Dunno if it'll be in the set tonight, but the band is running Funky Pretty right now. Somebody reads this board!

They say they're saving Ding Dang to do in Dallas tomorrow. But they ARE doing Cal Saga tonight.

I'm hearing Ding Dang at sound check in Austin right now. Brian is directing.

I think it's true that Brian seems to have "seasons" with a changing group of whoever his "new best friend" is. To those listed above, you could add Tony Asher, Roger Christian, David Leaf, and others. And while Van Dyke's lyrics for Smile were a definitely cut above past BB albums, I don't think they rise to the level of genius. Clever, yes. Smart, yes. But if there's genius involved, surely he would have had other BIG successful projects since 1967. He's made a living, done some noteworthy things, but let's face it: if any random person knows VDP's name, it's because of Smile.
Furthermore, what else did Tony Asher do that is Pet Sounds-level? Why aren't top-notch musicians clamoring to collaborate with Mike Love as their lyricist?
Brian elevates the people he works with, and few of them have ever risen any higher than during their brief sojourns with him.

I love the BW sign language on "thoughts in the morning" and "I write 'em all down". This is so cool to see. Has Busy Doin' Nothin' EVER been done live before?

He said that he was after Seth Rogen to play 70s Brian...

Oh, man, how grateful we all should be that this plan never came to pass!

Seems to me the VIP packages go with the seats........you look for the most expensive seats and go from there.   and you can contact the venue in many cases.   If you can get an actual person to answer they are often very helpful.

That has not been my experience. In the two cases I've sprung for VIP experiences, it was through an entity totally unconnected with the venue, i.e. VIP Nation. They buy up the very choicest seats and then set the prices and extra bonus stuff. Then they sell the package through their own site. I didn't even get to choose my seats, but because I bought early, they ended up being front row center. Seats like those won't even show up on the venue site, though.

I don't mind that the Austin show will be in a smaller, more acoustically-pleasing venue. I'm more concerned that the pricey VIP package I sprung for will still have me in a very good seat. I think I bought the first two tickets and —in the original venue—I was front row, center. Hope that's still the case. I can't imagine that the separate entity that does these packages could be very happy about having to scramble to accommodate a bunch of rabid fans in a completely different seating layout.

Hope it's okay to set up a thread for reviews and news about BW's soon-to-begin tour.

I have one bit of news. Six days before the concert, I just got an email that the Austin show has been moved from the Frank Erwin Center to Bass Hall on the University of Texas campus. Since that's a considerably smaller venue, ticket sales must have been less than robust...although I really haven't seen any promotion at all.
Still, Bass Hall is a better place to hear music. I'm just sorry that NPP and L&M did not generate enough interest to fill the larger arena.

Wow!...Thanks for bringing it back to what it's really all about: this amazing music. You guys should get to work on the Middle East situation now.

Where are all the people who said that using the wrong truck in the Surfin' Safari cover shoot would make the entire movie uncreditable?

Got my reserved seats for Friday night at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, the coolest place to see movies anywhere. It's also showing at the Violet Crown, another theater that features food and drinks along with your movie. I'd expect it to be in at least one or two other theaters in Austin, but the others haven't announced lineups for the weekend yet.

I did go through many of the previous posts in this section; MANY of the links are now dead. I did find one small pic of Toni and Mike Love onstage. It seems like there should be some online depository of all known photos involving the BB.

Does anyone have (or can you point me to) a decent-size copy of the picture where Daryl Dragon is sitting in a chair behind Carl in the studio? Or any good shots of Daryl onstage with the Beach Boys? And, IS there even a shot of Toni Tennille onstage with the BB?

Would love to have these for a presentation I'm doing. Thanks in advance!

How about a Zappa song?

 'Call Any Vegetable' would be great!

Nepenthe

not on any official BBs records it's not

The OP didn't say "official." It's in an alternate version that has circulated for decades.

Nepenthe

Don't get too excited, there's not much that hasn't been seen already by members of this board. Dominic Priore sells yet another article which contains no new content but merely rehashes the same well-trod ground. Some nice pictures, but again, you've probably seen 'em.

Ray's statement that One Kind Of Love was written especially for the movie is very important. To be eligible for an Academy Award nomination as Best Song, a song must have been written specifically for the film in which it is used. I think there's a very real possibility that Brian could get an Oscar nomination next January/February...and wouldn't THAT be a cool new item on his resume?

Am I the only one who thinks that one day there's going to be a really interesting book written about the Beach Boys post Carl Wilson history? 

Loads of stories there:

David Marks in and out of the group
Brian's reemergence as a solo artist
Al's attempt at a Beach Boys Friends & Family Group
Brian touring Pet Sounds
The American Family Movie
Mike and Bruce's Beach Boys
Brian resurrecting Smile
GIOMH, What I Really Want for Xmas, TLOS, BWRG, Disney
Beach Boys reunion album & tour
The Jeff Beck Tour
The failed Jeff Beck album
Foskett leaving Brian's band for Mike's
Al being asked by Live Nation to play with The Beach Boys for a one off
No Pier Pressure
Love and Mercy
Brian Eichenberg

I'd buy a copy of that right this second! Peter Carlin, where are you?

There has actually been some research which indicates that listening to sad music CAN actually lead to beneficial emotional effects:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0110490

To your list above, I would add "Happy Days," in which Brian talks about his own years of depression and darkness.

You're going to recognize a lot of the clothes Paul Dano wears as Brian in this movie. The wardrobe, set, and production design is incredible.

You ain't seen nothin' yet, folks. The trailer seems like a typical romantic-comedy-drama in its pacing and structure...and the movie is anything BUT typical. Those of you who got emotional over the trailer? Take copious amounts of Kleenex when you go to the theater. It is a powerful movie that will reinforce any affection for Brian that you already have, and take it to a whole new level. I can't wait to see it again.

Remember how Brian wished that Frank Sinatra might record "Still I Dream Of It"? That never happened, but "Whatever Happened" would have been a slam-dunk for Ol' Blue Eyes. I can imagine Frankie crooning this one very successfully.
Another favorite moment is the crescendo into the chorus of "Tell Me Why." The sudden thick chord of background voices, along with Al Jardine's ageless lead vocal, gives me goosebumps. Nobody — NOBODY — can make human voices sound better in harmony than Brian Wilson.

I watched the show on KLRU, the Austin PBS affiliate, and I didn't see any of the problems mentioned above. The sound was very good, the picture sharp and well-defined. It was a very well-crafted telecast...at least as seen in Austin.