Here's a really nice Love and Mercy from the Milwaukee show. Great closeups in this one.

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

Thanks for the share. This was a definite highlight of the evening.

Solid review. I've had some perspective in the day or two following the show. Sure, Brian was not at his best and he did struggle at times. I don't know if it was mental or physical or exhaustion or a combination of several things. I do know he hung in there for the 90 minute set and for the most part he was an active participant. Brian has never been that great of a live performer - even back in the early 60's. That isn't what we love about him. We love him for the music he created and somehow after all of these years - he's still out there performing his music. There have been times where it has been hard to watch - including several on Sunday night - but it is still an honor to get to "hang out" with Brian.

You might be right. It looked like Brian was having issues with the microphone the entire show. Guess I just had it in my mind that he was struggling so much that the idea of someone offering moral support seemed to make sense.

Maybe he needed Bruce Johnston there for some tips on this.
[/quote]

I had the same thought during the show!! 

^^^ This is a great review and really helped me put last night in perspective.

When I went to my first Brian show at the Beacon in NYC in June 1999, I had the feeling that Brian was Tinkerbell - we all had to believe in him in order for him to exist.  While I don't doubt that he was willing to be out there, he had a lot to overcome mentally and emotionally. 
Last night in Milwaukee, I had the same feeling again.  This time, I still don't doubt that he was willing to be there, but now his challenges are physical.  He often missed the first few words of a song, but when he was on, he was ON.  It was a treat to hear him do some songs for the first time in concert, and others he hasn't done in a long time.  And as always, the guys around him were amazing. 
"Diamond Head" was stunning.
 Blondie sang out "Brother Carl, where are you?" before "Long Promised Road". It's something to realize that he owes much of what he's done in his career to Carl. 
Near the end of GOK, Brian raised up his arms and the lights swept up the audience - I almost lost it. 
Matt Jardine's son joined in for a few songs at the end - the next generation of Jardines is being trained!
It was an emotional show for me, in a good way. 

Diamond Head was fantastic!

At one point during the end of the set - Paul Mertens put down his sax mid-song, walked over to Brian, put his hands on Brian's shoulders and gave him a hug. I don't know if the band sensed Brian might have really been struggling, but it was a touching gesture.

From my angle, it looked like he adjusted Brian's chair so he could be closer to the microphone. Brian looked kind of startled.

My mom attended and it was her first Brian Wilson / Beach Boys show and she said she was crying the whole time because of Brian's condition. I admit I got a little emotional during Surf's Up realizing it's the first and likely last I'll hear him perform it and as I was having that thought, Brian had a 1000-yard long stare in my general direction.


The band sounded great as always and it was a pleasure having the Zombies open.


I had hoped to get Al to sign my Pet Sounds but he didn't seem to be in the mood and waved us off before and after the show.

You might be right. It looked like Brian was having issues with the microphone the entire show. Guess I just had it in my mind that he was struggling so much that the idea of someone offering moral support seemed to make sense.

It was my girlfriend's first Brian Wilson show. The show left her feeling troubled, but it was interesting hearing a review from someone who had never seen a Brian Wilson concert before.

[Paul Atkinson]

The two-fer liners are full of errors giving Beach Boys fans loads of incorrect factoids to throw them off of actual understanding of the history of the band. Don't know why but it seems not much fact checking was done as part of the editing process. Shabby and yes weird. I was asked to write liners for one of the late '70's two-fers and when the late Paul Atkinson of Capitol called me to offer the job I said sure as long as I can write that one of them was a mostly crap album. He laughed, said I was right, and I didn't get the job.

Paul Atkinson as in the former Zombies lead guitarist, correct?

I went to the Milwaukee show last night. It was my first Brian show in several years. The band sounded as good as always. Matt Jardine is a great addition. He not only brings a great voice, but also some nice energy.

It's impossible to ever get tired of Blondie!! Great voice, great guitar playing, and great presence. The guy had at least 2 costume changes!

Brian struggled at times (more than I've seen before and I'm double digit for Brian shows). There were times where he appeared completely disengaged and sat slumped in his chair, but then something would catch him and he'd sound great. I really had to ponder, however, how much he wants to be out there anymore.

I liked the mix of Friends era songs. Really fun watching the band bring Diamond Head to life. Cool hearing Al to Lookin' at Tomorrow. Al's presence in general was very positive. The guy is pretty ageless.

At one point during the end of the set - Paul Mertens put down his sax mid-song, walked over to Brian, put his hands on Brian's shoulders and gave him a hug. I don't know if the band sensed Brian might have really been struggling, but it was a touching gesture.

I'm really enjoying both the Friends and 20/20 releases. We're definitely very lucky to have such great archivists watching over the BB legacy and I can't wait to see what we get in 2019!

One thing I'm really gleaning from the Friends release is just how much Brian seems to have been involved. I know his input didn't just vanish and that it declined as the 60's became the 70's - but the snippets I'm hearing are of an engaged and enthusiastic Brian.

I mean he wrote a classic like Sumahama!? Shouldn't that count for something... Rock 'n Roll Country Bride? Wrinkles? The man is a songwriting genius and roundly deserves this nomination!!

The songwriters hall of fame includes lyricists. Among the songs Mike wrote were 'Fun Fun Fun', 'Warmth of the Sun', 'I Get Around', 'California Girls', 'Good Vibrations', and many more great songs, as I'm sure every one on this board is well aware.

Hal David is in the hall of fame. How many songs did he write without a collaborator?

Folks hate Mike as a person for being the second biggest a**hole in the Beach Boys and maybe the 753rd biggest a**hole in pop/rock. Fine. Does that hatred then extend to all the songs he wrote or sang on? How then can you be a Beach Boys fan?

First and foremost, Mike Love should absolutely be in this hall of fame given his ample legitimate songwriting contributions.

I think any hedging or uneasiness fans might feel at the idea of Mike being in this HOF is that his attitude towards the band's legacy and fellow bandmates, and his general attitude, aren't exactly the most magnanimous and humble. Should his attitude and personality negate membership in this hall of fame? I don't think so.

Regarding "biggest a-hole" status, while it's obviously not really a "measurable" thing, I'd guess even *Mike Love himself* would agree he's far higher up on the list than #753. Even his Rolling Stone profile from a couple years back showed enough self-awareness that he's at least *somewhat* aware of his reputation and doesn't seem to find it to be totally unfounded.

I'd guess most learned industry people who know the deal going back to the 60s would put Mike pretty high on the "biggest a-hole" list; and I say that whether one agrees with that or not. His '88 R&R HOF speech alone cemented that reputation, to say nothing of the laundry list of other issues that we've all discussed over and over.

I definitely agree he has a place in this hall of fame and I think you're right - it's probably more about us as fans just having an issue with Mike and everything that comes with him. That said, I think most of us can agree it is just who he is and I know I've come to accept that he's obnoxious and that he's fun to hate - but he's still Mike Love. He's still a huge part of the band's history/legacy and we love to hate him...and we like to joke about his missteps and whether or not he should get a nomination like that...but at the end of the day I think most of us would agree he deserves it. We just need to take the p*ss out of him a bit.

[second biggest]

I mean he wrote a classic like Sumahama!? Shouldn't that count for something... Rock 'n Roll Country Bride? Wrinkles? The man is a songwriting genius and roundly deserves this nomination!!

The songwriters hall of fame includes lyricists. Among the songs Mike wrote were 'Fun Fun Fun', 'Warmth of the Sun', 'I Get Around', 'California Girls', 'Good Vibrations', and many more great songs, as I'm sure every one on this board is well aware.

Hal David is in the hall of fame. How many songs did he write without a collaborator?

Folks hate Mike as a person for being the second biggest a**hole in the Beach Boys and maybe the 753rd biggest a**hole in pop/rock. Fine. Does that hatred then extend to all the songs he wrote or sang on? How then can you be a Beach Boys fan?

Who is the first biggest? Al? 

I mean he wrote a classic like Sumahama!? Shouldn't that count for something... Rock 'n Roll Country Bride? Wrinkles? The man is a songwriting genius and roundly deserves this nomination!!

Mike once sang a little ditty called "Rockin' the Main in the Boat" which is about as cringy as one could get. I know it was on a solo outing (no pun intended)...but wow! Even more cringy when I picture him with that awful jacket from the album cover!

Carl continued to perform while undergoing chemo for the cancer that would eventually kill him.

I'm very much in love with the new stereo mix of Wild Honey. We were BLASTING it on Saturday night! One thing that grabs me is that while it might not have been hip in 1967...how would it be received had it been released in 2017 by some indie rock group? My gut says the Pitchfork crowd would be all over themselves talking about how incredible it was. Same goes for the Hawaii recordings.

My copy of Sunshine Tomorrow has been ordered and I'm anxiously awaiting it! Do you all think this is a one-time thing or should could we maybe expect future archival releases? Friends...20/20...Sunflower? Either way, I'm thankful they decided to take a closer look at the Smiley Smile/Wild Honey era with this release and I'll keep my fingers crossed for more.

I only skimmed some of it...but he seems to trash Mike quite a bit while holding up Steve Love as some sort of savior (or Stephen as he calls him). Some of his rants about Mike were priceless. Please, someone, publish Rocky's book!

Wasn't Rocky going to publish a bok several years ago? That would have been an interesting read.

Rocky was a fairly consistent poster on this forum for a short time earlier this year actually, constantly talking about his supposed upcoming book.  His posts varied from childish to near-incomprehensible and he was basically ridiculed off the board.  You can view his posting history here if you're interested but you might want to take an Advil afterwards.

An Advil? More like a bottle of cheap vodka from the corner liquor store. Wow. I think that is all I can say. Wow.

Is this seriously not the creepiest track ever recorded by anyone even remotely related to the Beach Boys? Just the thought of myKe in his satin baseball jacket singing this "song" gives me the creeps. Ick, ick, ick.

"You know I'd love to lend a helping hand..."

Wasn't Rocky going to publish a book several years ago? That would have been an interesting read.

Also, has the mystery of who karate chopped Dennis in the throat ever been solved? Did it actually happen and it so...did Steve Love deliver the blow? I'd add him to the list for that.

Rocky and Stan both rocked major porn mustaches, too!

Is the story about Denny kicking the you-know-what out of Manson true? From what I read, Manson showed Dennis a bullet and made some comment about Dennis' kids and Dennis proceeded to put a pretty good beating on him. Manson ended up sobbing on the floor.

Mike looks like he's on the magic mushrooms 

He was high on apple juice!

Who are the biggest creeps in the long and twisted history of the Beach Boys? Murry and Mike are obvious choices...but for my money...I'm going with Stan and Rocky for being two creepy porn star lookin' jock creeps who beat up Dennis. Rocky also (supposedly) knocked out Carl and we all know what he was doing with Marilyn (not that Brian was Mr. Innocent).

How were these two creeps allowed so much power? I know Stan is Mike's brother...and I know they were essentially hired to replace Landy...but come on...did anyone really think that was a good idea??

I really like the sound on the 2001 remasters. Nicely packaged (especially when compared to the crap EMI tossed out several years ago...don't get me started on those cheap sleeves...bad, low res photos...and everything).

I was just curious about how they were made...so thanks for all of the replies.