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http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/08/17/mike-love-beach-boys-preview/88770362/

“Brian’s life is controlled completely," he said. "It has been since Gene Landy, and it still is. And he’s medicated. If he says something about Mike Love unsolicited, he’ll say things like, ‘He’s my favorite lyricist.’ If and when we do see each other, we revert back to childhood, which is great. So if it were just he and I, I don’t think there would be any problems. We would work through them. I know that for a fact. But that is not the way it is. So let’s just leave it at that.”

Pure class from Dr. Love.

"Through it all, Love kept the Beach Boys going as a successful touring act, and in 2012, the surviving members of the classic Beach Boys lineup — including Brian Wilson, Jardine and Bruce Johnston — reunited with Love for a 50th-anniversary tour and a new Beach Boys album, “That’s Why God Made the Radio.” The album had some worthy moments, but by June 2012, Wilson had left the tour and the highly celebrated reunion was over."

Wait, what??

Yeah, I thought that line was a bit...questionable, too.

However, I don't think Mike comes across too badly in this interview.  He's relatively gracious (stating that the music will live on after the musicians are gone, which I interpret to mean that he realizes the music is the primary thing).  I know it's super-annoying how he goes on about drugs and booze in every interview, but I suppose it's possible that he genuinely feels very strongly about it, after seeing the effects on Brian and Dennis.  Anyway, as far as Mike Love interviews go, this one didn't make me snort out loud, or yell, so that's something.

Tape loop myKe luHv interview. SOS.  ::)

Nice interview! I would love to seee Mike and Brian get together and collaborate another beach boys album!

It's a bit of a catch-22 here. Mike criticizes the fact that Brian is medicated and that his life is structured in a particular way (what he calls "controlled" but I don't) but if that hadn't happened, Brian would have likely resorted to the kind of lifestyle choices that Mike also finds deplorable. So it's difficult to understand what Mike really wants.

It's also interesting that Mike feels that Brian's genuine perspective comes through when he is praising Mike. Meanwhile Mike's perspective about Brian is that he's controlled. You give a little, you get a little.

So was there anything accurate in this interview?

 The PS claims are odd.  He didin't, in reality, write the music (goodnight baby, sleep tight baby?  Really?) but some lyrics.  Please tell me where his voice is on "God Only Knows, "Caroline, No, etc?" - yet he says he sang on every song.  

And Brian is "controlled" (such a load of garbage) and his lifestyle choices make Mike the only one able to tour these days...right.  But wait, isn't Brian doing roughly as many shows as Mike this year at age 74 (along with Al), and their voices aren't processed at his shows?  And he still writes, records and produces music that's actually released.  But apparently his lifestyle choices are inferior.

Thanks, Mike.  As always, a joy. ::)

If Mike could get out of the way of his own ego, he might be an okay person.  The irony of it all is that Brian never craved or wanted the attention, he just got it by doing what he loved/being a musical genius.  Mike actually craves the attention, but doesn't have the goods to justify it.  Brian seems to me to be so innocently honest to the core, and I've NEVER heard him be mean-spirited in any way.  Brian admits to his foibles.  He doesn't try to portray himself as anything other than who he is.   On the other hand,  Mike's statements all seem a little tinged with an undercurrent of resentment that people don't recognize his musical brilliance and the fact that he is (or thinks he is) morally superior because he didn't do drugs.

 

The only disappointing aspect of this is that it's the same boilerplate stuff he has said in prior interviews.

I'll go ahead and hope/assume the wrong-on-numerous-counts blurb about the 2012 tour was not based on info from Mike but simply bad reporting/research on the part of the writer.

But the rest is just the same stuff. The Wilsons did drugs, I didn't. Brian's medicated. The implication that Brian wants to be best buds with Mike and say Mike is a genius, but someone else is keeping him from doing so (and is medicating him).

Just disappointing.

Why do Mike's comments appear to pre-suppose that anybody is claiming Brian is saying negative things about Mike?

It's Mike who denigrates Brian in interview after interview. Brian says generally positive things about Mike whether solicited or unsolicited.

It's almost verbatim the same stuff he has said in the past. Literally nothing new (unless it was Mike who said or implied Brian chose to quit the reunion tour in June of 2012).

But he's only gracious in the same way he always is, which is with a very thinly-veiled backhanded, patronizing tone.

Of course Mike feels strongly about the ills of the band's drug and alcohol abuse. The problem is that those issues haven't been a problem for the band for DECADES, and all of the parties involved are either dead or no longer abusing drugs and alcohol. He's like a 75-year-old parent reminding his kids of their mistakes from 30 years ago. He's answering questions nobody is asking. He's deflecting as well, obviously.

And the stuff about Brian currently being medicated (and implying others exert control over him, potentially in conjunction with the medicated state, and arguably conflating the Landy period with what's happening now) is inappropriate as a friend, colleague, family member, and business associate.

I think this interview doesn't bode well for the book. Mike sounds like he wants to settle past scores instead of telling his life story.

I'm going to help Mike out here.

"I'm very fortunate to have been involved with the Beach Boys"
"Brian is a musical prodigy.  If I was not Brian's cousin who knows what would have happened to me"
"I'd like to write some songs with Brian, but he chooses not to.  It's OK".
"Brian's mental health problems are unfortunate.  We all have our burdens to bare.  I wish things could have been different".
"If I could turn back the hands of time I would change many things, but I can't".

There, that was not so bad, was it Mike?

Very well put, Bachelorofbullets!!    If it weren't for Brian, Mike wouldn't be 'auto-tuning' Beach Boy songs all over the world to this day.

My worry is that Mike seems to think that people want to read about how TM saved him, and that that's going to be the book's main takeaway.

I don't mind a chapter devoted to the subject ("Maharishi, India, Back in the USSR blah blah"). That I can just skip. And I suppose we'll have to have some Love family stuff. But what I really want is the inside dope on the Beach Boys -- the personalities, the clashes, the tours, the songwriting, the recording.

I do hope for some writing like this in the book.  If Mike is a true disciple of TM, that's the kind of answers he should be giving.  

Mike reminds me a lot of Gene Simmons.  Gene never misses an opportunity to put down former KISS members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, a lot of times for their drug and alcohol use, which Gene never used.  

Mike has already said quote #1, The first sentences of quotes #2, 4 and 5.

It's all about context, though. Quote #2 is often dripping with a patronizing tone, and is often followed immediately by Mike mentioning all the bad stuff that came after. Quote #4, especially when offered unprompted, basically just comes across as dredging up the ills of the past, and stating something that everybody already knows. More than anything, for someone who is so close to so much of this saga, he seems to lack a healthy amount of empathy for Brian.

The whole point of quote #5 would be to express regret about something he, and he alone, has done. There's one interview from the last couple years where he was asked if he had any regrets, where clearly the interview was looking for Mike to do some *self-reflection*, and he answered that the Wilsons did drugs.

Regarding TM, the author of that Rolling Stone piece on Mike from several months back was one of (if not *the*) first interviewers to directly point out to Mike the irony of extolling the virtues of TM for decades while still seeming so angry and bitter. Mike's answer seemed to basically be that he'd be even *worse* if he wasn't doing TM. A potentially telling and potentially honest answer, but it means we're perhaps "not* going to get the level of humility from Mike that is seen in bachelorofbullets's post.  

Yeah it sounds like he needs some lexopro or something. It's a strange combination of TM and anger for Mike that isn't working.

I guess I feeling charitable when I read it?  I've just read and seen interviews where he comes off significantly more obnoxious than here.   

Mike literally was telling the truth here, he didn't sugar coat it hide behind anything.  We may choose to have a certain level of disdain for how he chose to articulate or convey his thoughts but let me ask this question.  Can we really disagree with what Mike is saying?

Yes.

His point that he "sang on everything" on Pet Sounds is a flat-out falsehood.

I disagree that Brian is controlled. And I disagree that there would not be any problems "if it were just he and I," whatever that implies.

Yes, Brian Wilson is his own man these days making life choices on his own. His wife and friends are there to support these decisions as necessary. Life isn't about what Mike Love wants from Brian Wilson and that truth is making Mike a bitter old man.

I posted this in another thread but it got buried i think...in the recent rolling stone article there was a line about Mike probably also having a  child out of wedlock (shawn). And if you goto the rolling stone article now on their website, the line has been removed.  Obviously, Mike must have asked them to take it out, or maybe even threatened legal action.  I think it's safe to assume there will also be no mention of her (or anything else that makes Mike come off unfavorably) in the book....It will be more "Regrets? Yeah that the Wilsons did drugs" like recent interviews.

At least he doesn't try and hide that he's an egotistical asshole tho? I mean, what's worse, this kind of stuff or being like that but hiding behind false "I'm just grateful to have been able to help out" bullshit like a lot of people? At least he's honest about who he is, i suppose

I think we can.  Since about 1963 Brian has pretty much been saying he doesn't want to write songs with Mike anymore.  Yet Mike refuses to acknowledge this, instead he tries to shift the blame to others.  It's classic Narcissist behavior.

It's amazing. Like clockwork. Just when I try to cut Mike some slack, to play *up* the good parts of his contributions to the band in another thread, he lays another interview, predictably, that stirs up all the same emotions where he pisses me off, and makes me less likely to have any particular desire to defend him about legit things that he is unfairly maligned about.  

No he was not, mostly made up.
Yes we can disagree.
A steaming pile of excrement again.

The interview as-is is good; without all the usual spin, second guessing, words being put in mouth, holding accountable to other's words, knee jerking, false comparisons, and presumption that fans know Mike's experience better than he does, that is.

That is a load of crap

None of us have walked in Mike's shoes, yes. But let's not pretend that it's out of the realm of possibility for a person to attempt to twist facts, intentionally overlook other facts, or just basically put a false spin on things, in order to make themselves look better.

Have you ever known anyone personally (on a deep personal level), like a relative (from whom you cannot exactly exit the relationship) or a lover, who is a habitual causer of the relationship being a toxic one, with you on the receiving end of the toxicity? I have. And that toxic person never owning up to their role in causing the toxicity, and having an irresistible, insatiable urge to shift blame from their own actions?

Until you have walked in the shoes of being the receiving end of something like that, for years, (and maybe you have, I don't know), I think it's impossible to have any kind of perspective to understand that this type of stuff DOES ACTUALLY HAPPEN. I'll concede I've of course not been in the shoes of these specific people...  but let's not pretend that this type of thing is simply nonexistent in the world (regardless of how you think it applies to these guys).

It does happen.

</rant>

You may pretend whatever you like.

Thanks for completely ignoring my post, and my actual, legit query of you. Much like your hero, you are not using any particular nuance when looking at a complex situation.

It's a Mott thang.... ::)

Would you not say in this article that Mike is presuming to know Brian's experience better than Brian does?

That's a six wooter, SB!   :woot :woot :woot :woot :woot :woot

I would not, I wouldn't presume to know what Mike knows of Brian's experience. Do you know?

There is no such word as "irregardless".  Sorry I just couldn't resist.

 ::) Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. ::)

Fixed  ;D

Come to think of it, perhaps "I Went to Sleep" was written as the future theme song for Mike's history rewriting attempts.

That's pretty specious reasoning. We don't know what's rolling around in Mike's brain, therefore, what? We can't judge anything he says one way or the other? Based on that reasoning, we shouldn't be commenting on Mike and Mike shouldn't be commenting on Brian.

Mike is definitely being presumptuous about Brian, not the least when he says something like this:

So if it were just he and I, I don’t think there would be any problems. We would work through them. I know that for a fact.


What a convenient and unverifiable assumption.

I do feel comfortable saying that Brian knows his own experiences more than Mike.

Are you arguing the opposite or do you have an explanation for your double standard?

Mike's writing prowess has dried up. Pisces Brother proved that. No point in hoping for another collaboration with Brian.

It's also a pretty uncool and crass thing to publicly say, especially considering that Brian has historically had a hard time saying "no" and avoids confrontation. Crass/uncool because this is a known thing, AND Mike knows it's a known thing. Yet somehow, Mike has it figured out... he's implied over and over again that many other collaborators/close persons in Brian's life (except Mike) have been manipulating Brian, yet Mike never, ever would think for one moment that Mike himself could possibly be capable of that. And the reader is simply expected to go along with this. How does that mindset work exactly? If I'm missing something, maybe someone can chime in.

Just because Mike truly, honestly doesn't *think* he is capable of manipulating Brian or bringing toxicity to a relationship, doesn't make it a fact... because people who do those things often refuse to acknowledge it. Mike obviously knows Brian is susceptible to manipulation by others (some truth to that, yes), but somehow, Mike... who undeniably wants something out of Brian (the sadly dysfunctional duality of both a hit song + an actual loving familial relationship)  is magically immune from ever being manipulative?

Mike will never address this topic in his book, of that we can be sure. The sad thing is that it's not entirely removed from the Landy situation. Landy was far and away the biggest creep in the BB saga, but I have a hunch that Landy himself honestly may not have consciously thought he was trying to manipulate Brian in a harmful way, for the sole reason that Landy had zero self-awareness and was nuts and mentally ill himself. Mike is way, way less nuts, and way, way less of a negative person in the BB story... but that said, his own lack of self-awareness about the similarities about his own INADVERTENTLY (giving Mike the benefit of the doubt here) manipulative behavior is one of the biggest elephants in the room for all time with regards to The BBs. Brian would hardly say a bad thing - even about Landy - until he was urged to do so by Melinda; why is it farfetched to think that Brian may have bad thoughts about Mike which are similarly emotionally held in? The problem is that Mike in turn believes Mike is never the cause of any problem, as Brian probably often keeps silent to Mike about hurt feelings caused by Mike. IMO this has warped Mike's mindset royally for decades.

If it were "just he and I"... that's exactly how Mike likes it. If Mike had his way, I assume that Mike would try to find a way to get Brian into a position to write songs about Mike-centric subjects. And eye rolls/mimed finger gunshot blasts to the head for ideas approaching the last few songs on TWGMTR. No need for pesky people who might play defense for Brian. Because Cousin Mike knows best: one-on-one is how it must be. And most especially (but of course Mike must never say this in an interview): supportive, well-intentioned spouses can go f*ck off.

And remind me again, why exactly would anyone think that Mike is so great at working through problems? Mike straight up fired Al/squeezed him out for having a dissenting opinion to Mike. Mike has many, many ex-wives. Mike got the group a (supposedly impartial) shrink that in actuality was in Mike's own back pocket.  In over three decades, Mike refuses to publicly acknowledge his own daughter/grandson from even existing on this planet.  Mike wants people to NOT know these things when they read the article. Mike (surprisingly and fortunately) recently publicly admitted to an anger management problem, and for cryin' out lout, everyone and their momma knows how truly, deeply scarred Brian is from dealing with angry alpha-males of Wilson lineage... but this could never apply to known angry demand-maker Mike?  People can have faults, I understand... but to make such a far-reaching claim in an interview - without also acknowledging that Mike himself could EVER be part of the BW/ML relationship problem - I just can't stop shaking my head. Mike must really think the article's readers are simpletons.

But yeah... Mike and Brian have a "special" bond that makes them able to get through any and all problems, healthily and in a non-toxic manner... and this is known for a FACT.

It's a  ***FACT***!!!

The only fact is that Mike knows that the only way Mike would ever get industry cred/respect again at this point is to write a hit song with Brian, without any other co-writers involved. It ain't gonna happen because he tried to force it to instantly happen in 2012. It might have happened post-TWGMTR, maybe an album or two later, if Mike had gone along with things and let things happen naturally/organically, with the BBs back together, without Mike demand after Mike demand. Mike HAS to know this deep inside, but won't admit it because it's just easier to blame Melinda. Mike got used to blame-shifting years ago, and he can't stop himself. That's Mike's addiction. Not drugs and alcohol. But almost as bad in its own way, because he has found a way to enable himself and *always* absolve himself from any/all responsibility for any number of destructive actions.  At least publicly.

And yeah... blame Brian for the reunion ending. It's ALL on Brian. Yep. Get that into the interwebs and repeat it enough so that some low-information people actually believe it. It's all just so sad and maddening to see every ounce of goodwill that people give Mike - including my own goodwill and honest praise - get trampled on by Mike running his mouth over and over again. Mike's contributions to Warmth of the Sun + Please Let Me Wonder are and will always be rad to the max. That changes nothing about this article consisting of pure poopoo.

If Brian's "handlers" are interested in Brian's well being AND they are keeping Brian away from Mike, doesn't that say something about the Brian/Mike relationship being bad for Brian? This never gets addressed.

There may very well be some truth to Mike being Brian's favorite collaborator. But I have many leather jackets and I choose one that is the right one for me at any given point. I rarely wear my favorite one. It is broken in and comfortable but does not fit with today's styles and does not make the statement I want it to make. Favorite does not equal best.

In the many iterations of the Pet Sounds music, is it possible that Mike did sing on (almost) all of the songs in some manner, but just not all of the released ones? Kind of the way Carol played bass on certain versions of certain songs, but not always the versions that the public is familiar with? I have a hard time believing Mike was featured on Caroline No though, unless that is him barking at the train.  :lol

To be 100% honest, I find the lack of fact checking more offensive than anything Mike says in this article (we've heard it before). 

For one, it sounds like Al, Brian, and Bruce joined Mike for the reunion.  No mention of David Marks or the fact that Bruce was already in Mike's group.  And Brian left the tour in June?  Jeez.  Take five minutes to do some basic research. 

I think the little "factoid" about the 2012 reunion goes beyond even simple lack of fact-checking; there are plenty of articles that get a year wrong or a song title wrong, and usually it's a nitpicky issue that doesn't really mean anything. But not in this case. Saying Brian "left" the tour is HUGELY misleading and *conveniently* shunts responsibility (and any resulting criticism) regarding the end of the reunion away from Mike and towards Brian. That the reunion ended, and that it was *Mike* that chose to quit the band and desert a willing Brian and Al, is a *huge* hot-button, divisive topic for the band's history for this particular decade.

That the writer not only literally puts the wrong person's name in there, but also concocts a wildly incorrect date (June) for the end of the reunion makes me wonder where this incorrect info came from. Ultimately, of course, it's the writer who should fact-check *any* source. But I'm curious if he got the date or implication towards Brian from Mike himself. I believe June is around the time of Brian's alleged "no more shows" e-mail, so while I have no way of knowing if any of that info about the end of C50 came from Mike, I could totally envision Mike telling this writer that by allegedly sending that e-mail, Brian "left" the tour in "June."

The stuff with Mike trying to characterize his place in the "Pet Sounds" story is just Mike's awkward way of not EVER being able to just credit Brian with something without pumping himself up too. He knows he'll sound like a total tool if he tries to claim the other members were as important as Brian concerning specifically PS, so we get these awkward blurbs where Mike has to amend the story and point out the already-obvious, which is that of course the other BBs did contribute to the album and in very important ways.

As for Brian's feelings about his collaborations with Mike, everything indicates that Brian treasures and fondly remembers and *fully* celebrates Mike's contributions to the songs he co-wrote. Brian does indeed say nice things about Mike to this day.

I'm not even sure what Mike's deal is with Brian and Brian's attitude towards him (Mike). What is he even trying to say? Is Brian controlled? But then Brian does say nice things about Mike. What is the contention? The times Brian says something nice about Mike, he must have escaped the clutches of his "handlers?"

And what of Brian being medicated? Mike (who, last I checked, isn't Brian's doctor) doesn't even get into whether Brian might need medication. Hasn't Brian already commented in recent years about his current medication, probably in more detail than he needed to? The implication, in my opinion, from Mike's "medicated" comments are much more serious and carry a strong implication of something nefarious about Brian's being medicated.

I suppose that's a possibility.  

It seems like Mike makes the same points in these interviews that are usually published my a local paper or website in whatever town the Mike and Bruce show happen to be in that week.  And there are almost always factual errors in the article.  And, I really wouldn't expect it for a tour that happened so recently.

I will be interested to see if Mike expands on Brian's "handlers" in his book.  He mentions them in seemingly every interview, but he doesn't name check anybody.   I'm not saying I agree with Mike, but if you're going to compare anybody to Eugene Landy, I think you should at least expand on that point.  

Also worth noting is that the "if it was just he and I alone, things would be fine" reasoning, especially as it pertains to writing together, was proved incorrect in my opinion by the numerous observers of the C50 tour in 2012 who said that for huge chunks of the tour, neither Melinda nor Brian's agent were even on the tour. There was, by the testimony of these observers, nothing keeping Mike from approaching Brian for some songwriting while out on tour.

As one put it, they were without any buffers or handlers, and literally always within reach of a keyboard, and yet there is no evidence Mike *ever* approached Brian to do some writing together.

I think his bluff was kind of called on that one. He has always and continues to like to talk about his idealized "working alone with Brian" scenario, but it sounds to me like he just likes to have something to complain about and criticize Brian's "handlers" for.

I'm not even that convinced of how much Mike really wants to write with Brian anymore. The "I can't write with Brian alone because people around him" kind of just seems like a convenient complaint to continue to club people over the head with.

I don't think, in my opinion, Mike can even decide which argument he wants to make. He kind of offers some implied comparison between Landy and Brian's current situation. Yet, at other points where it was a convenient point to make *against* Brian, essentially an "enemy of my enemy is my friend" scenario, Mike seem to *defend* Landy last year (and thus denigrate the "Love & Mercy" film) by holding up Evan Landy's article as something that really deserved a good deal of consideration.

Last year, Mike weirdly seemed to want to go to great lengths to point out that Landy *did* save Brian's life. So if people "around" Brian now echo Landy in any way, wouldn't Mike's own reasoning lead him to the conclusion that perhaps those "around" Brian are doing what's best for Brian now? Obviously not apparently.

As much as I defend Mike, I don't know if he really wants to write with Brian, or if he just wants a couple credits on some new songs that will enter the album charts.  

He had his name on several songs on a #3 album four years ago.

Last spring, NPP debuted in the Top 30.  I'm sure Mike took note of that and thought, if he could've penned a lyric or two on a few of Brian's songs, he'd have been in the charts again.  

Or maybe Mike is really convinced that they could sit down and write some great BB tunes like in the pre Pet Sounds days, but that's very unrealistic.  

I'll go one step further, and this just my *opinion* and *guess* and *hunch* and nothing more, and suggest that while Mike presumably would probably try to sit down and write with Brian if whatever set of conditions were met to Mike's liking, that his interest in writing with Brian isn't really much of a thing. I think, to be blunt, that it seems like Mike really doesn't like Melinda and he tends to do what many people do when they don't like someone: Use any possible negative against that person.

I think he might be starting with not liking Melinda, and then working his way to things that would indicate something negative about her, such as Brian being "medicated", and Mike not getting to write with Brian.

I think there's a lot of ego. The "TWGMTR" album hit #3, the strongest album performance by the band in EONS, yet Mike is sour on the whole thing in part, in my opinion, because Joe Thomas's name is more prominent (and Thomas made more on songwriting royalties) on that album than Mike's.

Mike was pining for YEARS from the 90s through the 2000s about wanting to write with Brian again and work with Brian again. He got that in 2012 and he eventually balked. The bluff was called in my opinion in late 2012. It's easier to talk about being with Brian than actually being with him. It's easier to complain about people "around him" than actually just admit that maybe Brian doesn't want to write a bunch of tunes with Mike.

Maybe someday an interviewer will ask this to Mike: "Have you ever thought maybe Brian doesn't want to write with you?" I'll go ahead and assume Mike still has feelings, and I totally admit that this might be a difficult prospect for Mike to face. It could be quite ego-bruising, and in whatever way Mike has feelings (even if he doesn't appear to care if he might be presently hurting Brian's feelings), it could be hurtful for Mike to hear. But maybe someone will offer that as a reason that would contradict that "people around Brian" complaints.

I think I meant 2, 3 and 4. I agree, he doesn't seem to regret much. But claiming he comes across patronizing doesn't mean he intends it that way. I have seen a couple interviews when he tears up when talking about Brian. It's like if you had a friend who had a head injury and the person you knew is no longer 'there'. I guess he feels that much of that is Brian's fault for the drugs, but he also has deep hatred for Dr Landy, who he said he wanted to kill if we didn't have laws against such things. He seems convinced also that Brian's current situation is no better. I think it is because the people around him actually care. But to a degree, Brian is a dependent and needs Jeff Foskett or Melinda or someone to help him get where he needs to go. Honestly, I don't know and hope that Brian wants to tour and record and isn't being forced or pressured.

Why is there never any public talk from Mike about the reasons (such as some peoples' attitudes) that perhaps might have contributed to being deep stressors which could have driven the Wilsons to take drugs? Yes, the Wilsons chose to take drugs, nobody forced them... but those drug-taking actions didn't happen in a bubble. Again... because... gasp, that might necessitate some *actual* deep personal reflection on Mike's part.

I'd be crazy to think that things like Dennis' increasingly outrageous outbursts and behavior were in no way, shape or form, contributing factors that could have led Mike to want to practice TM to blow off steam and anger/resentment. Plus, perhaps thoughts of being screwed out of songwriting credits by Murry (and Brian's subsequent inaction) kept infiltrating Mike's mind, and he may have gotten angrier and angrier just thinking about it. That these issues ate away at Mike are no-brainers; I think most people, even Mike's biggest fans, could see the logic in how those things could have been factors that may have led Mike to more fully embrace TM, to push out the negative energy. Therefore, I don't know why anyone would want to deny the same could be true for some actions of Mike being a (not *the*) contributing factor at times in why the Wilsons took drugs, to push out the negative energy.  

And you know what? I don't need to blame Mike for that. And maybe I don't have to blame Murry either. Everyone does what they're gonna do. I want to just cut Mike slack about that and be done with the blaming thing... but he's not over the blaming thing. So I can just as easily say with a straight face that Mike was a contributing factor in Brian taking drugs and Dennis drinking.  I just am fed up of hearing Mike talk about the Wilsons doing drugs, as though it's out of the bounds of reality that Mike Love could have inadvertently been *part* of the problems the Wilsons were trying to numb. I bring it up simply because Mike won't stop with the drug angle, and blaming things solely on the Wilsons.

While most of the stressors leading to drug use probably stemmed from Murry's damage, I'm sure Mike's omnipresent attitude problems did not exactly help. Sometimes I only half-facetiously wonder if Mike went down the TM path simply to be able to claim moral superiority over his cousins who he was jealous over - so that he'd have that one thing he could always be better than the Wilsons about.  

This is a pretty epic take down. It feels over-the-top but sadly, up until the last two paragraphs, there really isn't anything to quibble with. It's spot-on. The problem I have with Mike Love interviews is that lack of self-awareness. He's right in the camp of people who want control over Brian Wilson. I'm sure many if not all of them think that they are doing it for beneficent reasons and that all of the others are doing it for malevolent reasons, and perhaps some are right that they are beneficent and that others are malevolent, but he doesn't even seem to notice that he's doing it at all. He somehow places his maneuverings in a different category. He seems to believe that being a cousin and being there first gives him some sort of right to control that others don't have.


Separately, I give Mike a benefit-of-the-doubt on the 'medication' comments. I think they're highly inappropriate and I think he's stigmatizing medication for mental health, but I do think he actually is a drug puritan and probably authentically believes that pharmaceuticals are generally an evil. I disagree with him  but I do think that those are his authentic beliefs.

My mind keeps going back to the sanctioned American Family biopic. In it there's a scene where Mike says to Brian words to the effect of, "Maybe you will see that you need me as much as I need you." It's a very emotional moment for the Mike character in the film. If it is the case that Mike genuinely believes this then no doubt the last twenty years, and in particular the years since the BWPS tour and album, have been probably very difficult to understand.

There's no doubt that at this stage, Brian needs the Beach Boys brand in order to generate the kind of success that came out of the Radio album. But ultimately, since the 90s, we have seen Brian getting his life in order in a way that virtually no one could have anticipated. Plus, he has had three top 30 albums out in the last twelve years, he has been the subject of many specials, has had a major motion picture made about him, has won a Grammy, and has repeatedly won the praise of his peers and of music journalists. This happened during a period in which Mike wasn't around that much and, in fact, during Brian's most commercially successful period, he was sued by Mike. So if it is the case that Mike thinks that Brian needs him - either on a personal or professional level - then all of this has to be confusing unless one believes that that's not really Brian. Or, rather, that all of this success has come out of a well orchestrated plan over which Brian has very little control.

Brian is not a fucking invalid. And no, he's not being controlled or forced to do anything.

Sorry if I come across as harsh, but at my wits end with reading stuff like that

On top of everything else, as I alluded to before, both Brian and Mike are shareholders in a corporation. When a shareholder starts questioning another shareholder's ability to make decisions, discusses their being medicated, that's a serious issue.

Mike doesn't appear to moving for a conservatorship or anything; he doesn't seem to be doing anything to help Brian out of what he apparently thinks is a bad situation. So how nefarious is anything that's going on with Brian. It's just nefarious enough for Mike to complain and cast shade, but not enough to do anything about it.

Sounds much more like Brian's just not doing what Mike thinks he should be doing (writing with Mike, saying even more nice things about Mike, I guess?), and Mike has to explain it away by citing medication and handlers and all of that. It's a very common human trait, to come up with some explanation that doesn't involve Mike being the issue or problem.

Worth keeping in mind as well is, how much has Mike been around/with Brian outside of, say, mid-2011 through September 2012? Mike said nothing during or even immediately after the 2012 tour casting aspersions on Brian's situation.

Have they even been in the same room together since September of 2012? How would Mike even *know* what goes on with Brian's life in any detail?

Exactly.

You know, if it was the other way around, and Brian was saying things like this about Mike (which he wouldn't, but work with me here), Mike would slap him with a libel suit.

I take Ray Lawlors thoughts on the C50 over Mikes any day. From a previous thread.

These two points in particular I think are key, and get to the root of Mike's lack of empathy (which is the more optimistic alternative to saying he's purposely being a d**k):

If I am in Brian Wilson's chair, I am fed up hearing about my past drug issues, especially as I have not touched a recreational drug in over 35 years;

I am fed up with hearing about how my dead brothers, whom I think about every day, made poor lifestyle choices (drugs, alcohol, cigarettes)which lead to their early deaths ;

Message to Mike. How an interview 'should' be done.


http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/17/beach-boys-member-al-jardine-touring-brian-wilson/

Yup...and if anybody knows Brian, it's Ray.

Absofrigginlutely

I agree completely with those sentiments, but is the 35 years figure accurate? I thought at minimum, Brian had some joints during the Landy II era (Landy-approved joints).

Bullies can dish it out but can't take it.

Yeah, there's video evidence, but...I personally consider weed a medicine that can be used recreationally as opposed to a recreational drug.

I completely agree with that, Billy!

When one reads Mike's article, contrasted with the just-posted classy (as always) Al article, I don't know how anyone could honestly disagree with what you said, SB.

Ray remains one of Brian's closest friends through today, and he's quite clear that there are no "handlers," that any meds are from Brian's highly-respected doctors, that Mike could pick up the phone and get Brian, just as Ray does. So, since by Mike's and Brian's public accounts, it appears they haven't seen each other since 2012 (at least in any significant way, maybe not at all(, where does Mike get his information about Brian's "Landy-esque" conditions?  I doubt he's on the phone to Melinda or Brian's support people on the road, so where does this information come from?  He's clearly not on the phone with Brian.  Is he listening to gossip from someone with an ax to grind?  Or does he just make this up?  In any case, it's despicable.

Certainly, in the whole "drugs" discussion pertaining to drugs, nobody is talking about pot. Even Mike says in the very interview in question:

“I’m hoping they get the fact that the reason I’m still doing what I’m doing at the level we’re doing it, meaning a volume of work and stuff like that, is probably because I chose a path that wasn’t a path of all the nefarious drugs that my cousins did — I mean, serious, serious stuff. I chose not to,” Love said, referring to his Beach Boys band mates, brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson. “I will say that during the ‘60s, I did my share of weed."

So even Mike's not talking about weed.

Interestingly, Mike also points out:

"But once I learned to meditate, I gave up hard liquor...."

And I would argue that drinking beer and wine and all of that could potentially be as problematic as "hard liquor", but that's just a separate sort of semantics thing.

I think the whole thing stinks. Mike seems to have some sort of weird complex about so many things. Look at this interview. What would a *normal* person say if asked about how they manage to be so active at an advanced age? A normal person would say "I've lived a healthy lifestyle." Mike's not healthy because he *didn't* do drugs. He's healthy because of what he has done. But no, it immediately has to come back to *not* doing something *bad* that his cousins did.

He has to drag someone else down to pump himself up. It's just sad.

It's not like Brian gives interviews about how he was able to write a good song because "I chose the path over the years of not being a douche like my cousin." 

 

 :lol

It almost furthers my theory (about Mike choosing TM, or at least by bringing it up so much, in part as a way to have moral superiority to hold over his cousins)... it makes it seem like he tours so much at this point out of being specifically motivated *just* to prove a point that he has more stamina as a result of his clean living relative to his cousins.  To gain respect while simultaneously getting people to kick the Wilsons down a notch where they "belong".

It's like... here is SOMETHING that Mike realizes he can finally without a doubt, unarguably, be BETTER than the Wilsons at... so now lets do it and bring it up, pointing out the disparity, comparing and contrasting... ad naseum. I cannot believe at this point that he is motivated *just* by trying to make sure the public doesn't do drugs. Truly... does anyone think that's the ONLY reason he says it? That can't be the *sole* motivating factor here, at this point in the story. No way. It's a tragic self-esteem issue (which I can still empathize with large portions of how it happened) that has manifested in really ugly actions.  It honestly just makes me feel sad for Mike. As mad as it also makes me, I mainly just feel sad for him.
 

(http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/52/52878b93bc7247c0605c83db08f03733b89c08f90a22f973ae4b9886b3b485f8.jpg)

CD, it's proving a point of being a TM touring superman compared to two dead wilsons and "invalid" BW.

That popped a thought across my mind that I'd never had before. The Wilsons were kind of the "working class" cousins to Mike Love's more solidly middle class upbringing, right? And Mike talks about the success of his dad and the work ethic, etc. But their business went under right before the rise of the BBs, yes?

Wouldn't Jeff Foskett have the info on what really goes on in Brian's life, to pass onto Mike Love.

In regard to the Al vs Mike comparison.  I think one of the reasons Brian and Al are where they are is because sometimes it's just easier with a friend. There's less emotional baggage. Less pressure. There is an old saying, you can choose your friends, you can't choose your family. Al obviously has an easier going temperament which plays a role too.

The Mike hard liquor line made me laugh. That was some hard liquor he was drinking at the RR HOF speech though. :o

Can anyone even imagine Mike getting away with what he says regularly about Brian if he were not a blood relative?  If Mike were not related to Brian, Mike would still be trying to find a way to write songs with Brian, but Brian would have kicked Mike to the curb in a FAR bigger way many moons ago. 

He may have his own axe to grind, though.

From the way the Rolling Stone article came off, if it wasn't for TM, Mike would be 100% "MIKE SMASSSSSSHHHHHH PUNY WILSONS!!!!"

I truly think this is one of the most overlooked points in the Beach Boys history over the last 24 mos.   Wasn't there some comments about Foskett basically being BW's caretaker on the road....ie...living in the same suite on the road each evening for the better part of 10 years ???   None of us know what this "totally" entailed on a daily basis for Jeff.   Jeff decides to move on as BW wasn't touring enough in 2014 to pay the bills......and he makes the call to Mike (or was it the other way around ???)   and he ends up in Mike's band. 

We can go through a multitude of different scenarios...but in the end,
Mike is quoted as saying he made contact with Jeff...and after a meeting...decided to add Jeff to the ML band.

So to answer Urbanites question from above....my gut thinks Jeff has "some" info on Brian that he has shared....or he's using this "perceived" information to make himself look better to Mike....thus perpetuating the ML incessant interviews about "handlers and medication"

I dunno folks....but it seems to me we've given Jeff a pass on this move between the two bands ...and perceptually how he views the relationship between Bw/ML and how Ray Lawlor perceives the relationship.

I'm not a  touring professional musician. (I'm none of those things. I'm not professional. I'm not touring. And I'm not a musician.  :police: )
 But, isn't it just basically living like a drifter for several weeks
? Looking for food ??
 The "realest" thing of the whole itinerary would be the shows,amirite?


I would hope Jeff doesn't know him that well. That would mean Jeff derived his anti-Love You opinions from a genuine telepathic connection . This disturbs me

Another ego article from the master.... ;D For a guy who wants to "Put the record straight", interviews of late seem to be serving up more bs than normal.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/08/18/love-beach-boys-celebrate-good-vibrations/88866506/

However surely he jests with this statement. Another reference to a solo album lost in translation....

Love said that besides touring and the book, he has been “stockpiling songs over the years.” The Beach Boys’ last album, “That’s Why God Made the Radio,” coincided with the band's 50th anniversary and featured all of its surviving members, including Love, Brian Wilson, Jardine, Johnston and guitarist David Marks, who first performed with The Beach Boys on the song “Little Deuce Coup” in 1963.

Love said he hopes The Beach Boys will release new material, written primarily by himself and in collaboration with other musicians, later this year or in early 2017.


Oh....sorry we made you suffer in 2012 as well. :p

'And although Brian Wilson and Jardine, as well as other surviving members of the group, joined The Beach Boys’ 50th anniversary tour, Love said the arrangement was “sometimes problematic” and “primarily done for the fans.”'

Isn't that the point of the BBs? :lol

myKe luHv (#notthebeachboys) proving once again that his mission in life is to clearly portray himself as the equivalent of Brian Wilson in songwriting, singing, you name it. What a sad little
toad of a man who will never release any of his stockpiled songs because his ego could not withstand the dismal reviews and sales (if any at all) of said product.

Prepare yourself for Summer in Paradise, part two.

D'ya think? I would take any gossip from Mr. Foskett with a grain of salt, but that's just me.

Just as Brian is portrayed as "blameless" then Mike should be too.  He too suffers from the tainted Wilson blood. :smokin

Not just you...

One can only hope that the other Beach Boys will be further inspired to write their side of the story for all to read. The sad truth, is that none of the living members are going to give a level-headed description of the past 55 years...with the one exception being David Marks, but with so much disconnect for so many years...well, we all know the scoop there. As far as the demise of C50, I'd think some of the backing band members could provide insight without bias...but certainly not all of them, and I'd think Foskett would be the hands-down most biased of all. Jeff has never sat right with me. The first time I saw him was at the C50 show I attended where he snapped at Totten constantly during soundcheck and hovered over Brian during the meet-and-greet, except for the photos.

Skewing the topic a bit...but does anyone ever wonder what the straw will be to break the camel's back that is "THE BEACH BOYS"?...or will it never end? We're quite lucky to have so much of the band intact...even if they aren't all intact with one another...

Well, I think you can view it one of two ways, the straw that broke the camel's back happened at the end of C50 in one context.  In another context, the Beach Boys will never die because that music is timeless, and Brian is proud of what he created and Al likes his contribution, so they don't reject the name.  And Mike like's selling the brand, so Brian and Al can't use it.  I guess it depends on what you think the definition of the BBs happens to be.  As a touring band? After Brian's successes this year under his own name, why would he want to tour with a band that Mike Love insists has to be totally in his charge?  As a band that made history, it's already there with 2 key members no longer with us, but the music lives.

Was this the Woodlands show?

No...merriweather. Was there a similar incident at the Woodlands gig?

I noticed something myself, yes, although the one who was a real **** was Bruce (but that was after the show)

I have to censor myself as I'm using a work computer

Bruce is a wildcard. I've had multiple interactions with him and they've all been stellar, but have read about very sour instances on here and elsewhere.

But getting back to Jeff, he comes off as incredibly cocky every time I've seen him. Ranging from his attitude at soundcheck, to faking a fan out in the front row with a guitar pick in Lancaster (who the hell wants his pick anyway?)...and he's taken almost all of the non-Mike lead vocals at their show now. He just always has a very pompous aura about him...and not like Mike does when he's on stage. I've seen Mike off stage several times and he's never had that front-man snarly bombastic demeanor. He usually seems like someone that's just been woken up from a coma off stage really...

I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice that Brian seems much more confident/less hesitant on stage  post-Foskett.

Personally, I think Brian has declined each time I see him. He was excellent on C50 in 2012. Second time was the Jeff Beck tour in 2013 and he really only seemed into it for the first half of their set and was not focused the remainder. Third time was last year at Montgomery College and again, he started out strong but was very disengaged once Blondie came out, he also seemed less healthy.

Now, these are only THREE examples that I have to offer. I'll have another one this Tuesday, and another one next month!  ;D

Yeah, speaking strictly for confidence...he used to use Foskett as a crutch vocally, and to be honest he would throw Brian off key quite a bit. That said, he does seem to be a bit tired on this tour, but at 74 years old (not to mention, having back issues), can you blame him?

I was at the Montgomery College show too.  I also saw Brian in Philly on the first leg of the NPP Tour, and Brian was much more engaged and spot on vocally in Philly than at Montgomery College.  I've heard he is at his best when not doing shows on consecutive nights.   

When I saw him last year in Austin, he was the best I'd ever heard him. Spot on vocally (except when my wife accidently left the flash on her phone whilst taking a picture, causing him to partially miss a note on Busy Doin' Nothing...sorry Brian!), played keys about 75% through (and was very audible in mix), and seemed to be in great spirits.

This is more ridiculous stuff from people who don't get Brian because they think the superficial stuff is more important than the music.

Brian was amazingly engaged when I saw him last July in Denver.  The show was perfect in every way.

Brian was also having fun in the UK when I saw him there last May at several shows.

I saw him in Kansas City in July after an exhausting, difficult phase of the tour.  The weather was killing people, but he performed.  He was excellent in his performance and less smiley-talkie.  So what?  Is that what's important?  The music worked spectacularly.  That's what he's there for.  He's the ultimate producer to this day.  When he gets quiet while listening to Blondie, do you seriously not get that it's the man/producer enjoying and critiquing what's going on?  If Brian didn't like Blondie's contribution, he wouldn't be on this tour, and Blondie is well-aware of that.  He's not stupid, nor is Brian.

Stop trying to make Brian the elderly invalid just because he doesn't "auto-tune" his concerts.   He goes for what's real every night, in every situation. That's the reason he was born an artist and will remain an artist into the future.

What BS.

I can confirm through the most reliable friends who actually know and some of my own observation, that Brian is most certainly happier these days.

Well said.

I saw him the following night in St. Charles and it was a moving night of music. Just as Brian presenting Pet Sounds should be.

If we had a "like" feature here, this post would have a hundred of 'em. Thanks, Deb!  :happydance

This is why I don't post on these sorts of threads often and kick myself every time I do. It doesn't tae but 12 hours or so before someone tries to turn you into the villain for critiquing a show that you paid your own damn money to see. I JUST said I'm seeing him TWO times on this tour coming up. Why would I continue to spend money if I didn't "GET IT"? There's your BS...  ::)

Yup, and it is obvious too.

It fills my heart with joy...if there's anybody in this world who deserves happiness,  it's Brian. 

I hear you RS.  Saying Brian had an off night is not saying that he's an invalid.  I'll be at the Baltimore show too, and again in Bethesda next month......and any other time he plays in Baltimore / DC. 

Yes.  Apparently, simply buying tickets doesn't mean that a person "gets it."  Oh well, keep buying the tickets and Brian will continue touring as long as he feels like it.  If you like complaining about pretty da*n near anything, as so many fans seem to do, go ahead.  You'll still get to see him as long as you fill the seats and he wants to tour.  Lucky you.

I notice a certain group of posters here is avoiding my "auto-tune" joke and observation.  What a surprise.

Debbie,

Simply saying Brian is engaged more on some nights than others isn't necessarily complaining. 

So by observing Brian might not have been his best on a particular night means that one "doesn't get it"?

Get a grip. 

1. Yes it can be. "I didn't like the show because Brian looked bored." That's a complaint.

2.  You want an Entertainer With A Capital E? Mike Love will come practically to your backyard. Brian's shows are like Muslims  going to Mecca.

Brian Wilson has changed my life. I will love and respect the man till the day I die.

Who are you to say what I do and don't get? Brian is human, like the rest of us. We have good days and bad days. Clearly, you've had a bad one Debbie.

Goodnight...sleep tight...

Saying somebody looks bored is called an observation(say it with me, kids).  Saying that somebody is flat for every single song of a two hour show, looked at their watch,  or picked their nose is complaining.

I've never seen Brian bored during a concert. Even that one where some of the anti-Brian people like AutoTune like to point out, when he looked at his watch (the Norway show)...he was actually very animated during the show up until that point.

Brian has nights where he's tired, yes, and they seem to be when he plays two shows in a row, but the man is 74 for crying out loud. To expect him to be running around like a coked up Rod Stewart is ludicrous.

That said, I have to say something...


I know what you meant, but that was very poorly worded. It made it sound like 'Brian's gotten worse each time Ive seen him...and those are only three examples of it....there will be more!', as if the shows on Tuesday and in Sept would further back that statement up. I know that wasn't your intention, but I didn't get that at first, and I almost responded the same way Debbie did, until I re-read it.

Correct if I'm wrong (and please do so if I am)...did you mean those were the only three times you saw him, and the first show was the best?

And who are you to say what kind of day I've had?  ::)

I'm glad Brian has changed your life, but if you don't get the difference between when he's bored and when he's simply taking in the music and listening to his own band members at various shows, then there's something you don't "get" about him.  Sorry, but it's true.  Many fans don't because they haven't spent any personal time with him, and that's certainly not possible and not a particular criticism of the fan.  I'm simply looking to correct misconceptions about Brian.

You are right and wrong, and yes it was somewhat poorly worded. Right because I did mean each show he seemed a little worse and I will steer the conversation away from all this "bored" business: his voice and physicality seemed weakened each time. Not to a point of disappointment for me by any means, but it would be silly to not acknowledge a decline...I don't think anyone buys Brian Wilson tickets expecting Rod Stewart!  :lol  Now, you were only wrong in that I was not implying the next two shows I see will be worse...I am hoping for just the opposite! I articulated those three shows so clearly because those are the only firsthand experiences I have and most posters seem to have way more.

I met Brian on C50 and he was in a great and talkative mood at my meet. On stage that night, he sang, smiled, laughed, and played the whole night through. That changed on the Jeff Beck tour. He seemed overall much more distracted and much less interested in what was happening on stage about half way through the set, the same thing last year. This is purely an analysis of my firsthand observations.

My two cents...

I have attended 14 Brian Wilson concerts, beginning in 2004. Even as a major fan, I would characterize the shows for those first five years or so to be occasions to honor the man, witness him as a survivor, and thank him for the music. For the uninitiated, I could imagine those shows to be unsettling, compared to more orthodox concerts. The music and band has always been top notch, but Brian as a performer could make me nervous. It always seemed like we were rooting for him to get through it in one piece.

C50 was its own animal, and it looked to me like Brian was relieved not being the center of attention. His demeanor seemed to perk up substantially, and he appeared to be genuinely enjoying himself, hence the desire to keep it going beyond the agreed upon dates.

I sat out the Jeff Beck shows entirely (and correctly, it seems).

Then, these last two years, I have noticed a complete change. At the concert at Ravinia in suburban Chicago in 2015, he was more enthusiastic and excited than I had ever seen him on a stage. He was making wisecracks and even coached the band to try a couple of new riffs. (It may have been one of the first attempts at River Deep, Mountain High, but I forget now).  He talked about the songs, making interesting comments, and sometimes putdowns (of Surfs Up?!). That's also when the whimsical rarities like Busy Doin' Nothin began to appear on the setlist.

This summer, I was at the July show in Kansas City. I agree with Debbie, it was brutally hot (heat index over 110), and they had been trouping all over the midwest heat wave. I must admit that I thought that Brian had somewhat of an "off night" and left the show wondering how many more of these tours would be possible. But it easily could have been tied to the circumstances. Heck, I had been on vacation driving through the midwest heat wave,  and I was exhausted, too.

Then, two nights later at the Horseshoe Casino in Tunica, I saw probably the best Brian Wilson concert I had ever attended. He constantly played the piano, was talkative, jovial in his own way, smiling, and genuinely excited. It was a 180 from Kansas City...hence I was reassured.   

My takeaway: There is no doubt that something has changed for the positive. I have no idea whether the exit of Jeff is that variable. It would seem to me that Brian enjoys sharing the load with other real Beach Boys like Al and Blondie. And, having "family" like Billy H. also helps. One way or another, after Tunica, I left reassured that I'll likely be seeing this act for the next few years at least.

In all fairness...I don't think the Jeff Beck tour went well behind the scenes either and that; Beck is known to be somewhat of an asshole at times and by his own admission is rather 'standoff-ish'. I don't think they got on too well; actually, I can't see how they could.

I have been to BW concerts and his vocals generally are not good.  I won't go again because I expect better when I go to a concert.  I went to the Beach Boys reunion concert at the Hollywood Bowl and it looked like he did not want to be there.

How many and when?  Asking because 'generally' would be a pretty broad statement to make considering video evidence shows he has had more
'on' nights than 'off'.

When's the last M&B show you went to, and what did you think about Bruce's vocals on 'Wendy'?

I know it's your opinion so I will be charitable, but many will disagree with you, and some much more strongly than others.

Not to mention the 23 times myKe luHv sings in the wrong key at most every show. ::)

Have to disagree with that...I've never heard Mike sing in more than one key in the past couple of years. Bruce's voice sounds like dust these days. A shame about the two frontmen...the band themselves is made up of talented singers and players.

Meant to say staying on key. ;D

How many and when?  Asking because 'generally' would be a pretty broad statement to make considering video evidence shows he has had more
'on' nights than 'off'.

When's the last M&B show you went to, and what did you think about Bruce's vocals on 'Wendy'?

I know it's your opinion so I will be charitable, but many will disagree with you, and some much more strongly than others.


I went to the show at the Wiltern, one at the Hollywood Bowl and the Roxy.  I've never been to a Mike and Bruce show, but did enjoy the reunion show at the Hollywood Bowl.

I concur with this and I would add that the leaving of JF was welcomed by many.

Absolutely. I'm still very glad I went. "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" was simply show-stopping, and it was the first time I had heard it live too. Plus other "rarities" like Marcella & Little Bird were incredible live...neither of which I have had the chance to hear since.

Doesn't anyone feel that Brian's touring days are winding down?  The current tour was said to be his final European tour.  I know those sort of official statements don't always turn out to be true, but given his reduced participation (fewer leads in the first set, sharing leads with Matt Jardine during the PS set), it seems it's about the right time.

Well of course they are! Unless he lives to be about 140 or so, he has mathematically reached the final touring years!  :lol

But seriously, I don't know that it is so predictable. I thought that after this year we would see a reduction in global touring, but with more dates rolling out for the fall...who knows!?

 ;D