Show 12: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT 05/12/12

[tpesky]

It does seem like an odd choice, but Al and Brian sounded great on it and Brian was VERY into it. I think that's the reason it's in there. He and Al both enjoy doing it. That was one time I could hear him actually doing background vocals. Two women next to me (neither of whom were big fans based on their conversations) thought that song sounded the best oddly.

[Justin]

In a perfect world,  I'd say sure keep the song in the set...just give us one more good song for Al to sing lead on--which brings me to the three I suggested earlier ("California Saga" "Honkin Down The Highway" or "Lookin At Tomorrow (A Welfare Song").  Brian sounds pretty good on "California Dreamin" but aside from the California connection, I don't see a reason why it would have to stay in the set.  

[Wirestone]

I love California Dreamin, and I love the guys' version of it. The song was a reasonable hit for them in the '80s (one of their most recent), so I'm glad it's there.

IIRC Brian actually arranged and sang almost all the backgrounds on the record (they were sped up, so it doesn't sound exactly like him). So he has a history with the song, and has likely never gotten to perform it live.

That being said, out of all the covers, I think they should drop Why Do Fools Fall in Love. That and DYWD. Neither is important to the group's history, and they don't loom as big hits to me, although I'm guessing they did well.

[Sound of Free]

I saw Brian in 1999 and 2000, but this was my first Beach Boys show – kicking myself for never seeing them when Carl was alive. It was a tremendous show. I agree with what a lot of the posters said. Here are some thoughts of mine.

Mike kept his banter in check for the most part. (One of the reasons I didn't see the band after I truly got into them around 1990 or so was seeing clips of Mike and the cheerleaders, etc. It was my loss that I didn't go and see the great Carl Wilson). Tonight the only time he was truly corny was on the "Wheeeeeeeeen" for Be True to Your School, when he went to one knee and had Al and David help him up. Otherwise he was good, and I think it helps Brian to have Mike running the show, because Brian didn't speak at all.

Bruce was hard to hear doing the lead on Wendy. He was better on Disney Girls, but I agree that his voice is the weakest.

David sounded good on Hawaii and was terrific on guitar. I've said repeatedly, this is great that he's a part of it.

Al sounds EXACTLY the same as he did in the 60s, and that's a very good thing. I think Help Me Rhonda got the biggest reception of the night.

Brian started a little slow, but picked up quickly. A surprise highlight to me was his vocal on You're So Good to Me. He really was into it and gave a very strong performance on it, maybe his best one of the night, and that's saying something.

I couldn't tell who was signing Carl's part on All This Is That. I thought it would be all, but it wasn't. I wonder if it was someone in the back. Jeff (who sang the Jai guru dev" ending) and Scott Totten were the only ones besides the five Boys in front, but I don't think either of them sang it.

Add Some Music was a highlight with the five of them around the piano.

The backup band was excellent, as expected, and, sorry haters, Jeff sounded excellent.

If you have a chance to see this tour, go see it!

[GuyO]

Hey Sound of Free, thanks for your excellent review. It's Darian who sings Carl's parts during All This is That.

[Wirestone]

Hey Sound of Free, thanks for your excellent review. It's Darian who sings Carl's parts during All This is That.

And Brian.

[Autotune]

Is there any reason Al couldn't take Darlin'?

Yeah. It stays too high a lot of time. And Al doesn't have that high A#. Unless you want Jeff to cover that for him. I don't.

Great to read so much praise for the car medley! Up until some time it was thought to be the epitome of dull.

Regarding Bruce's weak voice... He has his days. But he is mostly a backup singer, and is great at it. His tone has not  changed much, he's never been a strong lead and his voice was always the softest in the band. Sounds pretty much like his young self still.

[J.G. Dev]

Went last night as well. My first BB show since Carl died. I've seen them many times and this was my favorite show of them all. Let me tell you, this is not a band on auto pilot. They are putting a lot into these gigs, and it shows.  I also bought my tickets 10 mins after they went on sale and ended up in the back corner in the last row! What's up with that. No big deal though. Took my 14 year old son who is a casual BB fan, and he was very impresed (and I don't have to tell you the crap he listens to).
This is a crakerjack backing band they have. I could feel Cowsill's energy from the back row.
Cousin Brian seemed like he wanted to shuffle off to the casino to go sit down and play Keno. He didn't seem to want to be there,in my opinion, but that's just Brian and I thought he did a fine job with all his parts and it was great to have him in this show. Mike was great. He's really proud of this milestone and I think it comes out in his performance.  As everyone has been saying, Al is superb. During Cottonfields, when he sang the line "a nice old man with, he had a hat on", he pointed at Mike, and MIke just laughed. Great to see those two together again. The touring Beach Boys need Al Jardine. As others have said, Bruce seemed really weak on Wendy. So much so, I thought that the Secret Service may have paid a visit to him before the show. But he really rebounded on Disney Girls and hit it completely out of the park. That may have been the best number of the night in my opinion. Dave is the only one I had never seen before with the BB's and simply put, he rocks. He also ups the coolness factor by about 10.
The Dennis and Carl songs were fantastic, and very very sad. You do feel their presence though. A great addition to the set, and reminds you that this is no ordinary BB concert.

Add Some Musinc was a terrific way to open the 2nd set, all 5 of them around the piano. During the song, Mike opened his mouth to sing his "at a movie" line and Brian sang it. I think that surprised Mike 
I don't know what the future holds for these 5 as a unit, but if they don't continue together, they are doing right by themselves, and their fans on this tour. I really hope they do a great job with the DVD so the true fans who cannot see this show in person get to expierience it some how.
Fortunatlely for me, I have two more shows to go. Can't wait.

[donald]

Whether they go on or not, it won't get any better than this.

Go to one (or more) of these shows if you possibly can.

The show just kills and keeps going and going right to the end.  Overwhelming in the best way.

[myonlysunshine]

A few more things about last nights show:

During Be True to Your School, the main Jumbo-Tron showed the UConn logo, which got everybody in the audience cheering. I'm currently a student at UConn, and given the general age of the audience (60+), it's likely that I was the only UConn student in the audience. Mike Love became aware during the number that somebody had programmed the screen to show the UConn logo during the number, and referred to it as "sabotage." That really made me smile, hearing one of my musical heroes mentioning my school by name during the concert.

Doing Add Some Music around the piano with Brian was, like many posters have pointed out, touching. It was really sentimental and nice to see. It was mostly Brian and Al singing the lead, with the rest of the group doing background vocals.

Jeff Foskett sounded particularly whiny during TWGMTR. There were a few rough spots during that song. However, Jeff sounded better than I ever remember him sounding the rest of the night.

I think Brian's best vocal was You're So Good to Me. That's really a track that stands out to me.

Dave's guitar solos were awesome. He added some nice touches to a couple of numbers. He was really excellent.

[Rocker]

Thanks for all your reviews ! Man, I can't wait to see them ! What a fantastic setlist and - judging from youtube and reviews - how great they do sound !!

[Sound of Free]

Thanks, GuyO and Wirestone. From the angle of my seats, I could SEE Darian but had a hard time telling if he was seeing. It's great that Brian was also signing.

Scott M, glad to see you agreed Brian was great on You're So Good To Me. I also went to UConn, Class of '87. Go Huskies – although next year will be a little tough.

[myonlysunshine]

Scott M, glad to see you agreed Brian was great on You're So Good To Me. I also went to UConn, Class of '87. Go Huskies – although next year will be a little tough.

Yeah, Calhoun should have just retired after last year's championship. That was my senior year (I'm a grad student now), and luckily I got to see that team in person.

I had such a good time at last night's concert, my family was thinking of buying tickets to tonight's show as well. But we can't find good enough seats, so I guess we're skipping it.

Edit: Err, scratch that. Looks like I'm going to tonight's concert too.

[Sound of Free]

Enjoy it, Scott.

[GoodToMyBaby]

Waiting for Saratoga. I am so excited.

[runnersdialzero]

Is there any reason Al couldn't take Darlin'?

Yeah. It stays too high a lot of time. And Al doesn't have that high A#. Unless you want Jeff to cover that for him. I don't.

Change the key. I don't even think that's within Jeff's range - not even his extremely iffy "I can still sing high notes! I swear!" range.

[Zach95]

Waiting for Saratoga. I am so excited.

Same here!

[Shady]

Bunch of videos here

http://www.youtube.com/user/lexingtonsband

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Waiting for Saratoga. I am so excited.

Same here!

Me Three!

[Zach95]

Bunch of videos here

http://www.youtube.com/user/lexingtonsband

Brian sounds AMAZING on YSGTM. No wobbling voice, and when he hits a bum note you can tell its natural!

[seltaeb1012002]

Man, so cool 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh-u91pCry0

[Justin]

Have we seen video of "This Whole World" yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WER04t6oN2Y&feature=relmfu

[Wirestone]

Have we seen video of "This Whole World" yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WER04t6oN2Y&feature=relmfu

Awesome. Definitely no autotune there, either.

[Justin]

Yeah I noticed that Brian's vocals seemed pretty raw...sounded pretty good.

[Rocker]