Assessing the North American tour

[Wirestone]

Well, we're nearly there. Only four shows remain before the Boys head overseas for another couple of dozen shows.

So what did everyone think? Did the 50th anniversary celebration shows live up to expectations?

What surprised you? What disappointed you?

Do you hope to see it again?

Any and all comments welcome, especially as the final shows unwind this week.

[Shady]

A remarkable achievement for ALL involved.

I'm amazed they all survived it, that was some trek

[EgoHanger1966]

Well, we're nearly there. Only four shows remain before the Boys head overseas for another couple of dozen shows.

So what did everyone think? Did the 50th anniversary celebration shows live up to expectations?

What surprised you? What disappointed you?

Do you hope to see it again?

Any and all comments welcome, especially as the final shows unwind this week.

I don't think anyone here expected it to be this good. I had my doubts that they would even finish the tour when it was first announced. The setlists are long and varied. Everyone in great vocal shape. Audiences really enjoying themselves and most importantly, The Beach Boys name is out there in a bigger way than we could have imagined.

The one mistake I think is that the CD was released too late into the tour.

[Wah Wah Wah Ooooo]

A great success. 

A long, varied, rotating setlist featuring wonderful renditions of hits and deep tracks....I mean, really, we just heard The Beach Boys featuring Brian Wilson play stuff like IJWMFTT, Our Prayer, Please Let Me Wonder, Kiss Me Baby, etc. etc. etc.

Mostly positive reviews. A hit album along the way.

what's not to love?  it's a great time to be a Beach Boys fan.

[Waspinators]

Absolutely amazing achievement, especially when you remember that something like this seemed absolutely impossible a year ago. Only disappointments I'd say were the live autotune in the first batch of shows (mine included) and I wish I could've seen Add Some Music and California Saga. All that aside, I'll never forget that May 4th gig!

[the professor]

Without romantic bias or sentimentalization, I can say, having seen three shows, that the tour and all the related promotion and performances on TV, web, etc. have been, variously and collectively: genuine, artistically rich, dynamic, emotionally deep, exuberant, and loving.  I could not have hoped for more. The interviews and specials have been insightful with fair and just attention paid to members and their work; the critical reception has evolved from the "they are only capable of committing self parody" to "heavens, this is great." In a battle with age, history, sorrow, division and time, the BB have won, not by defeating these forces but by embracing the darkness as a bride, hugging it in their arms. The battle is epic, the stakes nothing short of immortality, now secured ten-thousand fold.

Waiting on the next single, album and LA show. . . . .

[Justin]

A complete success.

Each member rose to the occasion and gave it their all and what we got was a dynamic and VIBRANT tour with some amazing performances and challenging set lists to boot.   I think we're all pleasantly pleased how it all turned out.  Here's hoping they decide to do it all again, real soon!

[Jason]

The last year has been a great time to be a Beach Boys fan. We went from a great set of Brian and Michael and Bruce tours last year to the Smile box. Now we've come full circle with the reunion and the new record. I'd say it's been a runaway success.

[SG7]

As I only could afford one show, I really wish I could've seen more. Musically speaking, I think this was the best I've heard any of the BBs themselves. If there was anything disappointing, I would say the show wasn't long enough  Depending on many factors, yes I would really love to go see them again. This tour though will be pretty hard to beat.

[drbeachboy]

The last year has been a great time to be a Beach Boys fan. We went from a great set of Brian and Michael and Bruce tours last year to the Smile box. Now we've come full circle with the reunion and the new record. I'd say it's been a runaway success.

With more to come, in the way of a new compilation and box set this Fall. Hopefully, there is more on the way for 2013.

[Jon Stebbins]

Did the 50th anniversary celebration shows live up to expectations?

Your fingers should have refused to type that. This tour has been so far beyond my expectations that the word expectations will never be the same.

[drbeachboy]

Did the 50th anniversary celebration shows live up to expectations?

Your fingers should have refused to type that. This tour has been so far beyond my expectations that the word expectations will never be the same.

Ain't that the truth! Run, run, wee, ooh!

[pixletwin]

As some of you know, my biggest disappointment was that the concert I attended only had a 19 song set. 

[lee]

I feel lucky to have seen two shows this tour (one towards the beginning and one towards the end) and I was more than impressed and happy with how the tour turned out. Long shows, vocals sounded great, David Marks being the man on guitar and we got better set lists than I was expecting. So happy I got to hear songs like This Whole World, Marcella, California Saga, All This Is That, IJWMFTT, Pet Sounds, etc.

[southbay]

I swore off seeing the Beach Boys live after Carl passed because I felt he was such a huge part of the sound and blend, although I have seen Brian live three times solo. For this reunion, I of course relented and had planned on seeing two shows.  They so far exceeded my expectations that I saw a third, with my fourth show coming up this Sunday in Tahoe before they leave the US.

[Tony S]

Seriously, much better than I thought it was going to be, helped greatly by Brian's back up bad. But the 5 principles did a great job, and really rose to the occassion. I didn't think they had it in them....so glad I was wrong, and got to see 2 shows.

[Autotune]

It's been magnificent!

Just for fun, I'd recommend reading some threads from two years ago, for instance. Every time the possibility of a reunion was brought up by a fan, it was immediately dismissed. "Their voices are not strong enough". "The BBs play in your town every year and people don't care who the individuals are... There'd be nothing special to this reunion to the average Joe". "Brian is better off touring on his own". "Brian doesn't wanna play with those guys, he's said so". And so forth...

The made us eat our words. And the BBs saga of redemtpion through harmony has reached its peak at its most unexpected moment. In terms of overcoming defeat and personal limitations through music, there's no moment in the band's history that equals this in its beauty.




Oh! And Jeff Foskett! Once the tour started, no one seemed to complain anymore. He must have done something right.

[Musketeer]

One of the highlights of their career, IMO.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Just for fun, I'd recommend reading some threads from two years ago, for instance. Every time the possibility of a reunion was brought up by a fan, it was immediately dismissed. "Their voices are not strong enough". "The BBs play in your town every year and people don't care who the individuals are... There'd be nothing special to this reunion to the average Joe". "Brian is better off touring on his own". "Brian doesn't wanna play with those guys, he's said so". And so forth...

Yeah, I know...

[Sound of Free]

I saw them very early in the tour (May 12), and they were great. It seems like they've only gotten even better since.

It's amazing a few years ago we were celebrating the fact that they were able to get together for the photo op on the roof. I think a lot of us expected that to be the best Beach Boys reunion we would get. Instead, they come up with a largely terrific album and a kick-ass tour.

From the album to the Carl and Dennis tributes, to the varied setlists, to appearances by Calsaga, Billy Hinsche and Dean Torrance, to the respect they all seem to have shown to the shows and their legacy, I think I can some up the Beach Boys reunion in four words:

THEY DID IT RIGHT

[Pretty Funky]

I'd say the 'anti-Mike' posts are down 95% if not more and the 'Mike touring South America' topic was shrugged off for what it was, more than likely a prior commitment. Sure you can't dismiss history but he seems to have made a real effort to be a team player.

So the highlight for me is that they all came together with a mission to do it right and have, and seem to have had some fun doing it.

[Moon Dawg]

Without romantic bias or sentimentalization, I can say, having seen three shows, that the tour and all the related promotion and performances on TV, web, etc. have been, variously and collectively: genuine, artistically rich, dynamic, emotionally deep, exuberant, and loving.  I could not have hoped for more. The interviews and specials have been insightful with fair and just attention paid to members and their work; the critical reception has evolved from the "they are only capable of committing self parody" to "heavens, this is great." In a battle with age, history, sorrow, division and time, the BB have won, not by defeating these forces but by embracing the darkness as a bride, hugging it in their arms. The battle is epic, the stakes nothing short of immortality, now secured ten-thousand fold.

Waiting on the next single, album and LA show. . . . .

 VERY well said.

[Jonathan Blum]

Thanks to this tour, I can now believe six impossible things, and can therefore have breakfast.

Cheers,
Jon Blum

[SonoraDick]

Great topic, Wirestone.

I saw the first show, not because it was first, but because I live in Tucson. Before the show, my biggest fear (we fans always have fears, no matter what) was that we'd simply get a rehearsal for the big New Orleans show a few nights later... this would be a warm-up, so to speak. I still opted to roll the dice, spend the big bucks for the VIP to get the good seats I'd only previously admired from a distance. It was worth every penny. The Beach Boys were great right off the bat for this tour. Maybe I was just so thrilled to see the show that I missed the autotune; I didn't care. It was one of the best nights of my life.

Saw my second and final show three nights ago in Phoenix. Couldn't justify the huge expense again so we ended up with second-tier seats, at least forty rows from the stage. Binoculars helped us enjoy this show, even if the experience wasn't the same. There's no denying, as everyone has said, that the tour has just gotten better, seemingly with every show. I was lucky, for the first and no doubt only time in my life, to get backstage passes for myself and my wife. I had no idea what to expect. It was fun, for sure, but I got something different from the experience than I expected... the realization that all of these folks are working their tails off to give a great... not simply good... performance every single night. I saw the strain, the exhaustion, in their eyes after the show. There's no auto-pilot on this tour; no "mailing it in" because they've done these songs hundreds of times before and could do them in their sleep.

So yes, this entire celebration has been a great success, more than I could have hoped or had any right to expect. The Beach Boys have earned my respect & paid back any past disappointments many times over.

[Autotune]

Without romantic bias or sentimentalization, I can say, having seen three shows, that the tour and all the related promotion and performances on TV, web, etc. have been, variously and collectively: genuine, artistically rich, dynamic, emotionally deep, exuberant, and loving.  I could not have hoped for more. The interviews and specials have been insightful with fair and just attention paid to members and their work; the critical reception has evolved from the "they are only capable of committing self parody" to "heavens, this is great." In a battle with age, history, sorrow, division and time, the BB have won, not by defeating these forces but by embracing the darkness as a bride, hugging it in their arms. The battle is epic, the stakes nothing short of immortality, now secured ten-thousand fold.

Waiting on the next single, album and LA show. . . . .

 VERY well said.

Yeah, it's great to see VDP turned his opinion on the reunion 180 degrees.