Meet And Greets?

[MaxL]

Wow. Just seen the prices for one of the VIP packages. Not going to be able to afford those if they come over to the UK! They are so expensive!

I don't like how this is the only way for their fans to meet their idols but I suppose it's normal nowadays and they might as well make as much money as they can.

I am just so glad that I met Brian last year (truly amazing) and was front row at the BB UK gig. It probably won't happen again so I am grateful I have experienced those two days. They both made 2011 a great year for me.

I've never met any of the band but great seats for BW and front row for Epsom really made me so deleriously happy it really didn't matter to me. I've accepted I'll never meet them and I just savour every second I'm in their presence at concerts.

[AndrewHickey]

Wow. Just seen the prices for one of the VIP packages. Not going to be able to afford those if they come over to the UK! They are so expensive!

I don't like how this is the only way for their fans to meet their idols but I suppose it's normal nowadays and they might as well make as much money as they can.

I am just so glad that I met Brian last year (truly amazing) and was front row at the BB UK gig. It probably won't happen again so I am grateful I have experienced those two days. They both made 2011 a great year for me.

I've never met any of the band but great seats for BW and front row for Epsom really made me so deleriously happy it really didn't matter to me. I've accepted I'll never meet them and I just savour every second I'm in their presence at concerts.

If you go to any theatre shows they do (and I do hope that if they play the UK they'll be theatre shows) and hang around the stage door, Mike and David are both usually willing to chat with the fans for a couple of minutes (in 2004 Mike said to me "You're the one who knew ALL the words!" as soon as he walked out - he's obviously paying attention up there). Bruce sometimes is very chatty, but I've also seen him be hideously rude to fans (though to be fair that was while he ws taking a break from soundcheck, so he was busy), and he can be a little odd at times.

All the members of both backing bands are very friendly as well - John Cowsill may literally be the nicest man I've ever met, and Probyn in particular always has a lot of time for the fans.

Brian, of course, won't talk to anyone outside - Jeff and a couple of others bustle him straight through - but nor does he really talk at meet & greets. I've had backstage passes twice at his shows, and I think in total we exchanged about seven words.

[CarlTheVoice]

I agree Max. I probably had more interaction with Mike at Epsom than I did with Brian who was a couple of inches away! It was an absolute pleasure to see both performing live, I am just sad I didn't get the chance to see Carl sing.

Andrew, I should think if they are offering expensive VIP tickets they won't let people hang around stage doors, exits etc as then the people who paid £1000 would get no real benefit. It's a shame but I think that would be the case. I'd like to think we'd get the chance to see them, but I'm not hopeful.

[MaxL]

Yeah Mike was really working the women in the front row, especially someone I was stood next to who got plenty of winks and points (especially during the slow songs)

Thanks for the tip, Andrew. Usually the best I can do is get a setlist, never been good at meeting folks.

[CarlTheVoice]

I think I was one of those women! Haha! It definitely made it more fun! 

I think being able to see and hear them live and within a few feet of you is amazing anyway and you're really lucky if you get anything more than that.

[Margarita]

Is it a new thing to charge insanely high rates for meet & greets?  I've seen the kinds of packages described here for other artists, but those were either prizes in fanclub contests or winning bids in charity auctions. 
Met Brian twice - didn't cost me a dime either time. 

[Wirestone]

Is it a new thing to charge insanely high rates for meet & greets?  I've seen the kinds of packages described here for other artists, but those were either prizes in fanclub contests or winning bids in charity auctions. 
Met Brian twice - didn't cost me a dime either time. 

Yep. Been happening a lot over the last two-three years. A way to milk fans for something previously given away for free. It sucks.

[jeffh]

Yes, I agree. I find this practice extremely offensive! They should be meeting and greeting for free.

[Emdeeh]

I agree with the general sentiment about gouging fans. VIP Nation ought to donate all the proceeds from those VIP packages to the Carl Wilson Foundation, but I would be surprised if they actually did.

[Wirestone]

Yes, I agree. I find this practice extremely offensive! They should be meeting and greeting for free.

It is offensive in the sense that it's super expensive and gouging fans. But ... I also don't know if the artists owe it to the crowd to "meet and greet" some arbitrary number of people on their own time. We pay to see a show, not to have the artists engage us personally afterward.

I mean, it's great if they want to do that. And Brian and his band (especially) have been wonderful about talking to fans with and without backstage passes. But I would hate to think they "have" to do it. If they don't want to, I wouldn't want them to feel pressured.

So in that sense, I understand why some people would charge for it. It does take up artists' time and attention, which they could be using to rest and recuperate for the rest of the tour. It's most likely a draining and tedious business. And people are willing to pay. So I don't begrudge some sort of extra charge. I just wish it wasn't so out of the reach of everyday folks.

[CarCrazyCutie]

So does this mean all the front row (& then some) seats are gonna be reserved for these packages I would love to meet Brian (though I'd probably be more awkward in that situation than him, given I didn't faint first ), but it's just not gonna happen. $300 for couple good tickets will be a stretch, so I hope they're not all reserved (fingers crossed!!!)


BTW, anyone happen to know why certain dates (ie Pittsburgh) aren't listed on the vip nation site?

[Shady]

So does this mean all the front row (& then some) seats are gonna be reserved for these packages I would love to meet Brian (though I'd probably be more awkward in that situation than him, given I didn't faint first ), but it's just not gonna happen. $300 for couple good tickets will be a stretch, so I hope they're not all reserved (fingers crossed!!!)


BTW, anyone happen to know why certain dates (ie Pittsburgh) aren't listed on the vip nation site?

I read the VIP thing is only certain dates

And you're probably right about the front row seats, what a scam

[guitarfool2002]

After hearing and reading a few great concert/post-concert/backstage experiences shared on this board and elsewhere, the one thing a lot of them had in common was the pure luck and good timin' (pun...) of the whole scenario. Or the fact that someone either knew someone else, said the right things at the right time, or just fell ass-backwards into a great BB's experience by being at the right place at the right time. From picking up Al Jardine in a station wagon after spotting him walking down the street near the concert venue, to the classic story Mikie posted here a few months ago, to finding out by chance that a former bandmate and friend had been working with the band, there are some great experiences all around.

And I think having to pay as much as is being asked for these backstage "VIP Packages" to create that same magic removes some of the coolest parts of the whole deal. But that's just me, and if your dream is to meet the band, then by all means go for it!

[CarlTheVoice]

Good post guitarfool! Those moments are more special that way I think, as you don't feel you are owed anything. You are totally grateful to have the chance to see them and you make the most of every second knowing how lucky you are.

As a woman in my mid 20s, my peers don't really care that I saw the Beach Boys or met Brian Wilson but to my family and I it is such a cool thing! When I was standing in front of the camcorder as a child singing 409 I never would have imagined I would meet the man responsible for that song.  I think I wouldn't have enjoyed it so much if I had paid for the privilege but then I was extremely lucky.

[Peter Reum]

I think many of the people who are into these VIP packages are probably new to the group. Those of us who have been around for awhile remember when a backstage pass was more readily available. But let  them enjoy their access...I certainly did, and it was a privilege.

[jimmy1949]

Brian HATES these things.  The description of the VIP meet/greets says "....MEMBERS of the Beach Boys" not all of them.

[hypehat]

Brian HATES these things. 

But he does them.

[SG7]

Brian HATES these things. 

But he does them.

Myth. Yes, when it comes to a cattle call of fans and he is just autographing away, yes a lot of the time he doesn't enjoy himself. I was fortunate enough to meet him without any other fans around. He was super cool and there is even a pic of us high fiving

[Pretty Funky]

Anyone told him he has a gig/ m&g in Montreal on his birthday this year?

[Andrew G. Doe]

When I was standing in front of the camcorder as a child singing 409...

You really need to post that on YouTube. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Brian HATES these things. 

But he does them.

Myth. Yes, when it comes to a cattle call of fans and he is just autographing away, yes a lot of the time he doesn't enjoy himself. I was fortunate enough to meet him without any other fans around. He was super cool and there is even a pic of us high fiving

Post it here - it's a classic.

[SG7]

Taken when I was 16 back in 2005 in Philly for the 2nd Smile tour. Fun memories!

[guitarfool2002]

Taken when I was 16 back in 2005 in Philly for the 2nd Smile tour. Fun memories!

That is a classic shot! I'm in the Philly 'burbs but chose not to see Smile in Philly when the shows were in town, things worked out all around in Boston but I do kind of miss not having seen Brian play Smile in Philly.

Now that photo right there, that experience with Brian in Philly: Can anyone seriously put a price tag on that? It's one of those cool happenings that just happens through a combination of timing, luck, and maybe even a bit of fate. If I buy a "VIP" ticket and have a scheduled time printed on the thing that says "You will be meeting Al Jardine at 9:55 PM at door 3A, please observe the one photo-one autograph policy...", (I exaggerate...)...it just seems like at some point the Powers-That-Be need to stop putting a price on things which should happen on their own terms.

And again, repeating myself, if it means a lot to anyone to meet the band and they're willing to pay for it, by all means do it, enjoy the experience, and savor it! I just hope that charging a fee for so many fan experiences doesn't get too far out of hand.

[acedecade75]

I love that look on Brian's face.

[Shady]

Taken when I was 16 back in 2005 in Philly for the 2nd Smile tour. Fun memories!

Classic..

Brian actually looks better now, at least going by his appearance at the Grammys