Houston --- now with some video

[shadownoze]

Ladies and gents: Taylor Mills in the house, singing Marcella...and looking awesome.

[ontor pertawst]

Aw, great to hear! Would love to hear what the setlist was like later... enjoy the show!

[EgoHanger1966]

Soundcheck? Because the show isn't scheduled to even have started yet....

[Mikie]

That's great! I really like Taylor Mills. What a voice!

[JohnMill]

That's great! I really like Taylor Mills. What a voice!

Great voice and easy on the eyes as well 

[rab2591]

That's great! I really like Taylor Mills. What a voice!

I hope she's on Brian's new album as well.

Always loved her part in 'I Wanna Be Around'

[shadownoze]

Yes, sound check does indeed come before the show. Brian seemed upbeat, in decent voice. He called Al over to the piano and said "You sing that third verse: 'When I take her to the drag she really shines."
Al, not on mic, apparently expressed the fear that he couldn't remember the words. Brian said, "ya gotta get up and do it...if you feel up to it."
He sang the line again, really sliding up on the final word, "shine."
Al said, "that's very bluesy, Brian...we should do a slow, sultry version of that."
Heard the run through of Our Prayer/Surf's Up...very nice. They did Danny Boy...meh. How High the Moon was good. Then Taylor came out and Brian played a doo-woppy piano intro which then turned into Nicky playing the familiar opening riff to Marcella. They also did Sail On Sailor, on which Brian will do the lead. Babe sounds great and the show will kick off in an hour. Doesn't look like Metropolis will be debuting tonight.

[shadownoze]

Here's the first segment:
California Girls
Do It Again
Shut Down/Deuce Coupe--Al lead
Surfer Girl
Then I Kissed Her
Little Bird
Old Man River/Cottonfields
That's Why God Made the Radio
Sail On Sailor
Heroes & Villains
Darlin'
Marcella
Pet Sounds
God Only Knows
Sloop John B
Wouldn't It Be Nice
Help Me Rhonda
I Get Around
Good Vibrations

Rhonda was a surprising high point, where everything sounded great. The vocals throughout seemed shakier and thinner than usual. The sound mixer was part of the problem: he almost always missed guitar or sax solos or keyboard solos. Perhaps it's just early in the tour. Brian, however, was in a great mood, acting as emcee, smiling a LOT, etc. he even told Jeff--forgetting there was a mic in front of him--"I feel really good tonight." Unfortunately, he said it while Dave was telling the story of Dennis cutting down the tree Dave fell out of and broke his arm. That was the intro to Little Bird.

[Jesse Reiswig]

I'm so thrilled to hear Little Bird is in the setlist. When I heard they didn't play it at the warmup gig my heart sank. I'm seeing them at the Beacon in New York in two weeks.

[shadownoze]

Okay, back in my hotel now, so I can type for real.

Jeff Beck's set (after a 15-minute break) consisted of:

Eternity's Breath/Stratus
Even Odds
You Know You Know
Yemin
Little Wing
Where Were You
Big Block

Then, without a break, various vocalists from Brian's band came out, including BW himself. They added backing vocals to:
Our Prayer/Surf's Up (BW left the stage after this)
Brush With The Blues
How High the Moon (Just Jeff and Probyn, along with Beck's violinist, Lizzie Ball doing the lead vocal)
Rollin' & Tumblin' (Darian, Jeff, and Scott adding very enthusiastic WHOA-WHOAs)
A Day In The Life (during Beck's instrumental version of this Beatles tune, ZZTop guitarist Billy Gibbons comes out onstage, bows and genuflects to Beck as if to say "We're not worthy..." and then leaves! There were only about eight guitars onstage; surely he could have picked one up and done something. Beck was totally and obviously surprised to see Gibbons there. He wrapped up the song and left the stage without indicating there was more to come.
Jeff Foskett came out then and introduced all the members of both bands. Beck's bassist on this tour is not Tal Wilkenfeld, but another female bass player named Rhonda Smith. She is HOT. Brian should hire her for his own band, I could not stop watching her. Great player, fantastic presence.

Everyone came out and they all ran through 409, Surfin' USA, Fun Fun Fun, then left and came back to close with Danny Boy.

The venue was nowhere near a sellout and the audience seemed pleased but not ecstatic. I feel much the same way, trying to make sense of this odd combination of musicians. It's a bit like putting butterfly wings on a pit bull: I'm not sure either really benefits. There was a couple sitting in front of me. The man turned to me before the show started and said, "Can I ask you a stupid question." I said sure.
"Who's Brian Wilson?" he said.
There were Brian fans and Beck fans and a few who liked 'em both. But I don't know what Brian gains from this pairing.

[Andrew G. Doe]

That's great! I really like Taylor Mills. What a voice!

I hope she's on Brian's new album as well.

Always loved her part in 'I Wanna Be Around'

She lives in Texas (Austin-ish, I think), so this is very likely just a one-off. Chances of her being on the new album: pretty close to zero, I think.

[Les P]

The venue was nowhere near a sellout and the audience seemed pleased but not ecstatic. I feel much the same way, trying to make sense of this odd combination of musicians.

Thanks for your review, shadownoze, and very well said.  I don't know quite what to make of it either.  On the plus side, Brian smiled more than I've ever seen him and he seemed to enjoy himself, despite looking hunched over when he walked, as if he is having a recurrence of back problems.  But it was not his best night vocally IMO...he seemed to start off OK and in a good mood with California Girls, scatting during the Do It Again intro, singing Shut Down energetically (including the line "fuel injected STINGRAY sitting under my hood"- now THAT would be a Custom Machine).  But I winced through Sail On Sailor, and his leads generally didn't seem as good as the Woodlands C50 show (or maybe he was just higher in the mix here).  Interestingly, he used kind of a quiet, breathy voice that I've never heard before on God Only Knows; I wondered if it was to compensate for hoarseness.  

Al's voice is just amazing, of course, and brought some energy with Cottonfields and Help Me Rhonda.  I was pleased Little Bird was still in the setlist and David Marks did a fine job on it.  Taylor's cameo was a nice surprise, and I finally got to hear Darian's fantastic rendition of Darlin'.  And I was happy to hear the cantina section in H&V (but no hum-be-dums in GV, darn it!)

The show felt a little flat, but when Jeff Beck came on after intermission the place started buzzing, people were standing and phone cameras started coming out.  Apparently the majority of the audience came to see him.  The two sets could hardly have been more different.  Set 1 was pop vocal classics with original intricate arrangements somewhat frozen in amber, vs. jazz/funk/rock instrumental improvisation with interesting dynamics and multiple influences.  I'm not too familiar with Beck's catalog and I enjoyed his set quite a bit, but it didn't seem like anything Brian would ever listen to, much less participate in.  Just an additional note on Billy Gibbons' walkon near the end of A Day in the Life...Gibbons extends his hand to Beck, and Beck reaches out to shake Gibbons' hand while continuing the crescendo on the guitar neck with his left.  Pretty cool!

I was disappointed not to hear new Brian compositions with Beck, but the songs the groups did together came off OK - Rollin' and Tumblin' was fun - and I think Beck's music benefits from vocal contributions on a few numbers to add variety.  Brian's musicians are so talented that the two bands might be doing some really cool stuff together by the end of the tour if they follow their instincts.  But to me it seemed Brian wasn't as engaged during the combination of the bands, and hearing reports of Brian having little to say to Beck in the studio or rehearsals make me wonder if he is going along with this, not driving it.

So...no, I don't quite know what to make of it.  But I left feeling a bit sad.  YMMV.

[STE]

I was pleased Little Pad was still in the setlist and David Marks did a fine job on it. 

Dude, you had me for a second!!

[Les P]

I was pleased Little Pad was still in the setlist and David Marks did a fine job on it. 

Dude, you had me for a second!!

Oops, I often make that slip.  It would have been very cool though!

[Quincy]

http://blog.chron.com/rantandrave/2013/10/brian-wilson-jeff-beck-breathe-new-life-into-classics/

[BB Universe]

Taylor Mills made a guest appearance at Darien Lake (near Buffalo) in mid-2012 for the C50 Concert and sang the intro to Marcella.
A funny aside - in the comments introducing her, Brian said that she had just had a baby which, IIRC, was not the case.
Yes, she and her voice and a certain "something" to a song and a show.

[ontor pertawst]

heh: "Seeing Beck’s aggressive rock fusion five-piece after a 20-song Beach Boys hits set was like binging on the sweetest birthday cake ever and then sitting down for a steak dinner. "

[Waspinators]

heh: "Seeing Beck’s aggressive rock fusion five-piece after a 20-song Beach Boys hits set was like binging on the sweetest birthday cake ever and then sitting down for a steak dinner. "

Hahaha, I couldn't put my finger on it after opening night but that's pretty spot-on.

[shadownoze]

Yeah, the cake/steak comparison is a good one. If there was a Pavarotti/Merle Haggard concert, would you go? Both are great, but where is the overlap?

Here are a couple of videos I shot with my phone. Taylor Mills' appearance for "Marcella"

http://youtu.be/lIMBcA036yk

David Marks tells a story about Dennis, then sings Little Bird:

http://youtu.be/JBHWbpNPgpo

And finally, a snippet of Billy Gibbons' puzzling cameo during Jeff Beck's rendition of "A Day In The Life."

http://youtu.be/zN3pQeAtoIk

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2013/10/brian_wilson_jeff_beck_bayou_m.php

[Jesse Reiswig]

Interestingly, he used kind of a quiet, breathy voice that I've never heard before on God Only Knows; I wondered if it was to compensate for hoarseness.  

I heard Brian use this breathy voice on God Only Knows for a television performance from two or three years ago as well. Might have been Late Night with Jools Holland. I thought it was the best Brian had ever sung the song, frankly. The breathy voice worked great for GOK and Brian sounded more pristine than he had in a long time. In any case, the clip used to be on YouTube, but now I can't find it.

Edit: I'm not quite sure this is the actual clip I remember, but the sung is here sung in a similar manner, if not quite as well (as in my memory, at least): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC66SoqBv6M

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

http://blog.chron.com/rantandrave/2013/10/brian-wilson-jeff-beck-breathe-new-life-into-classics/

[Les P]

Interestingly, he used kind of a quiet, breathy voice that I've never heard before on God Only Knows; I wondered if it was to compensate for hoarseness.  

I heard Brian use this breathy voice on God Only Knows for a television performance from two or three years ago as well. Might have been Late Night with Jools Holland. I thought it was the best Brian had ever sung the song, frankly. The breathy voice worked great for GOK and Brian sounded more pristine than he had in a long time. In any case, the clip used to be on YouTube, but now I can't find it.

Edit: I'm not quite sure this is the actual clip I remember, but the sung is here sung in a similar manner, if not quite as well (as in my memory, at least): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC66SoqBv6M

Yes, that is similar, Jesse.  Here is a bit of the Houston performance.  Sung softly, and would have been a very sweet vocal had he been less slurry and more on pitch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_qBm149wZU

[Ron]

Edit: I'm not quite sure this is the actual clip I remember, but the sung is here sung in a similar manner, if not quite as well (as in my memory, at least): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC66SoqBv6M

Holy sh*t. 

I think he's trying to impersonate Carl, to be honest.  Sounds great. 

[Les P]

Edit: I'm not quite sure this is the actual clip I remember, but the sung is here sung in a similar manner, if not quite as well (as in my memory, at least): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC66SoqBv6M

Holy sh*t. 

I think he's trying to impersonate Carl, to be honest.  Sounds great. 

Good point, it is Carl-like.  He did a very nice job on that TV clip.