Show 3: New Orleans Jazz Fest- New Orleans, LA 4/27/12 (SETLIST/PICS/REVIEWS)

[Justin]

Two more things:
Cowsill is the best possible drummer for the BBs since Dennis.

Agreed...always loved Cowsill's work.

[Bicyclerider]

OK, I've been avoiding this as I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I guess I need to post a review.  The performance was . . . rough.  Very rough.

The sound problems at the beginning continued sporadically throughout the concert - on one song, David's guitar solo would be nearly inaudible, the next song clear as a bell.  Mike's voice, after the first verse of Do It Again being completely inaudible, was so reverbed/processed that I thought it was prerecorded at first.  That straightened out some in Catch a Wave and was pretty normal sounding by Don't Back Down.  

The good first:  the band rocked and David's guitar playing was great.  The harmonies were pretty spot on but they did have a lot of help from the backing musicians - on most songs, on the chorus I counted ten to 11 people singing.  Without Jeffrey it would have been impossible for the band to pull off almost any of the songs.  But that's OK.  It was hard for me to really distinguish how Bruce's voice was.  Mike's bass voice was pretty good, there were some off notes but for a 70 year old plus man he did a good job.

Alan did a superlative job on his songs and Cottonfields to me was the highlight of the concert.  A funny comment from Al after Heroes and Villains - "that's from our recently released Smile album."

The bad:  Brian sat stiffly on the piano the entire time and I didn't see his mouth move until the fourth song where he sang the bridge.  He looked like he desperately wanted to be somewhere else - in line at the food tents most likely.  His singing was NOT good.  Even on an off night with the Brian Wilson band, Brian sang better than this.  It was embarrassing.  Sail on Sailor was way too wordy for him to keep up with and he was off tempo/late reading off the teleprompter and sang in a monotone like he was reading the lyrics, which he was.  You're So Good to Me was off as well.  I suspect there was a problem with his teleprompter during God Made the Radio because he didn't start singing the first verse (someone started without him and then he echoed that person, probably Jeff) and he kept missing lines and when he was supposed to come in.  He was fiddling with his teleprompter as the song started and I wonder if the song didn't come up at all.

Whenever Al or Mike would mention Brian or look at him or point to him, all he did was return a stony stare.  It did not look like there were good vibes on stage for Brian to me.
The only time Brian's vocals came alive were on Heroes and God Only Knows. He did a good job on both and got away from the monotone "reading." Incidentally, Heroes was the stereo remix version/arrangement (on Hawthorne) with those weird bass runs during the chorus clearly audible - it sounded great.

Mike's voice sounded strange for the first couple of songs, then seemed to strengthen only to completely die during Kokomo, where he seemed out of breath and could only sing a few words (well, sing/talk) at a time.  My wife kept giving me looks and saying “this sounds bad.”

The ugly:  I know Brian can be hard to “read” but I find it hard to believe he’s going to last the entire tour if the Jazzfest concert is at all indicative of his state of mind.  Other than his few songs he really doesn’t contribute, even to the harmonies.  I’m trying to think why - in his solo shows he usually sings Mike’s parts, which of course are easy for him to handle.  He can’t duplicate his harmony parts any more, which leaves him nothing to sing during the songs he’s not lead vocalist on.  He’s playing perfunctory piano parts when he feels like it but all that’s doubled by the three other keyboardists on stage.  He’s got nothing to do.

My suggestion to the powers that be:  Give Brian more leads early on in the show to get him going.  Have Brian trade off lead vocals in some of the songs Mike sings lead on – Brian could take a verse for example.  It would be nice to have that Brian/Mike interaction.

I hope this was an “off night” and the rest of the tour will be smoother than this performance.  

[Wirestone]

I strongly suspect that Brian will finish the entire tour, good vibes or bad. It's not 1983 anymore, and he keeps his commitments.

It is peculiar that he's not more engaged with the shows, but we shall see how it shakes out.

[JohnMill]

The bad:  Brian sat stiffly on the piano the entire time and I didn't see his mouth move until the fourth song where he sang the bridge.  He looked like he desperately wanted to be somewhere else - in line at the food tents most likely.  His singing was NOT good.  Even on an off night with the Brian Wilson band, Brian sang better than this.  It was embarrassing.  Sail on Sailor was way too wordy for him to keep up with and he was off tempo/late reading off the teleprompter and sang in a monotone like he was reading the lyrics, which he was.  You're So Good to Me was off as well.  I suspect there was a problem with his teleprompter during God Made the Radio because he didn't start singing the first verse (someone started without him and then he echoed that person, probably Jeff) and he kept missing lines and when he was supposed to come in.  He was fiddling with his teleprompter as the song started and I wonder if the song didn't come up at all.

Whenever Al or Mike would mention Brian or look at him or point to him, all he did was return a stony stare.  It did not look like there were good vibes on stage for Brian to me.
The only time Brian's vocals came alive were on Heroes and God Only Knows. He did a good job on both and got away from the monotone "reading." Incidentally, Heroes was the stereo remix version/arrangement (on Hawthorne) with those weird bass runs during the chorus clearly audible - it sounded great.

Mike's voice sounded strange for the first couple of songs, then seemed to strengthen only to completely die during Kokomo, where he seemed out of breath and could only sing a few words (well, sing/talk) at a time.  My wife kept giving me looks and saying “this sounds bad.”

The ugly:  I know Brian can be hard to “read” but I find it hard to believe he’s going to last the entire tour if the Jazzfest concert is at all indicative of his state of mind.  Other than his few songs he really doesn’t contribute, even to the harmonies.  I’m trying to think why - in his solo shows he usually sings Mike’s parts, which of course are easy for him to handle.  He can’t duplicate his harmony parts any more, which leaves him nothing to sing during the songs he’s not lead vocalist on.  He’s playing perfunctory piano parts when he feels like it but all that’s doubled by the three other keyboardists on stage.  He’s got nothing to do.

My suggestion to the powers that be:  Give Brian more leads early on in the show to get him going.  Have Brian trade off lead vocals in some of the songs Mike sings lead on – Brian could take a verse for example.  It would be nice to have that Brian/Mike interaction.

I hope this was an “off night” and the rest of the tour will be smoother than this performance.  

The bad and the ugly are sad to hear indeed.  I know others have floated around the idea that once the tour has gone through a few weeks, Brian may be able to adapt to what is going on onstage and be able to embrace the experience a bit more but I think we all have to keep our expectations in check as that could just as easily not come to pass.  I love The Beach Boys and the idea of the reunion this year as much as anybody but I can't say I'm a fan of putting Brian in an atmosphere/environment on a nightly basis if it's clearly a struggle for him to do this.  So I hope that isn't what is happening as from most accounts I've read Brian's on stage demeanor has been anything but positive so far.  

As you mentioned there are subtle ways the other boys could try to get Brian more involved in the performance but ultimately whatever is happening with Brian up there on a nightly basis is probably beyond their management as it's ultimately Brian's decision whether or not he wants to engage/embrace the performance.

[stack-o-tracks]

I figure it'll get better as the tour goes on. Judging by the youtube videos, it looked like a way bigger crowd than the first two shows, so maybe Brian had a bigger case of the nerves, which was made worse by the technical issues.

Tonight we'll such a much more engaged BW. At least the people who go to the show will.

[Autotune]

Two more things:
Cowsill is the best possible drummer for the BBs since Dennis.

Agreed...always loved Cowsill's work.

He's a perfect combination of muscular energy, commitment and technique. He has a perfect sense for treble playing (hi hat, cymbal), leaving that work to the percussionist, mostly and freeing the music from the white noise so uncharacteristic and harmful to the BBs stomping drum sound. Besides, the duo with the percussion guy is great: they have a great feel for each other.

[endofposts]

Get him off the riser off to the side and behind the enormous white piano to get him more engaged.  It brings back memories of those videos where he's playing a different song and smoking cigarettes.  He can sit behind a small keyboard at the same level as everyone else.  Let him deal with it.  I have a hard time believing he hates Al Jardine given the fact he's all over Al's solo record and didn't have to be.

[Autotune]

OK, I've been avoiding this as I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I guess I need to post a review.  The performance was . . . rough.  Very rough.

The sound problems at the beginning continued sporadically throughout the concert - on one song, David's guitar solo would be nearly inaudible, the next song clear as a bell.  Mike's voice, after the first verse of Do It Again being completely inaudible, was so reverbed/processed that I thought it was prerecorded at first.  That straightened out some in Catch a Wave and was pretty normal sounding by Don't Back Down.  

The good first:  the band rocked and David's guitar playing was great.  The harmonies were pretty spot on but they did have a lot of help from the backing musicians - on most songs, on the chorus I counted ten to 11 people singing.  Without Jeffrey it would have been impossible for the band to pull off almost any of the songs.  But that's OK.  It was hard for me to really distinguish how Bruce's voice was.  Mike's bass voice was pretty good, there were some off notes but for a 70 year old plus man he did a good job.

Alan did a superlative job on his songs and Cottonfields to me was the highlight of the concert.  A funny comment from Al after Heroes and Villains - "that's from our recently released Smile album."

The bad:  Brian sat stiffly on the piano the entire time and I didn't see his mouth move until the fourth song where he sang the bridge.  He looked like he desperately wanted to be somewhere else - in line at the food tents most likely.  His singing was NOT good.  Even on an off night with the Brian Wilson band, Brian sang better than this.  It was embarrassing.  Sail on Sailor was way too wordy for him to keep up with and he was off tempo/late reading off the teleprompter and sang in a monotone like he was reading the lyrics, which he was.  You're So Good to Me was off as well.  I suspect there was a problem with his teleprompter during God Made the Radio because he didn't start singing the first verse (someone started without him and then he echoed that person, probably Jeff) and he kept missing lines and when he was supposed to come in.  He was fiddling with his teleprompter as the song started and I wonder if the song didn't come up at all.

Whenever Al or Mike would mention Brian or look at him or point to him, all he did was return a stony stare.  It did not look like there were good vibes on stage for Brian to me.
The only time Brian's vocals came alive were on Heroes and God Only Knows. He did a good job on both and got away from the monotone "reading." Incidentally, Heroes was the stereo remix version/arrangement (on Hawthorne) with those weird bass runs during the chorus clearly audible - it sounded great.

Mike's voice sounded strange for the first couple of songs, then seemed to strengthen only to completely die during Kokomo, where he seemed out of breath and could only sing a few words (well, sing/talk) at a time.  My wife kept giving me looks and saying “this sounds bad.”

The ugly:  I know Brian can be hard to “read” but I find it hard to believe he’s going to last the entire tour if the Jazzfest concert is at all indicative of his state of mind.  Other than his few songs he really doesn’t contribute, even to the harmonies.  I’m trying to think why - in his solo shows he usually sings Mike’s parts, which of course are easy for him to handle.  He can’t duplicate his harmony parts any more, which leaves him nothing to sing during the songs he’s not lead vocalist on.  He’s playing perfunctory piano parts when he feels like it but all that’s doubled by the three other keyboardists on stage.  He’s got nothing to do.

My suggestion to the powers that be:  Give Brian more leads early on in the show to get him going.  Have Brian trade off lead vocals in some of the songs Mike sings lead on – Brian could take a verse for example.  It would be nice to have that Brian/Mike interaction.

I hope this was an “off night” and the rest of the tour will be smoother than this performance.  

1. Sound issues ain't performance issues. Let's leave them outside the "rough performance" issue.
2. Brian is the way he is. He was as vivid as when I saw him solo during the Smile tour. You don't see any enthusiasm, but then he'd be out of it if he wanted to. More leads to him would mean opening more weak spots, IMO. His singing was better than most of the solo performances circulating. Now, if you're gonna measure his performances by how many odd gestures he does with his hands, or how many forced grins he delivers...
3. Mike did sound good. Gosh, go listen those 1983 Baseball stadium televised concerts!
4. Brian sang backgrounds on a number of songs also. But the crucial point is: being the way he is, will you take him or leave him? Because you ain't gonna change him.

[Autotune]

Get him off the riser off to the side and behind the enormous white piano to get him more engaged.  It brings back memories of those videos where he's playing a different song and smoking cigarettes.  He can sit behind a small keyboard at the same level as everyone else.  Let him deal with it.  I have a hard time believing he hates Al Jardine given the fact he's all over Al's solo record and didn't have to be.

He's not a baby. Let's stop the "make him do this, make him do that". Perhaps he chose his role, no?
 Gee, people spend their life worshipping him because of his uniqueness but then they want to patronize him into looking "normal".

[JohnMill]

OK, I've been avoiding this as I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I guess I need to post a review.  The performance was . . . rough.  Very rough.

The sound problems at the beginning continued sporadically throughout the concert - on one song, David's guitar solo would be nearly inaudible, the next song clear as a bell.  Mike's voice, after the first verse of Do It Again being completely inaudible, was so reverbed/processed that I thought it was prerecorded at first.  That straightened out some in Catch a Wave and was pretty normal sounding by Don't Back Down.  

The good first:  the band rocked and David's guitar playing was great.  The harmonies were pretty spot on but they did have a lot of help from the backing musicians - on most songs, on the chorus I counted ten to 11 people singing.  Without Jeffrey it would have been impossible for the band to pull off almost any of the songs.  But that's OK.  It was hard for me to really distinguish how Bruce's voice was.  Mike's bass voice was pretty good, there were some off notes but for a 70 year old plus man he did a good job.

Alan did a superlative job on his songs and Cottonfields to me was the highlight of the concert.  A funny comment from Al after Heroes and Villains - "that's from our recently released Smile album."

The bad:  Brian sat stiffly on the piano the entire time and I didn't see his mouth move until the fourth song where he sang the bridge.  He looked like he desperately wanted to be somewhere else - in line at the food tents most likely.  His singing was NOT good.  Even on an off night with the Brian Wilson band, Brian sang better than this.  It was embarrassing.  Sail on Sailor was way too wordy for him to keep up with and he was off tempo/late reading off the teleprompter and sang in a monotone like he was reading the lyrics, which he was.  You're So Good to Me was off as well.  I suspect there was a problem with his teleprompter during God Made the Radio because he didn't start singing the first verse (someone started without him and then he echoed that person, probably Jeff) and he kept missing lines and when he was supposed to come in.  He was fiddling with his teleprompter as the song started and I wonder if the song didn't come up at all.

Whenever Al or Mike would mention Brian or look at him or point to him, all he did was return a stony stare.  It did not look like there were good vibes on stage for Brian to me.
The only time Brian's vocals came alive were on Heroes and God Only Knows. He did a good job on both and got away from the monotone "reading." Incidentally, Heroes was the stereo remix version/arrangement (on Hawthorne) with those weird bass runs during the chorus clearly audible - it sounded great.

Mike's voice sounded strange for the first couple of songs, then seemed to strengthen only to completely die during Kokomo, where he seemed out of breath and could only sing a few words (well, sing/talk) at a time.  My wife kept giving me looks and saying “this sounds bad.”

The ugly:  I know Brian can be hard to “read” but I find it hard to believe he’s going to last the entire tour if the Jazzfest concert is at all indicative of his state of mind.  Other than his few songs he really doesn’t contribute, even to the harmonies.  I’m trying to think why - in his solo shows he usually sings Mike’s parts, which of course are easy for him to handle.  He can’t duplicate his harmony parts any more, which leaves him nothing to sing during the songs he’s not lead vocalist on.  He’s playing perfunctory piano parts when he feels like it but all that’s doubled by the three other keyboardists on stage.  He’s got nothing to do.

My suggestion to the powers that be:  Give Brian more leads early on in the show to get him going.  Have Brian trade off lead vocals in some of the songs Mike sings lead on – Brian could take a verse for example.  It would be nice to have that Brian/Mike interaction.

I hope this was an “off night” and the rest of the tour will be smoother than this performance.  

1. Sound issues ain't performance issues. Let's leave them outside the "rough performance" issue.
2. Brian is the way he is. He was as vivid as when I saw him solo during the Smile tour. You don't see any enthusiasm, but then he'd be out of it if he wanted to. More leads to him would mean opening more weak spots, IMO. His singing was better than most of the solo performances circulating. Now, if you're gonna measure his performances by how many odd gestures he does with his hands, or how many forced grins he delivers...
3. Mike did sound good. Gosh, go listen those 1983 Baseball stadium televised concerts!
4. Brian sang backgrounds on a number of songs also. But the crucial point is: being the way he is, will you take him or leave him? Because you ain't gonna change him.

I think you are missing the point somewhat.  As you mentioned (and I concur) Brian was as vivid as could be during a lot of the BWPS shows and TLOS shows I went to as well.  From the reports that have come back to us from fans attending the shows, Brian's demeanor is a stark contrast at these shows compared to what they were at his solo gigs.  This naturally leads to speculation as to whether or not Brian wants to be onstage at all right now.  I understand that Brian Wilson is what he is but that statement is not a free pass to look past the fact that he might be potentially unhappy doing these Beach Boys gigs on a nightly basis.  

[Bicyclerider]

Look I love the Beach Boys as much as anyone, but let's take off the rose colored glasses - this wasn't a great performance.  it wasn't a complete disaster either - although a few songs were (Sail on Sailor, Kokomo, That's Why God Made the Radio).  I'm sure Scott heard the problems and will do his best to correct them - but there's not much that can be done to motivate Brian unless he's interested.  Mike losing his voice in Kokomo - maybe he's singing too many songs, too early in the show.  Let Brian sing some of the oldies as I suggested above.

Why not have Brian come from behind the piano and play bass for the last few songs as he did with the solo shows?  The old lineup of Mike, Al and Brian with David Marks as stand in for Carl (appropriate somehow) and Bruce on keys?  It would cement the "50th anniversary celebration" stuff visually, in addition to the final standing in line on stage move they are doing now (and which Brian seems eager to exit as quickly as possible).  How about a song with just Brian on piano, and just Brian, Al, Carl, Bruce, Dave and Jeff singing?

The pace of the set was strange - start with the oldies/rockers and then the set slows down and is kind of up and down after that.  But part of that is the Jazzfest stage - the crowd doesn't have the same patience for the slow numbers once they're up and dancing.  In the inside arena staging  the same setlist might go over better.

[endofposts]

So, why is he doing the Beach Boys reunion tour.  Could it be because someone made him do it, as though he were a child?  Or helpfully suggested it would be good for his public profile and bank account, so for his own good, gently prodded him to do it -- as though he were a child?  People make him do stuff all the time, I'm sure.  Though as I recall, both Bruce and Mike said that they hoped there would be something to commemorate the 50th anniversary, but something along the lines of a one-shot concert and TV special.  Even they didn't think Brian would want to tour.  Somebody else did, and it might not be what he wants to do.  I'm sure there was a lot of pressure from the record label and others to make the tour as extensive as it wound up being.  

I think that's a good idea to have him play bass for a song or two, or at least mime playing bass.  He might enjoy it.  That white keyboard thing may not have been his idea.  At least have him come out to the front of the stage and sit on a stool for a song or two if he can't or won't stand up.

[Autotune]

OK, I've been avoiding this as I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I guess I need to post a review.  The performance was . . . rough.  Very rough.

The sound problems at the beginning continued sporadically throughout the concert - on one song, David's guitar solo would be nearly inaudible, the next song clear as a bell.  Mike's voice, after the first verse of Do It Again being completely inaudible, was so reverbed/processed that I thought it was prerecorded at first.  That straightened out some in Catch a Wave and was pretty normal sounding by Don't Back Down.  

The good first:  the band rocked and David's guitar playing was great.  The harmonies were pretty spot on but they did have a lot of help from the backing musicians - on most songs, on the chorus I counted ten to 11 people singing.  Without Jeffrey it would have been impossible for the band to pull off almost any of the songs.  But that's OK.  It was hard for me to really distinguish how Bruce's voice was.  Mike's bass voice was pretty good, there were some off notes but for a 70 year old plus man he did a good job.

Alan did a superlative job on his songs and Cottonfields to me was the highlight of the concert.  A funny comment from Al after Heroes and Villains - "that's from our recently released Smile album."

The bad:  Brian sat stiffly on the piano the entire time and I didn't see his mouth move until the fourth song where he sang the bridge.  He looked like he desperately wanted to be somewhere else - in line at the food tents most likely.  His singing was NOT good.  Even on an off night with the Brian Wilson band, Brian sang better than this.  It was embarrassing.  Sail on Sailor was way too wordy for him to keep up with and he was off tempo/late reading off the teleprompter and sang in a monotone like he was reading the lyrics, which he was.  You're So Good to Me was off as well.  I suspect there was a problem with his teleprompter during God Made the Radio because he didn't start singing the first verse (someone started without him and then he echoed that person, probably Jeff) and he kept missing lines and when he was supposed to come in.  He was fiddling with his teleprompter as the song started and I wonder if the song didn't come up at all.

Whenever Al or Mike would mention Brian or look at him or point to him, all he did was return a stony stare.  It did not look like there were good vibes on stage for Brian to me.
The only time Brian's vocals came alive were on Heroes and God Only Knows. He did a good job on both and got away from the monotone "reading." Incidentally, Heroes was the stereo remix version/arrangement (on Hawthorne) with those weird bass runs during the chorus clearly audible - it sounded great.

Mike's voice sounded strange for the first couple of songs, then seemed to strengthen only to completely die during Kokomo, where he seemed out of breath and could only sing a few words (well, sing/talk) at a time.  My wife kept giving me looks and saying “this sounds bad.”

The ugly:  I know Brian can be hard to “read” but I find it hard to believe he’s going to last the entire tour if the Jazzfest concert is at all indicative of his state of mind.  Other than his few songs he really doesn’t contribute, even to the harmonies.  I’m trying to think why - in his solo shows he usually sings Mike’s parts, which of course are easy for him to handle.  He can’t duplicate his harmony parts any more, which leaves him nothing to sing during the songs he’s not lead vocalist on.  He’s playing perfunctory piano parts when he feels like it but all that’s doubled by the three other keyboardists on stage.  He’s got nothing to do.

My suggestion to the powers that be:  Give Brian more leads early on in the show to get him going.  Have Brian trade off lead vocals in some of the songs Mike sings lead on – Brian could take a verse for example.  It would be nice to have that Brian/Mike interaction.

I hope this was an “off night” and the rest of the tour will be smoother than this performance.  

1. Sound issues ain't performance issues. Let's leave them outside the "rough performance" issue.
2. Brian is the way he is. He was as vivid as when I saw him solo during the Smile tour. You don't see any enthusiasm, but then he'd be out of it if he wanted to. More leads to him would mean opening more weak spots, IMO. His singing was better than most of the solo performances circulating. Now, if you're gonna measure his performances by how many odd gestures he does with his hands, or how many forced grins he delivers...
3. Mike did sound good. Gosh, go listen those 1983 Baseball stadium televised concerts!
4. Brian sang backgrounds on a number of songs also. But the crucial point is: being the way he is, will you take him or leave him? Because you ain't gonna change him.

I think you are missing the point somewhat.  As you mentioned (and I concur) Brian was as vivid as could be during a lot of the BWPS shows and TLOS shows I went to as well.  From the reports that have come back to us from fans attending the shows, Brian's demeanor is a stark contrast at these shows compared to what they were at his solo gigs.  This naturally leads to speculation as to whether or not Brian wants to be onstage at all right now.  I understand that Brian Wilson is what he is but that statement is not a free pass to look past the fact that he might be potentially unhappy doing these Beach Boys gigs on a nightly basis.  

John, you are missing my point: I meant that Brian was equally vivid on his solo shows as he was yesterday (i.e. numb), only going thru the motions of having to be centerstage.

[Autotune]

So, why is he doing the Beach Boys reunion tour.  Could it be because someone made him do it, as though he were a child?  Or helpfully suggested it would be good for his public profile and bank account, so for his own good, gently prodded him to do it -- as though he were a child?  People make him do stuff all the time, I'm sure.  Though as I recall, both Bruce and Mike said that they hoped there would be something to commemorate the 50th anniversary, but something along the lines of a one-shot concert and TV special.  Even they didn't think Brian would want to tour.  Somebody else did, and it might not be what he wants to do.  I'm sure there was a lot of pressure from the record label and others to make the tour as extensive as it wound up being.  

I think that's a good idea to have him play bass for a song or two, or at least mime playing bass.  He might enjoy it.  That white keyboard thing may not have been his idea.  At least have him come out to the front of the stage and sit on a stool for a song or two if he can't or won't stand up.

But where does this "let's parade Brian to re-animate him" come from? People want a quirky Brian until they're confronted by their wish.

[Justin]

Thanks for the review, Bicyclerider.

I think the question is all about consistency.  For any of us to imply that Brian may be terribly unhappy with this reunion would be greatly inconsistent with the reports we've heard from inside the band, outside the band and anyone who's been around them in the last six months:  the guys are getting on fine.  In the studio, at least...and more specifically, Mike and Brian are cool with each other.  From the few official videos we've seen, they've been getting along quite well.  All the people I've spoken with who have been near the guys say the same thing.  So for Brian to all of a sudden suddenly hate all this...doesn't seem consistent.  He may hate the performing part...but not necessarily the reunion.  We should really be specific

As it appears from the reviews, sound was an issue on this show.  That could definitely account for the frazzled performance by the entire band.  Festivals are notorious for crap sound for big bands from the artist's perspective  (see Elton John festival rant on YouTube--hilarious) This could have possibly affected Brian who may have felt uncomfortable by the off sound.  Perhaps the large crowd also put him in an uneasy place...that picture of Scott giving him a back rub is pretty revealing.  He seems to be having one of those "bad nights" that we've always heard about.  What caused it, we'll never know...the traveling...the boredom...the fear of a huge crowd...self doubt that this whole thing was a great idea...worry about the long tour that is still up ahead...the meet and greets (which he may not love) that he now has to do on EVERY show...how well the album will do...these are all things that may or may not be floating around Brian's mind.  On good days, all those thoughts may stay at bay and not threaten him so we shouldn't hold so much over him...he's after all done A LOT to in this last few months to pull this off.

[drbeachboy]

So, why is he doing the Beach Boys reunion tour.  Could it be because someone made him do it, as though he were a child?  Or helpfully suggested it would be good for his public profile and bank account, so for his own good, gently prodded him to do it -- as though he were a child?  People make him do stuff all the time, I'm sure.  Though as I recall, both Bruce and Mike said that they hoped there would be something to commemorate the 50th anniversary, but something along the lines of a one-shot concert and TV special.  Even they didn't think Brian would want to tour.  Somebody else did, and it might not be what he wants to do.  I'm sure there was a lot of pressure from the record label and others to make the tour as extensive as it wound up being.  

I think that's a good idea to have him play bass for a song or two, or at least mime playing bass.  He might enjoy it.  That white keyboard thing may not have been his idea.  At least have him come out to the front of the stage and sit on a stool for a song or two if he can't or won't stand up.

But where does this "let's parade Brian to re-animate him" come from? People want a quirky Brian until they're confronted by their wish.

Isn't that the truth. Brian does the same things at his own shows. If he didn't have to sing every song, he would have been doing the same things that he is doing at these shows. He is not a showman or a very good performer. If Jeff didn't prod him, I don't think he'd interact with the audience at all. Even when they take their bows, Brian doesn't even crack a grin. He is a stone face on stage. I'll say this, he is no phoney. He always acts the same. When I go to see Brian, I never expect more than he gives. Brian is, well..., Brian.

[endofposts]

Uh, but he has played bass at his own shows, and I"ve seen him do it, personally.  He didn't keel over, he was fine.

[Autotune]

Look: Brian's performances have been unprofessional throughout his entire solo career. Why would he change now? He's been stone-faced for a decade on stage now, as dr. Beach Boy says. And he was stone faced before. That "hang a bass around his neck to force his participation" is disgusting IMO.

[Rocker]

I wasn't there so I don't know how Brian sounded, but we all know how Brian behaves on stage. I think such comments that he doesn't want to be there because he doesn't interact much should be done carefully. He acted that way for his whole solo carreer (which may go on next year). He's clearly happy (at the moment) to be back together with Mike. Alan Boyd said so (through a poster who had the pleasure of visiting him not too long ago) and Stebbins also reported from David Marks that Brian seems very happy with the guys. We all know that Brian has his days when he's hearing the voices louder than on others. That doesn't change only because he's back with the Beach Boys. But that's nothing else than on his solo tours. Only that now he doesn't have to rum the whole show. This shouldn't be a surprise for any of us. Brian is not a healthy person and we have to accept that.  

So, again: I'd be very careful with comments that he doesn't want to be there or with the Beach Boys and then even stretch that out to the whole tour. Brian probably just had a bad day.

[Margarita]

I don't understand why this is still an issue, or why fans are still surprised that he's not bouncing all over the stage and giving people big warm hugs.  I've seen Brian in concert very animated, happy, smiling...and shows in which he is stonefaced and deer-in-the-headlights.  
The man has a diagnosed mental illness.  He probably takes meds every day and sees doctors and therapists often.  He needs a mess o' help to stand alone.  
He has never, ever been a showman on a consistent basis, even in the early days of the Beach Boys.  He was always happier being in his room or his studio or at his piano, or hanging out with friends of his choosing.
Yet playing concerts is a necessity for a rock-n-roller.  My guess is that he does this because he knows it's part of the deal.  I think he also does like the love and response from the crowd in a smaller venue, because it justifies for him that people do enjoy his work.  That's just a theory...only Brian knows the truth.  

[Wirestone]

It really depends. I've seen him very animated at some shows. And I've seen him rather passive and perfunctory at others. He always has done a perfectly competent job as a vocalist and (somewhat cracked) emcee though.

I read an interview with Melinda from a year or two ago that summed up the challenge that his camp faces. She said that one day, Brian will say "I'm not interested in doing shows." And the next day, he'll say, "When am I going to go out with the guys again?" So which Brian, on which day, do you believe?

He clearly enjoyed making the record. TWGMTR, if nothing else, shows he was engaged in the recording process. He seems to enjoy interacting with Mike and the guys again. So I'm sure that when they asked Brian if he was interested in doing the tour, he said, "Sure!"

But now it's started and it seems daunting and it's strange and stressful. Mike and Al and Bruce are using his band, the people who had previously just supported Brian, as their backing. Brian is over at the side of the stage, and even though he's using this new technology that will make him on-pitch all the time, it sounds a little strange. And there are these huge audiences, and they're playing songs he doesn't play with his band.

So which Brian do we believe? The one who likely signed up with good intentions and signed the contracts and was gung ho? Or the one who's kind of scared and cross right now?

[Rocker]

And there are these huge audiences, and they're playing songs he doesn't play with his band.

Well, most of the songs were played by Brian and his band. "Cottonfields" and "All this is that" weren't. I don't have the setlists in front of me but I think everything else was done by Brian solo. Am I right ?

[NHC]

I'm not sure anybody knows from mere observation at a concert what Brian is thinking or feeling at any given point, or where he may want to be instead of there.  How comfortable is he really? Don't know. His blank face may be from boredom or stage fright or disengagement, or whatever, even masking some real enjoyment for all I know, or could simply be a case of him figuring, "what's the big deal, I'm on stage with my old band playing a bunch of great tunes that I wrote and that everybody loves and why get excited now?" Almost like he's satisfied with what he's done and no need to process it any more than that. On the other hand, this could really be a bummer for him. Plus he's almost 70 years old with a few of his own problems.  But I don't know him, have never spent any time around him, never studied him, only ever seen him from no closer than about the tenth row, haven't been to one of these concerts yet (May 27) for first hand observation, or anything.  We all know the issues and the history but can we really tell what he's feeling behind that face? I just hope for his sake it's not 1976 or 1977 all over again. Bass?  Only if he wants to.

[Wirestone]

And there are these huge audiences, and they're playing songs he doesn't play with his band.

Well, most of the songs were played by Brian and his band. "Cottonfields" and "All this is that" weren't. I don't have the setlists in front of me but I think everything else was done by Brian solo. Am I right ?

Brian's band does not play:

Don't Back Down
Surfin Safari
Why do Fools Fall in Love
Cottonfields
Be True to your School
Disney Girls
Little Honda
All this is that
California Dreaming
Rock n Roll Music
That's Why God Made the Radio
Kokomo

That's more than a quarter of the setlist. None of those songs, as far as I know, have ever been played by Brian's band.

[Runaways]

i think they need to play deeper cuts to keep brian interested