The Smiley Smile Message Board

Brian just finished rocking 50 thousand people at Bestival

(http://i51.tinypic.com/2hcqlud.jpg)

I think it's getting shown tonight at 10pm on Sky Arts..

Watch it if you have it!

Wish that many people in the USA would show up for a concert with BW. Huge numbers of people over here still think he is a insane drug casualty to be laughed at.

Cool ! Hope it will be on youtube soon.
What did he play?

Not sure, sadly wasn't there.

Usual greatest hits set I suppose

Heck, when I was telling people I was going to go see Brian Wilson I always got "he's still alive?"
Their loss.

Cool BW art from Bestival: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tHVF7dPbTgk/Tj-vm4y3yMI/AAAAAAAAAZE/kIm5b-iaQg4/s1600/brianwilsonbestival_final.jpg

I'm delighted he's getting that sort of audience there, but it really is a shame his native California can't do that.

They didn't all turn up for Brian - Bestival is a three-day event. That said, good turnout.

Gotcha, I just went to the BW show on June 6 in Vienna, VA with really poor turnout. Still getting used to having people give me odd looks or disapproval when I say I like BW and The Beach Boys.

Its up on the tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZI-MPEI6ls

Interestingly Brian plays very audible (and decent) piano throughout most of the set. He looks much more engaged when playing piano.

Singing is very very slurred - I wonder if its nerves of if Brian's anti-anxiety medication is upped for large festivals.

You know what rings my bell about that ? There's 50,000 people there, 90% of whom are considerably younger than the song, belting out "GV".  ;D

But... someone really needs to tell Brian not to get up and walk offstage before a song ends. That's not quirky, or lovably eccentric, that's just bloody rude.

Quote from The Guardian's Bestival review :

"Nostalgia comes in all shapes and sizes these days, and Friday afternoon is a retro riot. Less dazed and bemused than he was at Glastonbury a few years back – when he sat at his piano while his backing band belted out the hits as if confused how so many people had gotten into his bathroom – Brian Wilson is on sparkling form for what's rumoured to be his final UK festival show ever, rattling through relentless classics (Help Me Rhonda, Surfing USA, Fun, Fun, Fun, you know the ones) for an already intoxicated crowd of Freddie Mercurys (it's a rock stars, pop stars and divas fancy dress theme this year) trying to surf grass."

I've certainly seen far worse reviews...

Just watched it. He clearly wasn't feeling that, was he?

I was worried he was going to fall asleep during Good Vibrations!

Piano playing is cool -- he started doing that during the fall 09 tour and has pretty much kept it up since -- although he's far higher in the mix than I'd heard before. Nearly fell off my seat watching him play piano during the verse of H&V back then ...

I agree on the piano playing, very cool to see/hear that.

"Johnny B. Goode" never really worked for me as an encore and here the singing was really not good during the verses. I hope it's not because of too much medication, which would be rather sad I think...

They've been doing it before his big appearances for at least the last 10 years or so ...

Off and on. Mostly off.  When he's not, he looks bored shitless.

That is SO not the Brian Wilson I just saw 2 weeks ago.

What a difference.
You could very well be right about the medication. He was clearly wanting to be any place else and couldn't even wait another 30 seconds.
Such a shame. :(

Leaving the stage early during FFF has been part of the stage act since his first shows in Illinois, back in '99. It's really not a new deal.

But yeah, he's not on fire. To put it mildly.

I've rarely heard him 'undersing' songs like that.  Usually he's shouty, or trying too hard, hell he looked like he was half asleep on this one.  Maybe he just didn't feel good. Awesome to see him playing piano on his greatest success, though. 

He has this great expression on his face during "Johnny B. Goode" where they do that kind of break down in the Chorus, where he looks at them like "Oh, sh*t.  I guess we all agreed to do that.  Damn.  "  Like he didn't like that part but aquiesced, lol. 

Cool Shirt. 

The whole vibe of the whole performance reminded me of Brian on the "Good Timin'" DVD, hunched over his piano lost in the middle of the party. 

yeh thats my favorite brian era

they should just let him play absolutely anything on piano like blindly banging the keys. who cares about getting the right chords?

There's about three trains of thought on that.

1.  A lot of people think he's crazy, and can't sing, and just don't get it.

2. A lot of fans think he's brilliant, and his insanity should be apologized for and hidden.

3. A lot of fans (Me; You) think that his insanity is part of why he's a genius, and is also interesting, brilliant, and fun. 

So personally I'm in camp 3, I'd love to hear him just play other stuff in the middle of songs like they say he does.  If the band isn't good enough to keep it straight, get a new band, lol. 


If Willie Nelson can sing every damn song he sings behind the beat, why can't Brian Wilson play piano in the middle of other songs?  He keeps saying he's got writers block, it's because they're not letting him tinker in the middle of performances :)

Sure, if they really DUG Brian, they could keep up with the random piano noodlings of a mentally unbalanced pensioner.







 ::)

Sarcasm is the lowest form of humour.  Lighten up a little bit.  Maybe get some larger underwear or something.  Not everything somebody says is serious or meant to be even commented on, hypehat. 

My underwear is just fine, thank you  ;D