7/4/80 DC show in retrospect

[Eric Aniversario]

Many of you know I became a big fan in the early 90s and started the setlist archive beginning in 1998. My first exposure to the live band on video was the 1980 DC show. It was this show that made me as much a fan of the live band as I was of the studio work. The energy and the dynamics of each Beach Boy's personality and talent, and the synergy of them performing together, was super intriguing for me when I watched this show on video.

I watched it again tonight for the first time since the C50 shows. There is a lot going on here in the band musically and interpersonally. I've probably watched this 100x in the past and I caught things this time that I never noticed before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0KdUAA6Do4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The audience sing along portion of Good Vibrations reveals a lot. Dennis tries to talk over Mike, but Mike ignores him. I never noticed Dennis asked them to sing "One for the hostages! Come on!" At least that's what it sounds like. You can see Carl directing Dennis to go back to the drums after he shouts some unintelligible things on the mic.

Carl makes his vocals sounds so smooth and effortless. There are several singers around today who do a very admirable job of singing Carl's leads. But no one will ever match his vocal quality on these songs.

Brian at the piano is a lot like Brian on the piano during C50, somewhat withdrawn. Though Brian definitely did a lot more leads during C50. On Help me Rhonda, Brian takes over Bruce's keyboard and mimics playing a lot like he did on some of his early solo tours.

Bruce's role here is much like it was during C50. An occasional comment here and there, but mostly just singing, keyboards, getting the audience to clap and participate, and a little mic adjusting of course ;-)

Al back then sounds just like Al now!

Dennis often isn't audible, either his mic is low in the Tv mix, or it was just low at the show. During Help Me Rhonda, Al, Mike, and Dennis seem to be tripling each other on the lead vocal, but only Al and Mike are audible in the mix presented here. Dennis' drumming is definitely solid throughout! When he misses the first few seconds of Surfin USA, his drumming is definitely missed.

It's interesting that a lot of mess ups and awkward moments were televised on HBO. Carl messing up the first verse on Good Timin, Dennis missing the first few drum beats of Surfin USA, the tension during Good Vibrations. Nothing like the sterile and overly autotuned DVD release from C50.

It's also interesting to note that California Girls was not televised, as by this time it was their classic opening anthem.

The audience shots are fascinating. There's a topless woman, some guy smoking weed, and I think I saw Snoop Dogg at one point  . It's weird to think that the children here are now around 40, the 20 year olds are now in their 50s, etc.

Any thoughts?

[adamghost]

Eric --

I taped that show and obsessed over it as a kid.  I caught that Dennis thing and yes, he was trying to get people to sing for the hostages in Iran, but his voice was so shot and his mic was so low no one understood what he was saying.

Carl singing "All us people / sharin' each other" on Good Timin' and then his facial reaction to his R-rated mistake as soon as he blurts it out is priceless.

[Eric Aniversario]

Eric --

I taped that show and obsessed over it as a kid.  I caught that Dennis thing and yes, he was trying to get people to sing for the hostages in Iran, but his voice was so shot and his mic was so low no one understood what he was saying.

Carl singing "All us people / sharin' each other" on Good Timin' and then his facial reaction to his R-rated mistake as soon as he blurts it out is priceless.

I find it amazing that I didn't understand the hostages comment till tonight. There is just so much going on in that video with the crazy audience shots and band shots. Mike gives a cameraman a weird angry look after the audience participation segment of GV.

I never thought of the lyrical connotations of the accidental lyric switch on Good Timin until you mentioned it. Carl looked thrown off even before h4 started singing. He isn't even close to the mic and has to lean over to sing the opening part before the first verse.

It's interesting that even back then, Mike and Al didn't interact much, though they were standing right beside each other. Just like the C50 shows. But to be fair, I didn't see Mike and Bruce interacting either. Also a lot like C50.

[Beach Boy]

I love this show so much. The first time I've watched this I was quite dissapointed after comparing it to the Knebworth release. I think it was because of the almost too many audience shots (which I am more than fine with now) and most of the in between banter were left out. I always thought Carl got a cold or something because he doesn't seem to be too happy most of the time and I think his nose looked a little reddish at one point or another. There is no Joe Chemay so Carl is doing most of the guitar parts and he does a fabulous job. Catch A Wave smokes so does School Days, I like how Dennis is using the bass drum on this. Some funny moments were mentioned before like Dennis missing his cue on Surfin' USA and Carl singing the wrong line on Good Timin'. Carl looking kind of angry at Brian at the end of Good Timin' as well and Mike and Al seem to be amused at one point when the security are carring a guy away.

There is a little bit of footage out there of the Hawaii Mike Douglas show december 1980 and they smoke too, though Brian is missing. The boys doing most of the instrumentation themselves and still a couple of new songs from LA and KTSA and a few rarities here and there. The last time the band kind of progressed on stage as well with the hard rocking sound. The end of an era. After that Carl would left, when he returns Dennis and Brian would be missing a lot of shows, lots of sidemen were used and they'd be turning into a greatest hits band ignoring almost everything they did between 1969 and 1980.

[Autotune]

Eric --

I taped that show and obsessed over it as a kid.  I caught that Dennis thing and yes, he was trying to get people to sing for the hostages in Iran, but his voice was so shot and his mic was so low no one understood what he was saying.

Carl singing "All us people / sharin' each other" on Good Timin' and then his facial reaction to his R-rated mistake as soon as he blurts it out is priceless.

I find it amazing that I didn't understand the hostages comment till tonight. There is just so much going on in that video with the crazy audience shots and band shots. Mike gives a cameraman a weird angry look after the audience participation segment of GV.

I never thought of the lyrical connotations of the accidental lyric switch on Good Timin until you mentioned it. Carl looked thrown off even before h4 started singing. He isn't even close to the mic and has to lean over to sing the opening part before the first verse.

It's interesting that even back then, Mike and Al didn't interact much, though they were standing right beside each other. Just like the C50 shows. But to be fair, I didn't see Mike and Bruce interacting either. Also a lot like C50.

It's interesting to look at band members' interaction. I was very pleased to see Mike and Al interact and joke with each other during the C50 show I attended. They took pictured with their cell phoned and looked at each other's. As much bitterness and acrimony as there has been between these two, I'm sure there is also warmth and respect. Love can't save a marriage sometimes, let alone a working relationship between two members of a rock group/corporation.

[metal flake paint]

I saw this Beach Boys concert on video very early in my fandom. The first thing that knocked me out was the sheer size of the crowd! For quite some time I thought that they'd opened with Darlin' before realising that the footage had been edited

One of my favourite moments is the extended intro to Do It Again.

Re: The Mike Douglas Show, one of the neat things about it is that the camera focuses on Carl when he plays a lead guitar solo, something that frustratingly doesn't happen nearly enough

[gxios]

I was at this show.  It was typically hotter than the hinges of hell that day, but we had a cooler of beer and ice so it was fine.  Dennis actually spoke about the hostages twice- he went to the mic at the end of the show and exhorted the crowd again.  Someone skipped a frisbee off Brian's piano near the end of the show and he bolted off the stage for a bit- they left that part out of the tape.  He was pretty subdued that day.  The best part for me was watching the crowd, which was massive, maybe 500,000.  During "Wouldn't It Be Nice" everybody old and young seemed to know all the words and sang along, which made me teary-eyed.  I walked to the front (easy to do, everyone had spread out blankets early in the day so there was room to move) and noted at least three topless girls vying for camera attention.  When they showed it on PBS in the 1980's they left the topless shots in, but they edit them out now.

[Ian]

It's interesting how well Dennis drums at this show because if you've seen the video floating around of him being interviewed by a female reporter prior to the concert he can barely string two sentences together. He was very out of it

[J.G. Dev]

I had never seen this whole video before (thanks for posting). Looks like the crowd had a good time that day. I can almost envision James Watt walking the Mall long after the show ended and just shaking his head at the thousands of empty beer cans and bras littering the lawn. 

[guitarfool2002]

Just to be technical about the timeline...July 4 1980 was still Jimmy Carter's presidency and the 1980 election had yet not been held, so unless James Watt was in the crowd as a fan he had nothing to do with the 1980 DC show at all. 

If he were in the crowd and getting sprayed with beer and garbage surrounded by topless women partying...I'd imagine he'd look like Iron Eyes Cody as a tear slowly ran down his cheek....   And quite possibly one of the only men in the crowd that summer day wearing a blue suit, tie, and wingtip shoes.

About the show itself, it does have that certain live energy from the band, warts and all. Quite an event for any musician to look out at a crowd with that many people moving and grooving to your music. And it also speaks to the way concerts were thought of previously versus now - You do not need to micromanage every single note of a show, the real joy and energy comes from the performance in that moment, and the interaction between the band and the crowd that drives it. A few bum notes or missed cues mean nothing in the live context.

[Nicko1234]

Am I right in saying that this show was also `fixed` to some extent though?

[Steve Mayo]

Am I right in saying that this show was also `fixed` to some extent though?

yep

[guitarfool2002]

Going back to 1964 "In Concert" was "fixed" too, where they tried to pass off one studio recording as live by adding crowd noise, and it still got to #1 on the album charts! 

I know most live albums are fixed, but I was thinking more of the fact that you can still see and hear such obvious flubs and mis-steps as posters mentioned above instead of having it be a 100% note-perfect and sterile affair that was subjected to micro-fixes and obsessive editing in favor of the live feel overall, even if it too was fixed.

[Eric Aniversario]

Going back to 1964 "In Concert" was "fixed" too, where they tried to pass off one studio recording as live by adding crowd noise, and it still got to #1 on the album charts! 

Which song was a studio recording?

[Nicko1234]

Going back to 1964 "In Concert" was "fixed" too, where they tried to pass off one studio recording as live by adding crowd noise, and it still got to #1 on the album charts! 

Which song was a studio recording?

I Get Around?

[guitarfool2002]

Going back to 1964 "In Concert" was "fixed" too, where they tried to pass off one studio recording as live by adding crowd noise, and it still got to #1 on the album charts! 

Which song was a studio recording?

I Get Around?

Yes, that's the one.

[Mikie]

There were after-the-fact vocal overdubs done to I Get Around, Fun, Fun, Fun, Little Old Lady From Pasadena, Hawaii, and Johnny B Goode.

For many years I suspected I Get Around and Fun, Fun, Fun were touched up. Those two sounded just like the studio versions - one or both might have been slightly sped up.

[Ian]

You are right. Both of those were "fixed"

[Mikie]

I remember watching the DC show in 1980. I think it was on HBO at the time. My friend recorded it on his Betamax for me. I still have it on a Sony Beta tape!

At the time, I remember my friend commenting how effed up Dennis was and suggested that he'd touched some condiments. His timing was off on at least a couple of songs but he caught up. The edited tape shows a blonde girl, her eyes looked like slits, on top of her boyfriend's shoulders pulling up her top. Damn! Just missed it. I know there was more. Yeah, a lot to see on this tape and I watched it many a time. At the time, we didn't even fathom that Dennis was in and out of the band and having troubles with alcohol, drugs, and other stuff and wouldn't last much longer. We just figured he was in a good party mood and sweatin' bullets. Bruce on keys would look over with a serious look on his face when Dennis or something wasn't right. We made fun of Bruce's white shorts. The big crowd seemed to love all of it.

[NHC]

Took a little over 14 minutes but Bruce finally adjusted his microphone.

[Gerry]

This show was also broadcast live on the radio.

[Pretty Funky]

Took a little over 14 minutes but Bruce finally adjusted his microphone.

Look again.

6 seconds into 'Darlin'.

[David1964]

I remember listening to this show broadcast over WLS. I was 16 that summer and I dragged my stereo out to the backyard and listened to the concert while "baking" in the sun. It was great hearing the band playing cuts from KTSA and LA along with the hits. I was a little disappointed when the HBO concert aired and so many songs were cut, but it still was unbelievably cool to see most of the show. There weren't many of us Beach Boys fans in Wisconsin in the late '70s and early '80s and any chance to try to convert others was welcomed!

[Billf]

I taped the live radio broadcast in DC. At the time, it seemed like a pretty lame performance but, in light of the events of the past 34 years, it's fascinating to listen to now.

[adamghost]

Following on to the hostages comment, IIRC if you listen carefully to "Help Me Rhonda" on the Long Beach concert, you can hear someone in a low gutteral voice say something that sounds like "I love Shawn!"

Camera's not on the person saying it, but I have a pretty good guess who it was.