The Smiley Smile Message Board

SO stoked for this show!

All setlist info, photos, etc can come right here! I'll do my best to post updates between the soundcheck and the show (if I'm not in a coma from meeting the boys...), and the intermission (same principle applies...) At the very least, I'll have a great lengthy review at the end of the evening!

The boys will be working hard this day, coming down fro NYC to MD, in a matter of a few hours to do a full show...I don't know how they are gonna do it, but I know it will be great!

Just one more day! We're so anyc, we had two threads for it! :lol

 ;D

What kind of seats do you have Baseball95?

(the kind you sit in right... ::) :lol )

Well today is the day! I was out till 1 in the morning, went and saw Neil Diamond at Verizon Center! Back to back concerts, and was up at 8:30 conveniently to catch the entire televised portion of the bb's performance on GMA and they sounded GREAT!!!

Who's ready for some fun, fun, fun?!?!  ;D

Can't wait


(4th row by the way  ;D)

Did you get a package? I'm somehwere between 2 and 5, we did the meet n greet package, so we don't find out till we get there! I'll be the one wearing lots of blue! Shoe, pants, bb's t, hawaiian shirt...should be easy to spot, don't be afraid to say hey! :)

No package but great seats

Hope they bring back this whole world and break out darlin  ;D

I'll be there, front and (hopefully) center!

There are folks tailgating in the parking lot already... 
:-)

All i can say is wow  :-D

they did do darlin but they cut out marcella

they also did this whole world and Wendy which might be a 1st for both in the set

Overall no other changes but it was amazing crowd great close to full house and got the first part of the setlist

Who sang Darlin?!?

Darian he was great  ;D

They changed the lyrics to "Isn't It Time" for tonight's show...

I may have a copy liberated from the stage..... :-)

About damn time they did Darlin'!!  Finally!  But at the sacrifice of Marcella?  Can't have everything, I guess.  Maybe one of these days we'll get a DVD (or audio CD) with every song they've done on this tour.

But Darlin'. That's great!!

Caption this photo...  ;D

(http://i.imgur.com/1MU2O.jpg)

You WANT WHAT in the setlist Al!?!?!?

The moment a "silent fart" turns ugly.  ;D

Both songs were performed in Tucson, the first show.

Wow - three songs by backup band members.... good thing the tickets cost so much to see that!

Darlin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v6apurSHv8

Darian's a hell of a vocalist!

The show was 3 hours long- Darian's performance was a highlight- so what if 3 songs were sung by backup guys- there were plenty of Beach Boy vocals on all three.  I've been to over 30 shows over 40 years and this one was a joy.

man, I hope they do Darlin' when I see them at PNC.

Believe this is accurate:

Do It Again
Little Honda
Catch A Wave
Hawaii
Don't Back Down
Surfin' Safari
Surfer Girl
Wendy
Then I Kissed Her
It's OK
This Whole World
Kiss Me Baby
Isn't It Time
Why Do Fools Fall In Love?
When I Grow Up To Be A Man
Darlin'
Please Let Me Wonder
Be True To Your School
Cottonfields
Disney Girls
Ballad Of Ole' Betsy
Don't Worry Baby
Little Deuce Coupe
409
Shut Down
I Get Around
-----------------------
Add Some Music To Your Day
Heroes And Villains
California Saga: California
Sloop John B
Wouldn't It Be Nice?
I Just Wasn't Made For These Times
Sail On, Sailor
In My Room
All This Is That
That's Why God Made The Radio
Forever
God Only Knows
Good Vibrations
California Girls
All Summer Long
Help Me Rhonda
Rock And Roll Music
Do You Wanna Dance?
Surfin' USA
-----------------------
Kokomo
Barbara Ann *
Fun, Fun, Fun *

* Brian On Bass

A shame they are so expensive to hear Darian play keyboards instead of a real goshed darn Beach Boy too. Darlin' is one of my favorite songs and since none of the originals can sing it very well, I have no problems with having Darian or John Cowsill performing it.

Darian is a great guy and has done an awesome job on "Darlin'" for years (in Brian's band). I hope he will continue to do so 'til the Boys hit Europe. I love that tune too much to care about the fact that it's not sung by Brian (or any other Beach Boy). We get a 50-songs set with mainly the BBs on leads, so who cares?

OK- I'm alive! :lol

Second only to Sir Paul's magical performances, this was the greatest concert experience I've ever had.

The setlist above IS accurate. I'll give a run down of the day...and try to keep it brief  :p

We were brought in at 5PM, merch booth was already set up and we were able to mingle around the area for about 15 mins. They didn't have any items signed by all the band avaliable yet. So, I decided to wait till later to visit the booth. While we were waiting we could hear the backup band doing there soundcheck, and a few people were getting upset and thinking that we were missing what we paid $$$ for. Our host assured us, none of the official Beach Boys were onstage yet. We could hear the backup band plan as day, and I loved it! They did "Back in the USSR", "Billie Jean", and "The End" (from the Beatles Abbey Road medley)...very cool to hear for this Beatles fan!

Then, we were ushered in, I made sure we were near the front of the group, and walked into the soundcheck to see our four of our beloved beach boys taking the stage. Bruce was talking to the sound guys, David was still setting up, Al gave us a wave and shouted Hey there, how ya doin to the group, and Brian was sitting at the piano, with his eyes shut...Mike was nowhere to be seen! Bruce asked us how many of us watched GMA, and how many watched Justin Bieber! He said they were just getting off the bus and still had their makeup on  :lol   He was a real card the whole night.

Soundcheck was very interesting to watch. As soon as Mike walked out, he gave us a brief greeting, and then Brain suddenly awoke or whatever, and shouted "Please Let Me Wonder". Scott Totten got the guys together, like he had to EVERY time...they like to ramble, and it sounded great. Then Brian did the same for Little Honda and It's OK...not really sure why, they certainly did not need work. Then Totten finally cut him off, politely, and said they had to work on some changes to "Isn't It Time", these were lyrically changes...and it certainly took some time to get things down. Foskett was really getting pissed about the lyric sheet he was given...not sure why, Mike just blatantly stared at the sheet through the whole section of the song at the check, and the show that night. Al said he didn't need one, he had it. 8) Then Totten announced that they wouuld be doing Darlin', and I lost it! :lol Darian NAILED it at soundcheck, AND at the show. He seemed a little nervous at the check, but it still sounded phenomenal. Mike seemed to be getting a little bored, and mentioned that they were cutting into the meet n greet time, which got the fans riled up. :lol

The Meet and Greet was MUCH better than I had heard, so don't be deceived, I think you just need to know how to work the situation to your advantage. I didn't say it on here, because I didn't want anyone to take my idea  :lol But I made each band member a card, with their face on it, and it expressed my thanks inside the card, with specific song references and everything I would've liked to told them if we had the time. So I got my cards in the order they were sitting (my host didn't notice yet), and as soon as the folks in front of us were done, I bolted up to the end of their line, said Hey Al! and shot down the line handing my cards out...the order went (R-L) Al, Mike,Brian (he let out this enormous shriek of excitement, it was SO unexpected!!!),David,Bruce..and by the time I got to David, the host realized what was going on and sntached them all up, she said she'd give them back afterwards, but I was leary. BUT, her taking the time to re-collect the cards bought me about 30 extra seconds to talk with the boys and I tell ya, it was worth it!!! Bruce talked to me the most. Him and Al swore they had met me before, I explained that I had seen the Mike and Bruce show once, but they still said they knew me! :lol I wore the blue 50 shirt, avaliable on the site, not the tour, my blue hawaiian shirt, and my beach boys surf board good vibrations box set pin. Mike noticed all this and leaned back and said "Hey Man, nice shirts, I dig the pin too." YES! ONE of them noticed!!! :lol Then just before the picture was snapped, I patted Brian on the shoulder and said, Brian thank you so much, and he said "oh yeah sure man!" Which was more than I expected. ;) As we were essentially kicked out, Mike said see ya later, David thanked me for the card, and Bruce pulled me back- shook my hand, and said, thank YOU!

Moral of the story: Make them things and they will talk to you. ;D

So, that was backstage, because soundcheck was done only like 10 mins before the gates opened, so when we were let out from the meet n greet, we ended up back in the waiting area from before soundcheck...perfect time for the merch booth! :lol The VIP merch that you receive isn't as lame as everyone says. The poster is the best part, probably 11x17, with the five silouettes holding the surf board at the top, it lists al ltheir names has the beach boys logo, and lists all the cities. I'm sorry, but I will not be selling my second poster.  :-[ The tote bag is pretty cool, it is black and has the brother records logo. The shirt is sorta lame...plain white, with The Beach Boys 50 logo in Gold. So, I bought the T-Shirt with the pocket logo and the dates, the standard program, and Al's CD signed.

There are more shirts there, than on the site. They were all $30 from what I saw. The program was $20. They had a poster, but it is so lame...I don't know why anyone would buy it. They have a large rubber bracelet/wrist band for $10, it is yellow and has the logo in white. They have the mug for $20 and the keychain for $15...I think that is everything. We asked again about the signed items...they said they would have the 10 for $100 bundle deal at intermission, along with the signed program. I didn't buy either, but my understanding based off others dissapointment, is that all were sold out by the end of intermission...nice marketing Mr. Love  8)

The show itself, started EARLY! Brian walked out to his chair on the not-so-hidden, side of the stage at 7:40...by 7:47, all of the band/boys were on either sides of the stage, and then the announcer started up! So by 7:52 they were out, and started "Do it Again" there is an 11PM curfew at Merriweather, so that may have had something to do with it, they were done at 10:57. Oh, and we scored 2nd row Center stage, DEAD center in front of Mike. Unbelievable.

I'll give brief commentary on the songs...

Do It Again (Fantastic. Has potential to be a corny opener, but is not- at all.)
Little Honda (I prefer Catch a Wave second, but this sounded great too.)
Catch A Wave (Such a full sound, I think the guy next to me was shocked I knew the words and had the range to do Mike's part. :lol )
Hawaii (Another spot on song, Foskett really nails the falsetto. David's lead vox are nice! Sounds like 1963!)
Don't Back Down (Don't really care for this one...but it works in the live setting with the surf songs.)
Surfin' Safari (The place goes NUTS! Standing Ovation, Mike tells us to sit down because they've got a slow one next.)
Surfer Girl (Brian's first lead of the evening, and it sounded gorgeous, no blips or mess ups at all.)
Wendy (A surprise to me! Bruce took the leads and sounded fantastic! I think Mike noticed my lap drumming.)
Then I Kissed Her (Totten's 12-string sounded out of tune, but I think he stopped playing after the intro. AL sounded nice!)
It's OK (A little slow, but a nice rocker for the set and a favorite of mine, Mike and eye made eye contact a few times, I'm certain he was watching me sing!)
This Whole World ( I just LOST it! I thought for sure I wouldn't hear this. I had hands in the air, singing the lyrics, watching Brian, I admittedley teared up during this one.
Kiss Me Baby (Not a favorite of mine...sounded nice tho...gave me time to collect myself after This Whole World. :lol )
Isn't It Time (They need to work out a more obvious intro for Brian. Foskett is doubling the lead with him and Brian came in a bar early, and it was very noticeable, I was afraid they were going to stop for a second. But they made it through, and I loved it overall! Mike staring his lyric sheet down most of the time...)
Why Do Fools Fall In Love? (The accapella at the beginning of this is gorgeous, just simply grand. Reading the other sets, I was put off by a cover, especially sung by one of the other guys in the band, but this is really a great addition.)
When I Grow Up To Be A Man (This one was just funny...AL was laughing quite a bit, we made some eye contact during it.
Darlin' (FANTASTIC! I gave him a standing ovation, and a few followed my lead. Based off soundcheck, it seemed like he just needs some support and encouragement that this is a good idea and it is ok. I'm sure he is intimidated being one of the few non-beach boys that gets a lead.)
Please Let Me Wonder (Brian nailed it. It really sounded like 60's Brian and I loved it.  :-D )
Be True To Your School (Mike did the whole down on his knee bit, and I got some hillarious pictures of him, of Al rolling his eyes, and Bruce mocking him. Near the end of the song, I flashed my class ring up, and Mike gave me a point  :-D )
Cottonfields (THis went over REALLY well! I guess the sorta-southern Maryland crowd let their country side show...but we're from Baltimore. :lol )
Disney Girls (Beautiful, a highpoint in the evening. I noticed that they've put some extra rest measures at the end of phrases.)
Ballad Of Ole' Betsy (Totten did great with this. My Grandmother's Jeep is nick-named "Betsy", so we love this one.  ;D )
Don't Worry Baby (Foskett nails it, crowd goes nuts.)
Little Deuce Coupe (Car medley was EPIC!)
409 (Proof that at least Al read my card to him: I specifically mentioned the solo on 409 to Al, and after him and David finished it, Al looked RIGHT at me, extended his arm and smiled in a "there ya go! type fashion...highlight of the evening. ;D )
Shut Down
I Get Around
-----------------------
Add Some Music To Your Day (Kodak moment ofthe evening...simply beautiful, brought tears again! Sunlfower has that effect...)
Heroes And Villains (Groooovy, loved all the accapella, especially the SMiLE ending)
California Saga: California (More proof from AL: I specifically mentioned this one and right as it started he did the same gesture to me...Thanks Al!!!)
Sloop John B (Fantastic, Brian encouraged us to clap and even danced in his seat a little bit!)
Wouldn't It Be Nice? (Bruce got us all on our feet, and it was great!)
I Just Wasn't Made For These Times (Vocal Highlight of the evening from Brian! Very touching)
Sail On, Sailor (More wicked moves from Brian  :-D )
In My Room (Mike pulled his phone out and waved it to get everyone else to, I was one of the first and he pointed at mine  ;D )
All This Is That (I don't care for this one much...but it sounded just llike the record.)
That's Why God Made The Radio (Again- JUST like the record. I caught Totten watching me sing along...he was probably floored that I knew the words.)
Forever (Beautiful tributes, simple beautiful.)
God Only Knows
Good Vibrations (I think this would be better suited as the opener of the encore...but it was still amazing, everyone was on their feet from here, through the end.)
California Girls (Mike's moves... :lol  ANd Bruce's tag at the end was GREAT!)
All Summer Long (A nice unexpected ditty, wasn't sure if it would be played or not!)
Help Me Rhonda (The place went nuts! Very cool moment for me with Mike, when they do the accapella break down and have everyone sing a long, I did Mike's "help Me Rhoooon mow mow mow, parts and him and I were locking on doing that back and forth...TOO COOL!!!)
Rock And Roll Music (I could do without the covers...but these two kept the crowd rocking!)
Do You Wanna Dance?
Surfin' USA (Killer closer for this monster set!)
-----------------------
Kokomo (This sounded kinda bare...I could really do without it, but it is a real crowd pleaser. Sax solo was killer tho!)
Barbara Ann  (Random Blonde Girl came out and started dancing...Brian on bass, got a great picture of him with a grin ear to ear!)
Fun, Fun, Fun (Epic closing. Mike Love did all the moves I was waiting for (Especially the roman chariot race...hiiyah!) I made a sign that siad "Thanks For The FUN! FUN!! FUN!!!" and held that up on the last chorus, Mike looked right at me, pointed, and gave two thumbs up...Perfect way to end this night!)

So if you have not yet seen this show...you are in for a treat...if you don't have tickets...GO MAN GO!!! ;D

Incredible review, rubber soul

Really cool idea making the cards, I'm sure they really appreciate things like that

I think the girl who came on stage was Ambha Love, Mike's daughter. Someone on Facebook pointed that out. Sound like you had a blast!

@RubberSoul13: thanks for that, you must have hade the time of your love.  :)

Here's to hoping all this carries over to Europe.

You must have been right behind me!  I was the guy in the plain white shirt and jeans somewhere between Mike and Al.  Thankfully, I wasn't connected to the group with the really drunk bad dancing guy.   ;D

I do feel like I got some looks from the band (especially when I'd be singing along with the backing harmonies and not the lead,) but of course - they're performers...it's their job to engage the audience. 

Anyhow, here's all the pictures I took up in a gallery...enjoy!  http://atroxi.smugmug.com/Music/When-Around-The-Corner-Came/23596970_Ld8wrk (http://atroxi.smugmug.com/Music/When-Around-The-Corner-Came/23596970_Ld8wrk)  I didn't go through and tweak or take out the blurry shots, so that's why there's some not-so-good pics in there.  I also wasn't going to be the guy running left, right and center in front of everyone to get pics.

At some point, I'll write up a coherent review - but I've got to get on the road to Camden!

What an amazing show.

Less amazing: Brian's cough on the first part of H&V!

I'd love to know how the other lyrics went

Why would they change the lyrics to a song on the new album?  I'd be curious to see what they are and also to know who wrote them and who it was that made it an issue to the point they actually changed them.

Maybe they're doing some re-recording on it for a single release.

The NPR show seems to suggest that new instrumental overdubs have been recorded.

Very curious to know why they changed the lyrics.. what are the changes? did anyone hear?

Also, will there ever be a video of Hawaii ??

I'll scan it when (if) I escape New Jersey tonight, but from memory...

"...and as the sun goes down, another day's behind us. Let's spend the night together. Isn't it time we get ready again, isn't it time to be lovers again."

Huh, weird.. wonder what happened or who thought of that.

Now that's a cool thought. I like the new lyrics better.

Are you meaning Dave singing it this tour? If so here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hqoVFAmEX8

That is correct, and I'm not sure why the change...no one seemed to be happy about  ???

Haha, yes, I was directly behind them. While the drunk dancing was horrible, that family seemed to have the time of their lives, it was fun watching them dance at times...actually it was fun watching Mike and Al, watching them. :lol

Gald you got some looks too! They were certainly engage with us quite a lot! I know Al remembered me, Mike...probably...maybe. Either way, it was a lot of interaction that I wasn't even expecting.

Did you do the front row package...or are you just lucky? :lol Nice pics btw! I'll have mine up soon.

I can't imagine why else you would bother.

I thought the original lyrics were a metaphor for the band relationship, or perhaps the Brian and Mike relationship.  Maybe they wanted to put a different slant on it.

Thank you my friend! kisses on your cheeks for that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ_R-G_i4Xk

I don't like that part in the song very much. I think it takes too much away from the groove and doesn't fit in well.
Also I don't like the "raise a glass to kindness" lyrics very much so it's interesting that they changed them.
 

I think it's the best part and what makes the song unique, without it, song would just sound just like another 80's stuff without any interesting parts.

As promised, the 'cheat sheet' for the new lyrics.  I got barked at by security in much the same tone I yell at my dog in when going for this.

(http://atroxi.smugmug.com/Music/When-Around-The-Corner-Came/i-Wc2gpFw/0/L/isntittime-L.png)

It may not be a setlist, nor is it like finding the lyric sheet to a classic - but I think it's a pretty cool keepsake. 


Thanks!  I did the VIP, 'cause every other attempt I've made to even get near the band has failed.  Apparently I don't know the right people.  ::)

There's an interesting story about how I got the VIP package which I'll relate once I get around to documenting the whole experience...

I take it that's a photocopy that was made off the hand-written lyrics that someone wrote on hotel stationery?  It must have been a very recent addition to the lyrics. I wonder if it's Brian or Mike who wrote them, and if it's in their own handwriting.  Nice souvenir, atroxi!

I LOVED that cough!  Hilarious.

My understanding was, this was the first night they did it. Because no one really knew it was coming, nor they pleased to see it! :o

The lyrics replaced with the new ones included a line about going steady. The new ones are more mature so to speak.

Not much to add except that quite a few clips from this show are now on Youtube so people who weren't there can get some idea of Darian's performance of Darlin' - I thought it was really outstanding.

Al's vocals are indeed great - and should mention that those signed copies of Postcard From California are still plentiful at the merch table. Worth picking up if only for San Simeon and his take on Honkin' Down The Highway.

 Bruce's funniest line, for me anyway, was when Disney Girls got a lengthy ovation and he said something about changing his last name to Springsteen. (This was one of my wife's two favorite songs of the night - the other was All This Is That but that may partly be because she meditates, albeit in a non-TM context.)

Brian's little flub on Heroes has been mentioned above. But it seemed to spur him to compensate in the songs he sang after that - those vocals were more powerful and focused than in his first set.

Dave's solos were cookin' and Mike was pretty energetic - I can still picture him lurching forward to start "I Get Around." He was still jazzed about Radio being at #3 in Billboard - mentioned it two or three times.

I'd say it was sure among the dozen best shows I've seen over the last 37 years, since I started with the Stones. So I'm just about ready to go to the Virginia Beach show. 

I'm not against a middle part, it's just this certain one that I don't like. But to each his own. It'll grow on me.

I just found this page with pictures from various concerts. I don't know if it was posted before.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/Beach+Boys/

Too bad they didn't use that lyric on the album. I don't like that line about raising a glass to kindness.

krabklaw...what exactly is your icon picture thing? It looks like Brian in the 70's wearing a TWGMTR shirt....

It is. It was done for another thread on this site but can't remember which one or who did it. Cool job!

Pre-concert interview with Mike on WMAL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRFQ4BpBFq0&feature=related

I attended this show. I thought everyone except Brian was great. I'm sorry, but I cannot stand Brian's singing. He slurs his words, coughs/sneezes during verses, and is all-around sloppy. I'd rather him just sit on stage doing nothing than sing. Everything else, though, was fantastic. I had a great time.

You were directly in front of me.  I was in the 3d row, in the GOT HERMOSA BEACH? shirt.

During the meet 'n greet, being introduced as "the lovely lady who's the only one in her party," I noticed that Mike Love was eyeing my bosom--my T-shirt, I assume.  So I took the chance and stated the obvious: "I'm from Hermosa Beach!"

He replied drily, "I used to live at 2247 Hermosa Avenue with Dennis Wilson."

Knowing of their usually stormy relationship, I deadpanned, "Oh, that must have been FUN."  Everyone laughed, SNAP!, and on to the next group.

Great summary!  We had so many similar experiences that I won't repeat them.  However, I stayed defiantly in my seat during Kokomo, one of my least favorite Group d/b/a BBs songs, and I noticed that Brian took this brief opportunity to doze off on the piano bench.

Review with lots of beautiful pictures:
http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/livedc-beach-boys-merriweather-post-pavilion.htm