Here is a public link to some photos of the AC show - you don't need a FB account to view them:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152089750957942.1073741826.833472941&type=1&l=3d0e45c620And then here are my semi-rambling show notes:
soundcheck - there is a lot to say, if you want to hear samples of it please pm me.
meet and greet - they sold a lot of these, I would say about 200... basically it was an assembly line photo. They did smile for every photo... we were also given a cheap t-shirt and photo, but it appears the photos may not have actually been signed by brian. They have emailed us asking for mailing addresses to get better quality photos in the mail. The only reason I like the meet and greet is b/c of the soundcheck access and the amazing seats, I probably wouldn't do it again, but it's nice to get a photo w/ the legend too I suppose
Show notes:
The security up front was asking people to sit down during most of the first set. During the very beginning, Paul Mertens expressed a very visible reaction to the notion of making people stay seated at a concert... and attempted to get the crowd even more fired up. It was strange b/c brian called him over and (likely) asked him to cut it out. Even Brian himself started motioning for people to sit down during the first song or two. It was all a little distracting and I had a hard time focusing on the show until a few songs in.
The instrumental mix up front was pretty decent but the vocal mix was terrible. Jeff was up WAY too high (signal almost so loud it was clipping) and Al was a bit too high as well. It was very difficult to hear Brian up front. I don't know if we were just in a bad spot, or if the monitor mix was cutting in but I verified that it sounded LOADS better in the back near the soundboard. Oh well - I guess every seat has it's tradeoffs.
It was evident in the soundcheck that they were still "learning" new things and making changes to some of the arrangements. It was pretty cool to see that in person and in spite of the first show sometimes being an addl rehearsal, it was neat to see them take some chances. I was a little disappointed that Dave Marks wasn't playing consistent lead during the show. I guess it makes sense since he was featured as a guest, but he was more prominent in the 50th tour imo. Dave was featured on a number of tunes and took some good solos but in general he was playing rhythm for a lot of the show. I was watching closely to see if he'd play the doubled up lead line on dance, dance, dance and he didn't but I could tell he was thinking about trying it! Maybe in the next few shows.
In my room and surfer girl kinda went together well and was when I finally felt like I could get used to dancing in my seat. I know some people like to sit and observe the show w/o too much moving around, but I am not one of them. I would have liked to been on my feet the entire time even during the slow tunes to rock back and forth or something, either way, it was cool b/c I was so happy to be there and just enjoy the show.
Don't worry baby was typical but as one of my personal favorites don't mind seeing Jeff take the lead there. Then I kissed her.... Al couldn't remember if it was performed by the Crystals or the Ronettes asking the crowd which it was - honestly I like the original almost better than be my baby so always thrilled they keep this on the list. Al did a good lead.
Old man river was a little rough harmonically, they did it a few times during soundcheck.. the transition to cottonfields was pretty cool though and during the show itself Al NAILED the delivery. It was a personal highlight of the night for me. Little Bird - I may be a bit of a casual fan compared to a lot of people on this board, all I knew is that it was a rare bustout, and a very bizarre interesting tune. I've got the audio from the soundcheck. It was neat to see them do something that obviously would be a bit outside the expected songlist. I need to listen to this more to decide what I really think, but at the time I remember thinking it was odd in a good way.
Our Prayer was great but the transition to H&V was not quite as seamless as I might have hoped. I thought they were going to do something else for a minute until H&V actually kicked in. I don't know for sure but I thought Brian pretty much carried the lead on this all the time... Jeff had to help out and sing some of the verses on this and a few others from my recollection. Either way, H&V is one of my all time favorites so seeing it was great.
Marcella was another one where I thought Jeff sang more than I expected him to. I wish I knew if Brian was loud and clear in the back of the venue during this and H&V but I could barely hear him on it. He was however, doing the "hand motions" on this and Sail on Sailor.
Do You Wanna Dance? is when the energy in the room shifted. I actually went to get a drink right at the beginning and by the time I got to the soundboard, the whole venue was on their feet (finally!) It was cool to see people decide to go for it and the energy persisted through the end of the set w/ I get around (no one sat down).
There was a time in the set after one song where Brian said something like, "do you like his guitar?" when people yelled yeah he straight yelled back "DO YOU LIKE MY PIANO?" people cheered and it was the best moment of banter in the set imo.
Second set:
As noted Al mentioned how they were the heart of the beach boys even though they may not be touring under the name.. I think every single person in the room was on their feet cheering for that, then the guitar came unplugged or something and the feedback was attributed to Mike Love in some fashion. People generally sat and stood at will during the second set depending on the song.. good vibe and the crowd was drawn into the show more and more as the night went on.
Summertime Blues was cool, I like when Dave sings and it was a good time. Your Imagination was a little weak. I was thrilled to see TWGMTR - love the song, it has an awesome arrangement... try playing it on the piano and you will see how many chords their really are.. Seriously though, this is a beach boys song right, and Mike and Bruce ("the beach boys") aren't doing it to my knowledge... was glad brian's guys didn't shy away from a complicated song. Would have liked to see stronger Brian on Sail on Sailor. Please remember it may have been different in the back, but I think of Sail on Sailor as one that Brian would be taking the lead on, and in general wish he had sang more. It's possible he wasn't having a great day but I haven't seen enough of him lately to know. First gig etc etc... hard to say. He was WAY more involved in London last September on a lot of the tracks.
Encore was great - Al on Rhonda is really like stepping back into the time when it was recorded and Brian getting up w/ the bass is always cool!
All in all, it was an awesome show that will likely improve if they continue to play. Loved being so close that I could watch all the musicians and was thrilled that they had two full sets even for a show that started at 9PM. People were into the experience whether they were casual or serious fans from what I could see. The fact that I can see Brian Wilson w/ such amazing musicians and Al and Dave at this stage in the game is really something I'm not taking for granted so it's fair to say I had a blast and am going to head out to LA in October. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to respond or PM me about the soundcheck. best wishes friends