The Smiley Smile Message Board

Setlist/pics/videos/reviews to be placed in this thread.

(With thanks to GoodVibrations33)

First Set:
1. Do it Again
2. Catch a Wave
3. Don't Back Down
4. Surfin' Safari
5. Surfer Girl
6. You're So Good to Me
7. Wendy
8. Then I Kissed Her
9. The Little Girl I Once Knew
10. Why Do Fools Fall in Love
11. When I Grow Up (to be a Man)
12. Cottonfields
13. Be True to Your School
14. Disney Girls
15. Please Let Me Wonder
16. Don't Worry, Baby
17. Little Honda
18. Little Deuce Coupe
19. 409
20. Shut Down
21. I Get Around

Second Set:
22. California Dreamin'
23. Sloop John B.
24. Wouln't It Be Nice?
25. This Whole World
26. Forever
27. Sail On Sailor
28. Heroes & Villains
29. In My Room
30. All This is That
31. I Just Wasn't Made for These Times
32. God Only Knows
33. That's Why God Made the Radio
34. California Girls
35. All Summer Long
36. Help Me, Rhonda
37. Rock & Roll Music
38. Do You Wanna Dance?
39. Barbara Ann
40. Surfin' U.S.A.

Encore:
41. Kokomo
42. Good Vibrations
43. Fun, Fun, Fun

I'm going to this show.  I will try to post updates/pics if I get a chance, and definitely the setlist.

Very nice, GoodVibrations33!  Thanks for your help

Nice sold out show for the boys tonight

I guess this proves the Beach Boys are truly a Seminole rock band. (giggle)

I will be going to this show as well. :)

I will be there! So anxious!

Please lord, someone get IJWMFTT if they do it!

May the 4th be with them.  :)

WHERE ARE MY UPDATES! GAH!

 :lol

Give it some time

Well, the show was very enjoyable.  It was a sellout, the place was packed.  It was great to see all of them back together, live and in person.  No new surprises added to the setlist, except for the inclusion of Spring Vacation, just kidding!!  I do hope sometime before this tour is over they decide to include at least one more song off the new album.  They did play IJWMFTT, it sounded good and Brian sounded decent on it.  Brian played the piano a lot from what I caught, and strapped on the bass for Barbara Ann & Surfin U.S.A.  It is great to see Dave get all of the guitar leads, like others have said he sounds great and makes it authentic.  Everyone sounded great.  Apparently Mike looked at the setlist wrong and thought Disney Girls followed Cottonfields, so he started to go into the usual Bruce introduction, but then realized midway through that Be True to Your School was next, so he had to backpedal.  It was fine though - he made a joke out of it!

Couldn't really detect "Robo-Brian" all that much, but it was there in a few spots I think, could be wrong though.  Something else that sounded digitally altered was Bruce's wordless vox in the last couple seconds of Disney Girls (also thought I noticed this on YouTube from another show).

No bras thrown on stage at this show!

First Set:
1. Do it Again
2. Catch a Wave
3. Don't Back Down
4. Surfin' Safari
5. Surfer Girl
6. You're So Good to Me
7. Wendy
8. Then I Kissed Her
9. The Little Girl I Once Knew
10. Why Do Fools Fall in Love
11. When I Grow Up (to be a Man)
12. Cottonfields
13. Be True to Your School
14. Disney Girls
15. Please Let Me Wonder
16. Don't Worry, Baby
17. Little Honda
18. Little Deuce Coupe
19. 409
20. Shut Down
21. I Get Around

Second Set:
22. California Dreamin'
23. Sloop John B.
24. Wouln't It Be Nice?
25. This Whole World
26. Forever
27. Sail On Sailor
28. Heroes & Villains
29. In My Room
30. All This is That
31. I Just Wasn't Made for These Times
32. God Only Knows
33. That's Why God Made the Radio
34. California Girls
35. All Summer Long
36. Help Me, Rhonda
37. Rock & Roll Music
38. Do You Wanna Dance?
39. Barbara Ann
40. Surfin' U.S.A.

Encore:
41. Kokomo
42. Good Vibrations
43. Fun, Fun, Fun

Amazing show!

I got there about 1.5 hours before. They weren't letting anyone in but I managed to get by security and noticed the VIP people around. I got there a little too late for the sound check and the VIP stuff but found catering where all the band members were eating. I came across Al & Bruce with their wives but didn't want to bother anyone then I took off. I've been to a few shows here (Brian/The Beach Boys) and this was by far the most packed. Nearly a sell out with a few empty patches. The crowd was mixed. A lot of old boring miserable people who yelled at kids to sit down and also some really fun people that danced and enjoyed themselves! Some women on the floor even brought pom poms for Be True To Your School which got Al and Mike's attention.

Mike really makes the show! He's the frontman and just keeps it going but all the members and the backing band deserve great credit! Brian was out of it sometimes but he was amazing on a few of the leads! "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" was a highlight on Brian's end! There was even a couple points where you could hear hints of his old high voice. I think his voice gets warmed up throughout the show.

I think they should consider dropping "This Whole World" and "Sail on Sailor". SOS just doesn't work for Brian and nobody knows This Whole World (besides 1% of the audience).

I would consider inserting Darlin', Summer In Paradise, Surfin' or something else from SMiLE. They didn't play Dance, Dance, Dance tonight unfortunately.

Overall it's so special to see these guys together. Al's voice sounds amazing. "And Then I Kissed Her" was really popular as well as California Dreamin'. Bringing David Marks into the mix was an excellent decision! He fits in well and his work on the lead guitar is amazing. Paul on the Saxophone is great. I'm glad they have it because it adds to "Shutdown, Kokomo and they also added a sax part to "Help Me Rhonda". Having Jeffrey is a great choice. You can't sound anymore like Brian without Jeff. I've never heard Matt Jardine in person. I ran into John Cowsill in the casino and thanked him for a great show.

If you have a chance you can't miss this tour!

GOOD VIBRATIONS!!!

Great post, except the part about dropping "This Whole World!!" Let them keep it until I see them, OK? Very excited for the show.

Ok they can keep it until then lol. Also Al and Mike really seem to have great chemistry on stage. They joke around a lot together. The Dennis/Carl tributes were touching too. TWGMTR sounds nice. The harmonies are great but I don't think it will be too popular. Just doesn't have that "Beach Boys" feel. Maybe somewhere in the middle of the album but not as the lead track. Just my opinion. Good night :)

Sounds like the momentum is being maintained so far... And sounds like the band is working better together on stage. Wish we Brits were gonna get chance to see this show. The second set looks particularly well-chosen (the car medleys we've all seen a time or two!).

Surprised though that Surfin' hasn't been included- the song that started it all surely has a place on a golden anniversary tour?

Dropping "This whole world" for "Summer in paradise" ? hahahaha - NO WAY ! Both look real fine where they are now; "This whole world" in the setlist and "Summer in paradise" in the bin. Adding "Surfin'" would be a nice touch though. But don't drop any of the great tunes

Sounds like a great show..

Why would they drop "This Whole World" just because the crowd doesn't know it? That would kill me

There's some clips up on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ociocretino

Dropping TWW is a cryin' shame, but at least they're (seemingly) hanging onto All this is that (which about 0.25% of the audience would know).

Great to see the God Only Knows clip...

Nobody said they were dropping This Whole World.  Somebody suggested that they should, because the majority of the crowd didn't seem to know it.  I say keep playing it.  It's a fantastic song, and most crowds probably need a little education.  Play it twice, even.  :-D

Oh, my bad, good call - must remember to read properly.  Play it three times!  :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1NDHeBe0lk&feature=relmfu

Is Brian going for the high note in the first verse of Good Vibrations? Jeff's obviously singing it as usual but just at the tail end of it you can hear Brian sounding a bit strained as though he was singing it too. I know he tried to go for it in a previous show on the tour but missed it completely.

To me, what they've done to the setlist makes perfect sense, moving This Whole World to the second set -- and the set now looks like it's structured the same way as the box set and 98 tours, which suggests it'll remain like this for the foreseeable future. First half pretty much non-stop hits, with one or two semi-rarities to keep the hardcore fans happy, second half start with a singalong so the audience don't forget where they are, then pack in a mini-set of rarities at a point where the audience are definitely on your side, then do another set of hits to finish off.

Dropping This Whole World or Sail On Sailor in that context would be a big mistake. I would have paid the ticket price I've paid to see the shows I'm going to in Italy *just* for the run of songs from Sloop John B through God Only Knows. The people who get bored when they're playing the non-hits won't even remember that the next day -- they'll remember that they heard all the songs they wanted to, and that it finished with Fun Fun Fun, and that the one in the cap made a funny joke about "an intermission... followed by a nap" or something, and they'll have a great time. But there'll be a handful of people in the room who *do* know those songs, and for them it'll turn the show from good to great and they'll remember hearing them for the rest of their lives.

I think people sometimes give the audiences too little credit. When I saw the Monkees, a lot of the people there were clearly there to hear I'm A Believer and Daydream Believer and didn't know much else, and when I saw Paul McCartney last, a lot of the people clearly knew nothing at all from his solo career. But those people still enjoyed the shows immensely, even though the Monkees also did All Of Your Toys and Someday Man and What Am I Doing Hanging Round and so on, and McCartney did Ram On and Mrs Vanderbilt and Sing The Changes. I can't imagine that Beach Boys audiences are that much more closed-minded and intolerant than Monkees or McCartney audiences that they can't cope with a handful of songs they aren't intimately familiar with in a 40+ song set.

Mike almost sounds auto tuned

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emVE_TqGBqw&feature=relmfu (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emVE_TqGBqw&feature=relmfu)

That's a lousy excuse.  The majority of the crowd on this board love it.  I'd really like for them to leave it in the set.  I'm sure the song's been recorded and will hopefully show up in the PBS special or some other DVD.

Any out there do the Meet & Greet for this show?  If so I'd love to hear a review.

You sound auto tuned, Shady.

I don't hear it.. I think that's just your standard slightly nasal Mike Love lead vocal recorded from a distance with a cell phone.

I thought that too! Goodness knows what they're upto with the sound at these gigs, it's there on some songs and not on others with Brian then it suddenly appears on Mikes vocals seven shows in!  :lol

Mike has really upped his game for this tour though, i've just been listening in awe at some of his bass parts in stuff like I Get Around and it blows my mind. You can tell he's as happy as a pig in muck to be up there doing this with the guys again!

Definitely. I remember a year ago (or maybe 2) he and Bruce did a performance on Dancing With The Stars, and we were all concerned that his voice was on its way out. This tour definitely disproves that theory. He sounds pretty much as good as he ever did.

Long live Mike Love.

And B-Pain.

He had a sore throat that night.

It surpassed my expectations and I thought Mike and Al were great, although I also felt some tension there when Mike referred to Cottonfields as Al's "amateur hour". Mike's humor is actually quite self-deprecating. Brian was definitely live because he fluffed a line by wiping his mouth at one point and  also went off mic a few times (infact I think this may have been the techs switching his mic to live for his vocal, indicating that he was shut out on any songs where he did not do lead). However, his leads were at least as good as his solo concerts and I did not detect Jeff ever doubling for him.

Jeff did lead on DWB, as he did last year.  The use of Dennis and Carl drop-ins was definitely effective. The screen backdrop was annoying

On Brian, he was notably "not there" when Mike was doing his patter. It was pointless for Mike to try to build any dialogue with Brian, as the latter would have been unresponsive. Brian cannot do 'improv'. It may be that he just switches on and off mentally for his own leads. I was surprised that Bruce didn't do patter.

Note that Al fluffed the title of "All This Is That".

Mike did not credit Carl as co-writer of "All This Is That": he said that he and Al wrote it in December 67 (in Rikikesh?)

More clips here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/caju90212/videos?query=beach+boys

If anyone STILL has an issue with Brian not being auto-tuned, watch this video from last nights show. It's so painfully obvious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZaUlO-eClg&feature=relmfu

Thanks!

Great clip of "Why do Fools Fall in Love?" and inclusion on the setlist...especially with the fairly recent movie of same name about Frankie Lyman, so people learn the background of the music.  

And, super footage of John Cowsill sharing percussion duties with Nelson Bragg.  Fantastic!  They are "all over it!"

Thanks again!  ;)

I dont even know what "Autotune" is but Brian sounded excellent on some of the leads last night and nobody around me mentioned or noticed any type of computer assistance.

Obviously whatever is used on Brian's voice is not as detectable in the audience as it is from an amateur recording and via headphones at home. That at least is something. Otherwise they would've gotten cruel press by now.

Just wondering: is there a teleprompter for the rest of the guys as well?  Mike may know these songs like the back of his hand but for Al and David...I'm wondering if they need some assistance?  It's almost standard to have a teleprompter running just in case....

From Facebook:

(http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/s720x720/546518_809886988039_21803199_36382869_917343441_n.jpg)

It ain't obvious to me. If Brian was auto-tuned, then it only helped to enhance the performance. That was very good - similar to the rendition in his solo gigs. The background parts were outstanding!!

Critiqe (pickiness): It sounds a little like he's going through the motions and hurrying through it a little bit. Also sounds like he's reading it through the teleprompter and not really emotionally into it. If he'd just slow it down a little...... Also the "You're under arrest" statement. It was OK (and maybe even desirable) during the Smile tour, but.....maybe drop it here? Just a thought.

I also miss what they use to do in the 70's leading into the bridge with the song coming to a halt and the bass going, bom bom bom bom bom and Mike going Andele andele!

I know Brian sang it originally, but I'd like to see them give it to Al. Like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMFhBROXXsM&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL4496AF1C8BB98A1A

ton of good photos from this show on gettyimages.com.  Search the beach boys.

Brian doesn't sound "natural" on the clip of "California Dreamin" either.  His voice is boosted too high in the mix and whatever they're using to bump his voice up makes it sound odd (since other people have mentioned it could be something electronic, but not autotune).  Al's lead part on the song sounds natural and is balanced well with the other vocalists, and it isn't nearly as loud as Brian's.  Example from last night's show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9QAA1RP4Tw

Thanks for the updates everybody! So pretty much, these guys need to hire a new sound crew.

I think it is more obvious here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZrIyFaPRTE&list=UUTEI495QOhhZejH2-0_ge-A

On the first verse, Brian sings terribly off key, and then they activate it for the second verse, on which Brian sounds like Cher. It's undeniable on this recording.

I'm not put off by that at all, though. Look, it's the Beach Boys, they're half dead, but they get along fine, the songs are great, everybody in the audience has a good time! :)

Sorry, I don't agree.  I think Brian sounds as forceful and confident as any time I have seen him live...probably close to a dozen times.   He carried his own leads for entire performances, and people were just stunned that he was back with the fans.  I have sat within 6 feet or so of the stage and have seen him perform similarly.  

This whole "autotune" concept, I think should be in some other classification, like "The Sandbox," where people who have some superior sound knowledge can debate among others similarly situated.  I've learned a lot from some of those very enlightened posters who are professional sound people.  Picking apart the performance of a 70 year-old (or soon to be) smacks of bullying and is just ridiculous, in my opinion.  No one cares.  

Fans are delighted that there is a tour that seems to keep growing and adding performance dates, and constantly revising a setlist from a catalog which is unparalelled among rock bands.  This is just needless nitpicking.  No lifer fan cares about the detail stuff.  They just want to see the guys in good health, working together, making a go of what was an "Impossible Dream" for many fans.  A 50th reunion!  New music!  

Please, Moderators, send the autotune discussions to The Sandbox, where it belongs.  

Does anyone know the extent to which autotune is used in live performances? Obviously a lot of pop singers use it, but what about the BBs contemporaries? Does McCartney use it?

As far as I know/hear, it's always raw Macca at his concerts.

I don't think it's obvious on that song at all. Brian misses the first few notes but then it's ok. It's more obvious on other recordings I have heard/seen.

Video/audio of IJWMFTT yet?

This isn't the Blueboard.  The topic is about music and belongs on the board.  Brian doesn't sound "forceful and confident," he sound odd and doesn't match the sonic quality of the rest of the band's singers.  Al has a strong voice and he's not mixed nearly as high.

To my ears it's already on the first verse... and sounds off-key because of it.

This post is ridiculous.

You're right.

You have no authority to pronounce on what "lifer fans" do or do not care about.

Hello, my name is Mike.  I'm a lifer fan and I care about the detail stuff.

Apologies to Mikey and Anazgnos, etal  I should have qualified by saying "Most" lifers don't care about it.  I know a lot of "lifer" fans. 

By that demographic, I mean some back to 1961, (not I) and those with slightly fewer, say 47 years. 

Worrying about minutiae among this colossal event, in my humble opinion is ridiculous.  Hope I did not offend those who are into the sound event that this might present.  I am fortunate that someone here explained what "Duophonic" stereo was.  I know almost nothing. 

Again, mea culpa.  "Most" lifers dont care.  We like them just the way they are!

This is only a movie!  ;) 
 

Ridiculous? No, I don't think so; just stating their opinion, as do all of us. But it does seem to reek of insanity, at least of the temporary sort and definitely not qualified to speak for all lifer, or any other, fans

I stand behind Mikie!!! :)

That is great; but, this is the "General Discussion" section and not a professional sound section.  And frankly it is like speaking a foreign language in the company of those who don't understand it.  That is why other sections might be more appropriate.  And some of the tone is that of dissing band members whose voices don't stand up to a critic's standards.  

Snag Films (free on Roku) has a Beach Boys movie with clips going back to the beginning.  Beach Boys: An American Band. 1986.  I don't expect them to sound 20 years old.  

There are people who feel left out of a discussion in which participation is limited to a few, real experts, to the exclusion of most.  

That is why this is a "General Discussion."  Most people can "generally" discuss what the topic is.  

JMO  

There is a thread, "The Autotune Thread," that was started specifically for such discussion. It's a good place to self-segregate such discussion, if the participants are willing.

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,12832.0.html

Except this isn't "General Discussion" it's >>General On Topic Discussions   A place to talk about The Beach Boys. <<  which is what is happening. 
If some feel left out( do you speak for all of them, by the way?) they'll gravitate to other threads where they can participate more to their liking. I personally don't have much to contribute, but it doesn't stop me from reading when I like, and I certainly wouldn't ask anyone that does feel like participating in the thread to take it somewhere else, beacuse it's ABOUT THE BEACH BOYS!

Here, here! I am so sick of reading about Autotune this and Autotune that (A song title there!)!

If something happens at a specific show that's being posted about, it's going to be discussed.  I don't get people and their censorious attitudes. 

So what happened at this specific show that warrants pages and pages of Autotune posts? How was it different from any of the other earlier shows?

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,12832.0.html

You know if this issue were something negative about Mike Love, no one would be defending him.  Or very few would, and no one would be attempting to channel the discussion.

Then I say we pause for a moment to GIVE HIM SOME DUE! He's THE SURFBOARD MAN!

http://youtu.be/wZBQCWwAp9I (http://youtu.be/wZBQCWwAp9I)

There, that should fill the quota of Mike Love Abuse. Now back to our discussion.

Be careful, Mikie might be feeling rather "gassy"!

Which leads me to the idea of experimenting with auto-tuning my farts.....

Don't see you having participated in that discussion instead you're posting a ridiculous video.

Yes, it's just a joke. I extend my humble apologies. So you think they'll drop it over the next few months? I bet at least the PBS special mixes and the eventual live CD set won't have that effect... just relentless overdubs and syllable by syllable autotuning to minimize that horrendous jittery pitch artifacting. I'm still looking forward crazily to the concerts and i'm sure over the PAs and with that wave of energy beaming everywhere it won't matter much.

I've messed with a few of those systems for live singing and it sure doesn't "fix" my pitiful singing but gives a nice alien Residents effect or something when you twiddle with the intervals n' formants and knobs. They should maybe restrict it to something like "H & V" where it kind of suits the psychedelia. But on Sail On Sailor it sounds really sad and pathetic. Give it to David Marks to do, Wilson looks so annoyed singing it anyway.

I really hope so... I wouldn't mind if there was some kind of support on Brian's voice but that robotic sound is too much.

Have you visited this board over the last few years? Mike has far more support here from some quarters than Brian.

Perhaps it would be better to start your experiments with someone who really cares about the details, and could help quantify the results, such as, Mikie.

I mentioned Brian was too loud in the mix compared to other singers, and that would be true whether or not he's being autotuned.  So, it's not a complaint for the autotune thread.  There are YouTube videos of Brian at his solo shows performing the same songs as this Beach Boys tour, and he's well-balanced in the mix with the band and the harmony singers.  For some reason, he's not, so far, on this BB reunion tour.  It doesn't do him any favors, whether they're using autotuning or chorus or doubling effects or nothing extra is being used.  I blame Joe Thomas.  It can't be Brian or his previous sound people. 

It is pretty obvious to me...maybe not the tuning as much as when it doesn't work properly, you get a robotic sound on the vocal as others have mentioned.  I'm not a fan of this procedure just on general principles (I actually joined a classic band a few years back that was using this on a weak singer, and the first thing I did was prevail upon them to get rid of it and work with the band on their vocals, and it sounded way better), but I also don't think it usually works that well anyway.  As others have noted, it probably hurts as much as it helps.  I mean, Brian's still pitchy half the time even with the thing on. But his tone and delivery are nice, and I'd personally just rather hear him do whatever he does, and let the arrangement cover any weak spots.

The band sounds real good overall, though. Very impressive.

If Carl were here, I wonder what he would say or do if the band was autotuned? We probably wouldn't be talking about this now. Just for the record, I thinki whoever invented autotune should be shot.

I encourage everyone to go watch the videos on the Tampa thread. Either someone changed how they're using it, or it's been completely removed, because Brian sounds no where near as robotic as before.

More pics that I found on facebook:


(http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s720x720/543032_10150780169828095_527793094_9404039_1146755584_n.jpg)

(http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s720x720/564782_10150780167968095_527793094_9404031_656114828_n.jpg)

(http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s720x720/545743_10150780167513095_527793094_9404029_1411258184_n.jpg)

(http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/383379_10150780167073095_527793094_9404026_487966804_n.jpg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFcskLKf3A (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFcskLKf3A)
...

Look at Cowsill go!

They all look great. Specially Brian in those pictures.

Great!
Tell me if Mike doesn't sound alot like his young self at the beginning.

Mike doesn't sound alot like his young self at the beginning.

A lot!!

Allow me to re-quote (even with so much content): this is so touching... I'm over the moon seeing these! Who'd a thunk this only a couple of years ago? There is a benevolent God who loves the Beach Boys...

BTW what is Marks playing there? A Jazzmaster? A Jaguar?

Agreed! Don.

They look great.  Like those shirts, especially Al's vintage looking BB classic stripe!  Bravo.

p.s. I don't subscribe to censorship.  But, do support discussion that is understandable to most. And leave the contentiousness behind.  And, if it is so technical that the common person doesn't understand, then as someone here suggested, enlarge the discussion in the dedicated thread.  No offense is ever intended.   

Maybe one of the sound experts can explain to us, as if we were 5 years old, what the "autotune" means.

Is it amplification of a voice?
It is a changing of the actual voice?
And, how does it fit into the context of this particular tour?

Thanks!  ;)

Jaguar

What the hell gets into Bruce at 6:30?   :lol

Cheers for that!

Man I really love Dave on this tour.

Some inside joke we don't know about?

Nothing to add, just a great show! :D

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-eeR2g5GnuNk/T6SUS8QxIWI/AAAAAAAAFnU/AglzY1tSvZs/s1024/2012-05-04_22-45-04_606.jpg)

(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WFQ0ClZTSBs/T6SMKbsg1iI/AAAAAAAAFlc/LEiYGgOaIno/s1024/2012-05-04_22-10-26_667.jpg)

I took a bunch more but theyre blurry. Have a video of just before the intermission but I you can find that on youtube.

Hm. So we disagree. ??? I think it is absolutely obvious. "Do you wanna dance under the moonlight" sounds totally electronically altered to me.

Yes, unfortunately you are right... B-Pain all the way on this recording. Insanity.

I think someone would have to be in complete denial to say the auto-tune at this show was unnoticeable. It was completely blatant, to the point where it sounds like they were trying to make Brian sound like Roger Troutman or T-Pain rather than help him sound better. It was a bit distracting, only because I know Brian does NOT need it, and would've sounded twice as good with his natural voice. It was most noticeable on Heroes, Do You Wanna Dance, some parts of IJWMFTT, Sailor, and a couple lines on California Dreamin'. I realize they want the harmonies to sound as tight as possible, but it seems to be doing more harm than good, and they have enough vocals from the backing band to cover up any natural flubs. Aside from that, Brian sounded great on his more natural sounding lines and was projecting very well, and although it was apparent that he wasn't on one of his "good nights", he did his job and I was ecstatic to finally see the man himself in a live setting.

The rest of the band was smokin'. Al sounded incredible on his leads, the man's vocals seem to have aged no more than 15 years since 1964 (Then I Kissed Her sounded as good as the record). Mike's leads sounded nice and did the songs justice, and his bass vocals shook the room at times! Bruce sounded good and I was very happy to hear Disney Girls live; he also shocked me by nailing the falsetto tag on Fun, Fun, Fun. David is no doubt the coolest Beach Boy on the stage at this point, and I was very impressed with his guitar work. He stayed faithful to the original solos while adding his own zing to a few. I was also pretty charmed by Mike's banter and stage presence, even though I came in prepared to cringe.

All in all, despite the unnecessary vocal effects, I'll never forget that night! Even with as much money as I spend on music, I have to force myself to listen to something besides the BBs, especially after Friday night.

That's a hell of a sequence, played with an almost punk-like intensity. Looks like it was a great show. Olive drab with envy....

I've seen a video of Mike & Bruce in Paris (iirc) where he did that too. I thought it was funny, because I thought it was just spontaneous. But if he does this as part of the show I think it's stupid (you know, if he incorporates it into the act so to speak). He's away from his mic when the harmonies start again and that also shouldn't be. He should sing

Is it scripted when Mike refers to Cotton Fields as Al's amateur night or is Mike really having a dig?

Ok, I'm going to explain autotune in the EASIEST WAY.

Basically, it alters the pitch of a note electronically, to "tune it"

So lets say Brian sings a C# on a note that should be a D, the tuner will raise his pitch, and make him sound "fake" or "electronic" in the process.

Good example of the effect compared to a normal voice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvHmrShrmaM&feature=related

She's not singing at a pitch, so it goes nuts, Brian has been known to "talk-sing" in concerts before.

Hear it now?

Auto-tune at a Beach Boys concert? The world's number one harmony group?

It's like Ben Johnson's drug enhanced Olympic run, or organic vegetables grown with fertilisers to make 'em bigger, or the bean stew my vegetarian ex-girlfriend had in Ireland – they put chicken "'cause we though it needed a bit of flavour, m'dear".

Then again, this is the group said to have recorded vocals over slightly-slowed backing tracks, then sped it back to the correct speed so their voices sounded younger. Chances are, then, that if BW had had auto-tune in the early/mid 60s, he'd've found a way to use it, and what we're (perhaps) seeing is the latest incarnation of that penchant for embracing the latest technology.

Brian could've had some success with this autotuned sound maybe two years ago. He sounds very much like T-Pain when he's live with the boys. It's not to hide anything. Brian is just on a modern level most BB fans couldn't understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjU_D7Ogj0o

Right around 50 seconds...that's what Autotune sounds like!

The use of autotune is a tribute to Cher, who once gave a customized needlepoint throw pillow to Brian. 

It's the inevitable result of bands carrying on beyond their natural lifespan for the benefit of us fans, who then attack them for it.

Thanks for that!  :kiss

Er.... no.

Brian sounded just fine touring last year, minus any auto tune..

And that was him singing the whole set himself

(http://daedrianmcnaughton.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/the-beach-boys-569x372.jpg)