The Smiley Smile Message Board

I couldn't find a thread for this, but apologies if there is one and I've missed it.

So, is anyone on here going to Brian's concert in Ireland in two weeks' time? This is will be my first time seeing Brian live and I'm very, very excited. I would very much like to meet some fans in Cork, so give us a shout if you're headed there  :wink

I have very little experience with concerts. Any possibility of arriving early and try to talk to Brian and get an autograph? I have no idea how these things work, to be honest.

Also, any advices on hostels to stay in Cork would be much appreciated, as would be a shared-cost ride for Dublin in the next morning  ;D

I've had good luck eating at restaurants nearby the venue and meeting the band. You might want to give that a try. Every member of the BW band is really nice, so even if you do only meet a member, I think you'd enjoy yourself.

I always show up to concerts as soon as they allow you inside. The pre-concert anticipation can be magical depending on who you're seeing and how the crowd is 'feeling', and I like to try and soak it all in.

I shall be there, reporting live!

Should be an interesting gig  ;D

I hope to be there. Currently weighing up flight options and other stuff.

I remember that the last time Brian played Cork, it was nowhere near a sellout and you could pick up free tickets at certain bars in the town (was an OK crowd in the end particularly as those in seats towards the back were allowed move freely towards the stage). Hope it sells better this time.

I paid top price for a front row seat last time and had to move as my view was obstructed by a massive speaker  ::) ended up moving back to where friends were who got free tickets.

I look forward to your review!

Now, if you were there, reporting dead, I'd be truly impressed.  :o

Hopefully save that for a M&B review...

:lol

So excited for tomorrow  ;D

Damn  :'( First Brian solo gig on Irish soil I will miss. Enjoy Shady & others goin!

Currently on a shuttle bus from the hotel to the gig with TLOS playing over the speaker

Bizarre but very cool

Al killing it dressed in a white suit

Brian thinks he's in Scotland, literally

Do you wanna dance just brought the house down

It was incredible

Jeff Foskett is not missed, best brian solo show I've seen and it's not even over yet

Matt jardine has a killer falsetto and sang wild honey like aretha franklin

 :lol

Who's in the band? Bob Lizik still on bass I hope? Would to know what the set list was. Thanks for the report!

Bob on bass and matt and all plus all the usual suspects

Usual setlist so far, encore just startrd with all summer

Any new songs?

None yet and not looking good

Sell-out crowd?

Close enough

Matt singing lead on surfin USA

Couple of brief videos from Instagram/Twitter:

Snippet of Barbara Ann: http://instagram.com/p/qCwIrondnY/

Snippet of Then I Kissed Her: http://instagram.com/p/qCplgdndo6/

Over, absolutely fantastic gig

  8)

Can't wait to see a set!

It's too bad they couldn't play somewhere in the States on the 4th of July. I'm sure they would have drawn a nice crowd somewhere with that setlist. I know Ireland likes him, and the UK, but they have other days to play there. It also would have been nice competition with the BB in Boston and Jones Beach.

Brian wasn't in the best mood, but the band was fantastic. Matt Jardine did ever so well on Wild Honey.

I was literally in front of Brian, at the front. Got a thumbs up from Al  ;D

Good experience for my first concert. Now I want more! Should have bought the Kent one as well...

What was the set list?

They have other days to play here, too. What's the difference? It's not like BW is the official musical propagandist of the USA. The good aspects of July 4 remain what they were whether BW plays some old Beach Boys (and a few BW) songs within its borders, and I'm sure people's feelings about their assorted home countries remain more or less unchanged regardless.

Snippet of WIBN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSwtfb9dB-o

Sounds an awful lot like Wouldn't It Be Nice.

You mean WIBN. Interesting hearing Matt instead of Jeff. I am looking fwd to hearing more from this lineup, either this show or others, just as a comparison. I've never seen Brian without Jeff. (I suppose few people have, really, other than those who saw him with the pre-Jeff BBs.)

.

.

Sorry, the original YouTube poster has it labelled as GOK in the description, and I posted it before I gave it a listen.

It includes "Barbara Ann" and had nothing new. Every song mentioned so far is a classic. I'm sure if they played rarities it would have been mentioned by now. So, it's an oldies set. It has to be. And I'm sure the band did a great job with it, as they always do. Brian does have a better band, IMO, than Mike & Bruce (though M & B seem to have improved over the years). They just have more firepower. A sax and horn players, more percussion bells & whistles, etc.

I still wish Al would sing Wouldn't It Be Nice.  I guess it's getting tough for him to sing that one at his age but he just totally owned it on the 2012 tour.

Of course but there are oldies sets that still have some interesting song selections and Brian and his band always play some non-hits. Will be interesting to see how many leads Al was given...

It's too bad they didn't play in Japan on the 4th too. Why does it matter? I would imagine Brian was made offers to play these two gigs. He probably didn't pick the dates.

Shouldn't you wait for the actual set list before making such declarative statements? Brian's band has almost never done "Wild Honey" (a few times with Blondie last year), so it already isn't a typical "oldies" set list. Most BB-related bands often do slightly more "meat and potatoes" set lists when it's their first gig in around 8 months.

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/brian-wilson/2014/festival-cork-ireland-1bc18138.html

If that's the full set list, then that's about as exciting as one could hope for in a 16-song setlist.

Says it's partial.

Yeah, I guessed that's what "with Al Jardine and partial set" meant, but I'm curious to see how much was missed.

This was posted to the Beach Boys Friends group over on Facebook:

(http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/ii639/turntostone2/10459010_1488513584719844_8812159075264673033_o_zps7aeed26b.jpg) (http://s1263.photobucket.com/user/turntostone2/media/10459010_1488513584719844_8812159075264673033_o_zps7aeed26b.jpg.html)

Looks good to me! 

Brian really didn't expect Al to show up, when he did Brian went into a funk....

 ::)

Thanks to everyone for posting the updates. Very cool.

Now THAT is what I call a setlist! Even includes the chord cheats... ;D

Wow, Girl Don't Tell Me!  You don't see them doing that one very often, or maybe I'm wrong.  Interesting that Al is singing all of Sloop John B now, at the Jeff Beck show, he and Brian trading off was one of the highlights for me.  Though it looks like they did something like that with Hawaii.  Overall, that is a great setlist though.

Nice job, Shady  :rock

I guess the expected set list for a greatest hits show as things like Girl Don`t Tell Me, Marcella and Sail on Sailor were all performed last year and the band were unlikely to rehearse anything new for 2 dates.

I wonder when the last time Brian played a gig where the newest song was 41 years old is though...

Looks awfully like what M&B played at Hampton Court last month.

(brain fart - need more tea)

You're not alone. Review of the show.

Brian: "It’s great to be here — in Scotland."

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/brian-wilson-still-has-good-vibrations-274426.html

;D

Brian had no clue where he was but be was in pretty good form.

He sounded fantastic on H&V especially. He came in late on surfin USA so matt sang the whole song, brian looked confused.

Al was amazing, help me Rhonda and cotton fields went over really well.

A guy at the front was desperate to get his sunflower vinyl signed, I hope he did

Everyone had a great time, seriously everyone was dancing and left the show smiling.

The local pub had a beach boys themed after party with beach boys songs and karaoke, I had a blast

Just read a review from an Irish newspaper's website which claimed Matt took most lead vox - is that accurate Shady?

That's true. I was shocked he sang lead on WIBN, was hoping for Al

I have to say matt impressed me. Beautiful singing and his version of wild honey was outstanding, very soulful, singing with the mic in his hand.

A highlight was the pet sounds instrumental turned into an extended jam, great job by the band, especially nelson 

I like jeff but the was not missed last night

You can't beat having al on stage, and matt stepped up to the plate last night.

Best BW show I've ever seen

Sounds real great, Shady. Thanks for your impressions. :)

No problem

The best part for me is knowing that brian is looking and sounding great.

Even more excited for his new album now  ;D

Really??? Most as in 16 or more leads?

The journalist likely interpreted Matt singing the falsettos (which tend to be the dominant part of the harmony), as Matt singing more leads than he actually was. The notes on the setlist indicate that Brian handled most of the lead duties.

Thanks for the review and info, it sounds like you had a great time!  :afro

It's nice to see Please Let Me Wonder, Girl Don't Tell Me, and Marcella in the set.

I don't see too many people complaining about M&B setlists anymore. How many actual BB's singing the leads perhaps.

Hope to see Matt and Al survive until US dates later this year, though the former is much more likely.

I still think we'll see Al and potentially David back in the fold this fall. For as many times as certain people on this board have intimated that Al is "difficult" to work with, he and Brian have worked on three studio projects and gone on multiple tours together over the past decade. That strikes me that Brian and co. don't altogether mind having him around. And that doesn't even factor in hiring Matt to join his band...

Who sang lead on Kokomo?

1993 Mike via TV Screen.

Thanks a lot for the info, Shady. Best BW show you have ever seen? Wow. I admit I am pleasantly surprised, that should mean, among other things Matt has merged very well into the ensemble. I am also glad that, despite some rumours to the contrary, the Band did not "lose" any other member.

In My Room

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3JL8kruYg4

Not only is Brian playing the keys, it's audible! (Slight bum note around the 1 min mark, and at the very end you can hear his playing after the rest of the band stops)

Sounds fantastic, great to hear Al on this one. ;D

This has been the case since at least 2009. He's turned up and down depending on the tune.

Videos I found from Hop Farm today since there isn't a thread for that show:

Sloop John B: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM8g-AU74v0

Do You Wanna Dance?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk-EyIcao5E

California Girls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AAE8-LaYug

True, but this was the first time I was easily able to pick out his playing in the mix!

Like the little interplay between Al and Brian after the song.

‍

This going to come across as snarky no matter how I phrase it, so...  Exactly how many BW shows have you seen and from what eras ? Genuine question. Appreciate the qualification, btw.

How did you rate Hop Farm?

If that's a question for me, I didn't go. Working.

(If not, apologies)

I've noticed that on most of the gigs I've seen him at in recent years...I think it's because it's usually the opening song and he's probably getting a feel for the monitoring system.

On a related note, he looks much thinner in the videos and photos that have surfaced thus far.

I like a lot this configuration of Brian's Band with Al and Matt. I know it's not "permanent" (sigh) , but hope there will be some other gigs. I'm kooking forward to a video with a Matt lead, his falsetto work sounds very good.

Matt's falsetto is far superior to Jeff's.

I admire Jeff as Brian's cueman and support, but his voice always dominated Brian's and doesnt capture the sweetness of Brian's original falsetto vocals. I think Matt has a greater ability at capturing that angelic vocal everyone loves.

Yes, that's the point!

That`s him singing the lead on Do You Wanna Dance? although sadly the song starts halfway through.

You can hear Matt doing the lead on Barbara Ann here as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruTCaHf_PxQ

almost as if Brian was singing it aged 24

I've sen brian six times in the past seven years (not including the reunion tour) I know it's no record but I've seen some amazing shows so going into this one I didnt have the bar set very high. It blew me away, for those who thought jeff departure would be a hindrance to Brian's solo shows you can relax, it's actually improved

Oh, what local pub? Dammit, I wish I'd known about this  :( I was booming to talk to anyone about the concert, but ended up going to a pub in the city centre to watch the second half of the Brazil game as I had no idea as to where to go.

But, yeah, the atmosphere was quite good. I had a great time indeed. Just thought that Brian looked confused and not very into the majority of the songs, and often I couldn't make out his voice. When he did step up, he did great.

We should've arranged a meet up. I was with my girlfriend and she was on her phone most if the gig, would've been good to have a fellow smiley smiler there.. Next time

Long term member but first time post. Was at the Hop Farm gig on Saturday and would echo a lot of Shady's comments about the Cork gig. Band played for 90 minutes and dropped 'Girl Don't Tell me' and All Summer Long from the Cork set list. Brian was a little slow starting, first three or four numbers were either flat or he had some issues with his microphone but then he completely nailed 'Heroes' and did a brilliant job with God Only Knows later in the set. Al's vocals were superb throughout, notably on Cottonfields and Sloop John B. Matt Jardine certainly surprised me with his versatility : I haven't seen him since 1993 at Wembley where his role was much more limited but here he was superb. I think the comment about his delivery being ' sweeter'  or ' innocent' than Jeff's is a perceptive one and 'Don't Worry Baby' got a great audience response. That said ' Wild Honey' was an absolute revelation as he literally wailed all the way through backed superbly by the band. One general impression was that the band sounded a little heavier than when I have heard them previously. The only lead that I wish Matt hadn't had was 'Wouldn't It be Nice' which sounded like it was possibly one key too high, wish Al had taken that. The band were very well received by the crowd- I'm guessing between 3500 but hard to tell as I was right at the front and all on stage genuinely seemed to be having a blast. Al and Brian shared a fair bit of banter in the second half of the show as Brian visibly relaxed and ended up trading vocals on Barbara Ann( too slow to my ears but well received), Surfin' USA (which I think Matt was expecting to sing but then found Brian doing it) and everybody chipping in on Fun' at the end. As the band left and the lights dimmed on the stage the sound of thousands of people doing the falsetto part of Fun echoed into the night and will stay with me for a long time!. I have seen Brian and his band more times than I can remember but never with Al or Matt there so I don't feel I am comparing like with like. It was by any standards a terrific gig and  it certainly felt like a new chapter was possible with this line up, a real energy and sense of possibility. Fingers crossed that this configuration get to tour behind Brian's new album .If David can't  be there but Matt can perhaps it would be less BAD,  more BAM...?!

Thanks for that, markb! And welcome to the 'posting side of things'. :-D

Hi and welcome to the board! Thanks for your review!
I'd like to know from the attendees how they would rate Matt's "Wild honey" against Blondie's from last year (or was it this?)? Does Matt's version sound like the one on Al's live CD?

Great review. Welcome, Mark!   :)

To my ears the Hop Farm version sounded a lot harder than the Family and  Friends version and indeed the Blondie version from last year( although I can only confess to having heard clips via this board). I was stunned at the sheer  wall of sound generated by the band - there was also a heck of a lot going on vocally behind the lead vocal as well). Matt' s performance of it was closer to something out of some sixties soul band than anything else but as  I said in my review of the show the band sounded much more gritty and earthy to than previous times I have seen them. It has made me wonder a little if this heavier sound is something that might be replicated on some of the new tracks on Brian's new album given Joe Thomas' references to Wild Honey and CATP. In a general sense I wonder if Matt is going to bring a little more versatility to the table than Jeff and  that's why a change has taken place.

Regardless of your opinion of how things went down with Al and Jones Beach etc. Listen to Sloop and think about how awesome Matt Jardine must feel to be able to harmonize with his 71 yr old dad and his dad's good friend who were 2/5  of one of the best bands of all time.  Talk about being a lucky guy?

Thank you!

Well, Jeff quit, he wasn't fired, and I'm sure the album tracks, whatever they wind up being, were designed well before Matt Jardine was brought on board. I don't think Matt is that dramatically better than Jeff Foskett. From what I've heard of him over the years, he's adequate, but he's not the second coming of Smokey Robinson or something.

How would you possibly know which songs took what form before or after Matt sang on them? We haven't heard one note of the album yet. Additionally, even if the entire album was recorded and nearly finished before Matt set foot in the studio, how would that impact how he sounds singing on them?

I've said this a lot, but I really am looking forward to hearing this. I really think it's going to be great.

Whatnot, whatever. Point is, folks are saying the Brian band sounds dramatically better and I seriously doubt Matt Jardine makes a difference one way or the other.  I'm sure it would be the same if Jeff were there. It's the same band.

The falsetto is a pretty key element of the band. There have certainly been a fair share of people who who claim that Jeff ruined their ability to enjoy a BW solo show (and the C50 shows, for that matter). Is it so preposterous to claim that Matt could improve matters?

In general, he sounds more youthful than Jeff (which makes sense) and he has a different delivery. So yes, the instrumentation is the same, but the vocal mix is decidedly not. I haven't seen Matt with Brian's band (other than he 8 videos currently on YT), but I did see him with Al's band and his vocals really brought quite a bit to the show.  

And people were claiming Jeff made M&B so much better. ::)

Matt always blended better when singing BB harmonies. Having Brian and Al to blend with helps it sound better. Jeff's a great vocalist, but you will notice a big difference when Jeff left and Matt started  in the early 90s ( I refuse to admit the Adrian Baker years in there happened) .  Matt just blended better, it's that family thing.

Matt as a Beach Boy, doing harmony:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe577Ff6Lqc

Hard to tell how much of a difference he makes, due to the fact that Carl is still alive at this point, and Brian may still have been able to do falsetto back then.

God Only Knows from Hop Farm, nice performance, but there's a woman singing along from the audience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJeMeRGofmw&list=UUMydtP75ORffzrtNmV8lu7A

Don't Worry Baby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBCtl1jXHUQ&index=3&list=UUMydtP75ORffzrtNmV8lu7A

I like Jeff Foskett's singing.  His solo albums are wonderful.  Especially Thru My Window.  That album is chock full of excellent tunes with great vocal performances.  But Matt Jardine's falsetto just feels like it belongs better in a Beach Boys stack.  It has the yearning quality of early Brian.  A bit more of the whine that carries much of the emotion for me.  I have heard Foskett, Kirsch, Baker and Matt Jardine live in person (where it counts) many many times over.  All very talented folks.  Matt would be my first choice if I could choose a dude for the high vocals in a fantasy Beach Boys line-up.  KittyKat's comments seem a bit odd not to realize what an important role Matt is stepping into (quite beautifully I might add).  To call his vocals "adequate" is nonsense. 

Years ago, I believe on the old Male Ego board, Bruce was asked who was the best falsetto voice ( other than Brian) and he chose Matt, because of the blend . He said the others could sing well, but Matt took the blend to a different level.

Al seems to have forgotten his harmony part and thus sounds terrible. Maybe he's up an octave--sounds completely wrong.

I guess I say adequate in comparison to the voice that Jeff had, which to me, is perfectly fine. So,in that sense, Jeff was adequate, too. I'm not sure any falsetto sounds as good outside a recording studio without some sweetening or double tracking or as part of a larger harmony. I found a YouTube clip of Jeff singing "Don't Worry Baby" from the Jeff Beck tour, and I'm not really sure why some people were so down on his falsetto. He sounded great to me. A little different sound than Matt, but they both manage to hit the very high notes.

I think Brian deserves credit for seeming unperturbed by the change of personnel, since people were worried he'd have a hard time without Jeff.

Which song are you referring to?

You're wrong the professor!!!  :jedi

And compare that recent clip of Don't Worry Baby to this older one almost 20 years ago. Matt's voice has more than held up. I love him in this group, but also love that Foskett is with M&B.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBNx2DuI3Vg

I'd say in many cases, especially with many BB songs, the falsetto is the most readily apparent harmony part. If someone in the harmony stack is going to sound different, the falsetto is most likely to. Matt doesn't make the band sound vastly deferent. But his falsetto is pretty different from Jeff. I've always preferred Matt's, and I've never had a problem with Jeff.

Jeff, for instance, often bends notes up to hit them, whereas Matt just sings then straight. Most obvious example is "I Get Around." Just a different way that I prefer, and happens to be closer to the way Brian used to sing it originally, though that isn't why I prefer it.

on what song?

Take a number...the service at this joint is slow, I've been waiting for that same answer for hours.  ;D

I would assume he meant Sloop John B based on watching the videos.

If it's Sloop John B, then he didn't forget, that was his original live part! It's great to hear Al sing the higher part on the first chorus of Sloop John B again. He sounds like he did 35 years ago! That was his part from 1966-until about 1984.

Don't worry baby............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAZTzaQ-sSc#t=46

Yoko-rolled. ::)

Sorry!

I would say that it is all good for the fans...

Matt is a better singer than Jeff imo and he seems to have been given a lot of work to do in terms of both leads and falsettos.

Jeff does a good job on Don`t Worry Baby and while I don`t care for all of his falsetto parts, he will probably put a little more effort and enthusiasm in than Christian seemed to.

Jeff did a really good version of "She knows me too well" on tour a few years back. I can only go on youtube videos re:matt jardine but he sounds like a slightly better fit to me (no offence Jeff)

I think this sums it up. If you watch Jeff sing "Don't Worry Baby" live, he usually has a smile on his face (and who could blame him?!?). That smile tends to translate to the vocal delivery. Everything about that song is teen angst, and when Jeff's smile carries over to the way he delivers the vocals, something seems slightly off. Of course if I were singing "Don't Worry Baby" on-stage with one (or more) of my lifelong idols, I'd probably have a sh*t-eating grin plastered on my face each night, too...

Anyway, Matt seems to get a bit more emotional in his delivery where appropriate, and you can hear it.

  Emotional!  Son of a BeachBoy!  Matt welcome home!  Can you say son of a beach in here?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBCtl1jXHUQ

I'm not sure why people are saying Matt Jardine didn't do well on Don't Worry Baby. I like this performance and it's certainly better than any version Jeff did, in my humble opinion.

I think everyone has been complimenting Matt's performance of it, actually!  :)

gee yoko hasn't changed since that day she made the turkey sounds which ruined the classic moment when John Lennon and Chuck Berry got a chance to play together.

Yes, SJB--something sounds off. Compare the Long Beach show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFeaKK1o1Qs.

Not sure which is the "original," but the very high version sung at Cork is not working for me.

Professor

I wouldn't say that Matt's a better singer than Jeff (or vice-versa), but Matt's blend with the falsetto is better and more true to Brian's style back in the 1960s.  There's some emotion and sweetness to it while Foskett's vocals will seem forced and mechanical sometimes.

I remember reading people complaining it was too high for him or something. He sounds great.