click track and the audio feed going unless it was all on one source, like pressing play on a DVD and that's it. If the video feed crapped out, you'd still have the audio and Denny's voice going to the house and the musicians' monitors. The musicians would have noticed right away if they lost their audio feeds right? It would have had to be a total tech failure which brought the entire thing down at once, video/audio/sync...the whole shebang. Does it look like that's what happened?

Just trying to figure out what the hell actually happened. I had never actually seen that video until tonight.

It is interesting that you mention the failure of video feed.  I was at a show with the Touring Band last fall, where the only video feed that failed was Carl from Knebworth for God Only Knows.  The audience was prepped that it was a tape of Carl.  And it is the only time I've seen this happen.  Sabotage ? No. It just happened.  The music was enough for the outdoor audience.  The only light had been coming from the outdoor video screens.  Darkness and GOK.  Tribute footage that failed. It wasn't C50.  And Stamos wasn't there.

What you describe is almost exactly my question. Less technically, when you witnessed the video feed fail, was Carl's voice still heard singing the lead vocal as the band "backed" him live?

If so, that's the scenario I'm curious about - It would suggest Denny's vocal track would have still been audible on Forever, as the audio feed ostensibly would have kept playing both in house and in the band monitors no matter what happened to the video being projected.

Was Carl's voice still audible on GOK?

Yes, moving, magnificent and all in the darkness.  When a glitch becomes a blessing.

Was that The Big E? It was kind of magical with Carl's voice kind of floating through the darkness.

It was The Big E! Carl's voice floating through the darkness. Almost spiritual.

[Alan Smith]

Cowsill replied to Bragg's apology on Facebook:

I am soo not perfect Nelson and sorry for flinging sh*t. I deleted my rant five minutes after I put it up but someone from smiley smile grabbed it and ran with it..OY! SO my apologies as well...ahhh humans. tuff being us aint it...

 





Both, good guys.

[Sheriff John Stone]

It sure does pull back the curtain on the two camps, and echoing Hey Jude's comment some pages ago, Stamos really does prove a litmus test into what 'kind of fan' you are.

John Stamos=Mike Love  Nelson Bragg=Brian Wilson

It always comes down to this. Taking sides, in this case indirectly. That's why this thread is already 7 pages long and going strong. This message board thrives on it.

Not one person - not even Nelson Bragg - has indicated specifically what Stamos did to arrange the malfunction. No one has even SPECULATED as to what Stamos specifically did to make the sound/track go out. Hey, I'll take speculation. But we're gonna implicate him anyway.

[Ang Jones]

'Not really his concern'? It's more his concern than most of those who have posted here about it, isn't it?


Sure. This is a message board.

So was what Nelson posted on.

[Autotune]

1. Nelson did more than anybody to improve Stamos' image among fans. He now ranks a little higher thanks to Bragg's attack.

2. I enjoyed a lot Cowsill and Nelson's interaction on stage during C50 and I'm glad there's peace among those two now.

[Nicko1234]

So was what Nelson posted on.

Not the same thing at all is it and fans discussing a topic is a different thing entirely from a backing musician drunkenly ranting about 1 show he performed at.

Nelson did the right thing in apologizing (even if it could have been better worded) and Cowsill has done the right thing too.

Not much more to be said...

[HeyJude]

  Once again had it been anyone else--we wouldn't even be having this conversation.  Had Neil Young jumped in and sung "Forever" like that it would've been "wow so cool!  Good for Neil" but because it's Stamos--he's an ego maniac.

Criticizing Stamos to this level is a frankly, overkill. 

There is something to this. I don’t think any other person on the planet jumping in would have been free of criticism. But some had a critical eye toward Stamos on that occasion for pretty specific reasons, not just that they “don’t like him.” He has been horning in on the group’s activities to varying degrees since the mid-late 80’s. He has been a nuisance (to some, mostly “hardcore” fans) to the band’s stage performances, and has specifically glommed onto the group using a specific song previously written and performed by a beloved, long deceased member of the band.

So when he jumps up on stage during the band’s anniversary tour, the same two groups of fans are going to have the same reactions they usually do, only more extreme. If you love Stamos’ presence with the band, then you’ll think the incident was cool. If you loathe Stamos’ presence with the band over the years, then the whole thing will come across as extra groan-inducing.

To quickly reference something mentioned in past threads, Stamos himself is aware of the segment of fans that don’t like him. Further, he has said in an interview that he understands not only that some fans don’t like him, but understands why they have problems with him. He admitted that he if was in the audience and Scott Baio jumped on stage, he would be annoyed too. I think, even if he doesn’t agree with it, Stamos seems to at least *understand* why fans loathe him more than some of his own fans/supporters do.

As for Neil Young, he’s a professional singer, songwriter, musician, etc. If he had been there guesting and then took the lead when the recording malfunctioned, there wouldn’t have been any egotistical motive for him to do it. He hasn’t been trying to be the “new Dennis” of the group for 25 years. He hasn’t co-opted the song “Forever.” I’m also not convinced someone like Young would have jumped on stage and started singing.

[HeyJude]

Would Stamos have started singing "God Only Knows" if there had been a malfunction there? There's an interesting question!

And frankly, a ridiculous one.  

"God Only Knows" is a Beach Boys classic staple and nowhere near the popularity or familiarity of "Forever." Had the Carl video malfunctioned as well---Stamos would have been smart enough to guess that someone on that stage would have picked up the slack and filled in.  The song is part of the BB canon of greatest hits like "Surfin' USA" or "Good Vibrations."  Plus he is aware that he has no business singing that song when Brian Wilson is on stage.  Like it or not, Stamos has made himself the sole "caretaker" of the tune "Forever": over the years he has reintroduced "Forever" both to mainstream audiences by performing it on "Full House" and also to the BB's own fanbase by performing it whenever he's played with M&B.  It's a relatively obscure tune to mainstream audiences and if Stamos isn't present, the M&B band don't even play the song.  Sure David has sung it too, but Stamos has undoubtedly put his stamp on the song--like it or not.  With that said, maybe that explains why there was such a long gap during the Beacon malfunction before Stamos finally jumped in---perhaps he was waiting for David Marks to jump in?  When it was clear that David was not taking over...Stamos took it upon himself to correct the mistake.  Not a big deal--unless you have a personal problem with Stamos of course.

If John Stamos has “no business” singing “God Only Knows” when Brian is on stage, then he has no business singing “Forever” when Brian is on stage. I doubt Brian or the other BB’s (save perhaps Mike and Bruce) feel like “Forever” is any less tied to Dennis and the Wilsons than “God Only Knows” is tied to Carl and the Wilsons, simply because Stamos has had a hard-on for “Forever” since the 90’s and peformed it on “Full House” several times.

I do think Al should have handed over the lead to “Help Me Rhonda” to those two guys from “Short Circuit 2” though.

It’s also simply a logical fallacy to suggest that if one doesn’t want Stamos on stage, that it follows that one has a personal problem with Stamos. I think Stamos is fine; I watched “Full House” and still will if it’s on TV I suppose. Stamos seems like a nice guy who really digs the BB’s. I believe all of that. But he doesn’t belong on stage or on a BB album. That’s all.

[HeyJude]

I would guess almost everybody on stage, with the possible exception of Al who still misses the words to "Wouldn't It Be Nice" almost 50 years later, knew the words to the song.  It seems pretty clear the Dennis vocal track was making it through their on-stage monitors (the monitors are run through a different board than the main soundboard that goes out to the PA). The people on stage didn't know the Dennis vocal wasn't making it to the PA apparently.

That doesn't mean Stamos had to start singing. He could have left it alone, or, as I mentioned elsewhere, he could have shouted really loud in a band member's ear that someone needed to pick up the vocal. Would Stamos have started singing "God Only Knows" if there had been a malfunction there? There's an interesting question! I would guess no. It's an ego thing. "Forever" is "his" song.

David Marks must know the words. But not Mike, Brian or Al I would guess.

Stamos singing it was certainly better than it remaining as an instrumental anyway as the response from the crowd indicates.

Not that it matters much, but I would imagine Brian would know the words. He was performing “Forever” in concert as early as 2001 as I recall.

[drbeachboy]

While I don't disagree with what either said, our board friend Andrew Hickey and John Cowsill both seem to think of this place as a soap opera, rumor-mongering board. While it is true to an extent, they must remember that John and Nelson need to watch what they write where anyone/everyone can see it. Had they not posted their remarks there, there would have been nothing to discuss here.

[leggo of my ego]

Stamos fired a single shot from the sixth floor of the beacon setlist depository into the channel strip containing the vocal tracks to forever . Case closed.

There was a second shooter

On a grassy knoll?

[leggo of my ego]

Ask young people (non music majors) how they came to know the BB music.  Guess what! Full House! It was like a cult for that generation.  

That's a crock. Everybody would believe they were a fictional band devised for the show if that were the case. People know BB from radio, commercials, and films. Full House is a centerpiece in pop cheese that drag the BB down to its level 'forever'.

Baywatch, full house, Kokomo, santas going to Kokomo

Most of The beach boys embarrassments are self inflicted. Stamos is a fan, a big one.. I don't blame him for playing with his favourite band or wanting to cover a song he really likes.

Stamos's hands are clean on this one

I agree. He's a good guy. I met him for the first time yesterday and was floored at how polite he was and how much he loves the band.

Welcome to the board.

[Jason]

The internet is public domain - don't want it spread? Don't say it. I don't know why people don't have their Facebook posts for friends only. It saves everyone a lot of potential trouble.

[guitarfool2002]

It's interesting to read the viewer comments on the actual video of the performance from YouTube, right after it was posted it seems some were skeptical...two years before this thread.

Just consider how many musicians and techs not named Wilson, Love, Jardine, Marks, or Stamos were involved that night. Due to professional reasons I'm sure not one wants to touch this with a ten foot pole.  

The band or at least the drum section would most likely have been playing to a click track, having to sync up with the video for the parts where Dennis is "singing", right? They'd have the click and at least Dennis' vocal and perhaps some additional tracks playing in their ear so the video stayed as close as possible with the live band and live vocals being performed.

I'm just wondering how and why it worked out so the video feed crapped out, which would mean whatever was syncing with the audio tracks containing Denny's voice must have gone down too for this to happen...if it were just the video feed going down, you'd  still have the click track and the audio feed going unless it was all on one source, like pressing play on a DVD and that's it. If the video feed crapped out, you'd still have the audio and Denny's voice going to the house and the musicians' monitors. The musicians would have noticed right away if they lost their audio feeds right? It would have had to be a total tech failure which brought the entire thing down at once, video/audio/sync...the whole shebang. Does it look like that's what happened?

Just trying to figure out what the hell actually happened. I had never actually seen that video until tonight.

It is interesting that you mention the failure of video feed.  I was at a show with the Touring Band last fall, where the only video feed that failed was Carl from Knebworth for God Only Knows.  The audience was prepped that it was a tape of Carl.  And it is the only time I've seen this happen.  Sabotage ? No. It just happened.  The music was enough for the outdoor audience.  The only light had been coming from the outdoor video screens.  Darkness and GOK.  Tribute footage that failed. It wasn't C50.  And Stamos wasn't there.

What you describe is almost exactly my question. Less technically, when you witnessed the video feed fail, was Carl's voice still heard singing the lead vocal as the band "backed" him live?

If so, that's the scenario I'm curious about - It would suggest Denny's vocal track would have still been audible on Forever, as the audio feed ostensibly would have kept playing both in house and in the band monitors no matter what happened to the video being projected.

Was Carl's voice still audible on GOK?

Yes, moving, magnificent and all in the darkness.  When a glitch becomes a blessing.

Was that The Big E? It was kind of magical with Carl's voice kind of floating through the darkness.

It was The Big E! Carl's voice floating through the darkness. Almost spiritual.

So the video failed, yet Carl's pre-recorded lead vocal audio track which the band was sync'ed with was still audible.

In the case of Forever, that didn't seem to have been the case as Dennis' pre-recorded vocal track disappeared after the first few lines.

[Howie Edelson]

Seeing The Beach Boys reunited on stage in Manhattan -- actually performing in NYC proper -- all together with a brilliant setlist and good intentions was a dream come true. And to see them devote a portion of that show to Dennis was tremendous. To see that botched by a technical gaffe, followed by John Stamos coming out to finish the song — was akin to watching a car hit your dog, then have it back up to make sure it’s dead. It was like the worst dream.

For the record, I don’t have any beef with Stamos, whom I think is a true fan and has done good things to promote the band to the mainstream via his connections at ABC. To believe that there was a plan involving him to screw with the “Forever” audio and picture is stupid. Truly. But the reason why it remains a sore spot is that, despite his celebrity, he’s an amateur musician and a hog. He never fails to distract and make the music less good.

That night in New York City, even limping and broken, “Forever” should’ve remained Dennis Wilson's song.

[Cyncie]

Would Stamos have started singing "God Only Knows" if there had been a malfunction there? There's an interesting question!

And frankly, a ridiculous one.  

"God Only Knows" is a Beach Boys classic staple and nowhere near the popularity or familiarity of "Forever." Had the Carl video malfunctioned as well---Stamos would have been smart enough to guess that someone on that stage would have picked up the slack and filled in.  The song is part of the BB canon of greatest hits like "Surfin' USA" or "Good Vibrations."  Plus he is aware that he has no business singing that song when Brian Wilson is on stage.  Like it or not, Stamos has made himself the sole "caretaker" of the tune "Forever": over the years he has reintroduced "Forever" both to mainstream audiences by performing it on "Full House" and also to the BB's own fanbase by performing it whenever he's played with M&B.  It's a relatively obscure tune to mainstream audiences and if Stamos isn't present, the M&B band don't even play the song.  Sure David has sung it too, but Stamos has undoubtedly put his stamp on the song--like it or not.  With that said, maybe that explains why there was such a long gap during the Beacon malfunction before Stamos finally jumped in---perhaps he was waiting for David Marks to jump in?  When it was clear that David was not taking over...Stamos took it upon himself to correct the mistake.  Not a big deal--unless you have a personal problem with Stamos of course.

If John Stamos has “no business” singing “God Only Knows” when Brian is on stage, then he has no business singing “Forever” when Brian is on stage. I doubt Brian or the other BB’s (save perhaps Mike and Bruce) feel like “Forever” is any less tied to Dennis and the Wilsons than “God Only Knows” is tied to Carl and the Wilsons, simply because Stamos has had a hard-on for “Forever” since the 90’s and peformed it on “Full House” several times.

I do think Al should have handed over the lead to “Help Me Rhonda” to those two guys from “Short Circuit 2” though.

It’s also simply a logical fallacy to suggest that if one doesn’t want Stamos on stage, that it follows that one has a personal problem with Stamos. I think Stamos is fine; I watched “Full House” and still will if it’s on TV I suppose. Stamos seems like a nice guy who really digs the BB’s. I believe all of that. But he doesn’t belong on stage or on a BB album. That’s all.

The whole video tribute thing at C50 was meant to honor Dennis' and Carl's contributions to the band and what losing them means.  Members of Brian's band said they couldn't bear to look at him sometimes while he watched the videos of Dennis and Carl. "Forever" and "God Only Knows" weren't just numbers in the set, as they had been in other shows. For that tour, they took on personal meaning to the fans, and presumably some of the band, because of the absence of Dennis and Carl.  Stamos crashing that moment seems like a drunk uncle who pushes you aside to talk about himself as you deliver the eulogy at your brother's funeral. A more respectful approach would have been to let the band find their feet and handle it themselves.

Bottom line for me: It wasn't his show.

[Cyncie]

Seeing The Beach Boys reunited on stage in Manhattan -- actually performing in NYC proper -- all together with a brilliant setlist and good intentions was a dream come true. And to see them devote a portion of that show to Dennis was tremendous. To see that botched by a technical gaffe, followed by John Stamos coming out to finish the song — was akin to watching a car hit your dog, then have it back up to make sure it’s dead. It was like the worst dream.

For the record, I don’t have any beef with Stamos, whom I think is a true fan and has done good things to promote the band to the mainstream via his connections at ABC. To believe that there was a plan involving him to screw with the “Forever” audio and picture is stupid. Truly. But the reason why it remains a sore spot is that, despite his celebrity, he’s an amateur musician and a hog. He never fails to distract and make the music less good.

That night in New York City, even limping and broken, “Forever” should’ve remained Dennis Wilson's song.

What Howie said.

[guitarfool2002]

Seeing The Beach Boys reunited on stage in Manhattan -- actually performing in NYC proper -- all together with a brilliant setlist and good intentions was a dream come true. And to see them devote a portion of that show to Dennis was tremendous. To see that botched by a technical gaffe, followed by John Stamos coming out to finish the song — was akin to watching a car hit your dog, then have it back up to make sure it’s dead. It was like the worst dream.

For the record, I don’t have any beef with Stamos, whom I think is a true fan and has done good things to promote the band to the mainstream via his connections at ABC. To believe that there was a plan involving him to screw with the “Forever” audio and picture is stupid. Truly. But the reason why it remains a sore spot is that, despite his celebrity, he’s an amateur musician and a hog. He never fails to distract and make the music less good.

That night in New York City, even limping and broken, “Forever” should’ve remained Dennis Wilson's song.

Howie, that ABC TV movie was a travesty and John was one of the driving forces behind it. My term for it is a clusterfuck of a movie. There were scenes in that film which were so ridiculous they bordered on libelous. And the people involved knew better, yet chose to make that dreck the "official" version of the BB's as of that time to broadcast on ABC. Can't get past that.

That TV movie project was a worse failure than the Forever video at the Beacon. Some might be inclined to hold a grudge.

[filledeplage]

It's interesting to read the viewer comments on the actual video of the performance from YouTube, right after it was posted it seems some were skeptical...two years before this thread.

Just consider how many musicians and techs not named Wilson, Love, Jardine, Marks, or Stamos were involved that night. Due to professional reasons I'm sure not one wants to touch this with a ten foot pole.  

The band or at least the drum section would most likely have been playing to a click track, having to sync up with the video for the parts where Dennis is "singing", right? They'd have the click and at least Dennis' vocal and perhaps some additional tracks playing in their ear so the video stayed as close as possible with the live band and live vocals being performed.

I'm just wondering how and why it worked out so the video feed crapped out, which would mean whatever was syncing with the audio tracks containing Denny's voice must have gone down too for this to happen...if it were just the video feed going down, you'd  still have the click track and the audio feed going unless it was all on one source, like pressing play on a DVD and that's it. If the video feed crapped out, you'd still have the audio and Denny's voice going to the house and the musicians' monitors. The musicians would have noticed right away if they lost their audio feeds right? It would have had to be a total tech failure which brought the entire thing down at once, video/audio/sync...the whole shebang. Does it look like that's what happened?

Just trying to figure out what the hell actually happened. I had never actually seen that video until tonight.

It is interesting that you mention the failure of video feed.  I was at a show with the Touring Band last fall, where the only video feed that failed was Carl from Knebworth for God Only Knows.  The audience was prepped that it was a tape of Carl.  And it is the only time I've seen this happen.  Sabotage ? No. It just happened.  The music was enough for the outdoor audience.  The only light had been coming from the outdoor video screens.  Darkness and GOK.  Tribute footage that failed. It wasn't C50.  And Stamos wasn't there.

What you describe is almost exactly my question. Less technically, when you witnessed the video feed fail, was Carl's voice still heard singing the lead vocal as the band "backed" him live?

If so, that's the scenario I'm curious about - It would suggest Denny's vocal track would have still been audible on Forever, as the audio feed ostensibly would have kept playing both in house and in the band monitors no matter what happened to the video being projected.

Was Carl's voice still audible on GOK?

Yes, moving, magnificent and all in the darkness.  When a glitch becomes a blessing.

Was that The Big E? It was kind of magical with Carl's voice kind of floating through the darkness.

It was The Big E! Carl's voice floating through the darkness. Almost spiritual.

So the video failed, yet Carl's pre-recorded lead vocal audio track which the band was sync'ed with was still audible.

In the case of Forever, that didn't seem to have been the case as Dennis' pre-recorded vocal track disappeared after the first few lines.

Yes, it appears that the video failed. I know little about the technical aspect of this business but I do know from setting up TV's, VCR's, cable boxes, sling boxes, and media streamers that the audio is separate, generally, from video, and they can perform or fail, independent of one another.  It seems as though this is what happened. 

[drbeachboy]

Seeing The Beach Boys reunited on stage in Manhattan -- actually performing in NYC proper -- all together with a brilliant setlist and good intentions was a dream come true. And to see them devote a portion of that show to Dennis was tremendous. To see that botched by a technical gaffe, followed by John Stamos coming out to finish the song — was akin to watching a car hit your dog, then have it back up to make sure it’s dead. It was like the worst dream.

For the record, I don’t have any beef with Stamos, whom I think is a true fan and has done good things to promote the band to the mainstream via his connections at ABC. To believe that there was a plan involving him to screw with the “Forever” audio and picture is stupid. Truly. But the reason why it remains a sore spot is that, despite his celebrity, he’s an amateur musician and a hog. He never fails to distract and make the music less good.

That night in New York City, even limping and broken, “Forever” should’ve remained Dennis Wilson's song.

Howie, that ABC TV movie was a travesty and John was one of the driving forces behind it. My term for it is a clusterfuck of a movie. There were scenes in that film which were so ridiculous they bordered on libelous. And the people involved knew better, yet chose to make that dreck the "official" version of the BB's as of that time to broadcast on ABC. Can't get past that.

That TV movie project was a worse failure than the Forever video at the Beacon. Some might be inclined to hold a grudge.

I would bet the house that Mike had way more to do with the storytelling in that movie than Stamos did. As far as The Beach Boys and Stamos goes, what Stamos' relationship is with them starts through his relationship with Mike. That movie was made through Mike's eye and no one else's.

[guitarfool2002]

It's interesting to read the viewer comments on the actual video of the performance from YouTube, right after it was posted it seems some were skeptical...two years before this thread.

Just consider how many musicians and techs not named Wilson, Love, Jardine, Marks, or Stamos were involved that night. Due to professional reasons I'm sure not one wants to touch this with a ten foot pole.  

The band or at least the drum section would most likely have been playing to a click track, having to sync up with the video for the parts where Dennis is "singing", right? They'd have the click and at least Dennis' vocal and perhaps some additional tracks playing in their ear so the video stayed as close as possible with the live band and live vocals being performed.

I'm just wondering how and why it worked out so the video feed crapped out, which would mean whatever was syncing with the audio tracks containing Denny's voice must have gone down too for this to happen...if it were just the video feed going down, you'd  still have the click track and the audio feed going unless it was all on one source, like pressing play on a DVD and that's it. If the video feed crapped out, you'd still have the audio and Denny's voice going to the house and the musicians' monitors. The musicians would have noticed right away if they lost their audio feeds right? It would have had to be a total tech failure which brought the entire thing down at once, video/audio/sync...the whole shebang. Does it look like that's what happened?

Just trying to figure out what the hell actually happened. I had never actually seen that video until tonight.

It is interesting that you mention the failure of video feed.  I was at a show with the Touring Band last fall, where the only video feed that failed was Carl from Knebworth for God Only Knows.  The audience was prepped that it was a tape of Carl.  And it is the only time I've seen this happen.  Sabotage ? No. It just happened.  The music was enough for the outdoor audience.  The only light had been coming from the outdoor video screens.  Darkness and GOK.  Tribute footage that failed. It wasn't C50.  And Stamos wasn't there.

What you describe is almost exactly my question. Less technically, when you witnessed the video feed fail, was Carl's voice still heard singing the lead vocal as the band "backed" him live?

If so, that's the scenario I'm curious about - It would suggest Denny's vocal track would have still been audible on Forever, as the audio feed ostensibly would have kept playing both in house and in the band monitors no matter what happened to the video being projected.

Was Carl's voice still audible on GOK?

Yes, moving, magnificent and all in the darkness.  When a glitch becomes a blessing.

Was that The Big E? It was kind of magical with Carl's voice kind of floating through the darkness.

It was The Big E! Carl's voice floating through the darkness. Almost spiritual.

So the video failed, yet Carl's pre-recorded lead vocal audio track which the band was sync'ed with was still audible.

In the case of Forever, that didn't seem to have been the case as Dennis' pre-recorded vocal track disappeared after the first few lines.

Yes, it appears that the video failed. I know little about the technical aspect of this business but I do know from setting up TV's, VCR's, cable boxes, sling boxes, and media streamers that the audio is separate, generally, from video, and they can perform or fail, independent of one another.  It seems as though this is what happened. 

That's the mystery for me, as someone who obviously has no idea what happened technically that night other than what could be seen and heard. You still got to hear Carl's voice with the band even though the video failed, yet Dennis' voice dropped out at the Beacon performance.