The Smiley Smile Message Board

https://www.facebook.com/officialbrianwilson/photos/p.10153127515852241/10153127515852241/?type=1&theater

In case doesn't work, memo says:

Hi everyone, Brian here. I’m sitting at Capitol Records and ready to answer some questions. Before I start, I want to share some cool news: I’m going on tour this summer starting in June. Both Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin will be joining me and my band and we will have the amazing Rodriguez opening the shows in the US. I’m really excited. All the dates will be on my website this afternoon, take a look!

cool.  Who is/are the Amazing Rodriguez? A magician?

Here are the dates as of now on Brian's site.

JUNE

18    Saratoga, CA –The Mountain Winery
19    San Diego, CA – Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay
20    Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre            
23    Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center
24    Dallas, TX – Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
26    Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
27    Nashville, TN – Carl Black Chevy Woods Amphitheater        
29    Philadelphia, PA – The Mann Center for the Performing Arts
30    Wantagh, NY – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater

JULY

1    Holmdel, NJ –PNC Bank Arts Center
2    Boston, MA –Blue Hills Bank Pavilion    
4    Toronto, ON –Sony Center (Brian Wilson and band only / Rodriguez will not appear)    
5    Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
6    Chicago, IL – Ravinia Festival        
8    Denver, CO – 1STBANK Center    
10   Las Vegas, NV – Chelsea Theater at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas    
12   Seattle,  WA – Benaroya Hall - S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium

Alright! Blondie where he should be. Can someone go throw a bucket of rats on Steve Love's lawn?

Re: Rodriguez. Check out Searching for Sugar Man.

Hmm, the Greek, Jones Beach.  Pretty decent venues.

Mike Bruce and David couldn't sell out Jones Beach, in fact not even close and that was with Lovin Spoonful and The Rascals. I'll be interested to see if Brian, Al and Blondie can sell it out or at least do better attendance wise.

Also the SD venue. I hope they can also book RAH if Mike doesn't mark his territory and leave a bunch of unsold BBs baseball caps around to dissuade the management.

Someone tell me when tickets will be on sale so I can stop refreshing the Greek's page. I missed Brianfest and if I miss this, there will be consequences. Whiny whining consequences.

It's also not very many dates for the U.S. i would hope there are more dates to come or at least he comes back in the fall for some more dates.

Absolutely. More dates in better places! 5 hours, minimum, is too far to drive (Chicago/Nashville)

Having Al and Blondie there will take a lot of weight off Brian. These shows should be great.

In a way, yes. Sixto Rodriguez' story is told in this movie (here's the trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hEojBYmR-o

Yeah i'm in the DC area and a 2 and a half hour drive to Philly is worth it but i would think a show closer to that area would be in the cards.

I see the Philly show will be outdoors on June 29th. Though, if it has to be outdoors, The Mann Center is one of the better venues. It's covered and has pretty decent acoustics. I'll be there! :)

I'll be doin' the Detroit show.  WAY closer than Toronto PLUS Sixto.  [and I have Sunday and Monday off w/o even having to ask. :hat]

Ahh, see, I was thinking the BEST Show announced was July 4th( NO Sixto)

Up that day at 5:45 ish...and then...After a 6 hour shift and then a minimum 5 hour drive to the venue...I'd get there just around 7:30 pm...if everything is accident/event free and if the weather doesn't include rain which causes way too many people to drive like it's a freakin' blizzard.  And then?  I'll be a basket of nails.  Pretty sure I'll enjoy the getting to and back from Detroit thing much better on the Sunday.

The Fox!

 

I see it's the Greek on his birthday.  Nice he'll be able to celebrate at home.

Like the new pic!

WOW, Who plans these tours?

So far ALL of the dates announced are in The U S of A.  The one exception?  Toronto...on the 4th of July.  Kind of 'odd'.  Celebrate America's Independance out of the country.  Funny how things work out.  Luck of the draw.

FIRST: Somebody has to call the Greek and let them know Brian's tour is playing there, so they can add it to their scheduled events


Guess Brian's Breaking Away...

I too am expecting more dates in the fall...this is a pretty small batch of dates to promote a new album AND film.

Actually this is quite similar in style to 2013...and we got a fall tour then!

Quite a pity David can't be on the tour...

Anyone planning to go to this show??  I am going to try to go!!!!  So exciting and such a thrill!   ;D

Oooh! I might try to do the Nashville show~

Currently, it's exactly seventeen dates more than have been announced for Europe, and nine more than he played in total last year.  ;D

THAT'S the one I'm going to catch.

Hey Rubber Soul 3...David said something the other day about how he loves to play the Beach Boys music and that's kinda what he'd like to do as much as he possibly can.  Plans for him to join Mike and Bruce have been in the works for awhile it would seem.  So?  2 units of 3 Beach Boys each criss-crossing N America this summer offering up new and old/art and fun...and possibly the last farewell for Brian.  The next last farewells will follow over these next 22 to 34 months would be my guess.
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And while I'm guessin' Andrew...I would think the 2nd phase of Brian's tour will be announced soon...and that it will be all about the UK this Sept/Oct.  I was sittin' here rubbin' the old crystal ball.  I could be wrong of course.  It turned out to be one of those Xmas snow globes.

Other 'odd' BW shows on or around 7/4:

2005 - Roskilde Festival, Denmark (3rd)
2007 - State Opera, Vienna, Austria (3rd)
2008 - Royal Albert Hall, London, England  (1st)
2009 - Deutsches Theater, Munich, Germany (4th)
2014 - The Marquee, Cork, Ireland (4th)

I don't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I'm sort of disappointed that the NJ venue is the PNC. The BBs played there for their 50th, and we had to walk a long way from our car to our seats. It was quite a trek (because the show sold well, so...lots of cars). This show is July 1, and if it's 90 degrees and high humidity, that's not going to be fun. I like when Brian plays theaters. However, if he's able to sell this larger venue (he played here for the BWPS tour), good for him, I guess.

It may be BW's last tour. Despite hating my home state's former Garden State Arts Center, you are totally performing unlicensed dentistry on that gift horse!

Hey, I was at that show too!  I had better luck at that venue when Tom Petty played there.  Brian Wilson solo isn't as big a sell as the Beach Boys altogether or Tom Petty for that matter so it might be more low-key this time around.  Which I am totally fine with.  Yeah, getting there can be annoying but once you're there, it's a beautiful place to see a show.

Ontor; you are right. Knew you had to be from Jersey like me. I'm from Irvington.

Also worth keeping in mind is that it's not unheard for a few additional dates to be announced/added.

According to Brian's website, the 2004 Smile show in San Francisco never occurred, because it was added to the tour schedule relatively late and they never added it to the website. I was there, great show, so I'm *pretty* sure it actually happened.

Yes, but was there a US tour from Brian last year? When comparing this to 2013 (which nearly totaled thirty touring shows) this isn't even close to being "complete", by that standard.

That would be awesome. Even better if David and Ricky would join them, and that they tour Australia!

I don't really understand the hype of a potential "last tour". EVERY tour ANY artist does may be their last tour...you can't let that sway your purchases.

I always check to see if they're coming to Australia, and each time I'm disappointed  :(

So many locations close enough that it would be a reasonable drive during the day, but I would have to stay overnight.  Maybe I can work in a weekend trip to Chicago or Detroit.

I have been told that they will be coming to Australia.

You're right. And I don't remember such a long walk when I saw Brian solo at the PNC. Nor when I saw Tori Amos there, years ago (even though my sister made us leave before the encore because she wanted to get to her car before everyone else got to theirs  ::) ). It is a beautiful venue. I just remember lots of septuagenarians walking a very long way to see the BBs. And lots of us missed the first couple of songs trying to make our way to our seats.

Any word on VIP/Meet And Greet packages?

Damn no Houston dates :(

I wonder if the setlist will be similar to the Venetian setlist.  It might look something like this (I copied the Venetian setlist and removed the guest spots).

I imagine they might change the order a little bit though (for instance, Good Vibrations being done so early on is odd).

1) Our Prayer
2) Heroes and Villains
3) Sloop John B (Al Jardine lead vocal)
4) Dance, Dance, Dance
5) Then I Kissed Her (Al Jardine lead vocal)
6) She Knows Me Too Well (Brian Eichenberger lead vocal)
7) Good Vibrations
8 ) This Beautiful Day
9) Don't Worry Baby (Brian Eichenberger lead vocal)
10) Marcella
11) Wild Honey (Blondie Chaplin lead vocal)
12) Sail On, Sailor (Blondie Chaplin lead vocal)
13) Sail Away (Brian Wilson, Al Jardine)
14) The Right Time (Al Jardine lead vocal)
15) California Saga: California (Brian Wilson and Al Jardine lead vocal)
16) Wouldn't It Be Nice (Al Jardine lead vocal)
17) Help Me, Rhonda (Al Jardine lead vocal)
18) Hold On Dear Brother (Blondie Chaplin lead vocal)
19) Darlin' (Darian Sahanaja lead vocal)
20) God Only Knows
21) Pacific Coast Highway
22) Summer's Gone
23) California Girls
24) All Summer Long
25) Barbara Ann
26) Surfin' U.S.A.
27) Fun, Fun, Fun

I'm really hoping they'll add another Blondie vocal or two. Also i'm always holding out hope for an appearance of Honkin' Down The Highway With Al!  ;D

Come on Brian, let's see you in North Carolina! I'm a poor college student.

Who here is going to the Philly show on 6/29? I certainly am. Mann Center is a great venue for Brian and company.

JUNE 18 Saratoga, CA  – The Mountain Winery.

I'm there! Great venue. Have seen a few concerts there, including The Boys and a couple of Brian solo gigs. Even saw Brian fall down on stage there.

Have dinner with a little Mountain Winery Cabernet Sauvignon. Do a little dance. Get down that night. Get down that night. Might or might not meet up with what's left of the Bay Area Beach Boys contingent. Will definitely meet up with 'Hey Jude' even if I have to forcibly corner him in stall #2 of the Men's Room to convince him that the C50 is indeed over and there's no chance of it happening again, even though he's still obsessed with it and posts about it and band politics incessantly on every thread concerning the subject matter on the Smiley Smile board.

 ;D

They're probably banking on quite a bit of press since the movie will be out 2 1/2 weeks out prior...

With your connections, Brian is liable to send his personal driver to bring you up to Austin

:lol f*** that, I'll drive to Dallas as it's closer, although I was hoping to meet up with a couple of fellow Brian fans who live here at a local deli pre-show. That, plus I'm not too fond of Dallas :D

I'm definitely going to try to be there! I've missed Brian's last couple of gigs at the Winery. Haven't seen him at that venue since the epic "Brian was lying down on stage because he ate a bad burrito" gig in '07 with Al. I've only been to the Winery once since they revamped the place. Was not a fan of the remodel. Nicer and fancier looking for sure, but the concert area seems less intimate now. Now it's kind of just like a mini-Shoreline/Concord sort of thing. I would assume they still haven't sorted the parking out there. Saw Ringo in 2008 (I think that's the most recent Ringo gig I've been to as well), and it was the worst after-show parking lot situation I've ever seen at a concert.

Saw Blondie with them on the "BAD" tour in Oakland, so even without Dave, this should be an awesome gig. Hoping they'll work Blondie into the show beyond "Sail on Sailor" and "Wild Honey" (though those two were awesome in Oakland). Perhaps "Funky Pretty" finally? (I'm not even *super* into that song; but something different like that would be cool).

And.....wait.... this gig isn't going to be a "C50" gig? Wtf?

Seriously, though, if that ever happened, can we trade Bruce in for Blondie if only five are allowed on stage? Don't get me wrong, I would want to hear "Disney Girls" too, but maybe they could play along to a video of Bruce singing the song, you know, as a tribute?

So good to see Blondie again with Brian and Al! I wonder if he'll play all (or most) of the show like Al or is featured again just for a couple of songs plus the encore.

It will be interesting to see. I figure, from the “best bang for your buck” point of view, if you’re paying for a guy to be in your band, might as well have him up there for the whole show. I don’t know how much Blondie would figure into early-mid 60s material (obviously he touched on that material back in the 70s with the BB’s), but I’m hoping that between having Blondie there and having new album stuff to play, the setlist might go a bit lighter on early era hits. I’d rather hear something from a later era than “Dance Dance Dance” or “Do You Wanna Dance.”

I kind of liked what they did at previous shows where they just tossed in one or two car songs and had Al sing them, like “Little Deuce Coupe.”

And seriously, let’s finally dispense with “Barbara Ann”, especially if the show is still going to end with “Surfin’ USA” and  “Fun Fun Fun.”

Hoping they add in “Lookin’ at Tomorrow” for this tour; it looks like it was on the PBS/Vegas setlist from December at one point but didn’t quite make the cut. And if anybody from the band is reading this, how about “Santa Ana Winds” finally? It’s technically an Al/Brian co-write too!

I'll be attending. It's been awhile since I attended a show at the Mann. Last show may have been Brian in the early to mid-aughts.

I'm all over that one.
Hey, is Al Jardine really going to be there?   :)

 

I'm going to a show for sure - I'm a huge BW fan (obviously - saw the Smile show in London in 2004) and both my wife and I love the Sugerman! My wife wanted to see him last year and we missed him.

I'm thinking Chicago, Detriot or Nashville!

:lol Took me a while to get that one. Jones Beach FTW!

I think it'll be his hologram that plays nothing but Sloop John B

It’ll be interesting to see as well whether “Ike” will be back to do the falsetto parts, or if Matt Jardine might re-appear once again. Matt was at the December Vegas show *as well* as Ike. Matt is on the new album, so that’s another reason it would be cool to see him. Still my favorite live BB falsetto guy. Would love to hear him do the higher parts on some of the deep cuts Brian has done in the past.

For that matter, the last time Al was *with* Brian in Saratoga, CA was the 2007 show where Brian decided to take a nap on the floor in the middle of the show. Hopefully *that* won’t happen again. They’ve extensively remodeled the place since then, so hopefully Brian just won’t remember it’s the same venue.

As for the possibility of Al or anybody missing any shows, I’m sure that’s one of many reasons the tickets will continue to say “Brian Wilson” alone. Hopefully Brian and Al won’t be bugged on this tour about using the “Beach Boys” name in advertisements.

I’m also surprised, considering Dave doing the UK gigs with Mike, that we haven’t already seen a headline somewhere about this summer along the lines of “Six Beach Boys Fanning out this Summer Across Two Competing Bands.”

I am wondering , too, if "Ike" will be singing the tops? He(Brian Eichenberger) has left The Four Freshmen.....so might be more available to tour

Interesting. I hadn’t really followed the Four Freshmen lineups of late. I looked them up a bit once Ike started playing with Brian. It looks like he just left the band in the last month or two. He’s not shown on their website at all anymore. I see a bunch of blurbs announcing a new guy, but nothing about Ike exiting.

I don’t know if this would be a stronger indicator that he’ll appear with Brian. I would assume he wouldn’t leave one band just to do 17 gigs with Brian. I’ve only heard YouTube clips of him with Brian’s band, but he sounds good. Ike and Matt were both in Vegas, so I say bring them both out on the road this summer!

I want to hear all those voices and instruments on stage “competing for parts”! Let’s kick out the jams.

Yes, Matt and Ike......good way forward !!!

It's settled!  I'll be seeing the great Brian Wilson and Al Jardine (and Blondie) for the first time on June 24 in Dallas (Grand Prairie, actually).  Mentally making plans as my fingers peck out this post.

Don't suppose there's any chance that David might join them?

I'm thrilled that Brian is coming to NY's Jones Beach, and I'll move heaven and earth to be there that night.

That said, it seems like an ambitious venue to be playing. I hope attendance isn't too spotty.

Similar concerns about Rodriguez as a support act... it's a cool pairing, and I'm very pleased to have the chance to see him. But being honest, I would think his 'base' and the typical Jones Beach crowd would have very little overlap, as opposed to more oldie-friendly acts like The Lovin' Spoonful and The Rascals that appeared there with Mike's BBs last year.

I think having Al and Blondie will at least bring out some Brian fans that might have started skipping Brian shows here and there in more recent years. The last time I had seen Brian pre-C50 was in 2007 I think. But I went back in 2013 for “BAD”, and I’ll do my best to make this new tour with Al and Blondie. (“BAB?”).

I have to be honest that I’d probably give it at least a second a thought about whether to go if Al and Blondie were not on the tour. Not because Brian shows aren’t up to par (if anything, this year’s setlist might be more interesting; not even counting potential Al and Blondie songs), but simply because I have to be rather motivated these days to make it out to these concerts. But it’s been so rare to see Al (not to mention Al *with* Brian, to say nothing of seeing Blondie in any BB-related configuration), I’m more motivated. I was lucky enough to see Al with Brian twice in 2007 (first on the PS tour, then a “regular” show), and I of course saw them in 2013 as well. So I guess I’d have go back to 2005 as far as the last time I saw Brian *without* Al!

I actually probably would snag ticket to a Mike/Bruce show that had Al there. He really is *that* integral to a BB-related show at this stage, given the quality of his voice. I still can’t believe he hasn’t been able to put together some sort of solo tour, small venues on an actual “tour” rather than random fairs with the “Endless Summer Band” doing the hits.

Hey.....anyone going to the Seattle show in July ?    I will say though, doing a CA. wine trip and catching the show at the winery maybe be a lot of fun.  Especially just to watch Mikie and HeyJude bitch at each other !!! 

Agreed, Al rules! Was nothing short of amazing to see him do his original lead parts on "I Know There's an Answer" last year at The Greek. He makes it LEGIT.

Do you think so, HeyJude? I like Al and Blondie a lot, but unfortunately I'd be quite surprised if even within a base of Brian fans, let alone a casual/greatest-hits crowd, there would be a sizable chunk that would know who they are.

Not certain what shows/dates David will be doing other than the UK ones, but since he lives in New York area, isn't it possible he might drop in for shows around there?

I think a good hunk of folks at BW shows I've been to are "into" Brian enough to know who Al Jardine is especially, and to some degree Blondie as well.

I don't think there's some huge group of Al/Blondie fans waiting for them to appear to buy Brian tickets. But there may be some big Brian fans who need extra motivation to see Brian after having seen him numerous times since 1999.

But I think, whether it was by design or not, they've built up a decent amount of demand in that Brian has been touring heavily in several years. So there wouldn't be stuff like the 2007 or 08 Oakland gig where tickets went on sale mere weeks before the show and Brian had already played the market several times within the previous year.

But Jones Beach is, I would guess, one of the bigger venues on this tour. Places like the Mountain Winery in Saratoga hold a few thousand at the most.

Yeah, the only drawback to the 06/07 shows with Al is that they didn't feature him that heavily in terms of lead vocals. I think more recent shows have featured him a bit more.

Different circumstances this time around. Hopefully.

Thank heavens Jeff Beck is not involved. I wish I were, rather, a Physics professor and I could escape into a parallel universe where that execrable marriage had never happened.

There are 2 Brian-Al-Dave songs on the new album, and I would not likely go to the shows unless all three were together performing them. That's not too likely to occur here in LA. And I wonder which of those hipster duets will be performed by the visiting artists.

What type of professor are you?

Tickets for the Greek show on sale! Watch out for the scalper sites like vividseats.com selling lousy seats with an extra zero or two at the end. HUMAN SCUM

The Professor.

Man!!!  I went and checked Thursday.  No mention of the show...or tickets.  Busy [for me] since.  Went and looked this morning...I'd say 85-90% of the BEST seats were GONE...but I got 2.  A few rows back and Centre of the stage.  So lookout Motor City...hide the women...I'm coming to YOUR town to ROCK and ROLL.  I'll be even closer for the Beach Boys in August...but that's a whole different show, venue, date and thread. :hat  [Lookout Mike...Hide the hats.  :lol]

Yes...Their seats were exceedingly more expensive.  Makes everybody look bad...the artist, the venue, your credit card bill... >:( 

Are these through P.A.S.S. memberships, or some other outlet that I'm missing?

How does it make the artist look bad?  They probably dislike scalpers even more than fans - they don't see the profits, obviously.  Maybe I'm not understanding this comment?

I think what I was attempting to say Debbie is that the artist would feel badly that the fans were paying rates much higher than THEY actually have anything to do with...so they feel bad because, in a sense, they look bad...seeing as their name is connected to a rip-off.  I don't really 'get' why ticket sales require a middle-man.  'They' do nothing.  The venue...I suppose doen't have to hire a staff to do the work but hey now...it's damn close to theft.  And the artist by virtue of merely appearing live in concert becomes a part of a dirty business.

The problem as I see it is the venue is happy to sell the tickets as fast as they can and get their $$.
If the artists involved were to figure a way to require the tickets be limited to 2 or 4 per buyer AND said buyer could ONLY buy that amount it might go a long way towards giving the fans a chance to get good seats at the initial pricing. Not certain how that would be enforced
But of course that's simply a dream scenario, never to be implemented

This is reaaallly good, i don't know about the solo album -yet- but Brian on tour with Al and Blondie? WITH RODRIGUEZ OPENING? seems too good to be real

Then it made me wonder if Rodriguez ever commented on the Beach Boys or if he reacted to the tour announcement and said words about Brian Wilson's music?

Does anyone have any idea if he might add more dates? I am in Vancouver, just a few hours from Seattle and am hoping he might add a show up north.

Please, stop playing with my heart.

I hope to see him in Detroit.  I saw him there November before last, wonderful experience.  My girlfriend really wants to get to see him, since she couldn't travel to MI with me last time, and I just have a looming feeling that live appearances with slow down some soon, so I hope we can make it.

Does anyone know if he does any signings at shows? I love getting my favorite albums signed. I wasn't sure about it last time and didn't know if I should try.  Typically I just wait around the back, has worked numerous times, including Randy Newman in January (What a treat!).  I just assumed Brian would be a little harder to "run into".

Do not miss Rodriguez. I've seen him twice in the last two years and his shows are great. The first time his backing band was made up of members of Midnight Oil and The Violent Femmes and the sound at the shows was pretty true to the sound of the records. However when i saw him mid last year his backing band was a young group from New Zealand with a sound not dissimilar to Sonic Youth and that added edge to Rodriguez's songs was awesome. Brian and Rodriguez on the same bill ... two survivors ... and each in their own way and time ignored by the American market and kept alive by other markets around the world.

I'll be headed out to Jones Beach, once again. Last year's Beach Boys show did not disappoint, but I cannot imagine how Brian Wilson, with Al and Blondie, won't easily top it. I hope there is a meet and greet, and I hope the weather on June 30 is as gorgeous as it was last year  ;D

Amen!   8)

I think it's a really cool idea to tour with Rodriguez. I only discovered his music last year. Great stuff. Brian continues to experiment and tour with colourful people. Whatever the outcome, he's (/they are) trying. I love that.

A new date has been added to the Vancouver, BC area....River Rock Casino on July 24. I saw him there in 2007 and it was a really great show. Small band, no teleprompter and small room. Does anyone know if this show will be a continuation on the NPP tour, or just a scaled down set?

Looks like two more dates are listed on the official website:

July 24
Richmond, BC
River Rock Casino Resort


July 25
Grand Ronde, OR
Spirit Mountain Casino – Main Event Center

I’m curious if they’ll fill in the gap between July 12 and July 24 with more shows, although that would be relatively short notice to start selling tickets I suppose.