Sometimes I forget how awesome of a time it was to be a Brian Wilson fan in '98-'99. Between the new album at the time, the 1st ever solo tour, the interviews & in-store signings - those were truly exciting times.
This clip is from June 18th, 1999. Brian had just started his 1st solo tour, and this was to be I believe the 7th show of the tour. A few months prior, I met Bob Hanes (RIP) through the PSML. Like many others here, I had the good fortune of being mentored & educated in the way of the BB's/BW by this great man. He linked me up with Darian, for whom I provided some tapes for him & the band to study for their upcoming tour. He also introduced me to David Leaf who I ended up spending some time on the phone with. He was always very cool & generous with his time. The kind person that he is (along with a word from Bob), David offered me to come to the soundcheck at the Beacon Theater in New York. I was too pumped and of course said
hell yes. However, there was one issue: The soundcheck fell on the same day that I was to take my 9th grade Earth Science Regents exam. This was a problem, because the Regents exams are not something you just skip out on.
Long story short, I ended up having to go to summer school just so I could go to the soundcheck. The BW heavens were shining down upon me, and I wasn't about to let that moment pass.
This is a clip of me meeting Mr. Leaf at the soundcheck, followed by BW + band rehearsing "Add Some Music". At that time set list information wasn't so instantly available, so even though he had played this song a few nights prior, this was the first I heard of him doing it and you can hear how exciting it was.
Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RzQLv09scQPS - I apologize for my whiny 15 year old voice talking midway through the song. Apparently I was freaking out about losing the case for my tape recorder (my Dad's vintage 70's portable cassette/FM radio - very cool piece).
And if anyone's interested, this was the full set list @ the soundcheck:
Lay Down Burden
Tune Up
Love And Mercy (no Brian)
Keyboard rehearsals
Percussion rehearsals
Pet Sounds
California Girls
Add Some Music
More Tune Up
Your Imagination (false start)
Your Imagination (complete)
Kicked Out
Darlin'
Brian Talking
Surfer Girl (false start)
Surfer Girl (complete)