BW & Band: private show @ House of Blues, Dallas (October 12th 2012)

[Shady]

I'd love to know who was behind that setlist, I'd guess either Darian or Jeff. The lack of "Love You" tracks would explain Jeff's hand in it

Those guess know what the fans want to hear.

[ontor pertawst]

Actually, according to an incredibly obscure, nearly microscopic clause of the licensing contract, Mike Love arranges all of Brian's setlists as well, so we can blame him for that too! THE BASTARD!

[Ray Lawlor]

Oh for Gods sake.   Everyone committed to more dates after the original 50; it wasn't  "Brian changing his mind". Brian, Alan and David all wanted to continue after the additional twenty some odd dates were added; there were offers on the table, but Mike and Bruce had prior commitments .This nonsense that it is tough to plan around Brian has gotten archaic; I have not seen him miss a solo show , an interview or anything else he has committed to in sixteen years, as well as every minute of every C50 sound check and concert. If he commits to something, he does it and is diligent about it.


And hammering any of them for doing solo  or private shows post C50 is unreasonable; Mike and Bruce (not sure they could do it as The Beach Boys during the tour) Alan ,David and Brian all had the capability before, during and after the C50 concerts to  play private shows ,as solo entities, just as Mike and Bruce have the right to resume touring as The Beach Boys  now that C50 has ended.

[Jason]

Ray, you're asking Brianistas to use both sides of their brain. A daunting task.

[Rocker]

Probably covering old ground here but because Brian has a tendency to change his mind (and I`m not trying to pin blame on him), it must make it tough for other people to plan around him.

It was his original intention that the album would be called Summer`s Gone and would signal the end. He then changed his mind.

I'm not sure but as I understood it he wanted to call the laste Beach Boys album "Summer's gone" in '98 but that never happened. So it was a very different situation in 2012. But I am not certain about that

[Ray Lawlor]

Well , I am asking everyone to use both sides of their brain ; no matter what "camp" you gravitate to.......I read pure nonsense coming from both sides on both SS.com and BW.com, and some of the stuff that is stated as "fact" is nothing more than personal opinion and conjecture.   I went to about  fifteen of the C50 shows and saw zero tension or problems between any of the guys; I think the quality of the concerts reflected this .

Things changed during the tour.  It got better.   Brian became enthralled with being a Beach Boy again. Mike toured with a healthy Brian Wilson for the first time since 1964. I dont know that either of them knew that going in. I can tell everyone this : Day one in Tuscon wasnt in the same light year as the RAH and Wembley shows.   Things changed.  

I could go on for hours !

[Jim V.]

Well , I am asking everyone to use both sides of their brain ; no matter what "camp" you gravitate to.......I read pure nonsense coming from both sides on both SS.com and BW.com, and some of the stuff that is stated as "fact" is nothing more than personal opinion and conjecture.   I went to about  fifteen of the C50 shows and saw zero tension or problems between any of the guys; I think the quality of the concerts reflected this .

Things changed during the tour.  It got better.   Brian became enthralled with being a Beach Boy again. Mike toured with a healthy Brian Wilson for the first time since 1964. I dont know that either of them knew that going in. I can tell everyone this : Day one in Tuscon wasnt in the same light year as the RAH and Wembley shows.   Things changed.  

I could go on for hours !

Whew. You gotta go more in depth on this Mr. Lawlor! Please!

[Cam Mott]

Please do.

[ontor pertawst]

Well, better to have well-informed rambling for hours than "fact" in dubious quotes, so please do! Maybe we could even dispense with sneers about "Brianistas" and mentions of Country Love for a few pages...

 How would you compare Tucson to the London stint, for starters?

[BB Universe]

If there's one thing that we've learned about entertainers (and in that term I am including professional athletes) over time is that there is no such thing as a permanent retirement in numerous cases. Someone announces they are "retired" and then down the road there's an offer to comeback - whether to play the sport again, perform a gig, a tour, a movie, a show whatever. If physically/mentally able to do so plus its lucrative enough to do so, its often undertaken. So, whether or not there were pronouncements that the C50 Tour was "the last time", or whatever, I did not/do not believe it - and it won't be a conclusive ending until health reasons (or the paying public) determine otherwise.

[Nicko1234]

Everyone committed to more dates after the original 50; it wasn't  "Brian changing his mind".

No need for the attitude. Mike has said that originally Brian was possibly only going to play a few of the concerts at major cities. There obviously was a change of mind to go from that to close to 75 shows.

The difference with Al and David is that they weren`t part of the decision making process to play 50 shows in the first place.

[Ray Lawlor]

To answer the question about the contrast between Tuscon and London; the RAH concert was epic, and Wembley was a close second....I mean 61 songs , non stop at RAH and 55 at Wembley. Everyone on stage at the top of their game . Best back line The Beach Boys ever had in my opinion; John Cowsill pounding the snare like Dennis circa 1970; Brian playing keyboards (audible) on almost every song ; singing every background vocal.......singing a few falsetto lines (Please Let Me Wonder and Little Girl I Once Knew)   The vocals.  The guy next to me at RAH crying when Summers Gone closed the show. Sail On , Sailor. The look on Brian's face after Heroes and Villains at Wembley.   amazingly not missing Carl on All This is That. Al's vocals. Bruce holding the last note of Disney Girls at RAH, David leaning into Pet Sounds. Brian's vocal on I Guess I Just Wasn't Made For These Times echoing through RAH.   Just epic.

Tuscon was just the first show and nobody knew what we were going to get !  

[Nicko1234]

I'm not sure but as I understood it he wanted to call the laste Beach Boys album "Summer's gone" in '98 but that never happened. So it was a very different situation in 2012. But I am not certain about that

My memory if the Joe Thomas interview is that he said that Brian decided while recording the album that he didn`t want to accept it was the last one so he decided to change the title. I could be wrong.

[EgoHanger1966]

To answer the question about the contrast between Tuscon and London; the RAH concert was epic, and Wembley was a close second....I mean 61 songs , non stop at RAH and 55 at Wembley. Everyone on stage at the top of their game . Best back line The Beach Boys ever had in my opinion; John Cowsill pounding the snare like Dennis circa 1970; Brian playing keyboards (audible) on almost every song ; singing every background vocal.......singing a few falsetto lines (Please Let Me Wonder and Little Girl I Once Knew)   The vocals.  The guy next to me at RAH crying when Summers Gone closed the show. Sail On , Sailor. The look on Brian's face after Heroes and Villains at Wembley.   amazingly not missing Carl on All This is That. Al's vocals. Bruce holding the last note of Disney Girls at RAH, David leaning into Pet Sounds. Brian's vocal on I Guess I Just Wasn't Made For These Times echoing through RAH.   Just epic.

Tuscon was just the first show and nobody knew what we were going to get !  

Thanks for stopping in here. I saw on youtube that Brian dedicated the second half of one of the UK gigs (Wembey?) to you (and Melinda) - and I think he made mention of you guys after one of the songs. Seemed like he was really happy and at ease knowing his friend and his wife were there supporting him. Won-won-won-wonderful.

[Nicko1234]

Yes, here is the quote from Joe Thomas:

`He wanted the original title of the album to be Summer’s Gone. But he had so much fun with Mike and the guys that he scratched that about halfway through the recording process and insisted on changing the title to That’s Why God Made the Radio, because he really didn’t in a lot of ways want this to be the last Beach Boys record.`

[Ray Lawlor]

Well.....I don't know where that info comes from.   Without all the principals agreeing to the original 50 dates there would have been no C50 tour as it happened. Nor would the rest of the dates have happened without agreement from all the principals  . The new offers had to be rejected because there could not be an agreement with all the principals

[Nicko1234]

Well.....I don't know where that info comes from.   Without all the principals agreeing to the original 50 dates there would have been no C50 tour as it happened. Nor would the rest of the dates have happened without agreement from all the principals  . The new offers had to be rejected because there could not be an agreement with all the principals

There`s a big difference between Brian, Al and David though isn`t there. Al doesn`t have a career. He was never going to turn down more shows and would have agreed to 75 right from the start if they`d been offered. David isn`t a BRI member so his opinion isn`t really that important.

My point is that the whole reunion was done in line with what Brian (or Melinda) wanted. Mike (or Jacqui) agreed to compromise and so we got what we got. Brian`s camp obviously have changed their minds about a lot of things to do with the Beach Boys both before and during the reunion. Mike hasn`t really as he clearly always intended to go back out with Bruce from October onwards. Hence the problem now.

[Ray Lawlor]

I would be remiss if I did not mention at RAH you could really hear the complexity of Mikes bass parts

[Runaways]

Hey, I'd love to see the "Brianista" word go away, too.

uh huh...

Ray, you're asking Brianistas to use both sides of their brain. A daunting task.

Brian actually has a brain; this is a possession that Brianistas are short on.

Well, the writer's intelligence is just about on par with your everyday Brianista...he gets about 5% of it right and promptly spends 95% of the essay slinging mud.

You may be the only one I see use that term commonly. 

[Shady]

Real Beach Boys was in work today complaining about "Brianistas"

His co-workers had no idea what he was talking about

[ontor pertawst]

Ray, that description of RAH & Wembley is fantastic! I loved the audience videos and you can tell everybody concerned was having an absolute blast. What are our chances of seeing a nice presentation of that footage next year, ya think? If the spirit moves you, grab the concerned parties by the lapels and whisper menacingly that we'll need more than 21 songs ala the upcoming Phoenix DVD! You'd think they'd do at least 50 what with the whole... 50 thing.  

You know, if the spirit moved you. Tell them DVD producers have a tendency to be set on fire sometimes. Be a real shame if a DVD producer who only stuck in edited highlights of 21 songs intercut with unenlightening interviews were to be set on fire, is all I'm saying.

[the professor]

I am very much enjoying Ron's analysis, which makes our need for the British shows to be seen and enjoyed for all time on DVD. Thank you sir.

But we are all mired in confusion about "what happens now." Unraveling the Gordian knot of agency and culpability has its discursive limits.
What happens now? Who know the answer, and who will tell us? Can't they simply release a BB statement assuring us of their good faith and (even tentatively concrete) plan for a new album?

One drop of cool water can calm the boiling rage of anxious woe.

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

Ray, you're asking Brianistas to use both sides of their brain. A daunting task.

You're turning into oldsurferdude.

[MBE]

Well , I am asking everyone to use both sides of their brain ; no matter what "camp" you gravitate to.......I read pure nonsense coming from both sides on both SS.com and BW.com, and some of the stuff that is stated as "fact" is nothing more than personal opinion and conjecture.   I went to about  fifteen of the C50 shows and saw zero tension or problems between any of the guys; I think the quality of the concerts reflected this .

Things changed during the tour.  It got better.   Brian became enthralled with being a Beach Boy again. Mike toured with a healthy Brian Wilson for the first time since 1964. I dont know that either of them knew that going in. I can tell everyone this : Day one in Tuscon wasnt in the same light year as the RAH and Wembley shows.   Things changed.  

I could go on for hours !

Thanks for providing some much needed perspective here.

[Pretty Funky]

Again Ray makes more sense in 3-4 posts than multiple threads about the same subject over the last month.

Lesson? A few well placed words can ease many minds. Perhaps parties on all sides could learn something.