Ongoing conflicts aside, there are currently six others he could invite to be guests…

We know Foskett is on the stuff. Totten almost surely too. After that, I'd say Dave would be an easy bet…

My other two were Ricky & Blondie (though they're perhaps as likely as Brian!). Jeff and Scott, for all their superb credentials and lengthy affiliations, I don't count as core BBs. Touring BBs for sure, to me, but not recording Beach Boys.

Mike doesn't seem too keen to revisit much BB material from the short lived Blondie/Ricky era.  So, I'd say that's unlikely. 

I just hope John Stamos doesn't get any lead vox on any Mike project. 

Vocals, no, we don't need him to do any singing.  But Mike's album NEEDS Stamos to be playing the electronic bongos, or at least to be playing the electronic bongos in videos. 

There's just been a tour announced of Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeup, all major former members of Yes, with the band called ARW.  They'll be playing Yes music plus new music. 

I just thought this was an interesting situation for Yes fans, and kinda like BB's fans.  The official Yes has Steve Howe, a stalwart early member, and then Alan White, a more minor member who joined after they got popular but who has since stuck with them through thick and then.  Most of the other players are latter-day replacements who didn't play on most of their best-known stuff, but they retain the bands name.  This reminds me of Mike and Bruce and the touring Beach Boys band. 

Meanwhile, ARW has Jon Anderson, the band's estranged leader who led the band and wrote or co-wrote almost all their classic stuff (kinda like Brian), Rick Wakeman, another essential early member who came and went a bit in their early days) (a bit like Al), and Trevor Rabin, a South African vocalist/songwriter/guitarist who helped the band regain some popularity with a very different sound...  kinda like Blondie. 

It's far from a perfect analogy, but still kinda interesting.  Hopefully, Yes fans will end up with two good touring versions of the band, and maybe they'll even get a grand reunion, which probably won't last but will be great while it does.

And actually, this has happened before in the history of Yes (two versions of the band, one official and one not end up combining), so it just might happen. 
It's not

Love the art, not the artist. 

Anyway, I hope that Mike pulls off something good.  I'm sure he has it in him, especially if he can avoid peppering the songs with too many lines from old BB's songs.  He's a talented guy and can write good lyrics when he puts his mind to it.  Foskett's involvement is also an encouraging sign.

Not sure why they need Stamos to rock the electronic bongos though.     

David and Bruce absolutely qualify as surviving Beach Boys. Really, so do Blondie and Ricky.  They have all been official members of the Beach Boys, and all of them are still alive.  But especially David and Bruce--one was an original member who played on almost all the songs on their first 4 albums, and the other has spent much of his life in the band--not sure why either of them wouldn't be counted. 

Scott Totten taking over the reins of the Mike and Bruce show in 2008 was to the band's benefit; he was able to build upon the progression that Chris Farmer oversaw as band leader and the band ended up being better for it. Getting rid of Mike Kowalski was a WELCOME change from where I sit. They went from being dire (1998-2003) to serious competition (2004-08) to very close to Brian's group (2009-now). (I think) Scott said himself that Mike picks the songs for the gigs.

I don't doubt for one minute that Brian inspired Mike and Bruce (and by proxy, Scott as band leader) to greater heights as a touring band. They should keep racing up that ladder. Both bands put on excellent shows for their respective markets.

I've never seen the Mike and Bruce show, but from reading reviews over the years, I have a similar impression:  they have drastically stepped up their game, and there does seem to be an arms race of sort going on between them and Brian.  The fans benefit.  We essentially have two high-quality touring versions of the BB's. I'd love to have them all together like they were in 2012, but barring that from happening again, BB's fans are really in an excellent situation right now. 

If anybody is wondering why I haven't seen them, as I mentioned earlier in this thread, I seriously considered seeing Mike and Bruce recently in Japan, and decided against it only because the ticket prices were expensive, I had already shelled out for Brian's tour, and Mike and Bruce have tended to play shorter and less adventurous sets here in Japan (compare the great HK setlist to the ones in Japan, and you'll see what I mean).  I'll probably go see them anyway in the future, but I'd REALLY be inclined to do so if they would play longer sets here.  The current incarnation of the touring band seems like a great combo, and it's also an interesting contrast with Brian's more orchestral approach.

Sheriff, if I'm reading your post correctly, you're saying that all of your posts dripping with passive aggressive vitriol about Brian are done to show people a double standard? So you come to the most popular Beach Boys forum and make troll posts about Brian just to prove a point about Mike?

For months you mocked No Pier Pressure.
I've read your negative outlooks on BWPS that you've shared ad nauseam on this board for years.
You claim Brian is coached for interviews.
You claim that Brian didn't write the recent excerpt for his book (he may not have, but you don't at all know that).
You talk about his mental illness like it's nothing.
So much in your post history is negativity toward Melinda and Brian.

Yet you supposedly love Brian and care about him? You hope others can change their ways about attacking a Beach Boy!?

If you see Mike being treated unfairly, then make rational arguments to shut people up! My mind has been changed in the past about Mike because people did the adult thing and took the time to explain their side. Hell, Mike did an interview last year that helped me understand him a bit better - because he took the time to open up and explain himself. I don't understand how continuously berating Brian and his career is any way teaching people a lesson about how to treat Mike. If anything your posts have helped fuel the fire that has consumed this place in the last few years.

I was going to post a long response, but you touched on pretty much every post I was going to make.

I will add the following...

The things about BWPS and NPP are just opinions, and I cannot knock somebody for them (even though I disagree).  The rest, I agree with completely.  And for the record, I happen to be respect Mike artistically, and  yes the constant personal bashing of Mike does get old, and yes, I have spoken to that previously, when it's gone from justified criticism to attacking just for the sake of doing so. So why attack Brian in order to prove that point?

I'd like to third this point. 

Looks like a compilation for the Chinese market. Pretty random collection of their early stuff...  looks dart-board style to me! 

So.... did they do Summer In Paradise last night? I noticed "PARADISE" was in the setlist that Mike posted.

I'm pretty sure it would be "Summer in Paradise." The "California Dreamin'/Summer in Paradise" pairing has been used going back to the 90s, with one song leading right into the other.

I guess it makes sense since they both featured Roger McGuinn (the UK SIP anyway). 

Yeah, they probably have Scott on a heavily compressed 12-string to get that Byrds sound.

I actually quite like Summer in Paradise--the song, not the album. (ducks and runs away)

Yes, thanks for the great review, Emily!  I have to say, my daughter, probably similar age as yours, also really enjoyed the show.  This is a great tour for kids! 

Sounds like another good show!

'One Kind of Love' was just amazing at the Osaka concert. As I noted in my review, Brian seemed to struggle vocally during some of the Pet Sounds stuff, but he sounded fantastic on 'One Kind of Love.' Kinda surprising, because it does not sound like an easy melody to sing, but I suppose he writes his recent music with his current range in mind. 

That's cool that they are adding more European dates, especially considering that it's supposedly Brian's last European tour. 

Sounds like the mods are being brave here, and I feel like supporting them for it. 

I've posted this before.  But I think an entire book could be written solely on C50 - the reunion, the album, the tour, the fallout.  It could be in anthology style with input from Brian, Mike, Al, Bruce, David, Joe Thomas, Foskett, Darian, Scott Bennett, Scott Totten, etc etc.

I agree, it would be intensely interesting. But I also think, to borrow a bit of AGD's phraseology, I do think Carl and Dennis reanimating is more likely than that scenario. Which is a bummer. I think we'll get a bit more in Mike's book, but he doesn't have a good track record at just saying at least part of his deal is that he likes being his own boss. It would be a hugely humbling and simple thing for him to say, because it's something I would think many if not most people would feel.

I think some sort of C50 book, or at least a once-and-for-all true bio on the entire band, could go into the project in more detail. But there's no way all of the BBs and the backing band guys are going to agree to be interviewed and "tell-all." I don't know if anyone literally has signed non-disclosure agreements (or some variant of such), but even if they haven't, there's a track record for the guys in both Brian's and Mike's band to not go into any great detail about much of anything. Scott Totten has graciously discussed some basic things here about Mike's band like setlist thought process, things like that. But other than that pre-C50 Probyn Gregory interview that got shut down, and Nelson Bragg and John Cowsill's "Stamos moment", we haven't gotten much about what went down. I think Darian has talked a little bit about some of the behind-the-scenes stuff with Brian over the years, but still very little.

What is this 'Stamos moment'?  Is that when Brian's bandmates got annoyed about Stamos's behavior at the NY gigs? Or is there something more to it?

I'd love to see a Brian Wilson/Al Jardine album!

OK, here's my review of the Osaka show.

First, a little background:  I've in my late 40's, been a BB's fan since elementary school, have always owned some albums and been interested in their convoluted story, but never got to see them till the 2012 reunion tour, when I saw the Osaka and Nagoya shows here in Japan.  Those were brilliant, though a bit short compared to most of the rest of the tour (35 and 38 songs respectively, as if that's 'short' compared to most bands).  I took my then 3 year old daughter Hisui to the Nagoya show, and she loved it and told me she wanted to see the BB's again.  That was kinda bittersweet, since even then I knew it was unlikely that she'd ever have the chance, even before the reunion predictably ended up not continuing.  So when I heard Brian was touring Pet Sounds with Al, Blondie and Matt along, I was determined not only to go myself but also to take her too.  

It was in the Orix theater, maybe 2500 capacity, and sold out.  Right away, I noticed that the audience seemed a bit different from that of the 2012 tour...  Brian attracts the hardcores here in Japan.  I could tell by the response to some of the more obscure songs, and other things (Hisui asks 'where Al?' and the lady next to us point him out before I can).  Quiet and attentive during the quiet stuff, but howling Brian's name in-between songs.  Fantastic, devoted audience, and they got repaid in spades.  

The first set of greatest hits and deep cuts was blindingly great--so good that it could have been an awesome (if somewhat short) concert by itself.  They resolved the hits/deep cuts tension that we've been discussing on this board by simply playing everything that they've tried out on the tour so far--so we got Honkin' AND Then I Kissed Her AND Little Honda AND Wake The World AND Darlin.'  20 songs in all, the longest first set so far on this tour.  It was longer than the 2012 Japanese shows.  Man, were we lucky!

The sound was fantastic from the start--'Our Prayer' and 'Heroes and Villains' were crystal clear, and you could hear every nuance. Brian also sounded spot-on vocally. If anything, they sounded a bit too perfect (I remember the 2012 versions of 'Heroes' being more raucous), but really strong for opening songs, which typically tend to have a lot more technical and vocal glitches.  It was also good to hear some unusual parts like 'Cantina' and 'Bicycle Rider' included.  As Woodstock noted in his review, Brian seemed a bit introspective in the first couple of songs, but the massive response after 'Heroes' made him brighten up massively--he seemed to realize that he had the audience in the palm of his hand.  

The rest of the set seemed to get looser and louder as it went along, save for the ballads. Al got a number of leads and sounded just as good as he had in 2012. The only exception was 'Shut Down' which I felt didn't quite fit his range, but by 'Little Deuce Coupe,' he was spot on.  'Honkin' was fun with the Al leads alternating with Brian featuring heavily on the chorus, 'Wake The World' was really beautiful and intricate, and while I don't think that 'And I Kissed Her' is strictly necessary, his voice sounded so good on it.  Brian introduced it  by saying something like 'Al, you're going to do an bonus song of yours, right?' or something to that effect, which made me think that they hadn't originally played to play so many songs but had decided to pad the set out.    

It was also interesting to hear Brian's doing Mike's leads on songs like 'CA Girls,' 'I Get Around' and 'Dance Dance Dance.'  They actually fit his current range pretty well.  All of that stuff came across well, though I enjoyed 'Dance Dance Dance' the best.  It seemed to be played pretty fast, and it's such an exuberant song.  I had missed it in the 2012 Japan tour,, so it was good to hear it too.

But the ballads were, if anything, even better.  'In My Room' had a very BB's sound due to Brian, Al and Matt dominating the vocal stack, and brought tears to my eyes (they missed this one in 2012 too, and it's always meant a lot to me).  I was surprised that Brian didn't share 'Add Your Music' with Al, but even more surprised that he sang all of the various member's parts so well by himself.  And I think that 'One Kind of Love' was his best vocal performance of the night--as Woodstock mentioned in his Osaka review, he really knocked it out of the park.  I was amazed!  And as everyone else has noted, Matt owned 'Don't Worry Baby.'  

Darian also ruled on 'Darlin'--so well that I'm surprised they don't have him doing more Carl leads. That was another song that moved me emotionally.  They DID play it in the 2012 Nagoya show and knocked me out then, but it's always meant a lot to me, and I couldn't help having it bring me to tears again.  

Hisui was having a good time--she likes 'Heroes' 'Honkin' 'Little Deuce Coupe' and 'Dance Dance Dance' especially, so those songs went over well with her, she liked the 'faster, faster, it's all right!' part of 'Little Honda,' and I explained that 'One Kind of Love' is about Melinda, which got her listening carefully, as the 'Love and Mercy' movie made a big impression on her.  The only disadvantage of the long first set is that she got a bit impatient 'When's Blondie coming out? When's Blondie coming out?'  I told her 'soon' a few times, but after they played  'One Kind of Love,' I confidently predicted that he would be out next, because they had literally run out of anything else to play, unless they had decided to introduce something they hadn't played before.  

Based on previous reviews, I was expecting to be blown away by Blondie, and he lived up to expectations really well.  His vocals were extremely strong, but I wasn't completely knocked out for some reason, but it was still great to hear him powering through everything, especially of course his original part on 'Sail On Sailor.'  It was great to hear both 'Wild Honey' and 'Funky Pretty' which of course weren't featured at all on the 2012 tour, though I was a bit surprised that they didn't include more of the vocal interaction on 'Funky Pretty.'

But what really stood out was Blondie's showmanship, especially walking all around the stage while shredding out leads--very fun to watch, especially with a kid in tow.  It really ended the set with a bang.  

During the intermission, I noted to Hisui that we had gotten a longer set than any of the other shows so far, and we were really enjoying feeling the love together.

'Pet Sounds' was a very different experience.  Musically, it was stunning--in fact, I've never enjoyed the instrumentals more, especially the title song.  The band really brought this stuff to life.  I loved how they opened it, with the old tapes of Brian directing the band working on 'Wouldn't It Be Nice.'  The audience was actually fooled the first time it started, with the old recorded music, which made it all the more exciting when they started it for real.  It's a great trick!

Vocally, it was a bit more mixed.  Matt sounded stellar great on 'Wouldn't It Be Nice,' but I couldn't help feeling that Al actually delivers the song more convincingly.  Having said that, Matt took over the high parts for Brian perfectly on all the other songs.  Al sounded great as usual, and I thought the vocal trade-offs on 'I Know There's An Answer' were perfect, with Brian doing Mike, Matt doing Brian, and Al doing Al.  Ditto for 'Sloop John B:  I thought that Brian did his old vocal parts very nicely in 2012, but having Al do Brian's parts and Brian doing Mike's parts worked just as well.  

But during the slower songs on Side One, Brian's vocal performance was suddenly much creakier than they had been during the first set.  'I'm Waiting For the Day' was probably the best of Brian's vocal parts on the first side, and the others had their moments, but he had sounded better during the first set. It might have been doing 3 shows in 4 nights, or that the first set was so long, or maybe it's just that this stuff has become tougher for him to sing (perhaps why this tour will be the last full Pet Sounds performances).  

But he did his best, and things generally improved the second side.  I thought he did especially with with the two most emotionally important songs:  'God Only Knows' and 'Caroline No,' especially the latter.  'Caroline' is another song I've loved since childhood, and it was the 3rd song of the night that really brought me to tears. I also liked the way he sings 'God Only Knows'--clearly, he knows how to do the song within his current range, and by changing the melody slightly, doing things like kind of whispering the falsetto on 'what,' he can manage it well without trying to do it exactly like Carl did it.  Another one of my favorites 'I Just Wasn't Made For These Times' had a few shaky parts at first, but he's great on the 'Sometimes I feel very sad' lines--just spot-on.  

Hisui did seem to lose attention a bit during this more complex stuff, though 'Sloop John B' and all of the great musical interaction during the instrumentals and instrumental sections of the vocal songs seemed to get her attention--Blondie's weird tambourine dances on the title track especially!

Overall, it was a beautiful, moving performance, and the musical performance will forever enhance my experience of listening to the album.  Vocally, it was incredibly moving at best, and a little bittersweet at worst, because I do suspect that some of this material is becoming too hard for Brian to do.  

For the final set, the band introductions were great fun.  The audience gave everybody massive respect, but Blondie turned it up a notch, Al got a deafening response, and Brian was greeted like a conquering hero.  

The encores were loud, raucous, great fun, but also with great sound.  Brian's vocal parts were pretty much spot-on for 'Good Vibrations' and for the rest of the set, which again makes me suspect that the Pet Sounds stuff is harder for him to sing.  Al predictably nailed 'Help Me Rhonda,' which became a massive harmony-fest for the whole band and audience, and Blondie added a lot to the guitar jams on 'Surfin' USA' and 'Fun Fun Fun.' Blondie was really being a nut during 'Barbara Ann'--he appeared to be giving Brian a backrub or something (maybe a backrub with his tambourine?  The keyboard solo and sax solos were a lot of fun for those songs too.  Hisui enjoyed it a lot; we recently saw 'American Graffitti,' which helped put some of this stuff in context, especially 'All Summer Long,' (and 'Little Deuce Coupe' in the earlier set). And as before, you got lots of Brian, Al and Matt, plus a fair amount of Blondie in the vocal stack, so it really seemed like seeing the BB's. 

'Fun Fun Fun' ended in the same trash-can style as it had with the 2012 tour...  this of course would have been a great closer by itself, but Brian has his own way of ending the set.  I have to say, the two Brian solo songs were also two of the best songs of the night.  I can still remember being in my late teens, working on a strawberry farm in rural Washington State in summer 1988, and hearing 'Love and Mercy' on the radio for the first time. I knew Brian's story then, and it just made me melt, as it did now.  Brian's singing on 'Love and Mercy' was so good in this show, too--it really sounds unrehearsed, like he feels the song and sings it exactly how he's feeling.  Massively moving.  I cried.  

And when it was over, the audience just howled.  The band bowed, the audience bowed, the band bowed more and the audience bowed more.  I think everyone knew it was all over, but just wanted to show as much love as possible.  

Walking back to the subway, Hisui and me talked a bit about how it was too bad that Brian and Mike just can't get along, but that it's nice that they are both out there doing the Beach Boys thing anyway.  This was kind of a good wrap-up to our wistful conversation 3.5 years ago--this may well really be the last time, but what a nice way to go out.  

By the way, this thread has my review of the Nagoya concert, back in 2012:  

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,14107.0.html

Anyway, I just wanted to mention something:  with the exchange rates, I think the tix for the Osaka concert cost me about 90 bucks.  The seats weren't great, but I did have the option to pay not a whole lot more for better seats.  And for that, we got 40 songs and (I think) nearly 2.5 hours of music.  That's about $2.25 per song--an absolutely fantastic bargain for seeing one of the greatest pop composers of all time playing with a large band and two other significant ex-BB's.  Just a wonderful deal for the fans.  I'm really grateful to Brian, Al, Blondie and the band for this! 

Who were the other two ex-Beach Boys that played beside Blondie?  Was Ricky performing?  If so, who else?

EoL

By 'two other significant ex-BB's' I mean 'Al and Blondie.'  It WOULD have been extremely awesome if, say, Ricky and David were there, but getting Brian, Al and Blondie plus Brian's band for that price and setlist is already pretty awesome! 

Ah, thanks for clarifying.  You do realize Brian and Al are still Beach Boys, right?  Only Blondie is an ex-Beach Boy.

EoL

Technically, of course you're right.  I was thinking in terms of 'people who have played with the BB's as official members,' which applies to all three. 

The second earthquake was a lot more serious--seems that the first one was a precursor to the second. 

That said, I haven't felt either earthquake here in Osaka.  Kumamoto is in central Kyushu (large island) and Osaka is in central Honshu (huge island), so they are very far from each other.

Anyway, I just wanted to mention something:  with the exchange rates, I think the tix for the Osaka concert cost me about 90 bucks.  The seats weren't great, but I did have the option to pay not a whole lot more for better seats.  And for that, we got 40 songs and (I think) nearly 2.5 hours of music.  That's about $2.25 per song--an absolutely fantastic bargain for seeing one of the greatest pop composers of all time playing with a large band and two other significant ex-BB's.  Just a wonderful deal for the fans.  I'm really grateful to Brian, Al, Blondie and the band for this! 

Who were the other two ex-Beach Boys that played beside Blondie?  Was Ricky performing?  If so, who else?

EoL

By 'two other significant ex-BB's' I mean 'Al and Blondie.'  It WOULD have been extremely awesome if, say, Ricky and David were there, but getting Brian, Al and Blondie plus Brian's band for that price and setlist is already pretty awesome! 

Anyway, I just wanted to mention something:  with the exchange rates, I think the tix for the Osaka concert cost me about 90 bucks.  The seats weren't great, but I did have the option to pay not a whole lot more for better seats.  And for that, we got 40 songs and (I think) nearly 2.5 hours of music.  That's about $2.25 per song--an absolutely fantastic bargain for seeing one of the greatest pop composers of all time playing with a large band and two other significant ex-BB's.  Just a wonderful deal for the fans.  I'm really grateful to Brian, Al, Blondie and the band for this! 

My 2¢.

Brian has 5 original solo albums (6 if you include Orange Crate), not including SMiLE, Disney, Gershwin etc.

I kinda expected a "Brian Wilson" show to have more than two solo tracks.

Now, if the current tour was called "The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson presents..." then the current set list would make more sense.

THAT said, I'm sure 90% of the audience at the show I attended wouldn't have recognized "Lay down burden" or anything from NPP.   

I've wondered that too!  I do consider SMiLe a legit Brian solo album, as it came out before the Smile Sessions did, but considering the quality of SOME of his solo work, it's sad that it doesn't get represented more.  I don't know how long he'll keep touring, but it might be interesting if he were to try a half-and-half tour. 

Sincere thanks Woodstock, great reviews that really whet the appetite.

So glad Nick gets the due credit for playing on PS… he's such a fine guitarist. Can't wait to hear Matt in May… damn, can't wait to hear them all.

Can you clarify what the sound check "rock and roll" number was?

I think he meant 'Little Honda.'

Thanks for the great reviews, Woodstock. I agree with you especially about One Kind of Love--that was quite a vocal performance.  I'll post my own review of the Osaka show on the tour thread soon, but it's been fun reading your take on these shows! 

If Brian wanted to do later stuff, that's what the band would play.

True. I think he might be open to suggestions from others on occasion (the same way, say, McCartney's guys occasionally throw a song title out there; though I'm still waiting for their suggestion of "The Back Seat of My Car".....), but I'm not suggesting some massive machine is blocking Brian from doing songs he wants to do. Indeed, after an interview where someone in the band mentioned Brian isn't into the verbose "Surf's Up" and "Busy Doin' Nothin'", they both evaporated from the setlist.

To the degree there are criticisms of the setlist, I'm happy to lay them at Brian's feet. I think his setlist is fine; it could be far worse. There are a lot of deep cuts within that 18-song first set, which as I've said is the only place in the current setlist where there's any room to wiggle (the PS set is obviously set, and the encore is pretty much set it stone too, apart from perhaps moving "All Summer Long" in or out on occasion). I certainly think there's a little more room to maneuver, perhaps dropping a car song and pulling a new rarity out. But that's a pretty tiny quibble.

It has been far worse. I went to the 2001 Paul Simon shows where Brian played for an hour, tops, and maybe not even that long. Plus, I saw one of the early 2001 shows before he added a few additional rarities for the first time. 

But there's no way Brian's going to do a full tour where he completely ignores "California Girls", "I Get Around", etc.

I don't think he SHOULD ignore those songs, or Fun Fun Fun, Surfin' USA, etc.  Those are definitely classics.  And you're right that he is doing damn great sets and including a nice selection of deep cuts.  I think the comments here are mostly directed at the more minor early songs (say, 'Shut Down' or 'Then I Kissed Her')--just that if they have to bump something, they should consider bumping those rather than the '67-'77 albums, which tend to get less love anyway.  But anyway you look at it, we're still getting and embarrassment of riches. 

And I DO like the fact that the current tour seems to be going more in the direction of making the sets longer, rather than dropping stuff.  Maybe this will turn out  to be like the 2012 tour, where they just keep adding stuff and the setlists tend to get longer and longer!