THey're working on doing Dennis w/ "Forever" too...I was talking to Scott Totten about it in Baltimore because I heard them soundchecking it and was afraid Stamos was there 

For a guy that has everything, ML is a miserable man.

He sounds pretty content! Do you think he really cares about writing a few more songs with Brian? No. I think he cares about making a quick buck off of Brian. Since he seems to have lost the lyrical creativity, he'll have to wait until people forget about TWGMTR to make another album with him.

More interviews.

http://www.app.com/article/20130725/NJENT/307250003/Beach-Boys-play-Ocean-Grove?nclick_check=1

Well, that was pretty terrible.

Ugh...not a fan. Any man that resembles an aging oompa-loompa, is not to be trusted.

Mike and Bruce don't have a VIP package or anything...you just have to get in touch with somebody or know a guy who knows a guy deal...but they stood on the side of the stage shaking A LOT of hands and I think Bruce signed something after their show Saturday. There was a large group waiting at their buses for them too. I didn't get to meet them, but I did have some help from backstage and they got my meet n greet pic from C50 signed.

I think all of Brian's songs should be sung by Scott Totten in a room because people want to hear the hits or something.

Sooo! Anybody going to Interlochen tonight? Be sure to give mean-spirited advice to the band before they go on, I'm told they appreciate it.

Mean spirited? Is that what you think this is? Why would anyone be on here if I had ANY mean spirits towards any of the beach boys?

Here is Do it Again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aploH7iO54w

Another song which really does not suit Brian`s voice.

I wonder if Brian is singing all of these leads simply because it is being billed as a Brian Wilson gig. I think these guys need to come up with a band name and spread the responsibility so there is less pressure on Brian. I think everyone (on stage and off) would benefit from this greatly.

http://members.tripod.com/~fun_fun_fun/11-20-04.html

One of the few appearances of Feel Flows in the setlist:
http://members.tripod.com/~fun_fun_fun/7-5-07.html

Note: The Little Girl I Once Knew!!! I was unaware Mike and Bruce ever played that one.

Brian sounds so weird singing Mike's leads...I don't like it.

He's been doing it for 14 years.

And it's been weird for 14 years!

I just did LOTS of video from Atlantic City and Pittsburgh...

Atlantic City I watched "That's Why God Made The Radio" "I Get Around" "Dance, Dance, Dance"...Brian sounds so weird singing Mike's leads...I don't like it. As someone else said, I think they'd be best treated by Al Jardine. 'radio' was all around rough...especially foskett, good Lord.

Pittsburgh I watched "All Summer Long" "Surfin' USA" "Fun, Fun, Fun"...same issues as the first batch, maybe worse. BUT...I'd like to see some of the stuff Brian SHOULD be singing lead on...can't find any of the cool cliips I want like "Break Away" and "Marcella" and "Good Vibrations"

I wouldn't call 67-73 a gaping empty space with M&B...don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE more songs from this period but they did play Good Vibrations, Wild Honey!!!, Darlin, Do it Again, and Disney Girls.

And while they didn't play these last night, I know they've played Heroes and Villains, I Can Hear Music, Forever, Till I Die!!! in the past...maybe others I'm unaware of.

So M&B dropped "Isn't It Time" from their set? They did it this month:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaGmEdgo_FI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nWTHTaL6bc

The Hyde Park performance is decent enough but without Brian (and his big backing band) is just doesn't sound like a Beach Boys song anymore. Maybe it's also Totten's delivery/style of singing it (which is good in itself but again doesn't make the tune sound like the Beach Boys). I love his "Betsy", though.

I liked Scott's voice on it, but the whole production sounded too bare...and Mike was hitting wrong notes. They did a new arrangement and I didn't think it was so hot. Maybe they didn't either and dropped it! There wasn't any ukulele either! I too love his take on 'betsy'...a favorite of mine in the live show!

I think they last played "Isn't it time" in Paris on July 8th. I wouldn't be surprised if they never touch it again.

Very interesting way of looking at things...to me, this just proves why one show isn't really any better than the other. In my opinion, for a complete beach boys concert you need songs like Heroes and Villains & In My Room.....but you also need the car songs and little surf songs that Mike and Bruce offer.

Oddly enough, most of the songs that are absent from both band's setlist from C50...were most of my favorites!!!

Here's the set from Baltimore this evening w/ any thoughts tidbits I thought should be added...

Do it Again (not nearly as thrilling as last year, but it still sounded good.)
Little Honda
It's OK (Bruce motioned for most of the crowd to sit  ...I persevered!)
Summer Means Fun (Bruce sounds GREAT on this, it's a nice addition to the set. I think it was supposed to connect w/ It's OK though and Cowsill stopped between songs.)
Catch a Wave (weird not hearing it in the second spot!!)
Hawaii
Surf City
Surfin' Safari (The security was just coming over to ask people to sit when Bruce flailed his arms for everyone back up!  )
Surfer Girl (Bruce sang the bridge...it was sweet, but I preferred Brian last year for sure.)
Getcha Back (Still not sure why Mike doesn't sing this...but Christian did well.)
Why Do Fools Fall in Love? (This was downright rough at first...this is a song that requires Brian's big fat band.)
Darlin' (John Cowsill knocks it outta the park again!)
When I Grow Up To Be a Man
Good To My Baby (Scott Totten added this one to the set on the spot (yeah!!!) and Mike forgot a line...)
Be True To Your School (This got the best reaction of the night thus far.)
The Ballad of Ole Betsy (Mike introduces Scott as if he's never sang before...of course it's beautiful as always.)
Still Cruisin' (This was kinda lame...but nice to hear once I guess.)
Don't Worry Baby
Little Deuce Coupe
409
Shut Down
I Get Around (Bruce did..."the pogo"  )

INTERMISSION

California Dreamin' (Scott, Randall, and John went ahead and started this song without the rest of the guys...I guess it was due to the 11pm curfew...which they weren't anywhere near anyways.)
Sloop John B (Bruce took the leads on this...I was surprised!)
Wouldn't it Be Nice
Dance, Dance, Dance ( I had never heard this live...it's a great concert track!)
Then I Kissed Her
Cool Head, Warm Heart (Nice song and message but it sorta broke the flow.)
Disney Girls (Beautifully sung as always by Bruce. This song and "Don't worry baby" were the only times I heard Bruce's keyboard...and I was paying close attention!)
God Only Knows (also beautifully sung, but will agree that the french horn did not sound good but the flutes did...the opposite of clips I had been watching.)
California Girls
Good Vibrations
Kokomo
Help Me Rhonda
Rock and Roll Music
Do You Wanna Dance
Summertime Blues
Barbara Ann (Stage flooded with women like in 2010)
Fun, Fun, Fun (Interesting swap up in the setlist!)

ENCORE

Wild Honey (I'd say this was the best song of the night.)
Goin' To The Beach
Surfin' USA

It's great that they play "Cool Head Warm Heart" because everyone goes to a Beach Boys show to hear Mike Love solo material from an obscure and out of print Hallmark CD.

While I personally think "Cool Head, Warm Heart" is pretty great, I gotta say that, yeah, it is pretty interesting that Mike uses "Beach Boys" shows to promote his solo music. And at the same time, "Summer Means Fun"? Meh. Not a Beach Boys song, nor one they ever covered on record. For Bruce, more than any other Beach Boy, it seems like they try to find solo vocal spots for him, and they usually drag down the show. Like at the C50 show I was at last year, why does he need to play "Disney Girls"? Why is that one at nearly every show? Hardly anybody knows that song honestly. I'd say "Surf's Up" is more well known that that. Or "Friends". My thing is, if there aren't any Bruce led live favorites, then lets not give him a vocal. I don't think anybody would go home saying, "man I wish they played 'Disney Girls'!"

I happen to like Disney Girls! I happen to like Bruce's voice actually. There's a real pretty youtube clip from around 1990 of him singing "Please Let Me Wonder"...again, it isn't better than the original, but I enjoyed it. The one that kinda bugs me though is when he sings "Wendy"...I mean- Mike is RIGHT there! It's his lead vocal!

I hope they keep "Summer Means Fun" for tomorrow night's show...AND add Disney Girls!   I wouldn't mind if they decided to dust off "Tears in The Morning" or even "Deirdre"! I doubt the second one has EVER been played live.

Wow! That sounds pretty fantastic...I'm excited to hear these fall dates. I've been holding off on buying John Fogerty tickets until the dates are announced for Brian in the fall...I've got a lot of shows this year, about half have passed...but anyway, yes- I'll most certainly go and see Brian and his band with the other boys even if I think it is too large. It's still an EPIC sound!

Damn Bruce Johnston and his magic Casio !

 

Oh boy...I went for a swim and enjoyed the evening...Andrew, I'm sorry things got so ridiculous...I just didn't know when to stop! I stand by what I said, but I should've let it go at some point. Hope everyone enjoys the show tomorrow night...can't wait to hear about it, I KNOW it'll be great! I'll tell ya'll how Mike and Bruce do...

Thanks for that! That's funny...he's never done that before!

Tonight's set is...

Do it Again
Little Honda
It's OK
Catch a Wave
Hawaii
Summer Means Fun (VERY interesting!!!)
Surf City
Surfin' Safari
Surfer Girl
Getcha Back
Why Do Fools Fall in Love?
When I Grow Up To Be a Man
Darlin'
Be True To Your School
Still Cruisin'
Don't Worry Baby
Little Deuce Coupe
409
Shut Down
I Get Around
God Only Knows
Cool Head, Warm Heart
California Dreamin'
Sloop John B
Wouldn't it Be Nice
Dance, Dance, Dance
Then I Kissed Her
California Girls
Good Vibrations
Kokomo
Help Me Rhonda
Rock and Roll Music
Do You Wanna Dance?
Barbara Ann
Summertime Blues
Surfin' USA

ENCORE

Goin' To The Beach
Fun, Fun, Fun

.....very interesting assortment, even for Mike and Bruce! I didn't expect to see It's OK, Summer Means Fun, Still Cruisin', Cool Head Warm Heart, California Dreaming, or Summertime Blues on there!

We'll see what sticks and what they try out tomorrow! My only complaint? Where's "Wild Honey"?

Do I? Maybe it's because I'm the ONLY person in this thread looking at things logically and not being swooned over by the aging genius that wrote the material as he barely scrapes his way through his own back catalog.

The Beach Boys universe is a weird one...again, this is probably why I shouldn't speak up on here as often. There are so many standards already set it seems...likeignoring the fact that Bruce sang that song perfectly just because we don't like Bruce since he's still with Mike Love who fired the others and yadayadayada...and yeah Andrew Hickley before you jump on my ass, I KNOW nobody came right out and said that.

Christ, you really are a complete fucking idiot, aren't you?
Just to take this drooling imbecility seriously for a second:

"being swooned over by the aging genius" -- you mean swooning over, unless Brian likes us all more than he's let us know.

You're the one who brought up the relative qualities of Brian and Bruce's performances -- and cherry-picked the worst possible Brian one -- to distract from the fact that your original supposed point, that Brian's band has too many people in it, is complete crap.

Nobody has said Bruce doesn't sing that song well. In fact nobody's said anything bad about Mike's band at all in this thread -- partly because almost everyone who's commented in this thread has a great deal of respect for them. You brought up the comparison as a way of attacking Brian's band, for reasons you've not yet made clear, and the response has been, in general, that Mike and Bruce do a good job of the song, but that French horns and flutes sound better than cheap synth patches attempting to sound like French horns and flutes.

(Again, I was at the gig you linked in the first video. I made a 400-mile round trip to go to it, and loved every second.)

You've completely derailed a thread that was originally about Brian, Al and David's tour because of your bizarre belief that Brian should sack half his musicians -- which is, even aside from the complete tin ear it shows, just nasty and disrespectful. Given that Brian employing those people does you no harm whatsoever, and that even if you accept your bizarre, ludicrous claim that cheap synth patches sound anything like real horns that still wouldn't make the band sound any *better*, wishing for people you don't know to lose their job is something only a complete arsehole would do, frankly. What is it about the idea of good musicians being employed that causes you such offence? Did a French horn traumatise you as a child?

When you say something so utterly ludicrous that both oldsurferdude and myself actually agree on how stupid you sound, maybe, just maybe, you should consider that you're in the wrong?

Oh, and it's Hickey, not Hickley. No l. But given that you have shown no ability to write a coherent sentence or to construct a logical argument, it's probably too much to ask that you know how to read...

It takes two to derail a thread. You've been keeping up your end by putting the notion out there that I have it out for Brian's band just because I said it was too big. I do not wish any harm on any of those men nor do I want them to lose their jobs, but if I think the band is too big I think I'm allowed to say that without implying I hate them because I certainly don't. I'm very greatly for all they did on C50 and if YOU were following you would have realized I shifted my suggestion to actually removing Al Jardine and David Marks from the tour. Then, none of Brian's band would really need to be removed as everybody would have a purpose.

I find it VERY amusing that when I was first considering seeing Mike and Bruce and took an attitude similiar to yours after C50 folded, you were one of the members I recall trying to talk me into seeing Mike and Bruce this year. Now I've actually come to understand why their band is relevant and you want to pull me aside and bash me for that? It's a shame there isn't a decent place on the internet to talk beach boys.

I can't believe there's even any kind of debate about which band sounds better on Pet Sounds material. Brian's band blows The Mikesters out of the water on that kind of material, and the number of people in his band is pretty much the single greatest reason why they do so.  If your talking about voices, Brian's, even with some flubs, is more enjoyable to my ears than Bruce's ANY day. Bruce has no personality in his voice. At all. It's a nice voice and he sings well mostly, but it's bland and boring, in my opinion. But the bands, yeah, Mike's doesn't hold a candle to Brian's, and I don't even think that's subjective, really.

Rubbersoul, you didn't study the art of debating or anything, did you?  You seem to be out of you element slightly (or not so slightly).

Do I? Maybe it's because I'm the ONLY person in this thread looking at things logically and not being swooned over by the aging genius that wrote the material as he barely scrapes his way through his own back catalog.

The Beach Boys universe is a weird one...again, this is probably why I shouldn't speak up on here as often. There are so many standards already set it seems...likeignoring the fact that Bruce sang that song perfectly just because we don't like Bruce since he's still with Mike Love who fired the others and yadayadayada...and yeah Andrew Hickley before you jump on my ass, I KNOW nobody came right out and said that.

I'll give credit to Bruce on that 2011 performance. That was pretty excellent for someone singing at that age.
Also, I like how Brian has adapted to his weakenin voice by singing GOK with a softer voice like he did on Jools Holland. I thought that performance was beautiful despite some hickups (which I'm by far used to at this stage).

Assuming you are the only one who can appreciate Bruce' vocals in this thread is not a logical assumption 

Well of course it isn't logical, but until you came along it sure seemed that way! Thank you for taking a kind approach with a reasonable rebuttle...that's a hard pairing to find on here! And oldsurferdude, I agree...it IS an improvement from that time period but I don't see the sense in "babying" Brian like that. Maybe it's because I've seen once already (not saying you fall into this category) and he was really ON that night, but I cannot justify a poor performance like that. He should not be touring if that is the case. There should be one off performances that are happening because HE wants them to happen. Unique things...like shows with a full orchestra! That would make EVERYBODY happy!

I can't believe there's even any kind of debate about which band sounds better on Pet Sounds material. Brian's band blows The Mikesters out of the water on that kind of material, and the number of people in his band is pretty much the single greatest reason why they do so.  If your talking about voices, Brian's, even with some flubs, is more enjoyable to my ears than Bruce's ANY day. Bruce has no personality in his voice. At all. It's a nice voice and he sings well mostly, but it's bland and boring, in my opinion. But the bands, yeah, Mike's doesn't hold a candle to Brian's, and I don't even think that's subjective, really.

Rubbersoul, you didn't study the art of debating or anything, did you?  You seem to be out of you element slightly (or not so slightly).

Do I? Maybe it's because I'm the ONLY person in this thread looking at things logically and not being swooned over by the aging genius that wrote the material as he barely scrapes his way through his own back catalog.

The Beach Boys universe is a weird one...again, this is probably why I shouldn't speak up on here as often. There are so many standards already set it seems...likeignoring the fact that Bruce sang that song perfectly just because we don't like Bruce since he's still with Mike Love who fired the others and yadayadayada...and yeah Andrew Hickley before you jump on my ass, I KNOW nobody came right out and said that.

Bruce can't hit those notes either.

Actually, he can. This clip sounds better than either of the two I posted before. His voice is so strong, yet still sweet and there isn't a single flub. AND they gave Mike some sleigh bells instead of a tambourine and it sounds MUCH better. I'm actually a bit shocked at how nice this sounds.

Mike & Bruce- God Only Knows- 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh-8COzgDAs

I tried to neutralize things and present two clips that we could analyze for a fair comparison of the groups. The lead vocalists play a large role in that. I even said I wasn't factoring in WHO was making the music just how it was being made.

What you said, actually, was:

"My original beef was with the excess of band members. So we'll ignore WHO is in each clip and just LISTEN to them..."

And you still haven't explained how Brian slurring a couple of words means he has an "excess of band members" -- or how getting rid of them would be any improvement to anything at all...

When did I EVER say the two had anything in common?

The first verse alone of that Jools Holland clip is far beyond cringeworthy. There are downright wrong notes, not even that much slurring. Now the second verse, is slur city. He can't hit about half of those notes anymore and even the rhythm gets a little spotty on the last verse. And I think that giant band of fantastic and fresh voices just makes his stick out even worse. How's that for tying things together!

Anybody have a recent Mike and Bruce U.S. setlist, i'm going tomorrow night in Baltimore and i just wanted to see what they have been playing recently and if there were any changes since they got back from the Europe leg of the tour.

ditto this!

I've been looking all over for a Tampa setlist...they're playing in Virginia tonight so a list may creep up tomorrow morning...but would love to know what was played in tampa! Even though they usually swap a few songs from show to show.

So you CAN tolerate Brian slurring his lazy way through "God Only Knows" just so you can hear the damn claves click at the right time?

Yep, that's definitely what I said when I was arguing that Brian shouldn't sack his backing musicians. It was definitely an argument that Brian is a better singer than Bruce, not at all an argument that French horns and flutes sound better than synth patches or that Brian should not sack his one permanent guitarist just because he's got Al Jardine playing with him for four shows. I was definitely arguing that Brian's vocals are always good...

Or at least my argument was as close to that as those synth patches are to the sound of real French horns, so obviously close enough for you...

Well I just found it convenient for you that you didn't bring that point up. Probably because you know that part IS the most important point, but you'd rather bicker over a flute here and there.

I didn't bring it up because *your* whole argument, all along, has been that Brian should sack half his band, and I was responding to that. Unless you know some way that sacking his band will magically cure Brian's neurological problems and make him stop slurring his words, it has nothing to do with the discussion, does it?

I tried to neutralize things and present two clips that we could analyze for a fair comparison of the groups. The lead vocalists play a large role in that. I even said I wasn't factoring in WHO was making the music just how it was being made.

And good Lord that Jools Holland clip was terrible. Not to mention there was NO percussion...

I agree, that fade with Bruce on it sounds the best. I'm not sure why he got the role of singing "God Only Knows" in their show...anybody shed some light?