It's interesting to consider...what if Al appeared with Mike on the same terms that David Marks does? Obviously it wouldn't happen, but if it were to be the current circumstances...what would we hear?

He'd definitely take back his roles on "Help Me Rhonda" and "Then I Kissed Her"...but would he get any additions? "California Saga"...maybe take the lead on "Wouldn't it Be Nice"? I can't see too much else fitting into their typical setlist.

Good show tonight, Brian on top form. They did Honeycomb it was more of a snipet than the full version. Runaway Dancer back besides that same set. The band did a cover of the Beatles When I'm 64 for Blondie's birthday changing the lyrics to "Blondie's 64". Got Matt to sign my setlist after the show and asked him about Funky Pretty he said he's been pushing for that and things like it but it probably wouldn't be until the next tour. Good to hear they're thinking about another tour but I don't think we'll be seeing Funky Prettt before the end here.

Very good! Sounding more and more like a possible string of US dates again this fall...lots of missed markets to pursue.

I find it interesting that many fans here expect so many of those songs from Brian. I've only seen him once outside of C50, on the Jeff Beck tour and I was shocked to hear all the car songs. It was also very weird hearing Brian singing "Surfin' USA" and "Fun, Fun, Fun" and having essentially no emotion whatsoever.

If I were going to see Brian Wilson, I would expect songs like Heroes and Villains, Good Vibrations, Surfer Girl, God Only Knows to be the staples. And if Al is in the band, California Saga, Help Me Rhonda, Then I kissed her...

Brian is singing songs he wrote or co-wrote. He has never rejected the early stuff he wrote or co-wrote. I don’t doubt that concert promoters want some recognizable songs in the setlist. But it’s worth thinking about the fact that, prior to 1999, fans had probably heard more live renditions of those “meat and potatoes” songs than the number of times Brian had sung them himself.

Perhaps he feels, and rightly so, that “Shut Down” or “Fun Fun Fun”, etc. are as much *his* songs as Mike’s or the Beach Boys’. How many songs has Brian performed in concert that were recorded by the Beach Boys *and* were non-covers written by another member of the band without Brian? He doesn’t do “Kokomo” or “Getcha Back” or “Still Cruisin’.” He was doing “Forever” for a short while; they had Dave sing “Little Bird.” Even when Al and Blondie are in the band, they rarely even have those guys sing songs not co-written by Brian. (Other than covers or “California Saga”, it’s usually all Brian-penned material).

I think some fans, especially perhaps some newer fans, are not understanding the gravity of Brian doing post-Pet Sounds material, especially late 60’s material, even post-Smile stuff. There are some interviews with one or two of Brian’s band where they describe just how touchy that topic was even in 2000 or 2001. One of the guys (Darian?) described someone asking Brian to play “Heroes and Villains” at a party, and he said (vaguely paraphrasing) that he expected Brian to freak out. I’m sure the stuff from PS and prior is easier for Brian to enjoy singing in some cases.

HeyJude- I do agree, that Brian has every right in the world to be performing them. I just don't expect that of him on a live stage. As a fan that has enjoyed seeing Mike's show and then Brian's show, I went in expecting more music that I hadn't heard with M&B. I also don't find Brian's voice suitable at this stage for the songs that Mike sang in the early 60's. I think Al's voice works on them in most cases...maybe instead give Al those leads? Doubling Brian Wilson gets tricky from what I've seen. When they did "Isn't it Time" on C50 Brian totally missed the intro cue and came in late. Jeff was doubling and it took a bit of time for the two of them to sync back up.

I find it interesting that many fans here expect so many of those songs from Brian. I've only seen him once outside of C50, on the Jeff Beck tour and I was shocked to hear all the car songs. It was also very weird hearing Brian singing "Surfin' USA" and "Fun, Fun, Fun" and having essentially no emotion whatsoever.

If I were going to see Brian Wilson, I would expect songs like Heroes and Villains, Good Vibrations, Surfer Girl, God Only Knows to be the staples. And if Al is in the band, California Saga, Help Me Rhonda, Then I kissed her...

I'm curious if more US shows will be announced for the fall.

But surely there can't be, as they would conflict with those important "commitments" that caused the UK tour to be pulled.

unless they ARE the commitments.......

Ode to Joy is by Beethoven.

Jesu is in Lady Lynda.

Correct...still not feeling any Bach pieces in a shuffle...

Seems like Funky Pretty is out of the picture for now.

as it hasn't been played in any of the shows yet, it doesn't appear to have ever been in the picture.

If you'd paid attention to the thread, you would know that they worked on it in sound check at least a couple of times. A band member also confirmed to me personally that they were planning to add it.

I've, sadly, read every single post in this thread, no matter how bored I got; and I repeat, it hasn't been played in concert once, so....

You're both right! The back and forths on this board are ridiculous.

It hasn't been played in concert. It has been rehearsed and soundchecked (is that a word?)

Anything is possible...I think there's still a chance of hearing it if they're still making additions this late in the tour.

What I'm more curious abotu than songs...is future dates! I've seen San Francisco on Sept. 11th advertised...anything else out there I've missed? I'd love to  catch this since they skipped MD/DC this time 'round...as usual.

Seems like Funky Pretty is out of the picture for now.

Hard to say, but you're probably right. At least we've gotten "California Saga" and "Girl Don't Tell Me" in there..would have been nice for "Drive-In" to stick around. I don't really care for Brian doing the straight up hit car songs...it just doesn't really seem to be him. But "Drive-In" just digs a little bit deeper! Also glad to see "Runaway Dancer" out of there...

A decent read...I'd really like to know which Bach piece has a Beach Boys shuffle........ 

Personality wise, Brian totally fits the stereotype that Beethoven sort of unintentionally created.

Are they still trying Funky Pretty or Ding Dang during the sound checks, or have they given up on doing those songs?

Funky Pretty would be an excellent addition. I'd say swap this for "Sail Away"...or maybe make "Sail Away" into a medley with "Sloop John B" and then continue the Pet Sounds trifecta.

Yes. It is.

One thing that is striking about the difference between Paul and Brian's shows is that Paul plays huge venues and fills them which means that he could easily afford to carry a larger band. I think that there are missed opportunities that are being filled in with modern technology.

I believe that Paul is still a great and exciting performer. The catalog is huge and above reproach but he comes across as a bit cheap. He has a great band but it could be fuller.

A string quartet and a small brass section would go a LONG way, and still leave Wix (keyboard guy) plenty to do on just about every song!

But aren't you the guy who said that Wix's Casio sounded "just as good as a real string quartet"?

Yes, absolutely! For one, he doesn't use a Casio...anyway; I do think it sounds just as good but, if he can have the live strings/brass...why not? It would add another element. I don't think one is better than the other, nor do I think THAT many people would care. But like I said, it would go a long way (to certain fans) and still leave Wix with plenty to do.

I totally agree, Paul's show is way too scripted. I've heard the Jimi Hendrix plays Sgt. Pepper, George Harrison played the ukulele, and the Russians learned English from the Beatles story way too many times. But I can also point out the differences as well. I think Paul has "checkpoints" in his dialogue that he ensures he gets to, but there's plenty different. To say that what he does on stage is "pretending" is absurd.

Yes. It is.

One thing that is striking about the difference between Paul and Brian's shows is that Paul plays huge venues and fills them which means that he could easily afford to carry a larger band. I think that there are missed opportunities that are being filled in with modern technology.

I believe that Paul is still a great and exciting performer. The catalog is huge and above reproach but he comes across as a bit cheap. He has a great band but it could be fuller.

A string quartet and a small brass section would go a LONG way, and still leave Wix (keyboard guy) plenty to do on just about every song!

I am glad they are doing those songs in some venues in the US!

I think it was only because I requested it haha. Mike seemed unsure about himself on it but he did a great job. Sail On Sailor and Kiss Me Baby were also big surprises for me

Wow! I never would have expected those kind of tracks at a show like this. I'm pretty sure Scott did that for me at Pier Six two years ago with "Wild Honey". Scott is an excellent addition to this band and a real gentleman with the fans. He's done a lot more for this band than people give him credit for.

I think if Mike had more confidence in the catalog we would see consistently expansive sets, and nicer venues.

Rubber --

I don't want to derail the thread either, but it's Mitch Weissman territory. And has been for a while.

I'd give anything if it wasn't, but I'm long done pretending it's the live Macca of '76/'79 -- it's Presley '75 with dudes with hair-do's backing a lead singer burping his way through the most beautiful songs of all time on a cheap obsolete instrument.

I love Paul McCartney to death, but it's devolved into a tribute show (and not even the best one running.)
And he is most certainly NOT for the most part in great voice. He's in fact in horrible voice.

What happens when that thing you love isn't really that thing you love anymore?

Those are incredibly absurd and exaggerated observations.

This is from two weeks ago...first time played in the states in EXCELLENT voice, playing his heart out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZL94d2ayQ

Cheap, obsolete, horrible....? I think we have different definitions on this terms.

Yes. It is.

I hate to derail the thread, maybe start a new one? I am curious to what leads you to think this though.

He's out there playing his songs, the way he wrote them, from his past and present still in (for the most part) great voice...just like Brian.

McCartney's show is an imitation?...Please.......

I just read that they're playing at our new casino around here. I know casinos are nothing new for either touring band...but this place is a dump. It seats 500 and is just a ball of sleaze. I don't have anything against casino shows as some of the venues can be quite exquisite...but this is not the case. Bad move guys...

Did Jeff sing "Farmer's Daughter"?

As I recall.  I was so taken by hearing it I was just listening and scanning the whole band.   the harmony was quite good with Ike in the mix.   I give the current vocal mix a solid thumbs up.   and Ike plays a decent bass line while singing staying nicely with Cowsill on beat.

So we must ask...is Ike an improvement or....?

Bummer. It's not that that's a bad setlist, but I was really hoping that Surf's Up and especially All I Wanna Do would stay in there for the US tour. That probably would've been enough to make me cave and get tickets to the Atlanta show.

I'm still going to keep an eye on the theatre setlists. I have a feeling they may be inclined (in the right venue) to pull out a few more of those specialty tracks. But, I don't think we'll see anything close to what the UK shows were this summer.

Really interesting to compare these Brian/Al/Blondie setlists with the recent Mike/Bruce ones.  If you put their most recent US setlists against each other, they've got about half the songs in common -- 16 shared numbers, Brian doing another 17, and Mike doing another 22.  But the other numbers make them look like completely different bands -- Mike's setlist basically stops dead after "Good Vibrations" (only "Do It Again", the shared "Darlin'", "Disney Girls", "Goin' To The Beach", "California Dreamin'", "Kokomo", and "Pisces Brothers" after that), while Brian has fifteen tracks from "Smile" through "No Pier Pressure".  On the flipside, Brian has only two non-shared tracks before that point -- "In My Room" and "The Little Girl I Once Knew" -- while Mike has sixteen more cuts from the early days, including deep cuts from "Farmer's Daughter" to "Why Do Fools" to "Betsy" and four or five more tracks from "Today!".

It really does give the sense of two very different careers, even with about half the songs overlapping.  I always knew the Beach Boys were one of the greatest rock bands ever...  these setlists make a strong case that they're two of the greatest rock bands ever.

Cheers,
Jon Blum

EXCELLENT post.

We're in a very fortunate position as fans to hear essentially any Beach Boys material we want live...popular or not. Sure, there's always more to be had...but that's what keeps us coming back, right??

Sounds like I missed something remarkable! NO doubt about that...hoping there's a second leg in the fall...just couldn't work it out for last night!

Not too shabby! I've never heard Farmer's Daughter, You're So Good To Me, or The Warmth of The Sun...would be nice to have more of course!

So how was it?!?

Playing in WV tonight.   Ran inTo Bruce at the town center mall....3 times this afternoon.   spoke to us for a few minutes.  Seemed to be getting off by himself for a bit so we didn't linger.   Asked if we were retired and when we said yes, he reminded us of his age and said he was still working.    I think he was tired.    Scott and John seemed tired when I saw them in March.   Must be a grueling tour for a group of older and aging guys.    Looking forward to the show tonight.

Too cool! Very interested in the setlist...here's to something close to what they did overseas!

Most of California Girls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhG4ypKX2ys

Brian AND Al both sound really  great in that clip. Alan adds so much to the vocal blend, it's amazing.


I too would prefer they swap the car songs on...it just isn't really fitting, in my opinion. Marcella and Hold On Dear Brother would be a MUCH greater use of their team.

Pretty great setlist, as AGD said...it seems to make just about everyone happy. It makes me wish there were a workable date close enough to me!

Can't complain...two mccartney concerts in the next week! Yahoo!