Brian Wilson / Al Jardine / Blondie Chaplin Fall 2015 Tour Thread

[RubberSoul13]

Heading out to the Brian benifit show tonight in Virginia, went for the VIP $500 package, always wanted to do it figured now was a good time since the money goes to charity. Not sure what to expect but I'm definitely excited. Hope Darian is back and we get This Whole World, at least during sound check. Paul Dano is supposed to be there maybe he'll sing You Still Believe In Me again. Never heard that song and it would be a treat to hear it. I'll post a report and review as soon as I can very excited and luck to be seeing my third Brian gig this year!

Enjoy! Can't wait to hear all about it!

[baseball95]

And I just ran into Brian in the lobby and got a picture with him...

[RubberSoul13]

And I just ran into Brian in the lobby and got a picture with him...

Well damn! Really justifying that VIP package, eh? 

Still- WAY WAY WAY cool! 

[HeyJude]

The setlist for last night's show is up on setlists.fm. Looks like a shortened version of his recent setlists, with Dano and Cusack both joining in for a track each:

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/brian-wilson/2015/hyatt-regency-tysons-corner-va-5bf5c7b0.html

[rn57]

The setlist for last night's show is up on setlists.fm. Looks like a shortened version of his recent setlists, with Dano and Cusack both joining in for a track each:

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/brian-wilson/2015/hyatt-regency-tysons-corner-va-5bf5c7b0.html

I was at the show, got in with my wife thru comped tickets. The setlist covers all songs but doesn't note that Dano and Cusack also sang backing on L&M.

Cusack's appearance, I guess, was the big surprise - as far as I can tell it wasn't announced. He duetted with Brian on Do It Again and then sang the last verse by himself.  Or kinda shouted it.  He wasn't off-key or anything like that but you got an idea of why, unlike a lot of '80s teen idols, he never got around to a singing career in his Stand By Me days.

By contrast, Dano did the lead all thru YSBIM and did a pretty good job. He clearly appreciated how much of an honor it was to do it with the band.

Sound was a little muddy on the first seven or eight songs - bass drum up pretty high, it took a while to bring the vocals into the mix in the right way.  But then again, this was a standard-issue Hyatt hotel ballroom. 

Prior to the set, Cusack and Dano came out with Bill Pohlad, Oren Moverman and L&M's producer Claire Polstein and took a bow, and Bill made a few short remarks thanking the Give An Hour charity for putting on the show and making people aware of the film.

The room had about 400 folding chairs, and the crowd was about 340 people. Around 30 of these seemed to be hardcore BBs fans, and there were a lot of people in the reception beforehand who were talking about the film and had seen it, but the fact that most of the crowd clapped in the pause before the cantina part of H&V indicates that they were rather casual fans.

Where the performance is concerned - Brian's vocals were a little better on most of the ballads than the faster songs. On One Kind Of Love he was a bit fragile-sounding, which of course added to the poignancy of the song. Al in great form as usual.  Matt's DWB vocal mostly good, but in one or two lines got slightly strained, to the point where Adrian Baker came perilously close to coming to mind.  That might have been a monitor issue - a few times I had the feeling the band was having trouble hearing themselves. Paul Von Mertens did a couple of really good solos. 

Choice Brianism of the night: he announced that "we're gonna do a medley of songs from 1964" and followed with I Get Around - played all the way through, and followed, as the setlist shows, by Al doing Then I Kissed Her from '65.

[HeyJude]

I believe Matt Jardine himself actually posted here some time back about the trials and tribulations of using different monitors, and I also know that the monitor and sound situation in general is more dicey when it comes to one-off shows in non-standard concert venues.

[rn57]

God Only Knows from last night's Tysons Corner show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3pCJeEDdhc

[Shady]

God Only Knows from last night's Tysons Corner show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3pCJeEDdhc

Beautiful!!

Thanks for posting

[rn57]

A couple more from the Tysons Corner benefit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HerZiPk1kLU (L&M with John Cusack and Paul Dano)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jKchSrbCBE (Good Vibrations)

So far, Cusack's appearance on Do It Again hasn't gotten online. That had the funniest moment of the night. When he was singing, "it's automatic when the conversation turns..." Cusack brought his hand up to his face and cupped it in a Mike-style pantomime. For a moment I wondered if he was going to go ahead and do some Lovester moves for the rest of the song, but he just left it at that.

[Emily]

A couple more from the Tysons Corner benefit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HerZiPk1kLU (L&M with John Cusack and Paul Dano)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jKchSrbCBE (Good Vibrations)

So far, Cusack's appearance on Do It Again hasn't gotten online. That had the funniest moment of the night. When he was singing, "it's automatic when the conversation turns..." Cusack brought his hand up to his face and cupped it in a Mike-style pantomime. For a moment I wondered if he was going to go ahead and do some Lovester moves for the rest of the song, but he just left it at that.

Your reporting is fantastic. Thank you.

[Senator Blutarsky]

A couple more from the Tysons Corner benefit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HerZiPk1kLU (L&M with John Cusack and Paul Dano)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jKchSrbCBE (Good Vibrations)

So far, Cusack's appearance on Do It Again hasn't gotten online. That had the funniest moment of the night. When he was singing, "it's automatic when the conversation turns..." Cusack brought his hand up to his face and cupped it in a Mike-style pantomime. For a moment I wondered if he was going to go ahead and do some Lovester moves for the rest of the song, but he just left it at that.

Great clips, thanks for sharing . Noticed that on the Good Vibrations clip, Brian clearly looked done, even exiting before the band was done with the song.   

[HeyJude]

A couple more from the Tysons Corner benefit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HerZiPk1kLU (L&M with John Cusack and Paul Dano)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jKchSrbCBE (Good Vibrations)

So far, Cusack's appearance on Do It Again hasn't gotten online. That had the funniest moment of the night. When he was singing, "it's automatic when the conversation turns..." Cusack brought his hand up to his face and cupped it in a Mike-style pantomime. For a moment I wondered if he was going to go ahead and do some Lovester moves for the rest of the song, but he just left it at that.

Great clips, thanks for sharing . Noticed that on the Good Vibrations clip, Brian clearly looked done, even exiting before the band was done with the song.   

I believe exiting before the end of GV is a common thing for Brian. I've seen him do it at multiple shows now. Make no mistake, I've seen instances where it's pretty evident Brian is "done" and over it, but I don't think this particular case is an example of that. I think it's more of a "star exiting while the band plays out" sort of thing. Sort of like when George Harrison exits as the band finishes the song "Bangla Desh" at the "Concert for Bangla Desh." Brian just does it without the rock star posing (not that Harrison really did that either), so it looks like he's kinda just leaving work early on Friday afternoon.

[the professor]

Some glimmer of a future offered by BW in a new interview today:


Despite the split, Wilson said the 2012 reunion jaunt was the best tour he's ever been on. Why?

"Well, I just really like to see Mike Love and performing, doing master of ceremonies, you know?"

If that 50th anniversary tour, which closed in London in September 2012, winds up the final chapter of the Beach Boys story, the man who founded the band with his two brothers, cousin (Love) and friend (Jardine) back in 1961 said he'd be content.

"Oh yeah," he said. "Unless one day I get the notion to record them, you know? To record the Beach Boys."



--------------------------------

The above from a new BW interview re: the current tour and live in general. http://www.postcrescent.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/11/06/brian-wilson-talks-50-years-beach-boys/75058352/

[Senator Blutarsky]

I got tickets yesterday for the BW Ft Pierce FL show so Ive been paying more attention to the youtube clips of the band from this year. I also have tickets to the Mike and Bruce tour in February, have never been to a show of  either one of them  in any incarnation before, so this should be interesting, particularly comparing the two experiences from a firsthand perspective.

[rn57]

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

Five minutes of excerpts from the Tysons Corner benefit, including

In My Room
Do It Again with John Cusack
WIBN
Sloop John B
God Only Knows
Barbara Ann
Surfin USA

[The Cincinnati Kid]

I may have a ticket to sell for Saturday night's concert in Cincinnati.  Orchestra 2, row K, seat 3.  I'd be selling it for just under face value at $60, which is a very good deal once you consider fees that come with a new ticket or what resale normally goes for.  Here is roughly where the seat is, but a little more towards center:



Again, as of right now I'm not selling it, but just putting it out there so I'm not faced with not being able to sell it at the last second.

[LostArt]

Did anyone here attend last night's show in Waukegan?  Setlist?

[rn57]

http://www.southbendtribune.com/entertainment/inthebend/eventnews/vibrations-good-for-former-beach-boys-brian-wilson-and-al/article_19fb4255-a961-5d91-a519-b18ecf369789.html

Interview with Al to promote the South Bend show, conducted the day after he was in Tysons Corner for the benefit.  His opinion of Cusack's rendition of Do It Again matches mine.  He also has some intriguing remarks about Brian's future plans.

[barsone]

Great post RN and a nice article.   Notice who Al mentioned as the songwriting "drivers" in the 67 to 73 time period.  Someone missing......
Oh well, I'm glad I saw 3 C50 shows.....

[Marty Castillo]

http://www.southbendtribune.com/entertainment/inthebend/eventnews/vibrations-good-for-former-beach-boys-brian-wilson-and-al/article_19fb4255-a961-5d91-a519-b18ecf369789.html

Interview with Al to promote the South Bend show, conducted the day after he was in Tysons Corner for the benefit.  His opinion of Cusack's rendition of Do It Again matches mine.  He also has some intriguing remarks about Brian's future plans.

I'm sure Al and the writer are mistaken, but they mention Blondie being on this tour. Pretty sure Blondie is missing this and a couple shows around it. This gave me a glimmer of hope, but I doubt things changed without an official announcement???

[David1964]

Heading off to Appleton in a bit for the show. I'll try to get a set list and quick review after. Anyone else going tonight?

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

http://www.southbendtribune.com/entertainment/inthebend/eventnews/vibrations-good-for-former-beach-boys-brian-wilson-and-al/article_19fb4255-a961-5d91-a519-b18ecf369789.html

Interview with Al to promote the South Bend show, conducted the day after he was in Tysons Corner for the benefit.  His opinion of Cusack's rendition of Do It Again matches mine.  He also has some intriguing remarks about Brian's future plans.

Some lovely quotes from Al there. Thanks for posting.   

[The Cincinnati Kid]

I may have a ticket to sell for Saturday night's concert in Cincinnati.  Orchestra 2, row K, seat 3.  I'd be selling it for just under face value at $60, which is a very good deal once you consider fees that come with a new ticket or what resale normally goes for.  Here is roughly where the seat is, but a little more towards center:



Again, as of right now I'm not selling it, but just putting it out there so I'm not faced with not being able to sell it at the last second.

Looks like I will be selling it.  Shoot me an offer.

[beatle608]

I went to the Appleton show tonight. Far better setlist than last night in Waukegan. The crowd was also much more enthusiastic.

[RubberSoul13]

I went to the Appleton show tonight. Far better setlist than last night in Waukegan. The crowd was also much more enthusiastic.

Setlist!?!