Songs pulled from the setlist

[punkinhead]

Having collected virtually every concert review of the Beach Boys that ever appeared in a newspaper from 62-80-I have to say that I admire the BBs for keeping anything post 68 in the setlists.  The fact is that the BBs almost always faced resistance from audiences when they played there progressive material.  Check out any review from 71-78 and all you ever hear about is how the audience sat on their hands, talked or was openly rude when they played unfamiliar material and went insane, sang along or danced when they played the BW penned oldies.  I have some reviews that are scathing indictments of the fans.  The BBs clearly just tired of having to deal with it all.  They really fought the crowds in 71-73 and kept audiences on their toes thru the 70s but how many times are you going to play a song if the audience doesn't care? That being said-the BBs had some perverse choices sometimes when they did play new stuff.  Like at Jan 77 shows they sang Airplane and Love Is a Woman-but never did the far superior The Night Was So Young.

Your statements about progressive and artistic material are quite accurate in my book and is prolly the best argument towards that situation. I will say I don't notice as much on recordings of the audience being rude, but I could be just listening to all the "nice audiences."      Having said that, I'll throw out there the audience from the Concert LP from 72 and just think back to the introduction to newer songs....Yes, Sail on Sailor seems welcome right next to Sloop John B, as it should, and a very acceptable playing of The Trader. Marcella holds up well to the other girl songs Calif. Girls and Darlin..then Caroline No....but then we have another (new) ballad for the audience: Leaving This Town, which, to me is a highlight from Holland, but with the crowd applauding a little too early, way before the song's over, you can tell they're a little restless. And Heroes and Villains seems like a great follow up to Leaving this Town....kinda odd how it goes from "Leaving this Town" to "I've Been in this town so long...." Now I haven't listened to the second half of that album in a long while...so I can't remember how their reaction to We Got Love is...so I can't say for that.

I can't remember any other bad audience reactions except for what I think was Bruce singing his rendition of Your Song and he gets all bent out of shape, I can't remember what was said, but sounds like Brucie wasn't being too hip.
Oh, and this is just on topic of the guy's getting pissed at concerts, I remember someone yelling during GOK at the Hawaii shows (67) and Brian yelling: "COOL IT, HE'S SINGIN!"    

[punkinhead]

Oh, and I will say Airplane is awesome in concert, the whole flute line and everything...it's pretty fun.

[MBE]

Well a lot of Dylan audiences were like that too but he pressed on. Granted he eventually held haphazard show by the late seventies himself, but to this day he does only what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. He MADE his audience come along with him. Now that is rare and most artists do eventually cater to their more casual fans, but the Beach Boys were too good for that. They should never have dumbed down their show but simply balanced it. In the 1993 boxset show I saw they pleased all of the people there by doing enough of both hits and rarities to make it work. Same with the Mike and Bruce Symphonic show I saw. Some didn't know all the songs but they did them well enough and balanced the set very well.  They won the crowd over big time. OK so they gave a certain segement what they wanted but they were too good for that. Or maybe not.

[drbeachboy]

I saw The Boys' in the Spring of 1972 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. The crowd got a bit restless during new material, but didn't act to badly. I moved to Phoenix, AZ later that year, and I saw them in the Fall of 72 and Spring of 73, the new and old songs were well received. Again, in Tempe, AZ in 74, the crowd wasn't crazy for the new stuff, but yelled for the old stuff or just chatted and not paid much attention to the new stuff. They did respond well to California Saga-California and Sail On Sailor. From 74 onward, it seems that most people at the shows only wanted oldies. Fans at the shows could be quite rude. There were quite a few times I heard fans yelling oldies titles while the band was actually performing, and not just in between songs, though they did that too.

The jukebox band happened because of the fans, not solely because they became lazy. They gave the concert goers what they wanted to hear. I know that none of my friends in Philly or Phoenix knew nothing of the 70-73 albums until I exposed them to it. The new material just didn't catch on and sell very well. They received a little bit of airplay on Progressive FM stations and virtually none at all on Top 40 AM. In Phoenix, Holland and In Concert are the only two albums that I remember hearing on KDKB-FM.

[bgas]

Having collected virtually every concert review of the Beach Boys that ever appeared in a newspaper from 62-80-I have to say that I admire the BBs for keeping anything post 68 in the setlists.  The fact is that the BBs almost always faced resistance from audiences when they played there progressive material.  Check out any review from 71-78 and all you ever hear about is how the audience sat on their hands, talked or was openly rude when they played unfamiliar material and went insane, sang along or danced when they played the BW penned oldies.  I have some reviews that are scathing indictments of the fans.  The BBs clearly just tired of having to deal with it all.  They really fought the crowds in 71-73 and kept audiences on their toes thru the 70s but how many times are you going to play a song if the audience doesn't care? That being said-the BBs had some perverse choices sometimes when they did play new stuff.  Like at Jan 77 shows they sang Airplane and Love Is a Woman-but never did the far superior The Night Was So Young.

Your statements about progressive and artistic material are quite accurate in my book and is prolly the best argument towards that situation. I will say I don't notice as much on recordings of the audience being rude, but I could be just listening to all the "nice audiences."      Having said that, I'll throw out there the audience from the Concert LP from 72 and just think back to the introduction to newer songs....Yes, Sail on Sailor seems welcome right next to Sloop John B, as it should, and a very acceptable playing of The Trader. Marcella holds up well to the other girl songs Calif. Girls and Darlin..then Caroline No....but then we have another (new) ballad for the audience: Leaving This Town, which, to me is a highlight from Holland, but with the crowd applauding a little too early, way before the song's over, you can tell they're a little restless. And Heroes and Villains seems like a great follow up to Leaving this Town....kinda odd how it goes from "Leaving this Town" to "I've Been in this town so long...." Now I haven't listened to the second half of that album in a long while...so I can't remember how their reaction to We Got Love is...so I can't say for that.

You do realize that "BBs In Concert" has the songs sequenced, after the fact, by the BBs?  For instance the reason you find it odd that they go from LTT to H&V may be  that they didnt perform them in that order in Concert. It's just the way they chose to sequence the LP. (And all of the songs weren't pulled from the same concert)
And for what it's worth, the single LP version they first turned in( rejected), was sequenced:
(1)WIBN, LTT, H&V, Marcella, MOH;     (2) LTWB, (LGTand)DIA,WH, FFF, JJF
Just Sayin

[Wirestone]

Dylan made a deal, though. In exchange for being able to play whatever the heck he wanted, in whatever way he wanted, he gave up stadium shows. He gave up bigger amphitheater shows (he'll still play them with other acts on the bill). He purposefully decided to play to a smaller audience -- because the bigger ones wouldn't stand for the kind of shows he does.

He also made the decision to tour in an extremely stripped-down way. He has five guys in the band. No backup singers or horns. No keyboard player except himself. He had toured with bigger groups in the 80s, but it clearly was easier to do it with a more compact group. So he gave up some musical "bigness" in favor of a more responsive ensemble.

The point is, these choices that Dylan made are very, very unusual for performers of that age. Virtually everyone else wants to add players, and play bigger and bigger rooms. And as that happens, as the expenses mount, the set lists atrophy. Virtually always.

Some of the older artists have figured out ways to get around it -- about a third of Elton John's shows are in smaller venues (for him -- amphitheaters) and him playing solo. He does a much wider range of material in them too. McCartney has a smaller band than some, which allows for a little more setlist (or at least soundcheck) flexibility.

But there are real tradeoffs. If the BBs had truly embraced their obscure material they would have been a very different band, and had a very different trajectory.

[punkinhead]

Having collected virtually every concert review of the Beach Boys that ever appeared in a newspaper from 62-80-I have to say that I admire the BBs for keeping anything post 68 in the setlists.  The fact is that the BBs almost always faced resistance from audiences when they played there progressive material.  Check out any review from 71-78 and all you ever hear about is how the audience sat on their hands, talked or was openly rude when they played unfamiliar material and went insane, sang along or danced when they played the BW penned oldies.  I have some reviews that are scathing indictments of the fans.  The BBs clearly just tired of having to deal with it all.  They really fought the crowds in 71-73 and kept audiences on their toes thru the 70s but how many times are you going to play a song if the audience doesn't care? That being said-the BBs had some perverse choices sometimes when they did play new stuff.  Like at Jan 77 shows they sang Airplane and Love Is a Woman-but never did the far superior The Night Was So Young.

Your statements about progressive and artistic material are quite accurate in my book and is prolly the best argument towards that situation. I will say I don't notice as much on recordings of the audience being rude, but I could be just listening to all the "nice audiences."      Having said that, I'll throw out there the audience from the Concert LP from 72 and just think back to the introduction to newer songs....Yes, Sail on Sailor seems welcome right next to Sloop John B, as it should, and a very acceptable playing of The Trader. Marcella holds up well to the other girl songs Calif. Girls and Darlin..then Caroline No....but then we have another (new) ballad for the audience: Leaving This Town, which, to me is a highlight from Holland, but with the crowd applauding a little too early, way before the song's over, you can tell they're a little restless. And Heroes and Villains seems like a great follow up to Leaving this Town....kinda odd how it goes from "Leaving this Town" to "I've Been in this town so long...." Now I haven't listened to the second half of that album in a long while...so I can't remember how their reaction to We Got Love is...so I can't say for that.

You do realize that "BBs In Concert" has the songs sequenced, after the fact, by the BBs?  For instance the reason you find it odd that they go from LTT to H&V may be  that they didnt perform them in that order in Concert. It's just the way they chose to sequence the LP. (And all of the songs weren't pulled from the same concert)
And for what it's worth, the single LP version they first turned in( rejected), was sequenced:
(1)WIBN, LTT, H&V, Marcella, MOH;     (2) LTWB, (LGTand)DIA,WH, FFF, JJF
Just Sayin

They fooled me!, but I won't get fooled again.
Yeah, I knew they were taken from different concerts as I read in the booklet,

[Jay]

Having collected virtually every concert review of the Beach Boys that ever appeared in a newspaper from 62-80-I have to say that I admire the BBs for keeping anything post 68 in the setlists.  The fact is that the BBs almost always faced resistance from audiences when they played there progressive material.  Check out any review from 71-78 and all you ever hear about is how the audience sat on their hands, talked or was openly rude when they played unfamiliar material

I agree. After having stumbled across several 1970's shows, I admire them for actually staying together as a band.  Some of the audience members could be brutal. There was one show where Carl made the group stop in mid-song, and ended up actually swearing at the crowd. Regarding what MBE said about the shows starting to go downill after 1974, I have a show from 1974, and Carl sounds very...loose. He's not full on wasted like he was in Australia, but he's definitely not 100% straight.

[punkinhead]

I saw The Boys' in the Spring of 1972 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. The crowd got a bit restless during new material, but didn't act to badly. I moved to Phoenix, AZ later that year, and I saw them in the Fall of 72 and Spring of 73, the new and old songs were well received. Again, in Tempe, AZ in 74, the crowd wasn't crazy for the new stuff, but yelled for the old stuff or just chatted and not paid much attention to the new stuff. They did respond well to California Saga-California and Sail On Sailor. From 74 onward, it seems that most people at the shows only wanted oldies. Fans at the shows could be quite rude. There were quite a few times I heard fans yelling oldies titles while the band was actually performing, and not just in between songs, though they did that too.

The jukebox band happened because of the fans, not solely because they became lazy. They gave the concert goers what they wanted to hear. I know that none of my friends in Philly or Phoenix knew nothing of the 70-73 albums until I exposed them to it. The new material just didn't catch on and sell very well. They received a little bit of airplay on Progressive FM stations and virtually none at all on Top 40 AM. In Phoenix, Holland and In Concert are the only two albums that I remember hearing on KDKB-FM.

what stuff from those albums were played on the radio?

[punkinhead]

Having collected virtually every concert review of the Beach Boys that ever appeared in a newspaper from 62-80-I have to say that I admire the BBs for keeping anything post 68 in the setlists.  The fact is that the BBs almost always faced resistance from audiences when they played there progressive material.  Check out any review from 71-78 and all you ever hear about is how the audience sat on their hands, talked or was openly rude when they played unfamiliar material

I agree. After having stumbled across several 1970's shows, I admire them for actually staying together as a band.  Some of the audience members could be brutal. There was one show where Carl made the group stop in mid-song, and ended up actually swearing at the crowd. Regarding what MBE said about the shows starting to go downill after 1974, I have a show from 1974, and Carl sounds very...loose. He's not full on wasted like he was in Australia, but he's definitely not 100% straight.

What's he sound like he's on?

[drbeachboy]

I saw The Boys' in the Spring of 1972 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. The crowd got a bit restless during new material, but didn't act to badly. I moved to Phoenix, AZ later that year, and I saw them in the Fall of 72 and Spring of 73, the new and old songs were well received. Again, in Tempe, AZ in 74, the crowd wasn't crazy for the new stuff, but yelled for the old stuff or just chatted and not paid much attention to the new stuff. They did respond well to California Saga-California and Sail On Sailor. From 74 onward, it seems that most people at the shows only wanted oldies. Fans at the shows could be quite rude. There were quite a few times I heard fans yelling oldies titles while the band was actually performing, and not just in between songs, though they did that too.

The jukebox band happened because of the fans, not solely because they became lazy. They gave the concert goers what they wanted to hear. I know that none of my friends in Philly or Phoenix knew nothing of the 70-73 albums until I exposed them to it. The new material just didn't catch on and sell very well. They received a little bit of airplay on Progressive FM stations and virtually none at all on Top 40 AM. In Phoenix, Holland and In Concert are the only two albums that I remember hearing on KDKB-FM.

what stuff from those albums were played on the radio?

As I recall, Sail On Sailor, Steamboat, California, The Trader from Holland. From In Concert, Darlin', Marcella and Fun, Fun, Fun. Again, this was a Progressive station that was prone to playing album tracks. Oh, and Good Vibrations.

[Ian]

Speaking of the Concert album-I have reviews of shows they taped for that-and they informed the audience that they'd be taping beforehand-so those shows are unusual in that the crowds were on their best behavior because they knew this was being recorded.

[punkinhead]

Speaking of the Concert album-I have reviews of shows they taped for that-and they informed the audience that they'd be taping beforehand-so those shows are unusual in that the crowds were on their best behavior because they knew this was being recorded.

hmm, interesting...and kind of a shame.

I wonder if they announced everytime they recorded a show?
I think I do remember them mentioning it at the Hawaii shows in 67.

[Jay]

Having collected virtually every concert review of the Beach Boys that ever appeared in a newspaper from 62-80-I have to say that I admire the BBs for keeping anything post 68 in the setlists.  The fact is that the BBs almost always faced resistance from audiences when they played there progressive material.  Check out any review from 71-78 and all you ever hear about is how the audience sat on their hands, talked or was openly rude when they played unfamiliar material

I agree. After having stumbled across several 1970's shows, I admire them for actually staying together as a band.  Some of the audience members could be brutal. There was one show where Carl made the group stop in mid-song, and ended up actually swearing at the crowd. Regarding what MBE said about the shows starting to go downill after 1974, I have a show from 1974, and Carl sounds very...loose. He's not full on wasted like he was in Australia, but he's definitely not 100% straight.

What's he sound like he's on?

He just sounds like he's had a beer or three. He's not totally wasted, but he's not as "professional" as a few other shows from the period. He sounds very "loose", as in casual...like you would at an imformal party atmosphere. Maybe somebody here can help identify the show I have...

[punkinhead]

Having collected virtually every concert review of the Beach Boys that ever appeared in a newspaper from 62-80-I have to say that I admire the BBs for keeping anything post 68 in the setlists.  The fact is that the BBs almost always faced resistance from audiences when they played there progressive material.  Check out any review from 71-78 and all you ever hear about is how the audience sat on their hands, talked or was openly rude when they played unfamiliar material

I agree. After having stumbled across several 1970's shows, I admire them for actually staying together as a band.  Some of the audience members could be brutal. There was one show where Carl made the group stop in mid-song, and ended up actually swearing at the crowd. Regarding what MBE said about the shows starting to go downill after 1974, I have a show from 1974, and Carl sounds very...loose. He's not full on wasted like he was in Australia, but he's definitely not 100% straight.

What's he sound like he's on?

He just sounds like he's had a beer or three. He's not totally wasted, but he's not as "professional" as a few other shows from the period. He sounds very "loose", as in casual...like you would at an imformal party atmosphere. Maybe somebody here can help identify the show I have...

Any specific songs he sounds like this?
Obviously his leads but what about his backing vocals?