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Smiley Smile Stuff => Concert Reviews => Topic started by: Justin on August 14, 2012, 10:40:18 AM



Title: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: Justin on August 14, 2012, 10:40:18 AM
Show info.


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: Justin on August 16, 2012, 09:42:18 AM
.


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: mabewa on August 16, 2012, 07:26:36 PM
I'm there!  Hoping that they can extend the set somewhat from the Tokyo show...  it's an extremely central, convenient location, so no-one should have problems getting home.  Plus it's Friday night...


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: mabewa on August 17, 2012, 07:49:35 AM
Fantastic show, just got back!  The sound was really stunning--just a wall of harmonies the whole way through.  Good crowd, too--they got on their feet with the first beats of Do It Again, and stayed there for the entire show.  The setlist was shortish like the Tokyo show, but added Getcha Back, All Summer Long and Do You Wanna Dance, so it was 36 songs, 107 minutes counting the encore break (which was extremely short).  Brian seemed a bit disengaged, but sounded great on all of the songs he sang lead on, and the other guys all sounded fantastic--especially Al, but Mike's is doing a wonderful job too.  Dave sounded great on Getcha Back (that song is so much better in the current version than the original), and did a lot of crowd-pleasing leads, and Bruce sounded really good on the songs where you can hear him well (God Only Knows, Isn't It Time, California Girls, Fun Fun Fun).  The only song that wasn't good was "Kokomo,"--no, I'm not a Kokomo hater, but it was the only song where Mike didn't sing well, and they were having some tempo and harmony problems with it--just didn't come across too well (tho Jeff sounded great on his parts).  But everything else sounded wonderful, even Rock n' Roll Music, which usually isn't one of my faves.  Wish they had played a few more 70's songs, and I missed "In My Room," but it was still a seriously great show.  Looking forward to Nagoya!


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: Autotune on August 17, 2012, 08:00:25 AM
This is not a new thing. It's been like this forever: singing Kokomo, which is a medium-range/low lead, by the end of the show is very risky. By then, Mike's voice is stretched up, and while he can hit his bass notes no problem, that Kokomo register can get tricky and lackluster. Besides, it's a slowish song also, which by the end of the show, with all the adrenaline and such, tends to drag and is hard to play in a tasteful and controled manner.

 I say play it near the beginning of the show and the problem will be solved.


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: mabewa on August 17, 2012, 06:04:50 PM
This is not a new thing. It's been like this forever: singing Kokomo, which is a medium-range/low lead, by the end of the show is very risky. By then, Mike's voice is stretched up, and while he can hit his bass notes no problem, that Kokomo register can get tricky and lackluster. Besides, it's a slowish song also, which by the end of the show, with all the adrenaline and such, tends to drag and is hard to play in a tasteful and controled manner.

 I say play it near the beginning of the show and the problem will be solved.

Thanks for the perspective--that makes a lot of sense.  Obviously, it's a song they need to play, but I do agree that it's not the best encore material. 


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: mabewa on August 17, 2012, 06:26:12 PM
Setlist:

1).  Do It Again
2).  Little Honda
3).  Catch a Wave
4).  Hawaii
5).  Don't Back Down
6).  Surfin' Safari
7).  Surfer Girl
8).  Getcha Back
9).  Don't Worry Baby
10).  Little Deuce Coupe
11). 409
12).  Shut Down
13).  I Get Around
14).  That's Why God Made the Radio
15).  Sail On Sailor
16).  Heroes and Villains
17).  Isn't It Time
18).  Why Do Fools Fall in Love?
19).  When I Grow Up
20).  Cotton Fields
21).  Forever
22).  God Only Knows
23).  All This is That
24).  Sloop John B
25).  Would it Be Nice
26).  Good Vibrations
27).  And Then I Kissed Her
28).  California Girls
29).  All Summer Long
30).  Help Me Rhonda
31).  Rock N' Roll Music
32).  Do You Wanna Dance
33).  Surfin' USA
(encore)
34).  Kokomo
35).  Barbara Ann
36).  Fun Fun Fun


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: coco1997 on August 17, 2012, 07:18:42 PM
Have they changed the setlist at all since they U.S. tour ended?


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: Wirestone on August 17, 2012, 07:49:09 PM
Have they changed the setlist at all since they U.S. tour ended?

No extra songs, no.


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: Pretty Funky on August 17, 2012, 08:39:20 PM
Thanks for the setlist. Interesting that some shows have no break. As its 'all about me' I'm really hoping for 45 plus songs with 'PS' and 'Add Some Music' to start a second half in Australia. No concern with trains as I'm walking!

Oh...and the big screen. ;D


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: mabewa on August 18, 2012, 06:35:45 PM
Have they changed the setlist at all since they U.S. tour ended?

No extra songs, no.

I've been following this too, and it's true:  no songs added for quite a while.  There have been songs coming back that were gone for a while (like California Dreamin') in the European shows, but nothing "new." 


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: ontor pertawst on August 18, 2012, 06:45:31 PM
If only I had access to a Prefectural Gymnasium.

It's interesting that a lot of us assumed that the American setlist would be more tailored to casual fans and somehow the overseas audience would get more deep cuts. I loved the setlists anyway, but I wonder if they'll finally pull out something different for the UK shows for a nice spectacular conclusion.



Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: Paulos on August 19, 2012, 03:51:42 AM
Have they changed the setlist at all since they U.S. tour ended?

No extra songs, no.

I've been following this too, and it's true:  no songs added for quite a while.  There have been songs coming back that were gone for a while (like California Dreamin') in the European shows, but nothing "new." 

Not true, they played Cotton Fields at the Berlin show so yes, at least one song has been added.


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: STE on August 19, 2012, 04:33:34 AM


They played Cottonfields since the very first show in Tucson..



Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: Paulos on August 19, 2012, 04:41:44 AM
Oops, my bad! I had convinced myself that they never played Cotton Fields in the US as it wasn't a hit there. I need to read the set-lists more carefully... :-[


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: Rocker on August 19, 2012, 06:12:09 AM
No "new" songs yet. I believe someone mentioned that he heard them playing "Let him run wild" at a rehearsal three times.


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: mabewa on August 19, 2012, 07:23:11 AM
If only I had access to a Prefectural Gymnasium.

It's interesting that a lot of us assumed that the American setlist would be more tailored to casual fans and somehow the overseas audience would get more deep cuts. I loved the setlists anyway, but I wonder if they'll finally pull out something different for the UK shows for a nice spectacular conclusion.



I've had the same thought.  So far, the US setlists have been more adventurous on average than the European and Japanese ones.  I'm hoping they pull some surprises with the European and especially British dates (because the Brits deserve it--they are such great BB fans)


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: Justin on August 19, 2012, 11:09:16 AM
I believe someone mentioned that he heard them playing "Let him run wild" at a rehearsal three times.

 :o :o


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: mabewa on August 20, 2012, 01:39:35 AM
Who would sing lead on it, I wonder?


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: STE on August 20, 2012, 02:25:50 AM


I think in the M&B band it was Scott, and he did an incredible job!




Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: MBE on August 20, 2012, 03:05:38 AM
Cottenfields was great in the show!


Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: mabewa on August 20, 2012, 07:50:54 PM
Anyway, here is my show review:

The venue was fairly large--must have been able 15,000 people capacity (though I'm bad at guessing these things), and seemed completely sold out--not an empty seat in the place.  I was a little surprised by the audience--not as many senior citizens as I expected!  Most people appeared to be in their 30s, 40s and 50s, and it was a fairly anonymous crowd--some Japanese rock crowds can be pretty colorful (though I did see some punk rockers--go figure!)

America opened, starting at 7:05, and played for a little under an hour.  They seemed a bit wimpy and soft-rock to me at first, particularly the love songs, but got better and better as they went alone.  You gotta give them credit for the surprising number of enduring songs they've written--it wasn't until the last week that I realized that there is a lot more to them than "Horse With No Name" and "Sandman."  They have great CSN-style harmonies, and can pull off some pretty complex stuff with only 5 guys on stage.  I liked hearing stuff like "Ventura Highway" and the Jackson Browne soundalike "Sister Golden Hair."  The best song was prolly "Sandman," which they totally rocked out compared to the studio version, and accompanied with footage of the Vietnam war and protests against it.  The audience also seemed to know a lot of the songs--I get the impression that at least some people were there primarily to see America.

The BB's hit the stage at 8:27, and immediately the whole crowd was on its feet (and stayed there throughout).  Mike's vox were a bit off for the first verse of "Do It Again," but by halfway through the song, everything seemed to be together and sounded glorious.  Mike sounded great on every song afterwards except for "Kokomo" This place has good sound and everything was crystal clear.  The audience seemed pretty into the surfing songs in the beginning of the set, but the biggest cheer in the early part of the show was for Brian's vocal on Surfer Girl.  I have to say, this setlist didn't give Brian a lot to do for the first third of the show, and he seemed somewhat disengaged.  The first surprise for me was "Getcha Back," as they didn't play this in Tokyo.  I have to say, this sounded great--it's so much better than the studio version, with the more organic arrangement, and David's lead vocals.  I'll never consider this a great BBs song, but I like it so much better now.  "Don't Worry Baby" was also beautiful--I sometimes find Jeff's vocals to be shrill, but he sounded lovely here.  

The crowd seemed to enjoy the car songs, but maybe not as much as the surfing songs (maybe because Japan is not much of a car country?).  David's leads did seem like a big draw though, and the sax/guitar duet on "Shut Down" got the audience cheering.  They seemed to get more into it with "TWGMTR" and especially "Sail On Sailor,"--I get the impression that Brian singing lead was a big plus factor here.  Brian still seemed somewhat disengaged, but sounded great.  Heroes and Villains sounded even better--massive, super-tight harmonies, and more Brian lead vocals.  "Isn't It Time" got a good reaction, but the song started out kind of shakey--about a third of the way though, they got everything together.  I love this tune, and it was great live, but really prefer the original lyrics.  "Why Do Fools" was pretty impressive vocally, though not enough to convince me that it's necessary to play it every night (though the Nagoya version two nights later pretty much won me over!).  "When I Grow Up" was nice, but a little underwhelming.  Cotton Fields was better, with Al's first full lead vocals of the night--he's really the best singer left in the band these days.  

They then did "Forever" and "God Only Knows" with Dennis and Carl on the video screen, and that was just beautiful and emotional.  I noticed, by the way, that not too many people were singing along (Osaka is not known for its English abilities), but the "We love you Dennis/Carl" messages got a big reaction.  I thought that "All This is That" was gorgeous (who is singing Carl's parts?), but the reaction was slightly underwhelming from the crowd.  "Sloop John B" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice" got a huge reaction, though--Pet Sounds is big in Japan, and I think they should have played more from it.  

The rest of the show was pretty much hitville, with GV getting another huge reaction (so much tighter than it was on videos I've seen from the beginning of the tour) and Al ruling on "Then I Kissed Her."  "All Summer Long" and "Do You Wanna Dance" were also additions over the Tokyo setlist and nice surprises--both songs I love personally.  It's interesting hearing Brian singing Dennis's vocal parts on the latter!  David played a weird, atonal guitar solo on "Do You Wanna Dance."  Bruce sounded fantastic on "CG" and "Surfin' USA" closed things off with a nice bang.

The encore started with Kokomo, which was kind of the low point of the night--the audience had a good reaction to it, but as I mentioned above, instrumentally and vocally it was off.  "Barbara Ann" was fantastic, though--such a fun live song.  I now understand why it's a must play.  The guys in America joined it, and the audience sang more than any other song of the night (an easy song for people with limited English!).  Brian did not play bass.  "Fun Fun Fun" was a, well, fun way to end the evening, with more great vocals on the chorus from Bruce.

Overall, it was super-tight show with fantastic sound, amazing vocals, and with the audience on its feet and clapping the entire time, it was a really fun experience.  The band commented on what a great crowd it was, and though I'm sure they tell every crowd that, it seemed really sincere.  

The Nagoya show was even better, though  (I'll write my account of that one later!)





Title: Re: Show 64: Oskaka Prefectural Gymnasium - Osaka, Japan 8/17/12
Post by: Rocker on September 19, 2012, 09:27:35 AM
Would you believe I finally found a picture of this show? Here it is:


(http://www.micahgampel.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Beach-Boys-Osaka-Aug-17-2012-Micah-Gampel_5045.jpg)

Source: http://www.micahgampel.com/blog/2012/08/23/summer-sonic-and-the-beach-boys-50th-anniversary-concert-in-osaka/