The Smiley Smile Message Board

First of two Italian shows. I'll be there, the fat bearded bloke who looks a little like Carl if Carl were balding and wore glasses, in the front row ;)

Finally it's my turn to say: I'll be there!!

I'll be the bloke in the front row that looks like Dennis at his peak but much much more good looking!    ;D

Given that this show starts at 9:45 and I think there's a curfew on the venue at midnight, and that last night's show seems to have been a shorter one (no video screens or interval, judging from the videos), we're probably going to get one of the shorter sets for this show.

Still hoping for a longer set in Milan, though -- that show starts at 9 rather than 9:45. Either way I'll be OK though -- I'm sure the Wembley show will be a long one, so my plan is to be up front at these shows even if they're shorter, and then be in my seat slightly further back for the longer show.

Not sure about the curfew, where did you read about it?
Since the venue is pretty much a field and we will be standing it looks like we are getting a "superficial" setlist and no video screens.
Also Italian fans are not known for appreciating the deeper stuff so I can't blame them for a basic setlist.


Andrew, can you add the date to the title? For future reference, you know.

Read about the curfew on a few message boards with people discussing other gigs they'd been to there.

Hello, I'm Jacopo from Rome and this is my first post over here, I'm so excited to be in this community of expert BB fans.

About the concert. I'm so looking forward to attending this concert since it has been announced.
The Rock In Roma concerts have been starting at 21.45 since the beginning of this serie of concerts, seven or more years ago, basically because the venue is easier to reach without traffic and because by that time, the sun is over and with the dark the concert is more enjoable.
I've attended different concerts at that venue for 4/5 years and as far as I know, there's NO curfew. For example, on July 9th The Cure started after 10PM and they rocked the audience for more than 3 hours. This is not a festival, with a daily line-up: I think that the Beach Boys are not scheduled to have a support act (instead, The Cure long support act started at 5PM).

About the screens: Capannelle has a huge stage and some artists bring their own scenery with screens and lights, other artist just use the basic scenery. So, the Boys decide..

I'm pretty sure that is only up to the Boys to decide to treat us with the full setlist or not. I'm hoping we can get the 40+ songs setlist: even if the US audience is more expert about the back catalogue of the BB, here in Italy there's a bunch of fans that are thrilled about the chance of a lifetime: hearing and watching their idols. And we would appreciate every song the Boys are willing to play.

So, let's wait and hope. I'll be glad to meet everyone from this board that is coming to Rome!

Glad to hear it -- the Cure messageboard was one of the places I saw people talking about a curfew, so I'm glad to hear that that was mistaken.

How do you know you will be in front row? There are no numbered seats -No seats at all, actually-... Will you just come early to wait at the doorway of Capannelle?

Anyway, this is my first post here, although i've been reading this board as long as the 50th Celebration tour started, keeping updated with the setlists etcetera...

My name is Walter, i'm a huge italian Beach Boys fan -Music fan, actually- and i live in Milan, but unfortunately i cannot attend the Milan concert of Friday night.... I couldn't miss the opportunity to see all the Boys live, anyway, so i'll be travelling by train to Rome the day before just to see them, and then immediately come back. Quite a drag, i know.

I'm impatient to see what the guys will play.... Still hoping the'll do Break Away, it is a super-favourite of mine. I know it will remain just a dream, but one have to remember that the songs of that period -Late 60s- went very well here in Europe, so maybe they'll think about it...

 :lol That's a tad deflating; based on your writing I'd pictured you as a buff, chisel jawed 6 ft'r with a grey flecked mane and a piercing blue eyed gaze, lounging around behind the scenes - much like the other writers on the board!

Yeah, that's the plan -- get to the stadium early, and just get to the front. I'm also good at getting to the front of crowds at stadium gigs, so don't see it being a problem.

Ha! Well, I do have the piercing blue-eyed gaze, if that's any help. But I'm more an almost-exactly-average-height fat bloke with greying brown hair cut short because of a large bald spot and an enormous beard. Sorry to disappoint ;)

Well, and i'll be the young moptop with moustache, in case..

WARNING: the following post might contain Italian language. Reader discretion advised.

-----------------

Jacopo e Walter, che piacere trovare altri fan italiani!
Pensavo fossi l'unico da queste parti!
Ci si becca nelle prime file allora.  Io sarò quello che cerca di registrare qualche video di nascosto con il telefono..  ;)

Spero davvero di essere nelle prime file... Ci terrei a stringere la mano ad Al.

(In english) I'm strongly wishing to get to front row... I would really like to high-five Al!

If you have a backstage pass, you may shake your hands with Al, even from the first row that won't be possible, since the management has put a big gap between the stage and the crowd (maybe they regard us as dangerous). In fact the front man of the Doors (they played a wonderful show on July 10th) complained a lot for being too distant from the fans!

Beside this, I'm glad that Spain got the full setlist, even with some of the best songs dropped. I had fear that in Europe the Boys would have played the shorter set they played in New Orleans and Bonnaroo.

At least, I hope they'll make an intermission, so they can rest. And I hope some of the songs dropped will be in the set again!

Waiting on the first row... Still a long way to go.   Anyone else here?

I'm not there, but congrats on the first row  ;D I love living vicariously through people's comments before, during, and after the shows from these threads.  Let us know if you see or hear anything exciting!

So far they played Do It Again, Surfer Girl, Kiss Me Baby, Good Vibrations, California Girls and Solar System at the sound check.









Yeah, just kidding about Solar System!

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I read that.

Same here!  :wall

Little video here...

Rome loves the surf guitar

http://yfrog.com/ma6wnczuqlymrlrabvgjxrlnz (http://yfrog.com/ma6wnczuqlymrlrabvgjxrlnz)

Ok, just came back to the hotel.
No brand new songs, but the return of California.
Will post full set list and comments later on.

On my way to Milan in 4 hours!

(http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_scale_large/1300-8/photos/1357398.jpg)

(http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_scale_large/1300-9/photos/1357399.jpg)

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(http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_scale_large/1300-4/photos/1357404.jpg)

(http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_scale_large/1300-5/photos/1357405.jpg)

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(http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_scale_large/1300-8/photos/1357408.jpg)


Source: http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_scale_large/1300-8/photos/1357408.jpg

  Were the Carl and Dennis tributes reinstated?

I wasn't there so I don't know for sure. But this was at a festival afaik so I don't think there were any tributes

If the screen isn't there---there's no tribute.  I don't think they'd do the tribute with just the vocal going over the PA and no accompanying video of Dennis or Carl singing the song.  It's not the same effect and probably a little weird if they did it that way.

No, no screens and no tribute, and will be the same for the rest of the European tour.

Really ?

 I find that slightly depressing.

That stage looked really cool, the lights looked great!  Those pictures are really great too, the band looks terrific!

 Agreed, but the Carl/Dennis tributes were emotional and musical highlights that will be sorely missed. Any theories as to why that part of the show will not be translated to the European leg of the tour? Money? Logistics?

Bruce posted on the BBB not too long ago that the smaller venues made it difficult to set up the video screens and therefore, the tributes had to be omitted.

I'm guessing the cost of shipping that huge thing overseas all over the place would be hideously, hideously expensive, too.

 I understand. The Stones would have done it though. Sorry, but this is a bit of a sticking point for me. Who is singing lead on "God Only Knows" for the Euro shows?

Brian.

How are they doing 47 songs without an intermission? For 70 year old guys, that is super impressive.

It is!! I got tired just of standing and watching and i'm half their  age !!

With the video screens, it's not just the expense of shipping things that large, but the electrical incompatibility.  More electrical items are now manufactured dual-voltage, but mostly small appliances.

Looking at the clips it looks like even the surfboards didn't make the cut.

Not all the venues for the Euro tour are particularly small though.

Oh well, bit of a shame.

The way he said it made it seem as if most pf the venues were small. But he did hint that the UK shows may be more appealing to people willing to hear deeper cuts  ;)

 It's possible that "Lady Lynda" and "Sumahama" may make the setlist soon. Both more popular oversas than in the USA.

Well, if it's true I'm kinda let down about the Carl and Dennis tributes not taken place in Europe. IMO in times of internet you can't split up up your show for U.S. and Europe, etc.  We've seen what happened in the states so we expect the same in Europe and Asia, etc.  (Sorry, right now I'm too drunk to even get this meessage  right, but you know what I mean. You're godd SmileySmilers...)

A few brief notes about the show (my hands are covered in mosquito bites so I can't type more -- I'll be posting a full review of both shows to my blog when the swelling goes down).

This was in many ways the less good of the two Italian shows -- more conservative setlist (no Betsy or This Whole World), very nasal vocals from Mike, Bruce seemed to be a bit of a loose end (Brian having taken his usual roles of mic-adjusting and mentioning the names of other band members), Dave fluffed a couple of solos a bit, and there were a couple of moments where because Brian or Al missed a vocal cue, the band seemed a little unsure of where in the song they were (e.g. Al missed the first line of Then I Kissed Her, sang the second line, then sang the second line *again*, when the band thought he would be going to "When we danced...")

But all that said, it was still a great show.

Partly because Brian was really *on* at this show, in a way he wasn't at the Milan one (where everyone else was much better than in Rome) -- he sometimes gazed off into the ceiling, and I *think* he may have been hearing voices then (I used to work on a psych ward for a couple of years, I know the expression all too well), but he kept playing even then, and he was *very* strong with his backing vocals, often throwing in little extra embellishments.

There was a lot of interaction within the band, as well -- especially between the other band members and Brian (lots of nods of encouragement and so on), but also Mike joking with Darian and that kind of thing. While it might not be the kind of show that all the backing band want to be doing (and I would gladly have had a thirty-five song set instead of a forty-five song one, if they'd dropped twenty fun-in-the-sun songs and covers for ten more introspective or arty ones, so I can see why they might feel like that), they're all great performers and never once seem less than completely enthusiastic on stage.

As for the questions about whose instruments are actually plugged in, I was up front for both shows, and at opposite ends of the stage each time, and watching very closely, and so I can say this:
Brian -- at various points in the Rome show he played odd little bass runs with his left hand which were audible in the mix, and during the intro and first verse of Kokomo he was the only one playing keyboards, and he was *very* audible then. He's definitely always playing the right song, and at least sometimes in the mix.
Dave -- his guitar is always in the mix, but his vocal isn't. The only times I could swear he was in the vocal mix were for Getcha Back, Surfer Girl and In My Room, while on Cal Dreaming he came in for the massed "Ooh" backing vocals four bars too early, and nothing came out of the sound system.
Al -- his guitar is definitely audible at times. The part he'd normally play on banjo on California is on guitar for these shows, and very audible, and a couple of times when he stopped playing to adjust his mic or his settings I noticed the rhythm guitar part get thinner.
Bruce -- Never noticed his keyboard in the mix, though it might have been, and when Mike did his "give me my note" bit on Be True To Your School, Bruce hit a key and nothing came out...

I think that who is and isn't in the front-of-house mix varies from song to song, but their instruments are all plugged in and at least sometimes audible.

 :-D  Thanks for the swell update, Andrew; all news is good, I'm looking forward to the full low downs.

Roll on 31 Aug.

Well, the O2-Arena in Berlin should be large enough, but it's the shipping costs I guess. Bummer.

Reading that last post back, it comes off as more critical than I intended, because I was typing very brief thoughts. I'm still planning on doing a blog post about both shows either tonight or tomorrow, but I just want to make clear that *even though* there were a couple of fluffs in this show (all very minor ones) and it wasn't as good as the one in Milan, it was still wonderfully enjoyable.

Al, Mike and Brian all complement each other perfectly in their stage presences -- Mike doing his usual schtick, which is corny as hell but which really does work, Brian making odd asides almost at random and being very enthusiastic about how great the band are, and Al clearly *really* concentrating on his vocals (and Al sings wonderfully). The look of concentration and sincerity on Al's face even when he's singing something like "rah rah rah rah sis boom bah" is a wonder to behold.

And there aren't enough good things to say about the backing band. Everyone knows how good Probyn, Scott B, Darian, Nelson and Paul are in their roles, but the addition of Cowsill on drums pushes the band's energy levels up just a notch or two more than with any of the other drummers they've had (the interplay between him and Nelson Bragg is astounding), Mike D'Amico is as good a bass player as he is a percussionist, and Scott Totten's vocals help fill out the high end very well. And while I know some here don't like Foskett's voice, he did a beautiful job on Don't Worry Baby and All This Is That.

The things I mentioned in my previous post were mentioned because they were the exceptions -- the tiny flaws in an excellent show. Even with the cost of the foreign travel included, it was more than worth it.

Setlist via the FB page of Giuca from the Sunny Boys:
(http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/428938_10150964701641732_359010233_n.jpg)

Note that my memory differs from the setlist -- I remember You're So Good To Me going into Then I Kissed Her, because they were the only two songs where someone messed up and they were back-to-back. I may remember wrong though.

The UK shows will have the screens.

You realize you're dealing with a disfunctional band when you find yourself making comments like that.


Excuse my smart-ass remark, Andrew. And thanks for the great report.



BTW, I wonder if the band can hear Bruce's keys through the monitors?

OK, this has made my day. I'm bringing friends who are fans of say, the Endless Summer parts of the set and I really wanted them to see the video tributes.

Yeah, a capacity of 17.000 isn't very small imo.
I said it before, I don't think that in time of internet where everybody can see what kind of show you put on right after it happened, you can make such a cut in the show, especially for something that many people regrad as the emotional high point of the show. I know it's a small thing and we're still getting to see the Beach Boys (!) and will hear a great show but it leaves kinda a bad taste in your mouth. Especially if it's because of money. I believe in one of the videos they said that they will have video tributes to Dennis and Carl in the show and they didn't say "only for America".
We'll have our fun at the show anyway, I'm sure

Allegedly Mike is running a tight reunion ship, financially. They are trying to get as much ouf of it as possible.

But isn't the screen supposed to be back for the UK shows? Maybe we'll have it in Berlin as well...

I don't know about Denmark and which other shows will be played before friday, but it might be that Berlin is the first indoor show in Europe. That indeed could be reason for a change. I think Mönchegladbach is outdoor again. Don't know about Stuttgart

Check out Jeff's introduction of Mike  :-D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtqAhfeOLXM&feature=player_embedded#!

So he WASN'T playing in the key of BW?????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

Here's my longer blog post about both Italian gigs -- http://andrewhickey.info/2012/07/31/what-i-did-on-my-holidays-by-andrew-aged-33-34/

Here's a picture gallery. I believe at least some pictures were already posted but maybe not all:

http://www.spaziorock.it/fotogallery.php?&id=516