The Smiley Smile Message Board

BrianWilson.com reports...


We just got word that Brian and his band are working in new songs to their playlist for their upcoming tours. These songs will be performed at all shows, except for festivals.

The following four car songs are ones Brian has not performed live yet:

- Shut Down
- 409
- Custom Machine
- Little Deuce Coupe

The following four songs are ones Brian has performed rarely:

- Soul Searchin'
- Melt Away
- Imagination
- Desert Drive

Be interesting to see what's dropped to make way for these eight.

Let's rev up those engines!

Not in this economy!

Custom Machine? Awesome! So underrated.
The rest - meh. Melt Away should get far more credit. IMO it's as good as most of Pet Sounds.

"Shut down" is my favorite car-song and one of the most exciting rock'n'roll records from that era. But I wonder how Brian will handle the not that easy lyrics.

What to drop in favor of these songs?  Lets begin with Barbara Ann.  Lets drop it TWICE.....on her HEAD!!!!  And I could go to at least one concert of any and all of the BeachBoys without hearing FFF again.  Its time we used a new encore set to satisfy the crowd.

Brian performed Little Deuce Coupe at a few 2003 shows. :)

Your Imagination has been done WAY too many times to count - he was doing it as late as 2004! Same for Desert Drive.

Yawn.

Car songs and pre-BWPS/TLOS solo tracks... Not exactly the 'new' old songs I was hoping for...  :( Oh well, I'm really looking forward to the Amsterdam show anyway. :)

Does anyone know if he'll be doing anything from TLOS?

Couldn't agree more. I also REALLY hope he dropped Johnny B. Goode. Good song, but only if Chuck Berry does it.

I hope to see him this year.    I would love to hear a litttle of SMiLE and  a little of TLOS as part of the show.

I like Desert Drive done live.   Much better that way.  Sort of the difference between Do It Again live vs studio.  I could enjoy hearing it live anytime. 

I think Mike's band has trumped Brians in terms of car songs by including Ballad of Old Betsy in recent perfrmances. 

I don't care for Desert Drive. I didn't enjoy hearing it live on the Paul Simon co-headliner tour.

You Imagination has been played at a lot of shows, but I really like that one and they really rock out on it.

I am excited by Custom Machine. Good choice. Still waiting for some Love You stuff to get dusted off. Wouldnt mind a return of "This Whole World" either.

I heart Melt Away so this is good news...hopefully this will mean the end of "Barbara Ann."

Couldn't agree more and unlike most people I totally prefer the original arrangement over the IJWMFTT version. To me, this song shows the true potential of BW88 as it does indeed sound like a Pet Sounds-type production circa 1988.

It's one of my favorite cuts from BW88 ("There's So Many" being the next best for me), so I'm really glad to hear he's going to be doing it live. 

The others don't really excite me that much, but at least we have some hope for some other new stuff in the future..."A Day In The Life of a Tree" anyone?

Could it mean he will do some of the "Pleasure Island' songs?  They would qualify as new but old songs.

Ballad of Ol' Betsy would be great to hear Brian do if he could handle it. Your Summer
Dream and Keep an Eye on Summer were given higher profile by Summer Love Songs, but again might be hard for him to do justice to. Wish he could/would do We'll Run Away.

Who cares at this rate. Even if it's long tall texan for 2 hours  :lol :lol

Agreed. Great post.

Custom Machine would be fun to hear with Jeff's vocals on falsetto...any chance someone will record this?  :police:

I have a recording from an RFH performance of Pet Sounds where Melt Away was performed (when Brian was taking request on the Blueboard I believe)...and it sounded great, the vocals were amazing, possibly my favorite version, again, Jeff had that young sounding-Brian-falsetto goin on which made it that much better. I remember hearing Desert Drive at the Paul Simon shows but then never hearing it for a couple of years, which is dissapointing....now that sounds like a Wrecking Crew vibe!

I'm really excited for the Brian solo songs that are being added to the set. The only time I saw Brian, the only "solo" song he did (besides Good Vibrations with the Asher lyrics) was Love & Mercy.

I hope they play small venues like Lupo's  and it's  G..H . all the way!

I think he did that and 'Desert Drive' when i saw him. Stuff like Walkin' The Line would work great live, i have no idea why that hasn't gone in.Same with 'Meet Me In My dreams'

Damn we've been lucky in Sydney -- we got "Melt Away" and "Imagination" on his first tour, and "Soul Searchin'" and "Desert Drive" at the Opera House.  Great to hear they're coming back -- "Imagination" in particular was a revelation once it had been de-Thomasized.

Wonder if this'll knock on the head the "Brian's embarrassed by his other solo albums" mutterings?

Cheers,
Jon Blum

Damn it, who cares about Deuce Coupe and Shut Down. I want to hear The Night Was So Young, Roller Skating Child, and Airplane. Breakaway would be nice, too.

Ditto!

Brian does do Breakaway sometimes. Changed the ending, though.

How 'bout A Day In The Life Of A Tree??!!

That would be killer with Brian's current voice...and the band would make the ending sound awesome. 

A Day In The Life Of A Tree would be wonderful, but I'd really love to hear Oh Lord.  I love Melt Away, so I'm excited about that especially.  I hope he plays When I Grow Up.   ;D

I just found out he's play Pittsburgh!  I'm definitely going to that gig!  Finally an act I can go see.  Thank you Brian Wilson. 

The one time I heard it - Hampton Court, 2005 - it was a complete and utter train wreck. Just... painful.

I've wanted to hear modern Brian sing this since the first time I heard it.

His sets are pretty big aren't they?  I hope he throws in a few suprises.

He did "Let it Shine" for a while.

I don't expect a lot of surprises. With "Custom Machine" and the four 'new' solo tracks he already added five songs that weren't hits... And since the upcoming shows are billed as "greatest hits" shows, he can't really afford to add much more obscure material.

I'm more into the deal that Brian should decide which songs he'd like to perform!
Seems like I'm one of the few in this thread who actually would be disappointed if a BB/BW gig didn't include
Fun Fun Fun! :)

Take care!

//Henrik

I wouldn't mind if all he played was songs from 15 Big Ones and Love You, seeing Brian Wilson live is more than I can ask for.  He would probably rather be at home.  Thanks Brian.  :)

I'd love to hear him do Never Learn Not to Love! Or maybe a medley of Beatrice From Baltimore/Marcella/All I Want to Do!!! :lol :lol :lol

Here are some different songs I'd like Brian to do:

"No-Go Showboat"
"Don't Back Down"
"Salt Lake City"
"Kiss Me, Baby"
"You're So Good To Me"
"I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" (he did it on the PS Tour, I know, but it should be his theme song)
"You Need a Mess of Help To Stand Alone"
"Little Pad"
"Be Here in the Mornin'" (why do the BBs hate pronouncing their "-ing's" so much?)
"All I Wanna Do"
"I Went to Sleep" (followed by that bit of "Brian Wilson" they used to do)
"Cool, Cool Water"
"I'll Bet He's Nice"
"Roller Skating Child"

I'd really like to hear "Rio Grande" done live.

There are some songs that have been in Brian's live repertoire for over a decade that should be dropped for a while to keep things fresh.  I may be in the minority here, but I think "In My Room", "Surfer Girl", and "The Little Girl I Once Knew" deserve a break.  These are all great live, but I think they'd be much more appreciated if they were gone for a while and returned after a few years.

All that said, I am very grateful that Brian continues to tour, and will take whatever I can get!

I was listening to Live At The Roxy again yesterday... Now that's a great setlist...

The Brian Wilson G.H. Tour

1) Who is in the G.H. band?
2) Does the G.H. tour have a money back guarantee?

AGD mentioned 'Breakaway' being painful when he saw it at Hampton (which I gather was not a great show overall) though I saw it done rather well at the Nov 06 Pet Sounds gig if I recall right.

And somebody mentioned 'Salt Lake City', welll that was a personal highlight for me where it really rocked at the RFH TLOS shows. :)

I've seen them do all of the above, I believe.

I don't think you'll ever see a BW concert without "Surfer Girl" & "In My Room" in the set-list.

I saw them play it three times during the Smile tour of '05...it was a highlight of the show for me. Brian did stretch his voice beyond the breaking point a couple of times during the song, though.....

I'd be more jazzed about more focus on Summer Days Summer Nights stuff. I loved hearing Girl Don't Tell Me and Salt Lake City last year. Girl From New York City would rock, I don't know why they dont' go for it.

Would you settle for big venues and small a small crowd? If so , you may be in luck!

No new product. To many tours. No interest I'm afraid.

Shouldn't he do all solo work as a 'Greatest hits'? personally i'd love that, hearing some of the stuff off BW88 performed by a proper live band would be staggering.

I agree: I'd be very interested to see such a setlist, with my thoughts as I (very occasionally) listen to BW88, Imagination or GIOMH* tending toward the "I wish the whole band had performed and sung this." No, the material isn't as consistently great as his 25 years or so of previous material. But there is certainly a very solid concert's worth. And I think it would be invigorating to those tunes to be heard in the context of live musicians and singers, stripped of the silliness of the 80s, of slippery ProWrestlerduction (tm) and wall o' bad Brians.

I'd be interested in a set including songs like:

Your Imagination
Good Kind of Love
She Says That She Loves Me
How Could We Still Be Dancing?
Morning Beat
Desert Drive
Melt Away
GIOMH
Midnight's Another Day
Walkin The Line
Goin Home
Where Has Love Been?
There's So Many
Cry
Oxygen to the Brain
Live Let Live
City Blues
Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight
Lay Down Burden
Rio Grande
Love and Mercy

And if he really wanted to make it even more interesting for hardcore fans, why not toss in some of the yet-unreleased material from Sweet Insanity, the Paley sessions or both?

OK, this wouldn't exactly draw wide crowds, mostly fanatics. But smaller theaters and higher ticket prices ... serious fans would pay quite a lot for that kind of show, don't you think? Plus, the obviously resulting live album (doesn't he do that every tour now?...) could well replace the first few solo albums for me.


*I know GIOMH was the current band, more or less. But not vocally. I've heard Desert Drive, Soul Searchin and the title track live, and they were really enjoyable.

I'm quite surprised, Luther, that we haven't had more of those songs. In the first couple of years of Brian's touring, the shows had such rich and evolving setlists that I always assumed they would dig deeper into Brian's solo catalog. But once the PS / Smile / TLOS format emerged of greatest hits / full album, the non-album setlists tended to atrophy a bit.

I too would like to see something like that  ...but I'd add a "cover songs" section to the set list as an encore before Love and Mercy ...

I'm Into Something Good
Sweets For My Sweet
Be My Baby

... and definately NO Proud Mary ...

These are the songs he played last night in Amsterdam (this is not the right order, obviously):

409
Surfin' USA
Shut Down
Surfer Girl
Little Deuce Coupe
In My Room
Custom Machine
Fun, Fun, Fun
Don't Worry, Baby (lead vocals by Foskett)
I Get Around
All Summer Long
Johnny B. Goode
Do You Wanna Dance?
When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)
Help Me, Rhonda
Dance, Dance, Dance
Then I Kissed Her
Salt Lake City
Girl, Don't Tell Me
California Girls
Barbara Ann
Wouldn't It Be Nice (lead vocals by Foskett)
Sloop John B.
God Only Knows
Good Vibrations
Do It Again
Add Some Music To Your Day
Marcella
Sail On Sailor
Love And Mercy
Your Imagination
Soul Searchin'
Desert Drive
Midnight's Another Day/That Lucky Old Sun (reprise)
Going Home
Southern California

Barbara fucking Ann!

 ???

Jeff did lead on those 2 last year too.

I've seen Brian in concert many times throughout the last couple of years, and I've seen both Brian and Jeff sing lead on Wouldn't it Be Nice.

When Brian sang it at the Pet Sounds concerts, it was played in a much lower key (I believe the key of C, whereas it was written in E, and then sped up to, I believe, F). That's a big difference, and it didn't sound right at all to my ears. I think the band would agree, as the change to let Jeff sing it more recently.

I also heard Jeff sing lead on two occassions, and while the music was much more fitting, I just honestly couldn't get into his lead vocals on it. The tone of his voice just didn't work for me. Obviously I'm not in the position to tell the band how to do their job, but this was a small contributing factor on why I don't keep going to see their show.

I would rather see Brian play songs in concert that his present day voice sounds good on, and the ones he feels like playing. More of a 'Storytellers' type show, not that I think Brian would want to talk that much in reality. As it is, the whole thing has felt forced more often than not; no disrespect meant.

I don't want to appear like I'm full of merda but I think I'm partially responsible for them giving some leads to Jeff..   :-[
I shall share this story one day...

Don't fret, I think it is a good thing they give some leads to Jeff.  He may not have the same character in his voice as Brian in his prime but who does?  I don't have a problem with Jeff taking those leads because a) it gives Brian a much needed few minutes to rest in the middle of the show and b) they would probably have these songs in the set anyway so if they are going to do them at least they are trying to do it in a way that will sound the best, which shows that someone cares about these concerts and the fans

My husband and I are planning a trek across the Appalachians to go see Brian and the band November 1, but does anyone know when the tickets go on sale?  I know some of the US shows are already on ticketmaster, but I can't find any info from Brian's site, the venue's site or ticketmaster for when the other shows go on sale.  I would think that someone would know, but I can't understand why they wouldn't have it on the website anywhere.  Any ideas?

Ah ok, i thought this was some new development. It's not like they're easy songs for anyone to sing, let alone Brian these days, so it's ok. I wonder how it sounds.... It's a pretty good setlist too.

Try this link - http://www.brianwilson.com/tour/index.html (http://www.brianwilson.com/tour/index.html)

Maybe you can help me out Andrew, if you don't mind.  I'm concerned because Brian Wilson has a gig scheduled for November 6, 2009 at Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, PA but the ticket/info link now takes me to the Community Theater at Mayo in Morristown, NJ.  The funny thing is I'm having trouble finding Carnegie Music Hall's website too and I'm worried the gig has been canceled or something has happened.  It's the only gig that is close enough for me to go (I live in Kent, Ohio).  I figure it's just a website error, but it was working up until this week I think.  Any information would be great, I would hate to miss Brian Wilson live as I've been wanting to see him live since I was a kid.  Thanks.

Hmmm...

Try this one - http://www.librarymusichall.com/ (http://www.librarymusichall.com/)

Or better still... http://www.carnegieconcerts.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=9 (http://www.carnegieconcerts.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=9)  ;D

Thank you so much Andrew!  It seems like a site change, or something, but I'm thrilled nonetheless!  Boy tickets aren't cheap, but they aren't that bad really.  Nice that I don't have to go through ticket master, cheers!  :D

My pleasure... even if I have seriously dented my irascible image.  8)

Haha, I think it'll be okay.  I bet I can still get good tickets too.  :)

Still no "Tree"!! I think Jack Reiley should come out of hiding and make an appearance at a BW show to sing lead on "Tree" and do the narration on Mt. Vernon and Fairway.

I think the number 1, no-brainer, needs to be in the Brian Wilson Concert Experience setlist is Still I Dream Of It.

Also, come on.. bring back Til I Die, that's one of his greatest songs.. and how about throwing Busy Doin' Nothin in the place of a couple minutes of car songs.. but that's just me.  Also add I'll Bet He's Nice, Mona.. those Love You songs would absolutely go down great with the audience with the type of band instrumentation and musicality that his band has..maybe add some little chant interludes between parts of the setlist like Whistle In, or You're Welcome.. and where is Cool, Cool Water?? Brian loves that one..

Just having a bit of hypothetical fun imagining the Perfect BW Setlist.

I had the same linking problem Sciencefriction...unfortunately none of the ticketing sites are showing the date I'm looking for yet.  I'm psyched though, I didn't expect him to come anywhere near my neck of the woods (upstate NY), let alone 20 minutes from my house!

Nah, I'd rather hear Brian sing "Tree."  He'd absolutely nail it with his current voice.

Not even close to Texas this fall :(

That's ok, there really isn't anything in this tour I haven't seen already. Although, I would still go.

That's my #1 dream for Brian to play. He always goes on and on about how much he loves that song in interviews. Come on band, you can do it!

If he played I'll Bet He's Nice or The Night Was So Young, I would buy a ticket.  That would be special.

He's played The Night Was So Young. It's the only Love You song (I think) that ever made it to the setlist.

Sign me up for that one!

Is Reiley alive?

Alive and living in the Netherlands. There was a documentary about the "Holland" album on Dutch TV a few months ago with a recent interview with Rieley.

How did Brian do on "Shut down" ? I guess he might've had problems with the lyrics.

See/hear for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRPpd0U59b0&feature=related

Yea, no sales info for the November 1 date yet either, on the BW Tour Page or the venue's page.  WVU's site is really crappy...

Well, he nailed the lyrics...but you can't say he appeared too excited about doing this "new" old song.

Brian should just be able to do whatever song he feels like doing at the moment, whether that means doing stuff from SMiLE or singing Shortenin' Bread for 3 hours straight!

Thank you !

I agree, he doesn't seem very excited.

I hate the dude who runs Brian's site, no justice there.

It's not Michael deMartin's fault - his hands are tied. He isn't permitted top post any tour dates until the management give him the say-so... they claim that nothing is set in stone until everything has been signed, sealed, delivered. Of course, when tickets have been on sale from the venue's own website for a few weeks, that makes the management look pretty damn stupid. Said it before, said it again, in many respects Brian Wilson's management is an utter disgrace. Just look at the current state of play - to Europe in early July for a week (and doing four dates in a country where Brian historically can't get arrested), then back again for (currently) four dates just under two months later, including one 200 miles north of the Artic Circle !  Can you say, 'desperation' ?  I gather a series of dates in late September elsewhere (i.e. not in Europe) has fallen through.

He did use the autocue a whole lot throughout the show. I recall that two years ago he hardly needed it.

Most bands have some form of autocue, lets be honest. Springsteen had his when i saw him at Glastonbury (on the telly....  :'() Brian's is just somewhat more visible, but i think his reliance on it is more confidence than memory related - I saw him the week before (or after) the Glastonbury performance, and he barely looked at it when i saw him, but he was glued to it at glasto.
Some choicely picked covers would be great, and probably keep him more interested than more surfin tunes. A few Spector numbers, perhaps? It's been done before, but...

...and how about a cigarette lighter joke, or a McCartney 'God Only Knows' story? ;)

Well, he could scarcely be singing more wordy songs from the catalog than the car numbers. Just saying.

The cue is not really a big deal, most older rock star use them. Even Axl rose had one when I saw GNR in 2006, and Robert Plant also.

As said Brian's is a bit more visible, and he doesn't  try to hide that he's reading it.  ;D

(and doing four dates in a country where Brian historically can't get arrested),
[/quote]

could you explain this further please?

Maybe Brian's just not much of a draw.  I won't go to see him wreck the vocals on a bunch of songs, even though I'm a big fan of the music.

As far as I know, the autocue got lost during the 2007 Europe tour and Brian had to go it alone.

i think California Feeling should be added to the list of 'why the hell doesn't he just play that on stage' songs as well.. great, direct song

I'm wondering if it says "check watch in middle of song" ?  ???

Sure - in Germany, he's had consistantly low crowds (and bad promotion). As I recall, the first ever show he played there was switched at the last moment from the original venue to one under half the size (about 800), and he still didn't fill it. The first show this tour was 70% full and that was a big crowd by German standards.

I still found that very amusing when he did that last Monday. Wasn't the only sign from Brian that he was really hoping for a quick end of the concert...  ;D

But if those who attended the Munich-concert could confirm that he did it there as well...

He did it last night in Berlin as well, but a lot earlier than during "Fun, Fun, Fun".
The concert should have ended after "Southern California", at least concerning Brian´s concentration. But the band rocked the house with the songs that followed. A great concert nonetheless!
 

Just more proof that he really doesn't enjoy doing the oldies. And yet that's the main focus.

I'm madder'n fish grease.

Wonder if the watch-checking's to do with requests. Y'know:

Voice from audience: "Hey Brian, play Rio Grande!"

Brian: "Sorry man, we don't play that until 9:38pm."

Bob Dylan refers to how the BBs' (and I include BW shows in that) play their songs live as they were recoded, or as near as they can get them. And let';s face it, there's never any re-interpretation, jamming, spontaneity.

You mean that there are now 2 competing Beach Boys Tribute Bands, each featuring (an) original member(s)? Must be a world first.  ???

I really wouldn't want to hear "jamming" from the Beach Boys.

Surely four? There's the Mike and Bruce Beach Boys (R) (C) (TM) (Patent Applied For), the Brian Wilson Band, and the Al Jardine Endlessly-Not-Allowed-to-Call-Himself-A-Beach-Boy-Even-Though-We-All-Know-He-Is-Really Summer Friends, Families & Beaches Band, and there's the David Marks configuration of the Legends of Surf Music band.

:lol  Outstanding!   

Yeah, you'll be helping folk out on the Blueboard next!




(... In fact it might be nice if someone there did!)

Yikes!  $75.00 per seat at The Egg in Albany, NY.  I'd like to go but that's pretty steep.

 :lol Agreed! A mighty fine effort... have a cigar!

LOL.  ;D

I've seen him do it during "GOK". Four times. Actually, I find it quite insulting.

Then he needs to quit touring. Period.

That's the closest BW show to me... Are the seats really that expensive?? Who does Brian think he is, The Eagles or The Rolling Stones??

I'd put it down to bad promotion.

I like how he sold out the paradiso though, that's over a thousand in there I've been told

The alternative would be a more active recording lifestyle, i guess. I get the feeling whoever looks after Brian thinks he has to be busy most of the time.... But there has to be better alternatives to touring, shirley?

Eh. He's been checking his wristwatch onstage since nearly the beginning of his touring career. I think it's easy to read way more into it than is intended; the man wants to know what time it is. Maybe he has a short attention span and is easily bored. Hmm. Sounds like BW to me.

I must admit, I broke (literally) down and bought 2 tickets for the Milwaukee Wisc. show for Oct. It will have to be an overnighter for us, but he's not coming to Chicago this time. It cost me $192.00 including a 5.00 fee for parking. Mind you, these are $75 seats in the 15th row and aisle seats. For that much money, I would expect a wristband for a signature, but in my thought process, you never know if this will be his last tour.................................or mine!!!!!  My friend Pam loves his oldies so she decided to come along, which makes it more enjoyable all around. I'm hoping he does Imagination, but I'd rather hear the complete Pet Sounds again.

Not to be a killjoy or anything... but -

if the dates aren't selling well, so the paycheck ain't so great, and from what Andrew's sources tell him, Brian finds the "greatest hits" thing to be a bore, he's happier when he has new stuff to play out -

then why fuckin do it?

I saw Brian's last couple of tours because he had something new/interesting  to show off - Smile, TLOS, the Pet Sounds suite with Al - but if there isn't a set of new things, why go?   Neil Young and Dylan may be old,  but they're still kicking new material, so they're NOT  old - at least not that kind of old.  This whole legacy act thing is starting to wear thin for me, and I'M a goddam legacy myself.  Make a new record, go REAL deep into the back catalog, and I'm there.

Wow.  Sounds even more dreadful here than is reported in the US Tour thread.

If the oldies sets are such a drag for him, why fuckin do it?

(Esp. if they pay ain't all that good, cos the sales are sluggish, right?)

DonnaK- One nice thing about the Milwaukee concert is that the venue, The Pabst Theater, is a wonderful place. Not a bad seat in the house. Acustics are great. I've seem Brian there twice. Thought I'd pass this time. Ticket prices are getting crazy. Half the house is priced at 75.00.

Hope you have a wonderful time.

Quote from: JimC1702 on July 09, 2009, 08:40:41 AM
Yikes!  $75.00 per seat at The Egg in Albany, NY.  I'd like to go but that's pretty steep.


That's the closest BW show to me... Are the seats really that expensive?? Who does Brian think he is, The Eagles or The Rolling Stones??



As high as that may seem I think it's retatively normal for the current market.  BS?  Yes:  Reality in today's world?  Also yes.

I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma and it was announced on Thursday, July 8th, that Paul McCartney would be the 'special attraction' for a by then one year old (and very nice I have to say) indoor venue here.  Ticket prices are yet to be announced but I'd bet $75 will look cheap in comparison. 

Then again, it's Paul McCartney with universal appeal and not BW with, what, cult appeal at this point in time...?

 :lol Seconded! (or thirded). Make it a Cuban!

Have to say, when Dylan came to the UK recently, despite the fact he had a new album out, he played none of it and the shows he did were the worst of his that I've seen - and amongst the worst of anyone's.  I saw two, several days apart.  The reviews seemed to dance around the fact the shows were terrible without daring to admit the man who wrote all those great songs and who had a decent (but overrated) album out AND who is musical god might actually be bloody awful.

Nice little venue. Used to be a church until 1968. Nowadays it's a music venue, also nick-named the Dutch (or national) pop temple. No seats except from the balconies. Room for ca. 1500 visitors.
And the house was packed last Monday. A good choice (even it wasn't intended to be). If BW ever visits the Netherlands again, I hope they'll choose this venue again.

For it's history and a few pictures of Paradiso visit:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradiso_(Amsterdam)
   http://www.paradiso.nl/web/English-Agenda/About-paradiso.htm
   http://www.paradiso.nl/web/English-Agenda/About-paradiso/History.htm

view from the stage
   http://www.paradiso.nl/web/English-Agenda/About-paradiso/Paradiso-today-concert-hall-club-and-cultural-center.htm

view on the stage
   http://www.paradiso.nl/web/Over-paradiso/Poppodium-club-tempel-van-nieuwe-cultuur.htm

1500 Actually. That's 300 more than the Carre Theater in Amsterdam and he didn't sell out there two years ago. Especially because Brian has done quite some shows in Amsterdam the last few years and because tickets weren't exactly cheap (50 euros), I really didn't expect him to sell out the Paradiso now.

This might sound a little extreme, but surely on this evidence, Brian is in not much of a better situation than he was during the 'Brians Back' period or dare I say it - later periods? I'm not talking about health or happiness wise but 'forced to do a particular musical type of thing' wise.

I think I am going to go to this one.  I'm less than two hours away, so the drive won't be bad.  I don't know if I'll buy the $75 seats, especially for a GH show.  I paid $100 each for third row center seats for the Smile show in Madison in 2004, and it was one of the greatest shows I've ever seen.  Like you said, though, Donna, this may be the last time he comes around these parts.  Maybe I'll buy the $50 seats, and use the saved dough for a nice dinner before the show.   

I wonder whether Brian's recovery is much better than we assume. He seems to have accepted the notion of touring, albeit with the stage fright and pre-gig nerves it involves. Touring's an aspect of the day job, a wage earner - those of us unfortunate enough to have/have had such things will all be familiar with clock watching, and the unpopular aspects that each job involves.

Touring is part of the way Brian makes a living; there're bound to be bits he's not fond of. No matter how great our own jobs are, there'll be bits of each we all hate.  Brian'll be no different.

I used to love being Hugh Heffner's body double at parties, but I'd hate it, and check my watch, when brunettes showed up.

I wonder if Brian really still hates touring that much. If he really doesn't want to do it, he's got his ways to sabotage everything, right? It's not like he never did that before... Could it be that he's just playing the part of grumpy, tired old man (which he to a certain extend is, of course) but that deep down he kinda enjoys the affection of his fans and being on stage with the (instrumentally) best live band he's had in his life?

Trouble might be that, if he faked another nervous breakdown, they'd have him in the ground before he could change his mind. That, or announce it to the press to boost sales of next year's "hey, I'm feeling better again" album.

Or am I playing into the hands of the cynics here?

Here's my take on attending concerts in the years since I have been a Beach Boys fan (1981).

No matter how many books, articles, or discussion boards you may have written/read/joined to rave on about the band, when push comes to shove, no concert promoter, no matter how far in advance you contact them, will ever see the point in granting you a pissy "Meet and Greet" / "Backstage" / or "pre gig get together" pass. Point blank forget it. Being a fan through the good times as well as the bad means nothing more than the fact that you are scum.

If you manage to weasel your way to the back door area of the stage, you'll be grouped together with people whom, though you have never seen them before (nor will ever see again in the decades following) claim to have gone to school/ridden in a bike club/worked at Brother studios/name the most obscure non-event-you-can with the Beach Boy you are there to hopefully see. That's right, you could be behind the stage in Zielona Gora, Poland - but there's always that one person who happens to be bestest buddy of the said BB, and they'll push you out of the way to get that CD of theirs autographed. (Say, if they really are that buddy buddy, why do they need to attend a concert in order to meet their best friend?)

Should you manage to get to speak to one of the band members, you'll suddenly have some freakazoid fan suddenly become your best buddy. It is a given that when they ask for a sample of one of the BB's blood, you'll be the one mistakenly assumed to have been the one asking the outrageous request.

The person who does manage to go backstage instead of you, will always - as sure as the earth turns - hammer the final insult to injury by turning to you just before they get through the security control and yell out to you "My favourite album is 20 Golden Greats!"

Brian Wilson @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel 11/4/09
Tix went on sale @ 12:00 EST get yours before
it sells out. This venue's cap is under 1000!!!

Lupo's Link:  http://www.lupos.com/Splash.html

  I'm going to the Providence show!
  Info:
  http://www.lupos.com/Splash.html

Er... not in general - the tours themselves generally loose money and, with one plausible exception, none of his tours have resulted in significant chart action.

Brian makes the huge bulk of his money from his work back in the 60s.

Oddly enough, this is one area in which BW tours - of the UK, at any rate - are outstanding: maybe not so much now, but in the past (2002-2007), getting an M&G pass was simply a matter of asking the management. Personal anecdote - back in 2002 and the first UK tour, Beach Boys Britain approached the management asking for a few BSPs, and at Nottingham we were told to pick something up at the box office. 10 BSPs, to meet Brian, and also 10 tickets, way more than we asked for and ever expected (this, btw, was the first time Sue & Stu got backstage to meet Brian... so in one sense, it's our fault. Sorry), and from thereon in, BSPs weren't a problem as long as we behaved ourselves. Getting to know the band helped too, of course (and in fairness, this is also true of Mike & Bruce - Bruce in particular has been most helpful) and frankly, with one exception, the times spent backstage with the band have been much more enjoyable that meeting Brian doing something he patently doesn't like doing.

I've always assumed it was impossible to meet Brian, especially now.  I'm only 21, what are my chances, do I really need to me him, etc.

Must have been an off-night. I've heard them do it beautifully on 2 different occasions. Once with Al singing.

Wow. Could you use a hug?   :grouphug

Ain't that the truth!!
Amen!

[/quote]Wow. Could you use a hug?   :grouphug
[/quote]

Thanks, but I'm actually not embittered. It's just an observation I happened to make a few times, and at Thurday's Bonn gig the stock-standard procedure as I detailed above presented itself once again!

I am currently very closely involved with NASA, and it is interesting to compare the differences between the Space Agency and Rock Promoters. I call up the NASA archives and ask for an obscure photograph of some training facility from 1962. Not only do I get the photo, I get a list of names and numbers of every single engineer who worked at the facility in question.

I call up a rock promoter and require a battering ram just to get past the secretary sitting at the main entrance.

I cant help but recall the 25th anniversary BB thing in Hawaii. A whole bunch of fans had flown out to Hawaii to have a special meet with the band. Guess what happens when they get there? They are bunch in a makeshift holding room as there is no record of their backstage permission despite the get-together having been flaunted and described for the last 6 months on the official fan club website - which itself is supposed to have first hand contact with the band. (No I wasn't there but I know several people who were)

Bizzare, but true.

Interesting,  as my local radio station WPRO had a contest and sent two winners to Hawaii .

When the lucky folks returned, they told  friends that they had enjoyed some red meat and booze
with the band????

PS
Don't mess with explosives:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPIwVFEMUCk



 

Wasn't the 25th anniversary thing in 1986 or somewhere around there? There were websites in the 1980s?

You're right Aegir. I meant the BBFUN newsletter. IIRC BBFUN organised the get together which was announced in their newsletters and fliers to those who were interested.

I always have to go for the closer seats when I see Brian....don't know why, but I do. As I said before, he's not coming to Chicago this time around, so Milwaukee is a given. Maybe we'll all luck out and there will be emply seats closer and we can all "sneak" down and sit in them. I'm game!! Let me know if you are!!!  Thanks for the infor Jeff...I'm sure we'll have a great time...wish you were coming too! I got 15th row center aisle seats, which is pretty good.

Didn't Joy Division play there?

 Moogy,
 BBFUN as in Beach Boys Freaks United?
 I was a card carrying member back in the day.

 Check out the trees on the side of the stage:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twkRbmOUXxI

 

Yep I was a card carrying member as well. I didn't go to the Hawaii bash, buit I friend of mine did. He made audio recordings throughout the whole get together and you can hear the frustrations while they are trying to get to meet the band. Totally in keeping with BB managements way of dealing with things.

Why give hard core fans the benefit of the doubt when a pack of teen-aged blondes are so much more desirable back stage at a BB concert?

I know I may sound like a bitter old kook, but the fact is similar shafting of fans has been a standard occurance for as long as I can remember. Even during the 2004 BWPS promises were regularly broken, and so it is hard for someone to sing praises of things handled so badly. I can't for the life of me work out why a simple "No" is never given. I don't expect fans to be given a golden handshake and fireworks show, but I also don't expect them to be thrown into a pit of proverbial excrement just because they are fans.  If anything typifies the Beach Boys universe it is the consistent lost opportunities and muddled handling of things. It's almost as if they have a self-fulfilling prophecy about themselves.

And now, I'm off to perform at a gig where every 5 minutes I'll desperately look at my watch hoping that in actuality 10 minutes have passed, and I'll forget half the words to the songs I'll play even with a teleprompter. I'll also be sure to cough loudly into the microphone during several tunes. For dramatic effect, you know.
 :3d

Yep - January 11th, 1980. Notable for being that short-lived band's best recorded live gig (official or unofficial - and there was really only one officially recorded one). Here's a link with more info:

http://www.joydiv.org/c110180.htm

My wife and I are big fans of B.W., but we've never seen him live.  We're seriously considering flying out to one of the shows this fall, but everything I've read and the clips I've seen on youtube make me worry that the whole experience could be a downer.   



 

The thrill of seeing Brian live for the first time, combined with the power of the music that is generated by the band, along with community feeling of being with others like you - IMO, would make for a very enjoyable concert.

Don't make your entire decision based on YouTube; most artists sound worse on YouTube. At a Brian Wilson concert, especially your first or second one, you will be so engrossed watching Brian, digging the music, and trying to capture every detail, that time will fly by!

Agreed completely.  Being in the presence of Brian and other fans like you is such an incredible experience.  Plus the band always sounds fantastic, and you get to hear some great tunes for a few hours.  I'd definitely recommend trying to make one of the shows.  Who knows when Brian will be done touring and we won't have the chance to see him? 

Everything sounds better live, especially if it's the first time you're seeing that act. When I saw Brian live, he sounded amazing to me, even though others said he wasn't at his best that night.

Probably worth going back and looking at the concert footage from 1976-1982, with a slack-faced Brian chain-smoking at the back behind a piano, only occasionally singing and sometimes playing a completely different song.  If he were in anything like that sort of place now, it'd be obvious.

What we've got is more like an ordinary joe who's got a bit of a dull day job, that still has some actual good bits that make it worth doing.  Cause the current set list has a share of new material that by all accounts genuinely does engage him.

Let he who has never looked at his watch during a business meeting cast the first stone...

Cheers,
Jon Blum

Hey Mooger, I don't know if you have heard this but in January 2008 when Brian was in Sydney we organised a get together for the local crew - older generation fans included Stephen McParland and the Professor - to our surprise Brian (his people/whoever) decided that Brian would attend (with Jeff and a few other band members) - it was kept a secret so when Brian arrived in the room it is was chaos ... Brian looked around, saw the Professor, recognised him from the Hawaii shows and said hi straight at him, that really seemed to settle Brian down - complete recognition. Sometimes you think Brian is on another planet and then something like that happens. (I'm pretty sure Jonathan Blum was in the room at the time). I'm sure you could imagine that the Professor was in 7th heaven after that ...  ;D

Which I guess suggests that for him there must be an upside to touring. If it doesn't make him money, then why would his people (who allegedly are interested in his income streams rather than his indulgence) want him to tour? I don't see any merit in it as far as promoting poor-selling CDs goes, and the Mike & Bruce band are doing enough to promote the old 60s stuff without Brian having to lift a finger.

This leads me to the assumption, Dr Watson, that Mr Wilson must derive some please or other spiritual benefit from the act of touring and that those around him care enough to humour this.

Those of us who were at the 2002/2004 PS/BWPS tours saw a tangible change in the man in that time, as regards confidence.

Doesn't explain him playing the greatest hits stuff  unless he's into self-discipline as well.

 The GH stuff will always go over.

 Anyone go on The Big Red Boat?

My guess is that it keeps him active, which helps out with his songwriting and other creative endeavors. If Brian wasn't touring, what else would he do? Dig ditches? He'd probably wind up sitting around doing nothing. Not only that, but it probably makes him feel important. Fame is addictive, I don't care who you are. One of the members of his entourage said that Brian misses hearing his songs on mainstream radio. He liked being Brian the boy genius. Who wouldn't?

I don't see the analogy. Music is art. This isn't accounting, you don't do it out necessity, but desire. Art is about passion. If you're not passionate about your art, then you shouldn't be an artist. Not that I don't think Brian should be an artist, he seemed to clearly enjoy making That Lucky Old Sun at least at times, but that it's obvious that he has little interest in utilizing live performances as a mode of artistic expression. Maybe he liked performing That Lucky Old Sun or Smile now and then, but that was it. To me, he is disrespecting the art form. It also shows a quite warped way of thinking. The man has no qualms about putting on a lackluster performance for people who may have paid over $100 for their seat. I would be so embarrassed if I acted like that under those conditions. I don't think I'd leave my room for days. I like Brian for his music but he does seem to think the universe revolves around him. I think that's what Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips was trying to get across a few years ago when he was criticizing Brian in public. Just because Brian made great music and tries to be a sympathetic figure, it doesn't mean he should be coddled, but people do it. Sometimes people need to face reality.

Honestly, I hate that I know as much about Brian Wilson as I do. It's a waste of gray matter. His music can be so alluring though, it just makes you want to know what was going on in the head of the person who came up with. I have a hard time reconciling the man we see today with the man who made that wonderful music so long ago.

Hey I have never been aware of Wayne Coyne's comments is there anywhere they can be read?

Ta
Sam

To me he's just the same guy - the same guy who quit the road in the early-mid 60s to concentrate on his art, and on using the studio as his canvas. I agree that the touring must fire him up and of necessity massage his ego. But his art is what comes out of the studio. Playing it live must be like an artists having to stand at the photocopier churning out cheap Xeroxes of your best work.

Wow. Could you use a hug?   :grouphug
[/quote]

Thanks, but I'm actually not embittered. It's just an observation I happened to make a few times, and at Thurday's Bonn gig the stock-standard procedure as I detailed above presented itself once again!

I am currently very closely involved with NASA, and it is interesting to compare the differences between the Space Agency and Rock Promoters. I call up the NASA archives and ask for an obscure photograph of some training facility from 1962. Not only do I get the photo, I get a list of names and numbers of every single engineer who worked at the facility in question.

I call up a rock promoter and require a battering ram just to get past the secretary sitting at the main entrance.

I cant help but recall the 25th anniversary BB thing in Hawaii. A whole bunch of fans had flown out to Hawaii to have a special meet with the band. Guess what happens when they get there? They are bunch in a makeshift holding room as there is no record of their backstage permission despite the get-together having been flaunted and described for the last 6 months on the official fan club website - which itself is supposed to have first hand contact with the band. (No I wasn't there but I know several people who were)

Bizzare, but true.
[/quote]

The Beach Boys Fan Club had a website in 1986?? ???

Nope it didnt have a website. But it did have a newsletter which regularly made the rounds.

When I write "website" it shall be henceforth noted to also mean "newsletter" for any discussion prior to the emergence of the web.

 :police:

Ooh, Dada, excellent post. Telling it like it is, a dose of the truth, and the truth hurts sometimes, doesn't it....

I always have to shed a tear when I hear "Salt Lake City" because I know he is lying when he sings "We'll be comin' soon!"  :'(

And then later, you hear a recording of the concert or see a YouTube video, and you go, "What!?" :o ???

"The man has no qualms about putting on a lackluster performance for people who may have paid over $100 for their seat. I would be so embarrassed if I acted like that under those conditions."

This could - does, in fact - also describe several Dylan shows over the years, including this year's.  However, I saw Brian last night and it was a pretty damn good show.

For anyone that was curious...

I emailed the facilities manager for the venue in Creative Arts Center in Morgantown, WV and he said that the link from Brian's site is wrong and should be this:  http://www.events.wvu.edu/uas/index.shtml

That didn't really lead to any more information but it least it had the show listed.

Exactly - my first Pet Sounds gig was, on the night, sublime... then I heard a boot, a true WTF ?!? moment if there ever was one.

That's the thing w/ BW, the quality of his performance varies a lot.

Truly true - saw him at HCP in 2005, sucked majorly. A month or so later in Brum, excellent.

Just once more AGD, check the PMs.

http://www.stopsmilingonline.com/story_detail.php?id=224

http://www.stopsmilingonline.com/story_detail.php?id=225

It seems to me that Coyne took it personally that Wilson gave a bad interview (as if that was a surprise).  To be fair, Coyne wasn't much of an interviewer either....

Wow, he does come across as a dick in that second interview.  The talk he had with Brian wasn't too bad by Brian interview standards.  Coyne expected way too much from Brian (a dissertation on his songwriting, apparently).  He acknowledges that Brian has been asked about his music ad naseum through the years, but still expects detailed and insightful answers about it.

And I don't think Brian comes off egocentric at all; quite the opposite actually.  Brian didn't appoint himself a genius, and it's not his fault that others continually praise his work.  So he needs more positive reassurance than most other people...so what?  Brian isn't out there telling the world "I'm a genius" over and over again trying to get attention.  Coyne doesn't really seem to "get" Brian at all.

Merged, since these are basically the same topics.


100% agreed. Actually, I'm going to go a step further. You folks have probably noticed I've been offline more than online lately. The thing is...I'm so fed up with all of the B.S. surrounding Brian that honestly I'm starting to lose my love for his music, and that's friggin' sad. It seems to me that a lobotomized monkey could do a better job of managing Brian's career then these fools have done. It's obvious Brian doesn't give a sh*t, so why should we? And honestly, who could blame him? Brian obviously enjoys playing rarities way more than the oldies, so , hey...let's make him perform merda Down! I don't get it...the setlist has gradually shifted towards the casual fan...who probably couldn't differentiate our Brian Wilson from Giants pitcher! "Duh, Jethro, Brian Wilson is singing Beach Boys songs tonight, wonder if Tom Glavine's playing the banjo dur hur hur". Those folks are already at the Mike & Bruce show, anyway. It seems to me that the strategy is to piss off the die-hards and lose as much money as possible.

Mission Accomplished.

edit

I meant "Shut Down"...guess it was a Freudian Slip.

I completely agree. 

I agree with this too (except for the losing the love for the music part)!  It boggles my mind to think what B.W.'s handlers/management could possibly be thinking.  It takes a hell of a lot to make me second guess going to see B.W. live, but that's where I'm at with it. 

Lots of funny here.

Please share.

It's just so damn frustrating...there's getting to be too much baggage for me to enjoy it as much as before. I mean, I've always seen through the facade, just didn't realize it was *this* bad. Not just talking about the touring, obviously.

I'm gonna go listen to my Stone Temple Pilots albums now. Scott Weiland may be a recovering dope fiend, but at least nobody tries to portray him as something he ain't.

Had a most pleasant meal with someone prior to Guilfest, and the subject of Brian's 'management' came up, and was thoroughly dissected. Concisely, they couldn't organize an orgy in a brothel.

 :lol

Well, they "could" but it'd be something like, I dunno... body parts would be going where they aren't meant to, the brothel would probably catch on fire, while the person filming it will be telling everyone they're filiming a movie about World War II.

Another observation was, "who's planning this tour - Stevie Wonder ?"

Nah...more like Ray Charles. ;)

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Talented?  ;)

Weiland's the f*cking man...great guy too.


I think you forgot the negative sign in front of the $ sign, since everything he's done has *lost* money.

I hate to break it to you...

Sometimes a gig is just a gig.  My brother-in-law's a saxophonist, and he's done everything from composing and recording a pretty cutting-edge piece also featuring a didgeridoo (as part of his postgrad work) to playing in a Jimmy Buffett cover band.  I know one of the guys from the string section from the Sydney TLOS shows -- he's part of the (frickin' brilliant) electric string quartet Fourplay, who have played the Opera House, released three albums, and toured with Roger Hodgson... and they've also done the weddings-parties-anything circuit as a straight string quartet, playing Pachelbel's Canon till they keel over.  I'm a writer -- I have a day job as well, but even the writing is sometimes just work-for-hire.  The novels and some of my short stories are me striving for full-on art, other stories and magazine articles only exist because my wife needs a new laptop.  My latest article is a retrospective on "Chances", a gloriously dodgy old Aussie soap opera (think "Passions" with gratuitous nudity)... which starred Jeremy Sims (one of our most acclaimed stage actors) and Michael Caton (a film and TV star down here for about thirty years).  Sometimes it's not art, it's pure craft and graft.  Heck, even Lennon and McCartney sometimes sat down to write themselves a new swimming pool, not to push back the boundaries of music.

So Brian Wilson doing some workmanlike shows isn't an offence against art.  It's not all Brian-the-genius, it's also Brian-the-hard-working-guy.  And sometimes the fact that it's work to you shows.


Christ, Brian must have been such a selfish bastard back in the late '70s / early '80s, then.  Dennis too, and even Carl for a stretch there -- all more concerned with getting high on the road than creating an artistic triumph.

Truth is, what you think isn't the bit that matters -- the question is, what did the people who saw the show think?  Did they feel that a performance of a huge and wide-ranging setlist by a top-flight band with a notoriously damaged frontman was gimme-my-money-back ruined by the fact that the guy up front was merely performing decently rather than passionately?

Heck, I've seen Brian on an off-day -- just off the plane in Sydney, jetlagged and sore-throated, playing an oldies set at the Sydney Festival opening-night free show to a huge crowd.  And the crowd adored it.  Even if he was in much better form a couple of days later when they did "That Lucky Old Sun".

Most people aren't as intensely critical as dyed-in-the-wool fans can be, to the point where reports that the guy up front looked at his watch -- looked at his watch! -- while performing is a reason to pillory him.


I suspsect it's more that some of his fans think the universe revolves around them, and what they get out of the show (even shows they didn't attend), and get upset when Brian doesn't confirm this.  :-)

That's not a personal go at you, BTW.  We're fans, we overreact, it's in our nature.  We just need to remember this.

Cheers,
Jon Blum

Whoa whoa whoa, as a great man once sang...  Shall we go back and look at the actual setlist we're discussing?  It's around post 52 in the thread. 

It's a setlist that features about *fourteen* obscure album cuts, from early Beach Boys albums through all four of his solo discs.  This is not a token song thrown in to please the hardcore fans, it's about 40% of the show.  That's a huge proportion of buried treasures by most standards -- you're not gonna get Paul McCartney playing 40% stuff that didn't hit big.

Hell, go back to Eric's site and look at the setlists from 1973, the untouchably-cool live era of fan favorites -- even those usually only had seven or eight non-hits (including their current singles).  Again, around 40%.

Now it's true, when he was touring Pet Sounds or Smile, Brian's band was doing more like 50% obscure stuff.  I think that's a sign of just how damn lucky and spoiled we've been on those tours -- not a sign that they're just a Joe-Sixpack-focused traveling jukebox now.  (Ten years ago?  Only rarity at a Beach Boys show was "Why Do Fools Fall In Love".)

Truth is, we've reached the point where we take hearing long-lost gems like "Marcella" and "Girl Don't Tell Me" for granted now.  And some folks won't be satisfied unless they tour "The Beach Boys Love You", admit it...

Cheers,
Jon Blum

Good points, but I was referring to "Shut Down",  "409" , and "Little Deuce Coupe". Maybe some of it is my own personal bias, but I'd rather see Brian perform more interesting material. That was great when he was doing "I'd Love just once to see you" last year or so, or "Time to Get Alone" or "Til I Die" or "let It Shine" during the early solo tours.  I also don't like the idea of Foskett singing lead on a few tracks. He may have a better voice than Brian does in this day and age, but I personally want to hear *Brian* sing all of the leads. If he can't do it, either lower the key or drop it from the show! Again, a fair bit of it is my own personal bias, but if I'm spending hard earned money, I want to see the guy I paid money to see sing lead actually sing lead. If I wanted to hear somebody else sing "Don't Worry Baby", for example, I'd...go see somebody else sing DWB. Even if Brian does it badly, I want to see him.

I hope that didn't come off too harshly. Not that it affects me personally...I doubt he'll ever come back to Houston any time soon...glad I got to see him when I did!

I was going to go to sleep, but I can't rest without first laying these indignities heaped upon me by the good Mr. Blum to bed (please note that I'm being sarcastic):


OK, but the difference is that you, along with your brother-in-law, most likely need those mundane jobs to make enough money to live comfortably. Brian doesn't need to perform his music live to live comfortably. He has his money, so what's his excuse? I think he just likes the public adulation he can get at his shows. However, at the same time, he doesn't want to put any effort into earning it. He just coasts on his legacy, and the fans allow him to by buying tickets and cheering poor performances. OK, he has put a little effort into it (he has hired vocal coaches), obviously, but clearly not enough. He plays his keyboard for hours every day but he can't humor people who have paid over $100 by playing it even just a little at his shows? Why not? He really can't muster the concentration to just play, for example, the piano intro to "Kiss Me, Baby"? Yet I'm believe he could concentrate enough to write That Lucky Old Sun? It just doesn't add up.


Look, I'm a young guy but I've done plenty of drugs in my time, and I've had addiction problems. Alcoholism runs in my family and as a teenager I watched two of my friends succumb to crack addiction. Sure, an addict usually takes drugs or drinks alcohol because they're depressed, but that still doesn't stop it from being a selfish act. When I was drinking all of the time and smoking weed while living with my dad, I was being selfish. He was paying for the food I ate and the roof over my head so I could spend more money on drugs and alcohol. Just because I felt broken or crushed while I was doing it doesn't make it excusable. Sympathizers are enablers, it's as simple as that. I don't see Brian's situation in the late 70's as being that different.


Hey, if some fans like paying for those shows and enjoy it, then all of the more power to them. But as far as I'm concerned, they might as well be fans of "Chances".

I'm not really trying to argue, I'm just trying to clarify my thoughts more. This is how I often like to think things through, through friendly debate.

Very well put Dada...you said everything I was feeling, in a much more articulate way than myself.

Dada -- For what it's worth, I've seen Brian live five times (2000, 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2008). Not once have I felt that he was coasting. There were some great and some not-so-great performances, but I always saw him working his tail off.

But that's just my opinion. I've also seen Dylan live and enjoy his shows, too. But the real problem is this graf:

"He plays his keyboard for hours every day but he can't humor people who have paid over $100 by playing it even just a little at his shows? Why not? He really can't muster the concentration to just play, for example, the piano intro to "Kiss Me, Baby"? Yet I'm believe he could concentrate enough to write That Lucky Old Sun? It just doesn't add up."

I have seen him play piano at several of his shows. In 2000, he would do "In My Room," I think. In the "Smile" shows, he played on the tag of "Wind Chimes" and did a solo with Taylor at the beginning of "Marcella." So to say he doesn't play it is simply factually incorrect.

To then connect that with the composition of TLOS -- to suggest, once again, that there is some conspiracy behind Brian to write his songs and produce his albums -- is a bit of a stretch. No one goes to a concert to watch people compose songs, after all.

"to suggest, once again, that there is some conspiracy behind Brian to write his songs and produce his albums -- is a bit of a stretch."

Hey, it's the internet!

Wow, I wake up only to face more indignities! The struggles of a college student...  :(


No, that's not what I was trying to suggest. What I was saying is that if Brian could write most of TLOS, then I'm sure he could manage to play his keyboard for extended periods in a live setting. It's obvious that he can still concentrate when he feels like it. There's no excuse. And, OK, he's played his keyboard for about a minute or so at some shows. How much credit should he get for that? I think it was Jeff Foskett that said that Brian doesn't play his keyboard at shows because he gets tired of it after playing it for his own amusement all day. He could care less about the fans paying $100+ for his shows, unless, that is, you want to clap for him. He knows he doesn't have to try hard for applause, so he doesn't.

"No, that's not what I was trying to suggest. What I was saying is that if Brian could write most of TLOS, then I'm sure he could manage to play his keyboard for extended periods in a live setting. It's obvious that he can still concentrate when he feels like it. There's no excuse. And, OK, he's played his keyboard for about a minute or so at some shows. How much credit should he get for that? I think it was Jeff Foskett that said that Brian doesn't play his keyboard at shows because he gets tired of it after playing it for his own amusement all day. He could care less about the fans paying $100+ for his shows, unless, that is, you want to clap for him. He knows he doesn't have to try hard for applause, so he doesn't."

Having seen Brian playing keyboards in various documentaries over the last ten-twenty years, I'm not too sure how good he is anymore.  Either way, I've got over it and I enjoy the show.

It's interesting to read through all this and reflect on how amazing it is that we have even reached this sort of "full circle" stage at all, from his surprising appearances at the British and San Diego conventions and the long hoped-for but unexpected touring phase of his career starting in 1997, to now the mature stage where we are more critical, or at least appraising, of the shows, song selection and possibly his degree of effort during them.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of another pop artist who had such a divergent career,
going from years of breakdown, reclusiveness and aversion to public performance (after early years of heavy touring), a long period of occasional re-emergence but basic performing inactivity, followed by a prolonged performance rennaissance (albeit one where many external factors and support systems all had to fall into place). Judy Garland
had some parallels to it, and others I'm sure that I am forgetting or don't know about.
(anyone?)

If Foskett really did say that he's tired of playing keyboards in his spare time and that's the reason he doesn't play onstage, it would seem like that might do a bit of a disservice to the fans and he should be persuaded to save a little more of his instumental enthusiasm for the paying audiences, or one could argue that he's given so much and we
are so privileged every single time we have a chance to see him in concert that he's earned the right to do it on whatever terms he needs to in order to be happy.

Either way, it obviously takes a lot of his remaining commitment to tour, even if he does do it (for his part, leaving aside other pressures) largely because he enjoys the adulation or other reasons not purely artistic (most performers do have a mixture of motivations, as others have pointed out) and we are undeniably fortunate to be able to experience his physical presence and passion, which is considerable, especially during material that moves him, at all. 8)

Someone asked earlier what I found funny. Well, J. Blum addressed it well in his first post above (and Wayne Coyne had some relevant points in the follow-up article to his interview). I agree with him whole-heartedly. I wrote a lot more about this, but it got unbearably condescending and so I deleted all that part. The "art form" of music is, was and forever shall be at least as much commerce as it is anything else. Don't like Brian's disrespect? Buy product from someone else who sells something you think is less disrespectful to the pure, for-the-love-of-it art form.

There's a shocker.

You are right in that commerce is a factor, not just for the artists, but for the fans.  In order to see one of these U.S. dates I'd have to fly halfway across the country and miss a couple days of work.  In the end it would cost half a grand or so for my wife and I to go.  If, in addition to this, Brian is completely bummed out playing songs that he's sick of (for God knows what reason), then I may as well save my money and go see McCartney, who has reportedly booked a show less than an hour from where I live.

No, the shocker is that it was unbearable even to me.

Still not sure if I'm going to get tickets for this the PA show, it's so pricey and right now I need a few extra $$$ to even buy them.  Curse you college, and my other concert commitments made prior to this information.  All I can ask is, for a life long fan who has never even seen the Beach Boys live, it is worth it right? 

To see a Brian Wilson show? With the disclaimer that I don't intend to travel to see one, might not go even if it were in my hometown, and just wrote a short book-length post on another board justifying the lessening interest in BW's tours, still I say: absolutely. If you haven't seen him, see him.

Thanks Luthor, I really appreciate the advice.  My Dad is a big music fan and most of the time he'll go "I don't want to go see those old geezers", and I take his advice often.  I guess once you pass 50 it's not a big deal anymore, haha.  However, for me Brian Wilson is still very important, how can any album ever surpass Pet Sounds?  So as soon I can I'm going to buy tickets, I hope the 5th row seats are still available.  I'm not a big concert goer, but I presume there isn't much luck in calling venues about better seating is there?  I have to say, this board has been very nice to me so far and I really appreciate it.  Thanks!   :-D

The magic of seeing the master up close and personal is worth the price alone.

I've never seen Brian, but plan on travelling to Glasgow to see him if he doesn't announce a non-festival Ireland date this year.

He's playing a huge 3 day Irish festival called electric picnic in Sep, but the cost of a ticket is 250 or something  >:(

I'd second that -- I don't think this makes the average concert-goer feel cheated.  Like Smilin' Ed, they're there to see Brian Wilson, Beach Boy, or Brian Wilson, genius, or Brian Wilson, singer, not Brian Wilson, pianist.  The piano's a security blanket, something for him to do with his hands so he doesn't feel like a dork sitting up there all exposed.  It's the original grand piano to prop up his mortal remains.

But just as a quick aside to this...  anyone else see the irony in fans complaining that Brian doesn't play keyboards live on songs he DIDN'T PLAY KEYBOARDS ON WHEN HE RECORDED THEM?

Cheers,
Jon Blum

Hello, Mike Love.

You're right. Why did the Beach Boys even bother trying to play songs like "God Only Knows" live? It's not like they played on those records - they just sang. They should have just played the instrumental and sung over it. Who would've cared? Also, I only make a point about Brian playing the keyboard because he's always sitting right in front of one. Give him a bass or something, I don't care. While some Brian Wilson fans might not care about Brian playing, I do, and I think I have every right to.

Yep.

Most people wouldn't, apparently.  Because the Beach Boys did bring on other people to play the parts.  When you've got Ed Carter, Billy Hinsche, Bobby Figueroa, and Carly Munoz laying down the backing, and Carl and those other perfect voices right there in place, how many people do you think cared whether Al's guitar or Brian's piano was turned down or not?

If you're just bugged on your own behalf that he didn't play much piano at the concert you went to, hey, no one's stopping you.  But if you want to act like it's an offense against the audience in general...  well, if you aim to get offended on other peoples' behalf, it's worth asking whether they're actually offended.

Cheers,
Jon Blum

Exactly.

Just saw this on youtube from July 9th.  BW seems reasonably into it (until the coughing fit, that is).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzvrWydtGFs&feature=related

I guess the jury is still out for me, dammit.  In the end, Brian could do a poetry slam and accompany himself with a friggin kazoo and I'd be cool with it...as long as Brian is present, you know what I mean?  It's the prospect of paying to see "Brian, the depressed performing bear" that bugs me.

As I said, I've never seen the depressed performing bear. Brian's too mercurial for that, if you ask me. There are definitely some songs he gets into more than others (and sometimes those songs are, sadly, Barbra Ann and HMR), but I've always been able to count on him knocking GOK and L&M out of the park.

Probably all of us here would rather it be other songs, but I'll tell you standing in the crowd with the everyone singing and the band blazing, that encore was immensely fun.  If you go to a show, don't get hung up on the small stuff, have fun and enjoy it, it is a rock concert after all.

The show I went to, 23 Oct 2004, was awesome *except* for those two songs, oddly enough. GOK he had a coughing fit during the second verse (but didn't miss a beat!), but that's not on him. The one song that night where it was actually obvious that he couldn't wait to leave was L&M, sadly enough...he actually spoke/half-sung most of the song . Because of the earlier issues with GOK, though, it was obvious that he wasn't feeling so well, so I wasn't bummed about it.

As many times as I've seen Brian live from 2000 to 2008, I have NEVER seen him look at his watch or seen him put on a half-assed show (although there were one or two times that it just wasn't happening for him).  And one of those shows I've saw was the one you saw, Billy.

Oh, don't get me wrong,the one I went was *not* a half-assed show at all. Despite being under the weather, Brian kicked ass that night. L&M was the only one that he kinda blew off, and really it actually sounded kinda cool.

You were there too? Ha...I was the guy that, during the cigarette lighter routine, I was the one who said "But I Just quit smoking" and made Brian laugh.

True, though I think the money is probably more of a factor than that...  the tours may not be making a profit overall, but I'd lay good odds it's other people in the chain who end up taking a bath.  But my point is, that's not the only reason you take on a gig for the gig's sake rather than the art's sake.

Remember, Brian's mentally ill.  He's prone to depression.  He needs looking after, he needs to watch out for sliding into bad habits.  And that means sometimes needing to do things that are good for you even if you don't feel like it at the time.

My wife's got depression as well...  nowhere near Brian-level damage, but a recurring chronic problem.  She also had panic-anxiety disorder, but she's pretty much got that under control by now.  Add to that other physical complaints -- she had undiagnosed sleep apnea for years, she's got a dodgy knee, and now the doc thinks she might be anemic -- and there's a hell of a lot of incentive not to go out and do things.  Sometimes it's like moving heaven and earth to try to get her out to the gym.

But I do my damnedest to get her to the gym, and she goes (usually).  And hey, it's a workout, not a celebration.  But it's still good for her, because after she's done it, she's happier for having done it.... both the sense of accomplishment and the endorphins, plus the better health that comes from losing weight and staving off the family history of diabetes.  It actually is better for her overall than sitting around the house in a vague funk.

So even if he's not always enthusiastic about it, the upside of keeping him moving is still significant.  And even things he's been reluctant to do, like the Smile concerts, have had huge upsides -- not least of which is the gathering and maintenance of a great band who made his most recent creative burst possible, with TLOS and all the other demos...

More later, I hope,
Jon Blum

I don't think I've ever seen a genuinely half-assed show overall.  There may be moments of assery, but overall even a bad day would be... what, maybe 1/32nd-assed?

 ;D

Well that's good to know.

Thanks a lot for calling up a brief mental image of B.W's posterior divided into 32 equal parts.
Scarlett Johansson O.K., Brian nay! ;)