http://www.beachboysband.net/TOURSCH/BB_TOUR_SCH.htm

THE BEACH BOYS

featuring Original Members:
Mike Love
Brian Wilson
Al Jardine
David Marks
& Bruce Johnston

with *
John Cowsill
Jeffrey Foskett
Scott Totten
Darian Sahanaja
Paul Von Mertens
Scott Bennett
Probyn Gregory

*Backing band subject to changes.

Great to see Darian listed. Odd that Nick and Brett aren't on the list though. Who's going to play bass?

I don't get why casual fans would see the Beach Boys in concert. Tickets for Brian or Mike & Bruce cost like $90, I'm sure the reunion show will cost even more. Why would anyone want to pay that much money for a band they were not completely obsessed with?

I think Mike & Bruce tickets cost significantly less than that. Certainly when they've played the UK it's been closer to about $70 for good seats and $50 for bad ones (converting to US currency). And they play lots of tiny, tiny gigs. My in-laws, who couldn't tell you the difference between the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean or Ronnie And The Daytonas, saw them at their local county fair last summer, in a town whose total population comes to less than the audience that saw them in Epsom a couple of months earlier.  They got to see them as part of the price of the ticket to the fair, which was about $20.

They loved it, incidentally.

Secondly, will we get Darian et al as part of the package or just Jeff and one of Mike's co-singers? Who plays bass and drums? Keyboards?

Mike's said that the band will be most of Brian's band plus Scott Totten (guitar/falsetto vocals/band leader) and John Cowsill (drums/vocals) from Mike & Bruce's band.
That would line up with the band in the Do It Again video, which is
Scott Bennett (keys)
Gary Griffin (keys) - has toured with both Brian and Mike at different times
Probyn Gregory and Paul Mertens - horns (I suspect if Probyn's in the touring band he won't play much guitar given the number of other guitarists on stage)
Brett Simons (bass)
Scott Totten (guitar)
Nick Walusko (guitar)
John Cowsill (drums)
David Marks (guitar)

Plus Brian, Al, Mike, Bruce and Jeff on vocals.

I'd assume unless and until we hear otherwise that that will be the band we get - and it's pretty close to my ideal choice, so I'm not complaining (I'd swap Darian for Gary Griffin and Randell Kirsch for Brett Simons).

David can sing - very expressive voice!

True, and obviously he will sing on stage. I was just listing who did what on the Do It Again video, and it looks like David only added guitar, not vocals.

Secondly, will we get Darian et al as part of the package or just Jeff and one of Mike's co-singers? Who plays bass and drums? Keyboards?

Mike's said that the band will be most of Brian's band plus Scott Totten (guitar/falsetto vocals/band leader) and John Cowsill (drums/vocals) from Mike & Bruce's band.
That would line up with the band in the Do It Again video, which is
Scott Bennett (keys)
Gary Griffin (keys) - has toured with both Brian and Mike at different times
Probyn Gregory and Paul Mertens - horns (I suspect if Probyn's in the touring band he won't play much guitar given the number of other guitarists on stage)
Brett Simons (bass)
Scott Totten (guitar)
Nick Walusko (guitar)
John Cowsill (drums)
David Marks (guitar)

Plus Brian, Al, Mike, Bruce and Jeff on vocals.

I'd assume unless and until we hear otherwise that that will be the band we get - and it's pretty close to my ideal choice, so I'm not complaining (I'd swap Darian for Gary Griffin and Randell Kirsch for Brett Simons).

There are a lot of posts in this thread that sum up how I feel, but this is probably the most accurate. The "Do It Again" video made it seem like the reunion was going to be classy, and befitting of one of the greatest bands of all time. However, the inclusion of Stamos (with no ill will personally meant towards him), seems to jeopardize that. It is not merely him being there, it's what that signifies- that this tour is a wacky, fun, "bring your kids" affair. And as Wirestone said, that's perfectly fine. But it makes it clear that there should be no illusion that this tour will be the final artistic redemption of the band that some people wanted it to be.

There's no reason it can't be both. I don't want to see Stamos, and I would like to see Blondie and Ricky, but fundamentally it's the five principals' choice who they bring on stage with them. And I think that no matter what, the show can be both artistically valid and classy while still being fun for everyone. The 2008 UK tour proved that - the majority of the audience for the show I saw were clearly there just to have a fun sing-along of the hits they knew, and knew nothing about who was or wasn't on stage, and they enjoyed the banter from Mike that I could literally speak along with him ("Now we're going to have an intermission... (beat, beat) followed by a nap!").
But in those shows, and playing for those audiences, they still managed to do performances of Kiss Me Baby, Let Him Run Wild, Sail On Sailor, You Still Believe In Me, Til I Die, All This Is That and a dozen other of the 'artier' songs, and do them tastefully, and without losing the audience.

To my mind having Stamos on stage will (if it happens) be on about a level with the bit in MIke & Bruce's show where they pull some girl out of the audience during Barbara Ann and have her pose holding a guitar while Scott Totten actually plays it from behind her. Tacky and unnecessary, but not enough to devalue the rest of the show.

A few more points:

I think I have a bootleg with Ron Altbach playing in 1978. I could be mistaken (or the boot could be mislabelled) though.
Phil Bardowell played guitar, not keyboards
Cowsill's credit should be keys/drums/perc , as he used to play additional percussion on some songs while Kowalski was still in the band (I remember him playing kettledrum on You Still Believe In Me, for example)
Was Christian really in the band for a year before Farmer and Kowalski left? I thought he joined at the same time they went.

Few minor points:
Chris Farmer was on bass, not guitar, at least at the shows I saw (2001, 2002, 2004).
Randell was on guitar for the first couple of years he was in the band - he switched to bass when Farmer and Kowalski left (if you listen to boots of the 2004 tour, it was Randell who was Mike's chosen 'king of the surf guitar' at the time).
You've got Cowsill and Totten joining in 2000 but Bardowell and Meros not leaving til 2001. I'm pretty sure that was a straight two-in-two-out swap, in 2001

It would be great an acoustic opennig set, with all five members sitting around one or two microphones:

Maybe for something like:

Our Prayer
Lahaina Aloha
All I Wanna Do
Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring
'Til I Die
All This Is That

Then the normal electric set with 40-45 songs.

And keeping this format for ALL the reunion shows in whatever venue they play!!

Mike, Bruce & Dave actually did something similar in the 2008 tour - an acoustic set near the start of the second half, with Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring, In My Room, Cool Head Warm Heart, Everyone's In Love With You, All This Is That and Til I Die. So you might get your wish...

I know the setlist is going to disappointment no matter what. It'll be the same old Surf Hits + Today + Pet Sounds stuff.

This is a cool setlist, I'd be really happy with it.

I think you might be pleasantly surprised. When Mike & Bruce (& David) have toured the UK in the last few years, they've done very long sets - more than fifty songs - with stuff like 'Til I Die, Everyone's In Love With You, All This Is That, Disney Girls, Sail On Sailor, Heroes & Villains with Bicycle Rider chorus, Good Timin', Forever, Let Him Run Wild, Here Today and more in.
Given that they've got most of Brian's band with them, too, and the need to showcase everyone, I'm betting on the following, based on stuff that's common to both band's sets or which will be politically advisable:
Exactly fifty songs.
Til I Die, Sail On Sailor and Heroes & Villains included (both bands have done these, and H&V gives Al a lead)
Wonderful and Vegetables from Smile (Mike likes Wonderful, and it was a hit single for Brian in the UK and he opened 2002 shows with it, and the BBs used it in the box set tour. Vegetables because it's easy to rehearse and gives Al a lead).
Disney Girls
Lady Lynda/"Little Lady"
All This Is That (a Mike & Al co-write, after all)
California
You Still Believe In Me (Mike's band and Brian's know this one, Al could sing lead)
Here Today (gives Mike a chance to sing on a Pet Sounds song)
Honkin' Down The Highway (Brian and Al just did a remake of it, it's a nod to the hardcore fans but still sounds like it'd fit in with the fun in the sun stuff).
Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring
Forever (as a tribute to Dennis, Dave Marks on lead)

And then all the usual hits.

Accidental post - ignore.

The Monkees were a gimmick band as much as people will try to deny it. they had a few hits my favorite of their singles is "A little bit of me, A little bit of you".

The Monkees started out as a manufactured pop band - in much the same way the Beach Boys started out singing songs about surfing and girls. Their run of albums from Headquarters through Head, though, is as good as any other four-album run in history. Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd, in particular, is as good as any album I've ever heard.

The problem with this is that once you add in all the hits (at least 24 tracks that would have to be on there if you're tying to do anything comprehensive) and the at-least-one-track-per-album criterion, there's pretty much no space left. A fifty-track double CD following your rules would have to be something like:

Surfin' Safari
409
Surfin' USA
Shut Down
Surfer Girl
In My Room
Little Deuce Coupe
Car Crazy Cutie
Don't Worry Baby
The Warmth Of The Sun
I Get Around
Little St Nick
Kiss Me Baby
Please Let Me Wonder
California Girls
Help Me, Rhonda
Let Him Run Wild
Barbara Ann
Wouldn't It Be Nice
God Only Knows
Sloop John B
Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
Good Vibrations
Heroes & Villains
Wonderful

Darlin'
Wake The World
Do It Again
I Can Hear Music
Time To Get Alone
Breakaway
Forever
This Whole World
Surf's Up
Marcella
Sail On, Sailor
It's OK
Rock And Roll Music
The Night Was So Young
River Song
My Diane
Lady Lynda
Some Of Your Love
Getcha Back
Where I Belong
Kokomo
Love And Mercy
Summer In Paradise
Soul Searchin'

There are very few of those that one could realistically swap out for anything else.

You might be thinking of older, pre-2008, reviews. Mike Kowalski, who played with the band up to then, was an utter shambles at times, and a consistently poor player even at his best.

At his best, in the 60's and 70's Mike Kowalski was a fabulous drummer, and anyone pointing out his deficiencies in his later days should be made aware of that fact.

He may well have been - I know he played with some very good people other than the BBs. I'm only going from what I saw in 2001, 2002 and 2004, but I'm very aware that people get older and less capable of doing strenuous physical jobs. No slight on him in his prime was intended.

Andrew Hickey? Well I swan.

Yeah, I'm still alive. I lurk here (reading on a feed-reader) but don't have time to post (been working *LONG* hours, and also writing books).

In my opinion Brian has already perfected the ideal blend of hits/deep catalog in his shows, especially when he's just doing "the repertoire" rather than promoting a new work.  I really hope that gets carried over as the model for the 50th tour.  I can't imagine any segment of the audience would be unhappy with that type of show.

As far as fantasy goes, this setlist is totally insane.

Brian's band *did* do that kind of show - in 2002. He's steadily gone for more hits and fewer deep cuts, unfortunately.
I'd love to see something halfway between that set and the sets that Mike & Bruce & David did in the UK in 2008 - like this one I saw http://members.tripod.com/~fun_fun_fun/4-12-08.html .
I'd be very surprised if we don't get a fifty song set, actually. Fifty songs for fifty years in a fifty-date tour.

How do people feel about John Cowsill ending up with the drumming spot?  I feel like I've heard from multiple places that they drums have been a real weak spot in the BBs touring shows for a while, as compared to Brian's band.

Don't know where you've heard that. The best thing about this reunion for me is that along with most of Brian's band, Cowsill and Totten are involved. Cowsill is a wonderful drummer - one of the two or three best live drummers I've seen - as well as having a great voice (and even though we'll have all five Beach Boys on stage, I'm sure the backing band will thicken those harmonies that are double-tracked on record). He's got fantastic stage presence, and seems to be a genuinely nice person too from the one time I've met him. He's the best thing about Mike & Bruce's current (very good) band.

You might be thinking of older, pre-2008, reviews. Mike Kowalski, who played with the band up to then, was an utter shambles at times, and a consistently poor player even at his best.

I'd love to get a copy sometime...and I love the cover! Are you gonna do another book fro 1970 and on?
It's strange how a lot of documentaries and books kinda just do the well known years and rarely touch the late 70s to mid 90s.

I've just started working on a volume two, covering all the rest of the albums and the archival releases. I was planning to have it out for early next year, but with these rumours about a reunion album, I'll probably hold on to it until we know more details about that. The plan is to do a vol. 3, on the solo records, as well.

The cover, BTW, is by a regular on this board, but done under a pseudonym (I'm not sure if they want it known who did it).

Don't know if this has been mentioned before but I don't have a Kindle so I'll never be able to read it but it's the BB on CD 1961-69...the cover is interesting that it has a faceless Brian (from PS cover) feeding a CD.

http://www.amazon.com/Beach-Boys-CD-1961-1969-ebook/dp/B004XNNF2U/ref=sr_1_40?ie=UTF8&qid=1320684586&sr=8-40

Anyone seen this?

Ah, I just found the paperback edition...is this worth getting? (mind you I basically own every BB/BW book that's on Amazon, besides the Leaf book)

Anything Master Hickey writes is worth reading.

Well thank you! It was nice to see that pop up in my feed reader. (I read this board but haven't the free time to keep up well enough to post here on any regular basis).

For anyone who's wondering, the book (which, yes, is available in both paperback and hardback as well as ebook versions - Amazon don't seem to want to make it easy for people to find the paperback on this one though) doesn't have any new facts or anything in it. Rather, it's a song-by-song critical analysis of each track. Several people have told me they enjoyed it and it helped them appreciate the music more, but it's not a big piece of heavily-researched scholarship, just a critical appreciation of the music.

If anyone has any questions about it, and doesn't want to clog up space on this board, feel free to email andrew at thenationalpep.co.uk .

I was going to suggest this thread be turned into a 'favourite song about the Beach Boys' topic rather than focusing solely on Brian but then I reckoned there are probably no songs written and performed by other bands about, say, Carl or Al or probably even Mike!  (I know of one for Denny though -- "Everything! (A Song For Dennis Wilson)" by Pete Wylie.) Feel free to prove me wrong though.

There are at least two songs called "Mike Love, Not War" - one by Oranger (lyrics "Mike Love floats over the ocean/Mike Love floats over the sea/Mike Love floats over the rooftops/please send Mike Love back to me") and one by Smudge.
A band called It's Only Roy did a great Carl Wilson tribute/soundalike called Gentle Soul.
Lindsay Buckingham did a tribute to Dennis called DW Suite
And Belle And Sebastian had a song called "I Love My Car" containing the lines "I love my Carl/I love my Brian, my Dennis and my Al/I can even find it in my heart to love Mike Love"

speaking of Mike/Bruce arrangements over the years, I just feel sometimes they need updating.
Example: It's almost the same concept with the 'Be True' intro; the why do fools intro. Sure, it's good and cool, but I saw them do it back in 2002, and they still do it.  Now I know I'm gonna get yelled at because of the 'giving people what they want' argument we all experienced earlier, but to me, I feel like a setlist needs to be updated or have new ideas/jokes/arrangements.

That's why Brian's shows are better, each year, the setlist is a bit different.
But this all goes back to being an artist and growing...it sets the stage for a repeated history: Mike wants the basic hit recording (name any year in BB history) vs. Brian wants to grow and do different/new things...it's almost the same thing with their concerts, in my humble opinion.

That *would* have been true about eight years ago. Compare and contrast: http://members.tripod.com/~fun_fun_fun/6-28-08.html http://members.tripod.com/~fun_fun_fun/4-12-08.html

Those are the most recent times I saw Brian and Mike's respective bands. Brian's set is a greatest hits list, almost all of which had been in his set for nearly ten years at that point, and with only one song even from the album he was supposedly promoting. Mike's, on the other hand, is half as long again and contains stuff like Forever, All This Is That, Til I Die, Good Timin', Here Today, You Still Believe In Me...

Brian's shows *in 2002* were fantastic as far as setlists went, but every time he's toured since then the sets have grown closer and closer to the touring jukebox formula (apart from the shows where he performs an entire album - and in those the first halves are just run-throughs of the hits). These days Mike's band is actually *more* likely to do something new and exciting, though if you go and see either you're most likely to get a thirty-song hits run-through...

I respect your opinion as well, Sheriff, but I would LOVE to have seen "It's About Time" and "Lookin' at Tomorrow" (O.K., not quite as much, although in the laid-back context of the overall set it would have been mellow) live.

Actually, on the evidence of recordings from that era, Lookin' At Tomorrow was *fantastic* live - totally rearranged, and sounding almost trip-hop - easily twenty years ahead of its time...