The Smiley Smile Message Board

Here's what I posted on the blueboard about this show:
If I'm honest, I'll say that it looked as if Brian wasn't having his best night. He had a couple of nice intros, but it wasn't like when I saw him on the last tour. It's early in the tour, right, so maybe he's still finding his rhythm. But he missed a few cues, lost his place in the lyrics a couple of times, and was off-key a few times. And this was in both sets--greatest hits and Gershwin. He always leaves the stage before the end of the last song, but he left super early after each set, as if he couldn't wait to get out of there.

I will say that the band was great, though maybe not quite up to what I've seen before from them. I think part of it was that Taylor was missing. She really is important. I also think that the band may have been a bit lacking in enthusiasm in response to Brian's lack of enthusiasm. Jeff in particular seemed to be looking at Brian (not the audience) for much of the time. But the playing was still way above average. Darian's lead on Darlin was as good as I remembered from the last tour. The band on the Gershwin stuff was great...really top notch.

The Wellmont is a small theater, and it wasn't filled, but it was maybe 80 percent. My friend who is not a Brian/BB fan was perplexed as to why everyone was sitting for so many songs--though there was enthusiastic applause, and people did stand for select songs. We finally just stood up and clapped and danced the whole time. I was annoyed that some people didn't return after intermission for the Gershwin set. And some people got up to leave during the Gershwin set. Do Boomers not want to hear their parents' music? :-) I personally love those songs and was pleased to hear them, with the interludes from the album and everything.

All in all, I had a great time, but the show quite wasn't as good as other Brian shows I've seen.

Based on a sample of three shows and info gleaned from reliable reporters (as below), my impression is that Brian's engaged by the Gershwin set and could really care less about the rest. I think the astonishing enthusiasm of the fall 2009 tour didn't sustain. Maybe retirement is a good idea.

In that case, since it's the final tour, they should let Brian do whatever the hell songs he wants to do live.

I'm not sure 50 minutes of "Shortenin' Bread" followed by an hour of "Be My Baby" with an encore of 10 minutes of "Barbara Ann" would put many bums on seats.

At least for the final show, Brian should choose his setlist, and have it be filmed. Obviously, he would have to mix it up a bit...but I miss the diverse setlists of the earlier tours.

"Brian Wilson Reimagines Phil Spector".

Wondering if, having taken the decision to retire from touring, he's treading water until the tour ends.

I am stoked that Dad, my four boys and I got to see him in Australia twice last year. He has earnt whatever he does next..He seems from all reports to be a "little" down at the moment.

That sounds pretty good to me, actually! haha  :)

"Brian Wilson Reimagines Shortenin' Bread".

As far as I'm concerned, the best I ever saw Brian in a live setting was in October and November of 2009 during his American tour, which, to this day, I still believe are the best shows and tour he's ever done. He set the bar up so high that he couldn't possibly top them again this time around.

He didn't.

However, the show wasn't a waste. Brian was very into the Gershwin material and the band was exceptionally good. The lack of Taylor did hurt, though. Brian looked very disinterested during the first set, and he looked like he was ready to scream at the teleprompter during Please Let Me Wonder. The only song he really seemed into during the first set was Heroes and Villains. Otherwise, he wasn't the same Brian we saw back in late 2009. Everything he said to the audience sounded as if it came right from the teleprompter, except for one moment where he exclaimed during the first set "these two people here are waving their fingers at me! I don't know, what should I do?!?" that he sounded like he was having a bit of fun.

Definitely not the best I've seen of him but not a waste. Go out and find a way to see him this tour; it may be his last.

I think he's just feeling down on account of his daily Deli having been outed

I agree that Brian was more into the Gershwin stuff than the hits, but he still didn't seem as engaged as he had in 2009. He practically barked out Nothing But Love (last song) and then left the stage so the band did the Rhapsody reprise without him. He was really trying on Summertime, Porgy, etc, though, and he sounded good. But yes, 2009 is a high bar to set for Brian. I remember how he introduced nearly every song and had nice interactions with the band. That was missing last night.

We gotta get Boyd to do the "Shortenin' Bread" suite he keeps talking about.

Ahem, I'm not Boyd but: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCvOiwUMNW8

Sounds like Brian is ready to throw in the towel and this may very well be his last days of touring. Read on another thread that he's talking about Palm Springs - not sure if it's permanent but that's Retirementville. Without Taylor and the Gershwin set, I'm debating whether I wanna pay 80 smackers (x2) to see more greatest hits. When he was out here in Oakland last time, other than  the "Lucky Old Sun" stuff, it was the exact same scenario as what Amy described above. Seems like he just went through the motions. I might sit this one out.

Also agree on Taylor. She's good eye candy and has a real good voice. Brian & the band need her in there. Seriously. 

Brian is in good voice this tour...I'd ay at least as good as 09, and maybe a little better on some of the material.  I was transfixed watching him do I Love You Porgy.

The audience interaction is way down this time.  Maybe after a few shows.....?  And I too saw that Foskett stare/glare?  And I missed Taylor.

Seeing Brian TWICE in september  :o :o, Dublin and Manchester..

Hope he's on form

I seem to have caused some alarm here, and especially on the blueboard.

It's very likely that it was just the one show that Brian wasn't feeling up to doing. Or that it was just my perception that he wasn't enjoying himself. Others say the other shows were great, so keep your hopes up.

I took your review at face value (something that is out of many Brianistas' league) and I saw nothing in it that would cause any alarm to any Brian fan possessing a stable mind and UNBIASED judgment. Posting it on the blueboard, where many of those qualities are lacking in the membership...that was probably not that good of an idea, since you're liable to be made to drink the Kool-Aid for a dissenting opinion over there.

OH NO! BRIAN FLUBBED ON PLEASE LET ME WONDER! THE END IS NEAR! THE MIND GANGSTERS HAVE WON!

Give me a break. It's my experience from seeing the man live seven times and hearing countless bootlegs that he makes a flub or several in almost every show. Even when I saw him in 2009 he flubbed a few words here and there - I recall during Sloop John B. in Wilkes-Barre, PA in November of 2009, Brian flubbed at the beginning and imitated a gallows execution. Flubs are part of the experience at a Brian Wilson concert, like mosh pits at a Metallica concert or being pissed and shat on at a GG Allin concert. Brian has never been terrible in live performance although he's come close a few times - it's called THE ROAD. The road brings good nights, ok nights, and bad nights. I'd say that the fact that at almost 69 years of age that the man can still put on a GOOD, let alone great, show, is telling. Do I expect him to do it forever? Hell no. The man deserves a retirement, too. If this turns out to be the last tour, I'll know I saw the man giving his best on that night.

Best keep the criticism off of the blueboard, Amy. Both for your sanity and the continued blissful ignorance of the membership there.

Being honest - i. e. even hinting that not every last millisecond of Brian's performance was perfect - will always cause panic in certain quarters of the Bloo. My impression from accurate reports of the first three shows and talking to a couple of friends is that while, as ever, Brian is engaged by the new material and thus goes the extra mile, as for the rest he could care less than less. The recent interviews, and his trip over here have given me pause for thought: he's suddenly looking/sounding his age and more... the spark is greatly diminished.

Think you're all overreacting a bit.

This is Brian's first tour in a year, I would think he needs a little time to get into the motions

The one or two individuals on the blueboard who took issue with my review had strong responses, but others defended my viewpoint or didn't respond, as if acknowledging that it's normal for a performer to have an off-night. So it was really just a couple of people.

I don't know that I agree that he suddenly seems older than before. My friend (non-BB/Brian fan) asked how old he was and when I told her, she said she thought he was older than that, simply because of the way he hobbled off the stage after each set. But we all know that Brian will hobble one minute and jog the next, depending on his mood. That recent interview from Canada impressed me a lot. Brian seemed quite engaged and young.

That said, he IS older. I was taken aback the last time I saw Mike, too, but again, everyone is getting older. I'm impressed that they're all still able to undertake long tours. Looking at Brian's schedule, I'M exhausted.

I'd imagine the sales of Gerswhin didn't do Brian any favors. And as far as the low ticket sales, he deserves it. I love Brian, but if you think I'm going to pay $50+ for a guy that looks at his watch during shows and cruise controls through entire songs, you'd have to be out of your mind. I'd pay, at most, $20 for a Brian Wilson show. Yeah, his band is good, but they aren't the Beach Boys. They're just asking for too much money to go and watch a cover band and a Beach Boy that seems disinterested in half his catalog. They need to give Brian a year or two off. Maybe even he let him retire. He's a legend. No use tarnishing his image, especially when the performer himself could seem to care less.

Good call -  he has taken a while to warm up in the past -  by the time her reaches the UK in September he should be at his usual peak!

My impression is there's a bigger underlying problem, not just ring-rustiness.

I'm with you AGD , just maybe with all the scenario of SMiLE release and The BB's reunion all happening at once is just too much for Brian to comprehend  :-\

Hmm… I know we take a more realistic view than the Blooies but maybe that's going a bit then other way too far.  I suspect he's a bit more ambivalent towards the SMiLE stuff these days; any reunion, on the other hand I could see him being a bit cautious about.

If Andrew's right, I'd suspect it's more to, simply, with age.  We all get there…

Andrew -- FWIW, my impressions are very similar to yours. It started with some of the Gershwin promotion last year, but has really hit recently, simply because I think he's less enthusiastic about promoting this tour than he was the album.

He's an old man. He looks and sounds old. He seems tired, and from the inside out, not the outside in (if that makes any sense). He doesn't even seem particularly crazy anymore, just doddering.

And that's okay. He is 68 years old -- soon to be 69 -- and if you're that old when age catches up to you, it seems like you're pretty lucky to me.

My hope would be that he can still function in the studio, if he wants, and that he derives some happiness from touring, again if that's what he wants. But it's telling, isn't it, that he says he's considering retirement from the road not because he's scared of it, or paranoid about it, but simply because he's old.

It's funny -- I used to think he would have Audree-style longevity, but now I wonder if his constitution is actually more like Murry's, and that medical science has just been very good for him.

I saw the New York show last night and thought he was in great form, and he definitely seemed to be enjoying himself during both sets.  Of course, it helped that I was sitting about ten feet away from him (it was a very small venue, a club more than a concert hall, and worth every penny to be so close to a band that good.)  He was very talkative, introducing more than half the songs, dancing (or I guess gesturing, but with Brian...), interacting with the band.  He introduced "Girl Don't Tell Me" as the "the only song he'd ever written entirely in his head, with no piano or guitar or anything," which I thought was cool, but he introduced and commented on a lot of the songs, really.  Before Dance, Dance, Dance he invited everyone to stand up and dance, then added that "well, the tables might get in the way.  You know what, stand up, sit down, we don't care!"  He led the audience through what certainly sounded like a spontaneous version of "row row row your boat," although I understand that that's been a part of the set in the past, ending with a hilarious quip along the lines of "I did that just for all of you."  And even though there were some vocal flubs here and there, he definitely sounded "on" vocally, at least to my ears.  Please Let Me Wonder and God Only Knows both sounded incredibly sweet for Brian's current voice, and he seemed to actually be enjoying singing.  There were no surprises in the hit set list, but Heroes and Villains sounded incredible.  I do wish there were more late-period songs, but given that Brian actually seemed to be enjoying singing the early hits, I didn't mind.  (granted, he still seemed to zone out occasionally, but this is Brian, after all.)  The Gershwin set was incredible.  To me, he actually seemed less like he was having fun, but definitely more focused, and the vocals were spot on all night, with the exception of "The Like in I love you" where he seemed to struggle with the vocal.  But starting with Summertime, he was just incredible.  Of course I wanted to strangle the old man sitting in front of me, who (besides spending half the night texting on his cell phone) gave a thumbs down and shouted for "help me rhonda" and "surfin safari" between songs.  Literally.  Wanted to strangle him.  But even a crotchety old man (at one point he yelled for "Sidewalk Surfin."  He was clearly embarrassing his wife.) couldn't bring the night down.  It Aint Necessarily So was another highlight for me, including Brian's somewhat rambling introduction about how "far out" the words were (he really doesn't like the words...it was almost like he was apologizing for them).  Finally, the encore was far more fun than I expected, mainly because the band seemed to be enjoying it so much.  Brian looked pretty tired by that point (and I can't blame him, he'd been playing for like two hours by then), but I swear that at one point Darian and I think Probyn snuck up behind Scott while he was playing a keyboard solo, and did a weird tambourine dance in his ears to mess with him.  Speaking of piano solos, I'm 90 percent sure that Brian played one on his piano, during Help Me Rhonda.  And then Scott was doing everything in slow motion.  It was pretty funny, but it was also just totally infectious that the band seemed to be having such a great time!  That said, Brian did seem to escape the stage as fast as possible after each set (or I should say, just before the end of each set.)  Also, no Love and Mercy, which was very surprising, at least to me.  Unless we missed a last encore...we did leave pretty quickly, but being as the house had turned the lights up and started playing music through the PA, I highly doubt there was any more to come.  Does he not do Love and Mercy at the end anymore?  

Over, it was far and away the most engaged I've ever seen Brian.  He was talkative, energetic, and he sang great on the hits and the Gershwin material.  And did I mention that I was sitting ten feet away from the stage?  It was a great night all around.  

Great, great review.

At last some good news from this tour

Good to hear this. It sounds like the way Brian was when I saw him in 2009. Yes, he does still finish with Love and Mercy, and I'm always surprised at the number of people who leave and don't seem to realize there will be one more song. I always chalk it up to people who haven't seen him live before.   

Did he make the joke about the front row: "There are people looking at me right here in the front. What should I do?" He did that in Montclair. He also did the How Loud Can You Yell, which I assume was on his teleprompter, along with the "just for you" joke. And before the Gershwin set, he told the story about how the family had called him and asked him to finish some songs.

I was at the show on Thursday night and I must say he did have his share of rough spots. He seemed completely disengaged from the music and the crowd and even his band wasn't as vibrant as they were on the Fall '09 tour.

However, compared to when I saw Brian and band in Fall '09 (November - F.M. Kirby Center, Wilkes-Barre, PA), the crowd was definitely more energentic and responsive when compared to that show. Granted, there were many people who were walking out early during the Gershwin set or right after set one, but those who stayed really gave off a positive energy. I was sitting next to a section that was completely empty and the three rows behind the row I sat in were empty save for a few people.

I was at the NJ show and can say it was not one of his better ones. The Gershwin set was great but everything else was sort of rough. Not the same band I saw in 09. What happened?

Maybe Brian's tank's run dry.

It is ironic that his 60s breakdown was in part caused by the grind of the road and yet almost 50 years later he is still out doing it. He doesn't need the money, and more likely this tour is costing him.

I would have gone for a one-off Gerswhin show a year ago in NY. This current tour fits neither the Beach Boys or the Gerswhin fans IMO.

Nah, he's just saving himself for Manchester in September!   ;D

d00d seemingly hasn't been into the idea of touring overall for decades, if ever. I mean yeah, he seems to enjoy parts of it from time to time, but it's apparent that a lot of this sh*t is other people's doing. I'm glad he's being kept busy as I'm sure it keeps his demons at bay to some extent, but he's nearing 70 (happy birthday!) and seems to enjoy writing and recording a whole lot more than touring, especially to the extent he still does. Give 'im a break.

I'll take a 60 minute "Shortenin' Bread" over the guy proclaiming outright that he dislike a song before playing it, looking at his watch throughout (as hilarious as both of those are). Let Brian Wilson play what Brian Wilson wants to, and for God's sake, let Brian Wilson *sing* at Brian Wilson shows. Not Jeff Foskett.

Seeing Brian in interviews he seems to have (for lack of a better word) aged in the last year. I really wouldn't be surprised if this was his last tour. If true I hope they let him rest and relax because I am not sure he gets to do either when he is on tour.

All I know is that we were not impressed in what we saw. I found it almost hilarious that my mom was enjoying the show more and I dragged her to the show  ::)

Yeah, he should end his carreer with a bang.