The Smiley Smile Message Board

Discuss, review and rate The Beach Boys In Concert, released June 2013.


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Seriously? Somebody voted it a zero? Hard to believe they've actually seen it and don't like it...unless they don't like the Beach Boys, in which case why are they on this site voting? Weird.

Probably just a sad troll, with too little time on his hands in between masturbation sessions.

I'd like to see Mr. Zero do a better job!

I gave it a 5. The book is amazing - I can't put it down. Great job guys!

Pray For Surf Podcasts ~

Two exclusive interviews, with Ian Rusten and Jon Stebbins, co-authors of The Beach Boys in Concert at: http://prayforsurfblog.blogspot.com/

They discuss the meticulous and relentless research process and share their views on the legacy of the Beach Boys. The story behind the stories in this amazing text book on the day-to-day, city-by-city, show-by-show history of the most amazing band in rock history.

You'll also find links to the Fred Vail interview.

Phil
PrayForSurfBlog.blogspot.com

Thanks Bill. Glad you liked it.  We worked pretty hard on it. Crazy that it's now out!
Ian

I must say....the authors are quick to pounce on other materials for inaccuracies yet have several of their own...but overall, hard to put down. Well done!

Actually I've done many interviews lately and I've gone out of my way to praise keith badman.  As I said he was first and we built on his research. That being said the only inaccuracies i've heard about in our book are some misspelled names and saying berkeley is in san francisco but please do tell me if I have any major facts wrong. I don't think I do

By the way for those that wrote and asked me. Book will be carried by barnes and nobles.  They start selling it in stores next week. For some reason it was available on amazon earlier

Pretty sure Barnes & Noble will be stocking it tomorrow

Got mine over the weekend through Amazon.  Beautiflly presented, well done.  Weighs about 10 lbs., so plenty of information.  With the exception of the natural setlist mistake here or there, exceptional job.  Thanks for completing this, a great and needed addition to the BB's library.

Glad you liked it. In case i ever update it what was the mistake in the set list?

May 27, 1989 in Costa Mesa.  The encore with Chicago kicked off with "Wishing You Were Here". Not trying to nit pick in the least, I can't begin to imagine to amount of research you had to do. I only know because I was there.  And, by the way, you got every other date/show I have ever been to  over the years correct

cool-Good to know.  We tried our best.  I'll note that correction down.

And there's no such place as "Chicago University."

Not an inaccuracy, but a fun fact...the Joliet, Illinois concert in 1974 was cut short because a motorcycle gang started a riot.

Not yet got the book, ordering it this weekend. Will be curious to see whether a mention is made of the impromptu gig they performed for patients whilst visiting Leeds General Infirmary in Yorkshire back in '67. And who was the delightful DJ over-seeing proceedings? Now then, now then, it was everyone's favourite television celebrity and psychopathic rapist: Sir Jimmy Savile OBE - God Bless 'im!

I give them all the props. I guess a lot of us have seen shows or moments that only we know matter today. I mean, except for maybe the review the next day, the early boxset set I saw at the 1993 Poplar Creek Chicago area show has not been talked about since. I only wish I remembered to bring it up before the book came out to Jon or Ian directly. In 50 years of shows to get every set is impossible. Yet nothing of super import is missing-EVERY major piece of info is certainly here.

Thanks Mike.  Disney Boy-the Leeds show is mentioned but it was in 1969 (June 8 to be exact) and that is where you'll find it.  But we cover all the British tours-hopefully well

Cool review of the book:

http://www.examiner.com/review/the-beach-boys-concert-is-bible-of-all-things-wilson

Ah, thanks for the info. And does Sir Jim get a mention??  :)

For a quick review of the book here would it be 'okay' to post a couple of photos one has taken of the content (layout, photos, etc.)? I don't mean actual scans, but rather shots like this (random example):

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My vote: 5 stars here and 5 stars on amazon.

By the way, what about those 1 and 2 stars votes?  ??? Cannot be serious.

Thanks for that

I absolutely love it!!!!

So many great pictures and such great info!

One thing I particularly love is how you can almost read the book straight through twice: once reading the narrative in the margins of the pages and then again just reading the concert descriptions! :)

yeah...We originally wrote it so that the margin material would be sort of intro chapters for each year-but the book would have been way too many pages-so the publisher put it all together on the same pages.  I was unsure at first-but I think it works well now.

A most impressive effort (the research alone!) and a beautiful item in itself. The fact that Rusten & Stebbins had to heavily rely on amateur/private photos and material from various University and city archives makes it even more special, giving it a distinct underground/indie/unofficial kind of vibe (in the best sense of the word). The Beach Boys In Concert is instantly recognisable as a labour of love for both authors. Probably one of the best BBs books out there. (I've been thumbing through it, looking at the pictures and reading bits and pieces of it here and there. Only today I started reading it from cover to cover, but that's probably gooing to take a couple of weeks...) :3d Outstanding job, you 2!


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I hope it's okay (I had asked for permission earlier in this thread) to post a quick impression of the book. If it's not okay with Ian & Jon I'll take it down immediately. ;)

I'm glad you liked it!

Lowbacca pretty much describes how I feel about this book. In fact, the moment I had this book in my hands, I did exactly the same, going back and forth... and back and forth again, through this book. Immediately searching for info and stories on specific concerts, then checking all pics from the early 70ies, reading about Carl's last shows with the group in 1997, then going back to look for info on Dutch concerts, etc. etc. I simply didn't know where to start, so much I want to read about.
It took me weeks to finally start reading this book in chronological order !  Over 400 pages !! This one will keep me occupied for a while.

This book is indeed a labour of love, made "for" and "by" the fans. The biggest fans obviously being Ian and Jon for their endless and seemingly effortless work they have done these last couple of years. But don't forget the support many fans gave them (a lot of them being a member on this board!). On one of the first pages you'll notice a long list of acknowledgements. And that says a lot about not only how thorough Ian and Jon did their research, getting this book as accurate as it is, but also how much others wanted to help them out providing them with the best and most trustworthy information available. This is what makes this book so special. Ian and Jon, you can be really proud of the results.

And on a personal note: thanks for sending me a copy of this book, and the nice words you wrote to me, Ian. It means a lot to me. Great to see my name listed amongst all those other fans that helped out, even though it feels like my contributions were only minimal. Brings back good memories, reading back some of the translations I made of Dutch articles while on vacation in Italy last year...


If you haven't bought this book yet, BUY IT !  You won't regret it, I promise.  :)

Great book, however, just noticed something...

Page 380  - 6th November 2004 Blackpool Opera House. It was a Saturday gig  not a Friday, that means the days  for the UK tour are out by a day. Haven't checked the rest to see if it continues.

Page 382 - 12th April 2008 Manchester Apollo. Again this was a Saturday show, not a Thursday. Sorry to be pain but I know this as I met my wife on this night for the first time after the show...

Edit: Just checked the other "selected dates" and there appears to be quite a few where the day is wrong?

Well done Guys! 5 outta 5  :)

Thanks for the kind words. I certainly regret those kind of errors. I do appreciate you pointing it out, as I am making a list of mistakes.

Is that really Carl Wilson in that picture on page 373? The bearded guy to the right looks nothing like him.

Love the book--it's kept me busy through the last few weeks and I love the rare pics.

Solid 5.

Yeah that is a sad pic to look at

It's a hands down 5 star book. I picked mine up from the post office yesterday morning and I was VERY tempted to call in sick so I could spend all day reading it. After a while it does get boring always seeing the same old Beach Boys photos so to have so many new rare and unseen photos in one place is fantastic!

Glad you liked it

Reading and thoroughly enjoying my tour through Beach Boy concert dates in 1966 and I read about their show at Yankee Stadium on 6/10/66. The Boys performed on a ticket with Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, the Guess Who, the Byrds, the Marvelettes, among others and draw a paltry 9,000 fans?!? The comment reads for this show reads, in part:

"...only 9,000 attended this show due to heavy rain. Joe Cohen of Variety theorized that teens might also have been saving their money for the upcoming Beatles show at Shea Stadium"

I was taken aback by this comment as the Beatles were the first major act to perform in a large stadium (or so I thought). Further research shows that The Beatles played at Shea on 8/15/65, about 10 months prior to this show at Yankee Stadium. Is this is mistake on Joe Cohen of Variety's part or did The Beatles play a 2nd show at Shea? I'm confused....

Hi, Glad you liked the book.  Happily, for once I did not make a mistake.  Yes-the Beatles returned to Shea for a second time on their 1966 tour.  It didn't get as much publicity as the 65 appearance-which was filmed.

Thanks Ian! A simple google search would have revealed that info to me...sorry for the bother...interesting to read this:

"A little over a year after their first triumphant appearance at New York's Shea Stadium, The Beatles returned for a second time.

The concert did not sell out, with 11,000 of the 55,600 tickets still available."

It is hard to fathom these lack of sellouts in today's day and age where everyone seems to be anxious to score tickets to the next big sporting event or concert using presales and the like (including me to see Brian Wilson & Jeff Beck in Philly in October!)

right....It was a very different time.  And-bands toured so much that fans didn't see it as such a big event.  Even the Beatles...had played in NY every 12 months or so in the previous three years (little did NY fans know that it would be the last chance to see the band play)

I thought I should present a few updates I've learned of since the book came out-(all of which can be viewed at AGD's Gigs/Sessions section of Bellagio)

July 3 1962-Dykstra Hall Cafeteria, UCLA (I didn't have a date for this before-though we mention it in the other gigs played section of 1962)
Sept 27 1962-The Row, USC Campus  (USC just digitized their student paper and this turned up)
Apr 8 1975-University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA  (Just found an ad)
Jan 18 1981-Selland Arena, Fresno, CA  (Just learned)
Feb 26 1982-Community Center Arena, Tucson, AZ (just learned)

Not a review but a question on something which just came up this afternoon:

What do you make of this June 1966 letter where Brian says he was flying to New York to meet with Ed Sullivan about an appearance on his show? Obviously it never happened, after 64 they were back in 68...any ideas as to what happened? Or what could have been planned around this?

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The letter is interesting IF AUTHENTIC but that pic doesn't look like Dennis at all-he was not so juvenile looking even in 62 let alone in 66.  So I have major doubts.  But Brian was leader of the band and did go to meetings with people-we have paperwork about his plans to go to England in 66 for meetings-though in the end he didn't get over there.  He might have gone to NY in 66 though I am not aware of it.  The letter would make more sense in 65-when Brian did go to NY to do the Sulliivan show with the BBs-but ultimately the show ran late and the BBs got bumped (I got this info from Ron Swallow-who was with them on that May tour).   If your wondering about Brian being less than faithful in marriage-he was a rock star-so I wouldn't be surprised. We all know these guys were not saints.  But I don't think it is legit-based on photo
Ian

Thought I'd add more additions since the book-since I have done it before (add em in pencil to your copy)
May 10 1966-Notre Dame University, South Bend, IN
Nov 28 1969-Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, MO-with the Underground Sunshine
Oct 26 1980-Metra Arena, Billings, MT
Oct 8 1984-Fresno County Fair, Fresno, CA (2 shows at 5 and 8 PM)
Feb 2 1986-Kelloggs Center, Battle Creek, MI
Aug 9 1986-Jackson County Fair, Jackson, MI

Finished reading the book last night,   and it is amazing the amount of research the authors put into this. Really puts the microscope on those early years, where you can see them quickly go from being just kids singing at home, to a working, touring band. The focus of this book is unique - most books are about the recording side much more than the live performing. What this means is that there are large chunks of this book where Brian is not the central figure. I was surprised at how early on he started missing gigs; and of course he's barely a factor in the much loved "progressive" years 1968-75. Also very surprised to read how much resistance there was from the audiences to the newer material circa 71-73. Those are shows that most of us hardcores would love to have seen. The book is very thorough and comprehensive up to 1985; sadly, after that, it's little more than just a list of shows played. I would've liked more info on the later years, but glad the authors didn't arbitrarily just cut it off at, say, 1977 (like Badman's book). Many wonderful "new" photos.

Hi Ian,

I'm not sure if this one's been pointed out yet, but if not...

The book mentions that one of the canceled "Maharishi Tour" gigs was a show that was supposed to take place on May 11th of '68 at the *Richfield Coliseum in Cleveland Ohio* (page 105). The Coliseum didn't even open until October of 1974 [ground was broken in Richfield, OH in early '73...about 25 miles from downtown Cleveland], so perhaps the show was actually slated for another venue in '68? :)


IIRC, this same bit of info also appeared in David Beard's Goldmine article on the tour.

Yeah someone else pointed that out. I tried to be 100 accurate but clearly mistakes slipped in. By the way the reasons Dave had the same error is that he copied that info from bellagio and I compiled all the gig info on agd's site. Difference between the site and book is that I can update the site

Glad you liked it

Most certainly on my wishlist. Looks fantastic.

I know I'm late to the party, but I recently purchased and finished reading this book. It is outstanding! If you are a member on this forum and you don't own the book, you are really missing out on this comprehensive history of the band. As Lonely Summer points out, I would have liked the post-1985 years to be a bit more comprehensive (at least through Carl's last shows). I don't know if that was due to space limitations (certainly the first 25 years of the band are most interesting) or lack of available information, but that might be something for an updated version.

One correction, the show on November 6, 1997, is listed as being played at Van Endel, Grand Rapid MI [w/Chicago]. It is actually Van Andel Arena (https://vanandelarena.com/). It is important to note that it is Van Andel Arena, as many things are named after the Van Andel family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, due to the late Jay Van Andel being the co-founder of Amway and one of the most prolific philanthropists in the region.

5 stars - highly recommend!

Not nearly enough people have read this book. I have yet to see it in any book store. Best book on the band - as opposed to just Brian.

FYI ~ Coming Soon ~

NEW Beach Boys Book • New Podcast with the author

The Book  ~  They were almost The Pendletones—after the Pendleton wool shirts favored on chilly nights at the beach—then The Surfers, before being named The Beach Boys. But what separated them from every other teenage garage band with no musical training? They had raw talent, persistence and a wellspring of creativity that launched them on a legendary career now in its sixth decade.

Following the musical vision of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys blended ethereal vocal harmonies, searing electric guitars and lush arrangements into one of the most distinctive sounds in the history of popular music. Drawing on original interviews and newly uncovered documents, this book untangles the band’s convoluted early history and tells the story of how five boys from California formed America’s greatest rock ’n’ roll band.

The Author ~ James B. Murphy is a companion animal veterinarian in Washington, D.C. He lives in Bowie, Maryland. 

COMING SOON!
Exclusive live interview with James B. Murphy

Phil Miglioratti and Jim Murphy discuss his lifelong love of the Beach Boys and his almost decade long research and writing that have resulted in one of the most thoroughly documented books on the critical people, places, and events in the launching and stardom of American's favorite band.

Sample question  ~  Twenty-four chronological chapters, a nineteen page Coda devoted to examining the Hite Morgan Tapes, a dozen Appendices (including the floor plan of CANDIX Enterprises!), twenty-one pages of chapter footnotes (a whopping total of 1005 to be exact) five pages of bibliography (including Hawthorne High yearbooks plus audio-radio-video programs) and an exhaustive Index, all adding up to 422 pages of bordering on fine print sized font lettering! ...   Jim, describe your process of finding source material, identifying eye-witness or real-time persons to interview and how you found them. It looks to me that this back-story may be almost as interesting as the insights you gleaned from the people and the archival material.

[http://prayforsurfblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/new-beach-boys-book-new-podcast-with.html]

5 without a doubt. The best reference book I own on the Beach Boys. I've had it since late February and keep meaning to review it here but so many things have happened since then. Outstanding job by Ian & Jon!

By the way, who could possibly have voted a 1 or 0 on this?

I keep it right by my desk to reference (and study when I have the time).  I never did a flat out review, but have spoken of it in posts.  A beautifully researched and written book.  And of course Ian is always adding things to posts here as he finds new stuff.  I've never asked, since they are both researchers, but always thought Ian was doing the concerts and Jon, the history portion.  Could be wrong.  Gets a 5 from me.  If I recall correctly, Ian was hinting in one of his posts, it may already be out of print.  Get one while you can.  Don't just wait for a possible second printing, or the price to go out of control.

Edit:  There it is.  I got to my 1000 post!  Took me near 2 1/2 years.

we wrote it a chapter at a time together based on my previous research. We initially planned to have the history open each chapter but the publisher (to keep the page count lower) opted to run it as a sidebar next to the listings. We also utilized a lot of interviews we did with dave marks, bobby Figueroa, Fred vail, Dennis dragon, Daryl dragon, chip Rachlin and many others.  I wanted to include many more photos but such is the publishing game.  I also was prepared to fully write up the concerts for at least 1986 to 1993 but owing again to page count limits post 1986 became more of a list

The Half-Price Books chain has had some copies of this great book on display recently. Every fan of the band should own this great book!

" Every fan of the band should own this great book!"

Absolutely ... which is why I was grateful to both Ian and Jon for the interviews they did with me when the book was released;

Mega thanks to you both!

Phil

http://prayforsurfblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/podcast-researching-legacy-of-beach-boys.html

Ian,  Thanks for the clarification.  For one reason or another, I don't own every Beach Boys book.  Some of them I only heard about after I joined Smiley, some I read but do not buy.  Researchers must hate to hear that.  In Concert is a very special book.  When it first came out, I posted to you the difficulty in finding it in stores in my part of the planet.  I waited a month, trying to find it in a store, before having Amazon ship it to me.  My brother wrote a book.  Took him three years to write and get it published.  So I know a bit from him how hard it is to do.  Second printings, even harder.  If Jon ever puts out the Dennis book again, I will buy it.  I only have his FAQ book.  His books don't cover music from the point of view of concerts and set lists.  More on the history of the members.  That's why I figured he was mostly involved in the history portion.  Your In Concert book is really two books rolled into one.  You seem to specialize in the concert area.  You talk about it here all the time.  I have a lot of respect for your research.  Glad to know you are part of the history portion of the book.

I think this might be a good place to comment on set lists, from my point of view.  As soon as I started reading here at Smiley, I learned quick that a song in a set list needs to be verified.  Newspaper reviews don't usually give complete set lists, especially not the old concerts.  Many of the newspaper cats don't even know what a deep cut is, they are just doin' their job.  They can make a list of what the band played (the hits) while sitting in the bar, or chatting-up someone in the back of the auditorium.  They don't have to be watching the show to know that some hits will be played.  If you recall, I asked you about more (verified) information on a very special show I was at, U. C. Davis in 1981.  How often do you see a show with The Honeys as the opening act?  Yes, I said The Honeys.  That's what they were calling themselves, and that's what they called themselves when they released their next album.  With Ginger, that is their name, not American Spring.  One of the fans/collectors (mfp) here sent me a couple of the reviews from the show, possibly the same two you mentioned in your reply to me.  One of them trashed The Honeys, and listed that the boys played some of the hits.  What a revelation.  He didn't even mention that the girls came out to sing with the band.  Of course now, all you have to do is aim a phone toward the stage - record all or a bit of each song, and instant set list.  In the old days, you had to take a pen and paper.  And I don't recall seeing a member of the band handing a printed list to a fan from the stage, not too often.  I don't think they always had them.  Why would Carl make lists on his hands if they did?  In the excitement of the shows, you had to make notes.  Sometimes while standing in a shed, or in a field - you know the drill, rain or shine, whatever condition your condition was in.  But, even with the notes, you don't have the verification.  I do understand why a member here would want that.  The Beach Boys played songs that were rarely played.  That is a fact you would agree with.  Anyone who saw them over a number of years have memories of songs that just shocked you when they were played.  My concert years span the two Winterland shows in 1973 thru my last, in Concord, California in 1994.  When I first heard you were going to put out this book I had high hopes you would focus on just this kind of thing.  Brian banging out a bit of "It's Just a Matter of Time" as a tag in 1979 (Brian liked to doddle between songs too, I was always close enough to hear his piano), Al adding "Pitter Patter" during his mini-set in 1981 at Circle Star.  I've seen others, but will only mention those two as examples.  I mentioned "Pitter Patter" in a post here.  It was immediately questioned by Jay.  A few weeks later it was brought up again in a thread about rarely played songs.  Someone asked, "Who said "Pitter Patter" was ever played?"  Other than seeing it, I have no verification.  Ask Al next time you see him.  I didn't take the time to comment.  I don't like to argue.

I wish you the best of luck with your research and getting a second printing of this wonderful book (was I right about you saying it is out of print?).  You, and Jon, should be very proud of it.

-Will   

Glad you liked it so much.  Yes-I agree it is hard to find set lists sometimes-if the reviewer didn't mention what was played (and in early 60s reviews-the reviewers often had no idea about the music and would just make up titles-like "they played a song called 'Everyone's Surfing').  Eric's set list site is great for that-though of course sometimes a contributor's memory makes me a little suspicious.  But I do have more set lists than I used of course (I possess in my humble opinion the best collection of newspaper articles/reviews of the BBs in the world!!! :-D

Five stars are not enough for this book!  ;D This is one of those books that take a few weeks and several reads to get all the little pieces of info. To be honest, this book makes for a very frustrating read at times. But this is not meant as a criticism of the book itself at all. I simply mean that as a fan, it's very frustrating and maddening to read about the group struggling for years, wanting to play their new material for "fans" who had absolutely no interest, only to slowly turn into basically an oldies act. The group had soared to amazing new heights in the early 1970's. It's a bit sad to read about the state they were in, only a few short years later.  But I reiterate, this is not meant to criticise Ian and Jon's work. The phrase "labor of love" may be a cliche, but it fits in this occasion. This is truly an extrordinary book. I only wish that a set list for the August 8th, 1992 show at Blossom would have been provided. This was my very first concert. I was seven at the time, and unfortunately remember almost nothing. To read exactly what was performed that night would have been interesting to me.

I have a review of that show but it doesn't give a full set list but I am fairly certain the set was about the same in other shows on that tour

Yes, it IS frustrating to read how, time after time, the fans were unresponsive to the new material in the early 70's. Even before Endless Summer came out, there was a large group of fans that only wanted to hear the old stuff. I need a time machine to go back to that era - those fans didn't know how lucky they were, to view a group that was still creating great new music.

Noticed that I hadn't voted in this poll. Took care of that today.
I gave it a 5.

I have three big books on the table next to my favorite chair - a Bible, an annotated version of Sense and Sensibility that I'm slowly making my way through, and this book.

A wonderful reference when those crazy Beach Boys questions pop into my old head. I also like to open the book at random and never cease to be entertained and educated.

Great resource!

Some intimidating company! Glad you liked the book

Should note here that on my website beachboysgigs.com you can look at an additions/corrections blog for this book. It is on the menu to the right

Have this on order. Can’t wait to check it out!

... and it has arrived. What a magnificent piece of work this is! Some absolutely stellar detective work. Well done, Ian and Jon! So far I've only skimmed through it and it'll take some time to read it all, but I'm looking forward to it.

One tiny thing, though: for the Swedish shows, "Konserthuset" is spelled "Koncerthuset" throughout. Also, the entry for the November 3, 1966 show in Denmark reads "Falkoner Centret, Torsdagm, Denmark" (an error also appearing in Badman's book). There is no place called "Torsdagm" in Denmark. I believe this is some kind of translation error or misunderstanding as "Torsdag" is the Danish word for "Thursday" –– which was the day of the week the concert was performed. Minor quibbles, I know, but just thought I'd throw it out there. :)

Thanks....I appreciate it. Errors creep in-but I went out of my way to learn as much as I could. If you look at badman’s book he has many, many errors of date, venue, etc. I worked real hard to learn the specific dates and venues (including writing to libraries in Germany, Sweden and Denmark to obtain any ads/reviews they could find-of course my German is poor and I don’t speak Swedish or Danish so I had to find fellow fans to translate the articles. Nonetheless errors still occur