Monterey Pop Festival...What If?

[Alex]

The Beach Boys are everyone's guilty pleasure. Wild Honey would've been a good one for Monterrey, especially the way they did it when Blondie Chaplin sang it, but I don't think it had even been written yet in June of '67.

[KokoMoses]

Your scenario of criteria would not have happened. They wore the striped shirts through '67, they still played a medley of the surf and car songs as well...no way they would have used auxiliary musicians, that didn't happen until '68. Those are fundamental things that didn't change until well after Monterey...and maybe because of Monterey. The only thing you would have gotten from your wish list is yes Brian would have played with them. The odds on them doing Cabinessence or Surfs Up would have been zero. Why would they do Smile stuff when the album had been scrapped already? The only way Monterey could have been some kind of triumph for them is IF Smile had come out in March or April and blown everyone's minds, and then they had capitalized on that with a fundamental change in their live approach. But none of that happened and therefore the Beach Boys that would have played Monterey would have been basically the same BB's that did the Hawaii shows in August. They would have been as well received as Johnny Rivers, The Association and The Mamas and Papas, but not as well received as Hendrix, Big Brother etc...

I'm probably the only freak on here who's happy with the way things turned out with the Beach Boys (other than Dennis and Carl dying).... I'm beyond happy and content with every album they've turned out up until KTSA. Not having Smile was the only sore point, but happily, Brian rectified that. Though, as lovely as the Wondermints vocals are, they're NO MATCH for Carl, Dennis, Mike, Al, and Bruce.... But having said that, IF Smile had come out as planned, something tells me we'd never have had 20/20, Friends, Sunflower, Wild Honey, CARL & The Passions, Holland, Love You, ....... and this would be no world I'd wanna live in.

[XY]

Since the BB obviously underestimated the importance of the Monterey Pop Festival, they would have appeared unrehearsed in the manner of the Hawaii-shows 2 months later with more or less the same setlist (without "Gettin' Hungry" of course, because they were just recording SS in June). Monterey wouldn't have changed anything...but wait, perhaps a not that overwhelming reaction to the simple organ arrangement would have put a stop to the SmileySmile Sessions. Brian would have been totally blown away by the Who's "A Quick One" and found new motivation to continue SMiLE in new directions. Who knows.

[Dancing Bear]

I can't see the Beach Boys getting booed off the stage, even if their set had sounded as bad as Hawaii. Polite applause at worst.

[TonyW]

In the parallel universe I have glimpsed the Beach Boys story is the same as reality up to two days before the festival is due to start, at that point in time a member of the band who is in tune with "commercial sensabilities" finds out that all bands appearing at the Monterey Pop Festival are doing so for free and he is not happy about this situation. He finds out that Ravi Shanker is the only artist being paid and so he demands to also be paid $3000 to appear. All the other bands tell him to f#&k off. At least two members of the Beach Boys side with him, two don't and want to play and the other member of the band has so many personal problems at that point in time he just defers his vote to his cousin. The Beach Boys do not play at Monterey, their spot is taken by Otis Reading and the Beach Boys story falls back in line with reality. The staus quo is maintained. . . .





. . . . gee I feel depressed . . . .

[MBE]

I think the Hawaii concert is good. Many live recordings at the time sounded a little rough mix wise. Note the Who's Monterey set is very rough too, but again I like it. The Beach Boys weren't considered unhip until Jann Wenner wrote his ridiculous article at the end of 1967. Remember even Heroes and Villians was a decent sized hit, so booed no way. Now if they had done a striped shirt deal at Woodstock maybe.

[Dancing Bear]

A little question.... between 1967 and 1971, when Rieley entered the picture, was the group ever booed?

[Magic Transistor Radio]

A little question.... between 1967 and 1971, when Rieley entered the picture, was the group ever booed?

I think I read somewhere that for some reason they were like 8 hours late to a show in New York. Finally Dennis and Carl walked in with a guitar. Carl starts to sing 'Caroline No' or something. The audience starts booing them. Dennis says 'shut up and let my brother sing!'.  When Carl finishes the song, Dennis asked if anybody had a joint. They audience laughed.

Something like that. I can't recall where I read that. Either 'The Real Beach Boy' or 'Dumb Angel'.

[Shady]

If Ravi Shankar with a Sitar was received well, I see no reason why The Beach Boys would not be.

Just the previous year Good Vibration was released, a main component in the 'Summer Of Love'

[Ian]

I am sorry to report that I have many concert reviews from the 1971-73 period that involve the Beach Boys dealing with hostile and unruly crowds. The group-especially in 1971-were very solidly trying to present themselves as a modern group not a nostalgia act. They would do the oldies-but mostly at the end of the show and as encores.  As you might expect-some audiences refused to wait to hear Help Me Rhonda-and often the band showed their anger at the crowd in return.  One of the worst was the show at the University of Virginia (Nov 6 1971) with the Byrds. The reviewer apologized to the band that they had to have such a lousy, drunken audience.  It was a running battle from 71 on- a lot of crowds just wanted the BBs to be a walking jukebox. They didn't want to hear songs from Holland, etc. 

[NHC]

[/quote]

Dennis says 'shut up and let my brother sing!'. 
[/quote]

I love it.

All said with that famous impish grin, but you never know, he just might haul off and do it!

[roll plymouth rock]

I think the Hawaii concert is good. Many live recordings at the time sounded a little rough mix wise. Note the Who's Monterey set is very rough too, but again I like it. The Beach Boys weren't considered unhip until Jann Wenner wrote his ridiculous article at the end of 1967. Remember even Heroes and Villians was a decent sized hit, so booed no way. Now if they had done a striped shirt deal at Woodstock maybe.

There is that part during God Only Knows, on the 26th show I believe, where Mike says something like 'cool it buddy, he's trying to sing' to a heckler in the crowd.

[Jonas]

"he's singing, cool it!"

sounds like Brian to me...

[roll plymouth rock]

"he's singing, cool it!"

sounds like Brian to me...

nonetheless, they are still being heckled. my theory is that it didn't help that paul revere & the raiders were a tight sounding touring band in 1967 and bobby gentry with an orchestra would have sounded pretty majestic. even though i think the minimalist organ thing is cool, the crowd probably would've been slightly confused