Okay, here's my full concert experience from a UVIP perspective.
I got there and we all waited in the lobby and chatted about Beach Boys related stuff, very fun.
Meeting the "legendary" Tara was interesting, I thought she was fantastic, she was enthusiastic and knew how stuff goes.
We stood outside waiting for our soundcheck and the band played
I'M WAITING FOR THE DAY and WILD HONEY. Our soundcheck
consisted of a Beck track, Don't Talk (which actually included Brian's original backing vocal idea) , and Our Prayer.
It was very VERY fun to watch and I'd recommend you try at least the soundcheck once.
They actually raffled off a guitar, I was one number away from winning... ugh...
Then came the meet and greet. Well, my fears were mostly wrong.
They set up a small table next to the stage and placed a backdrop behind it, the 4 sat at the table with sharpies. We formed a line and handed the
security our items as we walked behind the table for our photos. This means that I was easily able to ask Jeff to sign the CD cover rather than the print
(which was a terrible plan... more on that later...) He said "Sure thing, great album" and signed it and it was passed on to security. I said hi to Al and then Brian
and neither made any attempt to acknowledge it. I got my picture taken and grabbed my stuff and apparently Jeff hadn't passed on my print, so rather then being upset,
I went back down and asked Tara if I could wait and get it signed and she said "No problem, just wait here" So I stood and watched the rest of the people. So I'm pretty
down about not really getting even a word out of any of the boys, and I was thinking "I know they do this all the time... but couldn't they at least say hello?" Well, the last person
was taking her turn. A teenage girl with a copy of Surfer Girl and Pet Sounds (Okay... okay... I know I missed an opportunity here but I'm a shy guy!) She took two steps toward Brian
and broke down crying. Al turned to her and gave her a big hug
David followed it up with "That's not going to make a good picture!" and hugged her too. What happened next
convinced me... she said "Can I have a hug Brian?" and she hugged him either way and Brian said "Hugs for you"
So what I realized was, these guys are dealing with
so many people and I can't blame them for being tired/bored of it, but it really meant a lot even if it wasn't me to witness this event.
I got tons of great stuff, the programs are BEAUTIFUL so I got one, and one of the really cool Brian Wilson shirts!
Okay on to the show. I've seen Brian 3 times now. Once alone, once on the 50th and this time. This was BY FAR Brian's BEST PERFORMANCE i've ever seen. He was VERY happy,
he was doing his hand motions and smiling, and best of all, singing all the time and doing it well. I was so blown away that I had to get some audio from the show. Particular
highlights included "God Only Knows" which was basically perfect, Heroes and Villains which sounded superior to the BWPS version, and Sail on Sailor where Brian "growled" several times!
David was limping and didn't look too hot... not good... but Al sang fantastically as normal. The show can really only be described as a "party" between the two groups. After Brian and Jeff's
solo sets, the bands randomly mix and match and watching Darian, Scott and Jeff singing vocals together with Jeff Beck's band playing was VERY fun. The set was standard, no Don't Talk... but
WOW. Honestly, from the heart, I hope you all get to see this show, because it is unlimited better than the videos make it seem!
As far as the whole experience, I would say I was not disappointed with the M&G. Several people described the Photo part as "awkward" which is perfect, but besides that, excellent.
I'd say it was a great once in a lifetime thing that i'd never do again HAHA... but the soundcheck... maybe
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