The Smiley Smile Message Board

Caught this link from the blueboard:

http://www1.nrk.no/nett-tv/klipp/262753

Brian's voice is way out front in the mix.  Generally, painful to listen to (I'm sorry to say), though the band is great.

Excellent catch! Thanks for posting that.

It is weird not seeing Darian up there.  :'(

Ummm....can someone please either translate or at least tell me wtf to do to get this thing to work?

I need to install something but it's in friggin Norwegian.

:/

...

It says "People named Billy Castillo are not allowed to use this technology."

sorry bro :/

Worked automatically on my Mac.  In the left box, try clicking the video file icon to the right  "Briian Wilson"  (there are actucallyt wo Brian Wilson files posted (botht he same file).  They have made available all the artists from the Norweigen Wood festival.

The first thing that pops up is a test of your connection speed (yes, I can read Norwegian --  not, but it's close enough to English with words like "testen).  You then go to the show page.  It did nothing for me at first, no matter how many clicks on the icons.  I pressed the back button to get back to the speed test page, let it retest, then when it went back to the video page, the video screen magically appeared.  It doesn't sound good, but Brian isn't the only problem.  The backing vocals have a lot of flatting, or at least it sounds like that on the mix.  The instruments don't come through well, and what it heard doesn't sound too good.  I'm not sure if it's an off night or the mix, or both.  But it doesn't argue well for those who think Brian should keep touring every single darn year.  The band sounds tired, too.  Plus, they really need to add new things to the set.   They probably should have dropped "Kissed Her" without Al being there. 

Maybe I'm being too critical? It is a free 'net show, after all.  It's nice that it's available.

The sound came thru crystal clear thru my Quicktime stream.  Brian is way out front in the mix and you can clearly hear all his lead vocals.

Got it to work. Here're my thoughts on what I've heard so far..

Catch a Wave
Not THAT bad at first. God, Billy Hinsche looks old . Brian sounds slurry, but not too bad .
Dance Dance Dance
Brian's gestures are annoying at the beginning, and really f*cks up the lyrics. His voice actually sounds strong, but weak too at the same time, if that makes any sense.
Then I Kissed Her
Nice that Brian is holding the notes instead of clipping them like he does a lot. He goes flat a bit, but sounds pretty good...except for the end. As for the end... "It's nice to have you come"...makes me :lol for some dirty reason.
Break Away
Don't like the opening. Brian really strains, and Jeff sounds off.

Hawaii
Nowhere near as good as when I saw Brian on 10/23/04. Bad sound mix, as Brian's backups are too loud in the mix. The noise reduction is starting to get annoying, btw.
In My Room
I hate the harmonica part. I do notice that in some parts, Brian is singing like he did in 1976, esp. the way he over-pronounces certain things. His voice sounds shot, but his actual singing sounds pretty good.
Surfer Girl
Opening part Brian is way off. Weird pronounciation of "I" on "I have watched you...". The middle part sounds pretty good, better than Knebworth 1980.

Sidenote...It's getting annoying when he thanks the crowd after every song. Also, the Row Row Row your Boat thing has outlived its usefulness.
Wendy
Sounds way off. Brian's bgvs are all over the place. This is making me sad. Hurts so bad, indeed.  I do like the parts where he kinda shouts...he sounds better on the rockers than the ballads.

When I Grow Up Brian sounds really good until right before the second verse. Again, his backups are really bad. Ouch. It IS kinda sad. I've heard Brian lots of times, once live in person, the other times from various clips like this, and I've never heard him this bad, apart from the 1999 (?) show at the Beacon that showed up at various places.

Do You Wanna Dance Flat.

Drive in
MUCH better. Proves my point about Brian sounding better on the rockers. His intro is funny, and he looks involved. He's having real fun, and he's feelin' it .


I Get Around
Back in 15 Big Ones form for this, and it  works. Think the last song energized him...

Sloop John B
Pretty good. He again sounds like he did on the Knebworth dvd, only with feeling. I like the growl. At this point  I'm noticing that the show has picked up a lot. Interestingly, he sounds like he's playing with the melody on his leads, but in a good way.

Wouldn't it be Nice Sounds flat at the beginning, but it also sounds like the band started off in the wrong key. I like the way he goes low on "...whole night through".  The middle part is off key, though. Whoa...I see a sheet of paper on his keyboard. Is he reading from a sheet of paper, as opposed to a Tele-Prompter?!

Sidenote: Jeff Foskett looks bigger.

God Only Knows Brian's really trying here, but his voice sounds shot. The last half of the song sounds much better than the first. I think its time to retire this song from the playlist. What was up with Foskett's facial expression at the end?! He looked sick.

Add Some Music
Much better, as he's back to his vocal stylings from before the last two songs. The middle part to me is the best he's sounded on the entire show.
Heroes& Villains Don't like the sax part at the opening. It's obvious that that IS a sheet of paper he's reading from, as he uses the intro he always uses for Add Some Music for this one. That he said, he sounds good.

 Do It Again
Jeff sounds like he was throwing Brian off.  I really like the a capella bit...

California Girls
Brian played the opening on piano before the song actually began. Sounded kinda cool. He royally fodas up the lyrics in parts, but doesn't sound bad.  Love the acapella bit. I also noticed it was for Brian to be able to hear his keyboard, as he appeared to be changing the settings for it...

Marcella Hell yeah. Now I know why Brian was changing the sound... great guitar sound, too. I love Brian's versions of this. Wish he really WOULD do that "rock album" he's been talking about for the past decade...

I'll finish watching this later...

edit

Skimmed towards the end. Brian forgot the lyrics to Love & Mercy, but I like how he improvised. "A lot of people getting shot..." that was classic.

Compare the PS songs on this show with the London versions from 02. Sad so sad to listen to.
Will be true to my word that I see no reason to go to another Brian Wilson concert. Sorry to have to say it but I dread the thought of what may happen in September in London.

Still like his band. Would be great to hear Mike and Al or other's doing those leads with them instead.

I just started watching this....Is Brian high?

Well it seems to me that his singing has just got lazy. Through age, lack of effort or a now inability to hit those high notes he did just a few years ago. Even then not too well. The teleprompter is gone but at a cost of concentrating so hard on the lyrics the vocal is very poor.

Looks like a bad karaoke singer has wandered on to the stage from the audience and nobody has the heart to return him to his seat.

I'm halfway through....Bring back the teleprompters....Jeff Foskett is the star....While he sounds nothing like the Brian Wilson of 40 years ago, he is ACTING like him. And that's a good thing....And thanks for coming tonight ladies and gentlemen....

Brian - pretty awful... there were a few exceptions, but I've never heard him sound that bad.

And the band sorely misses Scott and Darian. That's a lot of musical horsepower to do without. Billy ain't no Scott, and Gary ain't no Darian.

Brian needs Al badly!!!!  Have Al sing most of the leads and all will be well!!!!

I'm three-fourths of the way through....This is the most lucid I have ever seen Brian....He is acting much younger than age 65; forget about that fainting spell stuff....They should take that arrangement of "Marcella", go into the studio, clean up Brian's vocal, and release it as a single. It rocks like a young alternative boy band....And thanks for coming out tonight ladies and gentlemen....

Agreed. Too bad the first half of the concert was so weak.
:lol I got tired of him saying that after every song...

Ok, it's over....It appears that Brian has abandoned the stiffness of trying to hit the notes and reading off of the teleprompters and is now singing the way he "feels". I don't know if that is good or bad, but it's different from past concerts. Brian's actually phrasing like a real singer. I DON'T like it when he shouts/speaks the words instead of singing them though....That's the most I ever heard Brian recognize the other band members....Brian seemed to be INTO the music, in charge, actually wanting to perform the songs, if a little rushed....I should know this and I'm embarrassed that I don't, but who is the guy on keyboards with short red hair who looks like a fifty year-old Matt Jardine?....Why is Billy Hinsche in this band....

OK, this is what bothers me. It's nothing new but this concert really brings it out. Do you realize that with the exception of a couple of songs ("Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Sloop", "Surfer Girl", maybe one or two others), Brian sings all of the other Beach Boys' parts - except his own. Jeff handles that. Brian rarely sings his own original part. And that is and has been very unfulfilling. Because that's what I/we identify with him. And he doesn't sing the other guy's (Mike, Carl, Al's) parts as good as they did. I don't know, it just sounds weird, or like somebody earlier posted, like karaoke. Yes, I'm taking this opportunity to AGAIN say - please, please call Mike, Al, Bruce, and David and perform these classics the way they're supposed to be played and sung. And thanks for coming out tonight ladies and gentlemen....

Anyway to download this?

I like the fact that you can hear the keys better in this mix (not Brian's intros mind you, but the keys in Marcella, Good Vibrations, etc). Marcella is SUCH a killer song live, I agree with the above posts that Brian should release it as a single

I finally watched the last few minutes of the show, which I didn't have a chance to do earlier.  Brian massacred "Love and Mercy," rushing the phrasing, making it completely out of kilter.  Jeff doubled him on the last chorus in a seeming attempt to maintain the correct pace.  I'm not even mentioning the made-up lyrics.   Even the band looked a little concerned.   He was not at all like this when I saw his show this past January.  Maybe the jet lag had set in.  But this was an unfortunate show to wind up on the Internet, because apart from "Marcella," it's overall not too good.  It can't all be blamed on the sound mix.  I'm glad the report from Amsterdam is better.  Maybe Bri and the band had to find their sea legs, so to speak.

Don't try to tell anybody on the Blue Board that, as they are apparently loving it on there...

Oh, and thanks for coming tonight!

I didn't think it was that bad. Brian seemed really into it and having his vocals so high up in the mix obviously wasn't a good thing, especially when he sang what should have been background vocals, but overall I enjoyed it.
Performing at a festival is never going to be the place to Brian at his best, possibly because of sound set up, open air setting etc. Didn't we have pretty much this reaction after Live 8?

Hey, guys, come on – a hurried broadcasted show like this is ofcourse not intended for the sceptics, and def not for heavy analyzing –The producer of this broadcast obviously doesn’t know Brians story, and therefore doesn’t know what we know; – that Brian, unlike other famous singers, needs to be, er, slightly buried in the mix  – That said; the show in Oslo was great – no art, alright, but the sound/mix was truly fantastic (yes, Marcella was a highlight) – and ALL Norwegian papers were in awe giving him top reviews.  Brian’s akwardness, his humour, jokes, 12 times ’thank you for coming tonight’ etc, in some akward way worked in front of these 5000 people – yes, the band was suffering under the absence of Darian and Scott, and obv. suffering from heavy jetlag, Jeff looked ill, Brian’s voice were by far weaker than in Boston las October (when it was exceptional) etc. Still – it will rank as one of my alltime fave Brian shows - but then again - I'm norwegian -
anders

In parts I really liked Brian's voice. The Surfer Girl bridge was Knebworth like and SJB resembled 70's Brian to my ears.
Good to hear of the Norwegian media enjoyed it. :-)


 

"Johnny b good" rocked like hell ! Probably one of the best Brian-performances that day.

I wonder why Jim Hines misses a beat in "California girls" and nearly looses everything at one point in "Marcella". Never heard him so ...what's the word... flubby (?)


Anyone know why they shortened the intro to "Wendy" and don't sing the "feel the vibrations and all the sensations"-parts in "Break away" ?

It sounded like Brian was having voice trouble-- he kept clearing his throat. When I saw him last year he sounded terrific. I wouldn't dismiss him over one show. Jeff didn't sound too great in parts either. The whole band (apart from Brian) looked a little stilted compared to how they usually act. It might have been the cold.

I think this show had several strikes against it-- jetlag, Darian and Scott were missing, and it was a festival, and the crowd didn't seem TOO into it, which might have affected Brian. On the other hand, Brian was really, really enthusiastic. He seemed to be enjoying himself, and I think his enthusiasm might have negatively affected his singing. For example, it sounded like he was trying to imitate Al Jardine on Then I Kissed Her, and he just doesn't have that same power behind his voice, so it came out kind of weird. In other parts, he seemed to be changing notes on a whim, and it sounded like it was on purpose. I think he was trying to have fun with it. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't. He was enjoying himself, though...you have to give him that.

That's exactly what I thought. And in some ways that's a good thing. I'll sacrifice the clarity of the vocals in exchange for Brian appearing to be enjoying singing! Well, at least on some songs. :-\

I realize that by watching/listening to the concert on a computer made Brian sound, well, not too good. But I think he would've sounded kinda that way even on a good night. Did you ever notice that when you hear a concert live in person, the vocals sound much better than when you later hear a recording of the concert, or when you watch it on film...

I guess I'm dumb--and I do sort of care.

All I get is this message where the video should be.

"For å se video i NRK Nett-TV må du har en båndbredde på minst 300 kbit/s."

I don't speak Norwegian, but I assume that says something like "you must have 300 kb/second," which I easily have. (My status says 100 MB/s at the moment)

Anyone able to help? I'm on a PC laptop with cable high speed internet access.

I think Amy B. is exactly right. A combination of factors may have played into the general performance here. I sure thought every one looked cold and tired when I watched it the first time. But really, Brian is definitely having a good time.  :lol

After you click on the link, and the Norwegian Wood site comes up, click on wherever you see Brian Wilson. I just tried it and it appears that they cut out the introduction of Brian, and it starts midway into "Catch A Wave", which is the first song of the concert.

All I get is that message. Boo...

Just watched it. foda, that was bad. If I was on that stage and my name wasn't Wilson, I'd be looking for a hole to hide in. No excuses - he was dire. This was way worse than any Mike & Bruce show I've seen. Hell, I can sing the songs better than that (and anyone who knows me well enough will realise what a terrible indictment that is).

[PS - re: connection. I didn't do anything, just clicked on the link and waited, and bingo, there it was. Unfortunately.]

That was my initial reaction, Andrew, too. However, I think there were parts that were quite good, usually the more uptempo numbers. But blessed that started off bad.

edit...
freakin' word filters...

Andrew, my vote is with you.  Maybe I'm missing something that other people that liked it are able to see.  Maybe they've never seen Brian live before?  Do people really set the bar for Brian that low?  I also was a little disturbed by a clip on YouTube of Brian in Sweden, where he asks to have the spotlights turned out for being too warm.  And they did!  The houselights were turned on, but that would be a pretty weird way to see a concert if you were in the audience. 

I agree Sheriff.  I know I made this point on another message board but I feel it is a valid one so apologies to those who read it already but I am throwing here too.  Brian's voice was not great (I have certainly witnessed him turn in better performances in person), but my biggest complaint was not Brian's voice but rather the MIX. The video and audio feed QUALITY were great but the person(s) who MIXED the performance for the TV/internet broadcast were NOT Brian's mix board people. They know when Brian is singing a backing vocal part and adjust him in the mix accordingly. When he is singing a lead vocal they like-wise adjust his vocal. Sometimes Brian's switches from a lead to a backing part several times in the span of one song. Brian's songs are very complex vocally and mixing one of his shows or a Mike and Bruce BB show is very tough work. The songs deserve better treatment than they received here. Mixing is a fine art form and the person responsible for this mix just assumed that Brian's vocals should be upfront (and too much up front) ALL the time even if the part he is singing was supposed to be part of a backing cluster chord harmony. Even if Brian was spot on vocally (which he wasn't at many times) with this mix it still would have sounded wrong and out of place. No knowledge of the songs and performers parts here. No proper blending at all. Though Brian turned in a sub par performance vocally, I did enjoy Brian's vocal on a few songs (Heroes and Villains was pretty darn good).

Off topic I just bought tickets to go and see Brian on August 9 and 10th in British Columbia, Canada. Front row center and 2nd row center. Still NO mention of these shows on Brian's own board or his show in Reno on the 11th. Crazy stuff.

I agree with AGD, generally aweful  ???  Let's face facts, Brian no longer has a good voice. It reminded me of "me" singing Beach Boy songs in the shower.  This concert is the live equivalent of "Gettin' in Over My Head".

But....  Let me say two things:

1) Brians vocal mix here seemed to have no 'helpful' effects to make it sound better; (ie: Reverb, Harmonizer, PC).  It was just Brian, bare and way out front in the mix.

2) Brian now has this gritty, sandpaper, rasp singing voice that he drops into from time to time.  It sounds pretty darn good.! Marcella would sound even better with that voice.  Change the set list.  I'd love to hear Brian, in that voice sing, "Honkin down the Highway". 

Time for Brian to reinvent himself.  Go more 'funky pretty'.  He no longer can sing like an angel.  Seems everyone is in agreement that "Marcella" works the best right now.  Brian, go with it.

That's exactly what I've been saying. He actually HAS a "rock" voice, so why not sing rock? When he tries to sing smoothly, it sounds like warmed-over ass. On Drive-In and the like, he sounds damn good. You know what i'd like him to try? All I Want to Do. That'd be interesting...

There is no emoticon that can communicate the face I made...yucky.

Someone on the blueboard thinks Taylor is pregnant after watching this

:o

The board must be slow today besides this and Male Ego coming back...

MaleEgo is back?

Yep and in full force

http://www.maleegoboard.com/

I thought it looked like she had gained a few pounds.  WIth that loose fitting top she was wearing, maybe it's true.   She still looked great, though.

Anybody have Rick Rubin's phone number?

I dunno...I think his studio vocals have actually been a lot better after GIOMH. Smile, Xmas and the various other songs have all been improved to these ears. It seems to be the past couple years of live singing where there's an issue.

True, Brian's more recent studio vocals have been better. The recent "God Only Knows" and "What Love Can Do" are examples of this; they are quite good.

However, I'd like to utilize Rick Rubin more for the MUSICAL DIRECTION and overall sound. Rubin might be able to turn Brian on to a new sound, in the way he did with Cash, Diamond, Chili Peppers, Dixie Chicks, et al. Brian seems trapped in creating his own wall of sound in trying to imitate/duplicate his past classics. And he's not succeeding IMO.

I think the sort of thing Rubin has done with people is largely what Was did with BW in the mid-90s: peel away excess. But part of what has always made BW great is that he thought (arranged and produced) big. Yes, the songs are beautiful regardless, but the arrangements and production have almost always been a big part of it. Besides, I don't know that a person of BW's stature and at his age has to take anyone's input unless he wants it.

But this is where I go off into my broken-record speech about what I wish he'd do, which of course has nothing to do with what he may want (Because how could I know that?).

And this thread was about a video I haven't even been able to watch yet anyway, so I'll shut up.

Well, I have watched the Norwegian Wood concert and I noticed that it was quite cold there. Everybody was wearing coats and Jeff even was protecting his throat. Maybe that influenced the quality of the show. But it’s certainly not the way I remember Brian and his singing. I blame it on the cold weather. Nevertheless: horrible.

I’m with Billy when he says that Brian’s great when he does the up tempo songs and rocks. I saw the show in the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam (and saw/heard a Jeff Foskett with a sore throat and even Taylor wasn’t feeling well). This was an indoor show and maybe that’s why this time it was a great show. Songs like I Get Around and Help Me Rhonda are played somewhat different from the records and it works. Both songs rock like never before. Marcella the same with Probyn Gregory on heavy lead guitar and even Billy Hinsche did a great Sail On Sailor. And yes, Drive-In. I even start liking Do It Again again. Brian was very talkative during the first show. I went also to the second show last night in Groningen. Same thing as in Amsterdam, but this time the audience was in great shape too. I really think Brian enjoyed the show too, although he wasn’t very talkative. There were only two or three slight mistakes during these two shows.

Go back to Page 1, Post 1 of this thread. Click on the link that SurfRiderHawaii provided. The link WILL come up. I just tried it again. Sit there quietly for 17 seconds and Brian will magically appear singing "Catch A Wave"!!!!

I'll trust you...but I tried several times yesterday, and no video ever appeared. (The Norwegian message that did is posted somewhere a few pages back.) We'll see what happens. Frankly, I'm curious if it's as bad as everyone says. (I believe it may be.)

Nope. Just "For å se video i NRK Nett-TV må du har en båndbredde på minst 300 kbit/s."

Fixed your post!

 Luther... I was going to give you a step by step thing on how to do it, but once you get it to work, it always works. From memory, I know you have to click Instilliger, then testes. After clicking testen, try clicking Brian's name again.

This is getting into a whole new direction for me! Sure about that last part?

(lol)

PS, I hit the intelliwhatever, then (ahem) testen, then the lagre or whatever. Now it works. Thx.

Speaking of Brian singing "Catch A Wave"....

What hasn't been addressed too much is the setlist. So, Brian's added "Catch A Wave", "Wendy", "Drive In", and "Hawaii" to the already present "I Get Around", "Surfin' USA", "Barbara Ann", "Fun Fun Fun".

What's my point? I'm back to beating dead horses again. How come when Mike & Bruce depend heavily on these "fun in the sun" songs, they are criticized, but when Brian adds them, it's cool that he's revisiting them?

Now don't answer that Mike & Bruce have always relied on them, where with Brian those songs come and go. The truth is, for the last few years, the setlists are appearing more and more similar. It is now time! Anybody have Mike Love's phone number? :police:

1-800-IAM-EVIL

I kid, I kid!

Go back to watching the concert! And when you're done - or when Brian's done - tell me if you changed your tune. Mike come back to L.A....

Ah jeez... :lol

Oh, it ain't cool one bit. With Brian I expect more, esp. for the price.  I mean, I don't want Mike to try to sing Marcella. I'd rather try to remove my left eye with a corkscrew than subject mysef to that.

Anyway...Brian's been doing the same setlist (not counting the Pet Sounds or Smile sections) for quite a long time now. It's time for a change, or, better yet, some rest.

1-888-444-6404. Dare ya to call it...

Had to phone ya....just to tell ya I've been missing you....when I phone ya, California's not too far away....Come on, come on and answer the phone, come on, come on, I hope you're home....Hey, Brian!

By the way, I'm only at In My Room,  but I was expecting a lot worse. I've heard other shows where BW is this bad. And I must admit, he does at least seem animated in his (subpar) performance, which beats being robotic. His little extra things are amusing.

When I first saw Smile, Glasgow 04, he was TERRIBLE in the first half. His Time To Get Alone was disturbingly bad to the point that I had honestly wondered whether he'd even return for the Smile segment.

EDIT: Don't get me wrong--he's bad here.

Who is the keyboardist other than Hinsche?

LOL before Drive In: "Do you want me to sing really good? OK, I'll sing really good on this one." ... and he doesn't.

I actually thought he did. :/

Oh, and thanks for coming!

Hair Club :afro

Yep! Mike, you win a hero cookie...
:lol

Well, first, there's an album to promote, "Warmth of the sun".

Second, I don't have much problems with Mike&Bruce doing the oldies. The point is they do them terrible (the new year's eve-concert was ok though and I really hope they sound much better with Christian Love). Their band consists mostly of average-musicians while Brian's band is top-notch. Even if Brian has a bad day (as Oslo), the band usually kicks enough butt to make forget about that. That said, the Oslo-concert is the first one I heard where Brian's band  (especially Jim Hines) had some problems. Might be because of the new members. I doubt this would've been the case with Sahanaja and Bennet

Rocker I will say Mike and Bruce's band were pretty bad after David Marks left, but in the last three years they seem to have woken up a bit. They didn't compare to the Brian shows I saw in 1999, or 2004, but their orchestrated show was terrific. Read my posted review again for details, but even Surfin Safari was superb that night. It was played like it was coming out of a garage and that's a very good thing. Christian does make a difference too, very good singer and player.

Yeah, I believe that and it's good that they finally seem to care a little about the music. But one still can't compare them to Brian's band. Many people take it for granted because they expect the band to be this good, but if you forget about prejudices go deeper into the stuff, it's awesome what a great band they really are.

Just watched it again, to give him a second chance, and realised that he totally murders "L&M". I'm wondering if his foldbacks were working properly, because his timekkeping and tempo were all shot to sh*t.

Which still wouldn't account for the dreadful vocals, of course.

I'm virtually disgusted at the Kenny G rendition of the Break Away intro. Why make one of the most powerful songs in pop history sound like mid-nineties adult contemporary crap? That show may indeed have had its occasional high points (most notably Drive-In, so I agree with some of the previous posts), but for me the magic witnessed at the two 2004 shows I've seen has mostly faded. I adore all these songs to pieces and I could go on listening to California Girls 20 times in a row without getting tired. Yet it all seemed totally lame and lazy to me, even though Brian may have had some fun every now and then (honestly, it's still quite hard to tell by his facial expressions).

Why not play some Love You material? Reportedly it's the man's very favorite record, so even play Love Is A Woman and ten minutes of fuckin' Ding Dang if it adds to the show just being a tiny tad more captivating.

I think "Time To Get Alone" is out of the set list. He hasn't performed it since 04 IIRC, and I never heard him do it well. I just don't think he can sing it in the original key. It would be nice if he'd let Jeff or Probyn Gregory take the lead (listen to Probyn's lead on "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" from the 'Mints "Wonderful World..." CD - he'd be perfect). But like so many other songs that used to be song by other BB members Brian apparently feels he's the only one that can take leads. Too bad...


Gary Griffin, he's filled in for Darian in the past when Darian was with heart or otherwise indisposed.

Well, without Darian and Scott I suspect the set list has to be pretty small and not too adventurous.

But having said that I agree with you. There is SO much great stuff I'd rather hear. How about "What Love Can Do", GIOMH (the song), "What I Really Want For Christmas" and "Christmasey" (at the right time of year), "South American", and other Imagination and later stuff?

I want to hear them do "Girls On The Beach", "She Knows Me Too Well" (with Jeff on lead), "Melt Away", "The Night Was So Young", "This Isn't Love",  "Wake The World", and so on. They did a few of those in the past, why aren't they still in the set list? Maybe do one set of greatest hits, and one set of obscurities - maybe even include some other band members' work BW appeared on or wrote - "No Wrong Notes In Heaven" by Scott Bennett, "Ride" by Wondermints, "Guess I'm Dumb" and "Do You Have Any Regrets" with Darian on lead. That would be great.

There's so much that could be done to break out of the "Greatest Hits" pattern.

They don't want to.  They want to appeal to Beach Boys fans.  I sometimes wonder if having Brian tour every single year, with so many songs from the Mike Love playbook, is just a way to say "nyah, nyah" to Mike.  Allowing Al to tour with Brian, after forbidding Brian to have contact with him for several years, just adds to my suspicions.  On one tour, there were even stops where they were close and within a day or two of Mike and Bruce dates.  They even had Brian play a one-off gig in Vegas when Brian was actually in town to see the Cirque du Soleil "Love" debut.   And the Beach Boys had been there at the same time or very recently.  I suspect Brian will retire whenever Mike does.

I'm getting so cynical.  I need to stop.  I love Brian; I've enjoyed every show of his that I've seen.  I even went miles out of my way to see him a few times.  But I think if you love Brian, you don't want to see him embarrass himself.  And it's getting close to that.  You can also say the same thing about some of Mike's performances, BTW.  Maybe they should both hang it up for a bit, or try for a one-off reunion that will rake in the bucks so they can sit back and relax.

Wait, this is all based on one show? I saw Brian last year and thought he sounded great. Better than I'd ever heard him (other than on the 60s recordings, of course).
I have mixed feelings about having other people in the band take leads. It's a Brian Wilson show. When you go to a Paul McCartney show, Paul sings the leads-- not his band. Same with Brian. I know Brian's band is talented. Maybe after Brian retires, they'll go on tour and do their own thing. Or maybe they could "open" for Brian. I still think Brian is a great singer. I'm not deluding myself and thinking that he can still sound like he did when he was 24, but I love the sweetness in his voice. On a good night-- and I think the number of those is actually increasing-- Brian is still a great singer. Just different.

I agree with both of you. I don't want anybody else in the band taking leads. If I wanted to see a Wondermints show, I'll buy tickets for one. I too still like Brian's voice, faults and all. However, my feelings about this stem not just from that one show, but because, as Marie pointed out,

and I agree totally. Let me also say that I don't doubt for one second that Brian is pure of heart and his intentions are good. However, I feel his "management" is doing him and the fans a disservice.

I rarely post, but this topic intrigues me.

First, I think that this discussion is amazing proof of how many of our dreams have come true since 1999. Go back in time and tell your past self, "Not only will Brian become a staple on the tour circuit, but he'll perform PET SOUNDS live with an orchestra, finish SMiLE and win a Grammy, record an excellent Christmas album, and play live hidden gems like...'Til I Die', 'The Night Was So Young', 'Breakaway', 'Friends', 'Meant For You', 'Add Some Music', 'Please Let Me Wonder', 'Kiss Me Baby', 'Forever', 'Good Timin', 'Marcella', 'Busy Doing Nothing', 'You're Welcome' and more. Who could've predicted it. Heck, even 'The Little Girl I Once Knew' was, at the time, pulled out of obscurity.

So, we're some 8 years or so along, and after what were admittedly a series of high-demand setlists, Brian and his band have pulled back to a "workhorse" setlist. They're ragged (who wouldn't be after the work of the last few years), but they're having a good time, and more importantly, no matter how "pure hearted" Brian is, it's got to be satisfying that he can pull in a better crowd at bigger venues than the Beach Boys, especially after all the other triumphs. He enjoys live shows now, it's obvious, and I wouldn't be surprised if his competitive spirit is taking on Mike where Mike has most excelled now that Brian has succeeded at being Brian Wilson and finished SMiLE. Think about it.

Some people are saying "I can sing better".

Sure, but Brian is deaf in one ear and hears Satanic voices in the other, and sounded alot worse 25 years ago. I hold Brian to a different standard than I do most professional singers.

Besides, you guys might be able to sing them better, but can you write them better? NO!

All of what you say has merit, but Brian started hearing voices well before his voice declined in 1975 and was deaf long before that too.

I think what really counts is how the shows were received by the audiences, the people who were really there. Correct me if I'm wrong, but until now, the European tour was a success. There are tons of praising newspaper articles and folks who were there enjoyed the songs and themselves and reported that Brian sounded great live. The tickets sales seem to be good, at least until now, don't know about France yesterday. There were 5'000 people there in Oslo. Just my 2 €-cents.

Somebody I know told me that the sales for France weren't "as good as expected". First reason: the price. I considered going to the show in Paris, but at 100€ (more or less $140) for a good seat, without special prices for students...  :o  And second reason: France has never been known for having a huge number of Brian fans.

I just remembered when I first heard Paul McCartney's ca 1990 live album Tripping the Live Fantastic. I was horrified. Having listened to Beatle-era Paul obsessively, I expected 1990 Paul (then around age 48) to sound the same. He didn't. He sounded terrrrrrrible in spots. I kept thinking, "Why is he trying to sing it in that key?" And Brian is a lot older than Paul and has performance anxiety (whereas Paul, I'm guessing, has no performance anxiety). Both of them got well into the music and neglected the technical aspects of their singing.

People don't always sound great live. They have good nights and bad nights.

Amy, I'm not trying to start a fight or go of topic or anything, but there is very little comparison between Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson in their live performances. I know that wasn't your main point, but I had to respond.

While I agree that Tripping The Light Fantastic isn't one of Paul's better performances, he has been pretty consistently excellent for decades, sounding very much like his former Beatle self, sounding very much like his Wings/solo years, and continuing to hit all the necessary notes. Paul PLAYS the bass, keyboards, lead guitar, and rhythm guitar. Paul not only performs much of his post-Beatles material, he features it. Paul interacts with his band, and interacts with his audience. I guess what I'm trying to say - and went a long way to make the point - is that Paul McCartney is basically the same Paul he was in 1967, 1977, 1987, and 1997.

Now, take Brian Wilson as a live performer. Compare his performances to the above Paul's, and Brian is almost completely opposite. I am not posting this to hammer Brian, but to look at his performances realistically. He barely plays an instrument, he barely sings his former part(s), he barely plays his solo material (he's been a solo artist for 20 years now), and it's a stretch to say that he resembles his former self.

Now before you send Stan and Rocky after me, I felt the point had to be made. This thread is about Brian's recent live performances. There are very few major rock performers who could get away with what Brian does. And I don't mean "get away with" in a negative vein. And I don't need to be reminded - again - what Brian has been through, it's great what he's overcome, it's great that he's alive, etc. Can anybody give me an example of another artist like Brian's situation who is still touring. Like Mike Love says, maybe "the power really is in the music".

The only musician that I know of who is comparable to Brian is Syd Barrett (for those who don't know Syd was the lead singer, songerwriter, and guitarist for Pink Floyd). The difference is that Syd stopped touring and recording in the earl 70's and became the definition of "recluse". While Brian has fought and fought and fought and is still with us today touring and recording. We are blessed to still have Brian but he is not the man he was.

A crucial point here is that Brian was never much of a live performer. Unlike The Beatles and virtually all of the other surviving 60s recording artists who slaved away in clubs and bars prior to hitting it big, The Beach Boys were primarily a studio group who started touring regularly after they had some hits. In this capacity, Brian lasted only a couple of years before bowing out in '64 (and, at this time, pop concerts were only expected to last 20 - 40 minutes in length!).
Flash-forward to 1999 and you suddenly have Brian (age 57) center stage performing live for two hours on national and international tours. As a live performer, he's no McCartney and he's no Dylan (or any other 60-something who's been on-stage for 40 years or more), but he is unique. You can't compare his live performances to his studio work, you have to compare it to things like the "T.A.M.I." show and the "Lost Concert" (or to Knebworth I guess) which don't feature particularly awe-inspiring performances from him. While he will probably always remain wildly inconsistent on stage, I've seen him do some great stuff over the past few years that demonstrated marked improvement over the documented live work from the 60s and 70s.

Although he has not suffered the same hardships as Brian, I think Dick Dale is a similar case. Dale rarely, if ever, performed nationally during his heyday in the early 60s. After recovering from colon cancer in the mid-60s, he kept an extremely low profile before suddenly reappearing in the early 90s as a live performer. Over the last decade, Dale has toured relentlessly and anyone who's seen him will attest to the power of his concerts. It's one thing for a performer to continue touring 40-odd years after they first hit the scene; it's another for a performer to start touring as they neared 60!

Another?   

John Fogerty. Refused to tour for a few decades. Was a bit of a recluse.  Does not perform with former band members. Has been touring solo for the last decade or so. Much like Paul M, he still sounds fantastic. As a matter of fact, I will be seeing him in July for the 3rd time!!

jeffh, you're lucky! John Fogerty's awesome! A true legend. I saw him in a PBS documentary (about Jerry Lee Lewis's new album) the other night. Still looks and sounds great. Fogerty's coming out with a new album also.

But John Fogerty is NOT "another" Brian Wilson-type as a live performer. He IS like Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Ray Davies, and others. Fogerty PLAYS the guitar. Fogerty sounds almost identical to his Creedence days. Fogerty does feature a decent amount of solo material. Fogerty appears to enjoy being on stage, interacting with his band and his fans. Brian Wilson is nothing like John Fogerty as a live peformer.

Yup!! That's what I meant :)

Lucky guy ! I wish I would get the chance to see him, but tickets are too expensive for me right now.

First of all, I can't really defend Brian without mentioning what he has overcome. That plays a major role in his performances, especially if he's still hearing voices onstage. Secondly, I agree that you can't compare Paul and Brian, but that gives Paul even less of an excuse to have "off" nights. With the exception of the late 60s and maybe the early 80s, Paul has been touring for his entire career. He's a veteran, so of course he's going to be better at it than Brian. Plus, Paul is a born performer. You might even argue that Paul _needs_ that experience in his life. Not so for Brian, who actually becomes anxious about it. I've even heard BBs concerts from the 60s where Brian doesn't sound too great because he's clearly nervous. As I said before, Brian was trying to put some enthusiasm into his voice instead of only concentrating on the notes. I'm not saying his voice is perfect, but I was just reacting to the people who were saying that Brian is finished and should retire.
As for Paul, everyone always talks about how great he sounds. He does. But like Brian, he doesn't sound the same as he used to. Very few people can, especially singers who established themselves with a style like Paul's or Brian's, which is very "young" and in a high range.

I have to disagree about one thing, I think Brian's performances that I have heard or seen from 1962-71 (his Tree performance) were overall great. Sure there was screaming, and some nerves but he seemed to have fun. Also those were the only shows that really had all the voices sounding perfect. Even at their best, the non Brian shows didn't quite recapture what he added vocally.

Ech. It's just not a great show. That's live performing for you. Brian has a ball, though.

Brian live has never been as consistent (or consistently improving) as his most ardent concert fans suggest. But he's never been as terrible as his most jaded critics say.

Seen him four times -- 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2006. Each show had transcendent and cringe-worthy moments. That's what you get with this fella.

We should mention that the german concerts were terrific, as I was told. Some german fans posted on the two message boards that Brian sounded great, didn't use teleprompters and sang many parts, that Jeff usually helps on, alone. "Caroline no" was a big highlight they say...

I was at the Frankfurt-Mainz concert yesterday night and I can assure you Brian sounded great. The best he did in about 10-12 times I have seen him in the past 5 years.
He really didn't miss a note (I know that's what people always say but now it's really true), didn't forget any lyric (no teleprompter) and actually he now "interprets" the songs rather than screaming out the words.  Losing the teleprompter was the best thing that happened to him.
Yesterday "Caroline No" was definitely the highlight, it would bring tears to your eyes. The best version I've heard after the original recording (and I have attended at least 6-7 Pet Sounds concerts). 
His voice was mixed properly: loud when he was singing leads, low while he sang the background vocals, and that's an important difference compared to the Oslo recording.
Only complaint (beside no Al Jardine) was the absence of surprises on the setlist, altough Billy (on his birthday) sang a great "Sail On Sailor".
Stay tuned for photos and videos.

STE

He sang Caroline No? I'd count that as a (pleasant) surprise...

Yeah, well, I guess it depends what the reference is. Having heard "Caroline No" live a bunch of times I'm looking for something new (spoiled, ah?)

But he didn't do "Break away" as I have heard

Nope, no Breakaway

He did Caroline, No in Groningen too, and it was beautiful. As I've mentioned elsewhere - the best gig I've ever seen.

This is how the concert in Mainz was promoted  :-D

(http://thebeachboys.th.funpic.de/Bilder/Sonstiges/BrianMainzPlakat.jpg)

ouch!

That is so wrong in so many ways! Looks like another potential lawsuit could be on its way...

You might be right, because, as mentioned earlier somewhere, the concerts were at one point advertised as "The original Beach Boys".

This just adds to my theory that at least some of Brian's touring is an effort by his management to use him to pick some kind of childish fight with the Mike Love touring group.  It's ridiculous, and a shameful way to use Brian.  I know a lot of fans love that Brian keeps touring absolutely every year, don't care that the setlist doesn't change much , and that Brian really needs to get out there every single year for his mental health.  But any touring should be because it's showcasing Brian's talent, the depth of his songwriting, and his general legacy, as well as being something Brian is enthusiatically doing of his own accord.   I just wish things were a little less petty and little more artistic in the world of Brian Wilson.

I'm pretty sure Brian's management had nothing to do with that ad (which btw was all over Frankfurt).
MAYBE they requested "The Original Beach Boys" slogan but I believe the photo was just picked up by the festival organizer who knew nothing about Brian or the BB.

I doubt they picked the photo.  Seeing Al Jardine's name (I'm sure printed before he dropped out) , and that they are advertised as "Original Beach Boys," looks more than a little curious.   Even more interesting is that it's advertised as an "oldies tour," when the setlist is mostly oldies, and that must have been brought to the attention of the promoter.  This isn't that dissimilar to the UK paper giveaway of Brian's music as Beach Boys music.  Mike Love's case against that was thrown out, so maybe that gave the team more confidence to try it, or at least not object to it, in another venue.  I wonder if the willingness to have Jardine tour with Brian hinged on this, and maybe it had something to do with Al dropping out.  It will be interesting if anything comes of this, if the truth ever comes out.

Actually, Brian could do what Roger Waters does mostly, just sit there and play along while his great band handle most of the singing. Brian could just join in for choruses, take some easier leads and generally just have fun with his piano. More leads should be given to Darian and other good singers in his group. There is no shame in doing it like that.