M & B Tour 2013

[Mike's Beard]

The fact is that Brian Wilson is one of the worst live performers out there today. He often sits there blankly with his arms by his side and when he does decide to play a little piano it's inaudible anyway. And his shouty, robotic vocals are often way off key. His band carry him in every way. How anyone can listen to a M&B show and think that it would sound sooooo much better with Brian there is baffeling.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

For many years following the Brian is Back campaign in 76, that's basically what they did. Mike, Al, Carl, Dennis (up to his death) and Bruce (after his return in 79) toured regularly, and Brian joined them from time to time. But it doesn't appear that Mike particularly wants to work with Al and David again.

From what Ive read, Mike was always the guy to bring back David into the fold including having him at M&B shows a couple of years back. I think I read somewhere that he wanted him back permanently in the early 70s?. So I'm wondering if he may be a little pissed that David has decided to tour with Brian and Al? taking sides maybe?

[Andrew G. Doe]

I might go to M&B's show next month at a local casino, but not because I am under any illusion that their group is the real Beach Boys. If they had been making albums with that lineup for the last 15 years.....maybe.

Legally, they couldn't - their license to use the name "The Beach Boys" was, and remains, for touring only.

[Nicko1234]

That emotional connection is what Brian Wilson brings to the table as far as what he adds to the overall "Beach Boys" presentation.  Is he on his game 100% of the time?  No in fact, on his off nights it can be painfully obvious to the audience that he would rather be anywhere else than onstage.  But when Brian Wilson has his mojo going he is able to deliver some very special moments to his audience which I think was one of the main reasons why the C50 shows last year were so unique.

In my experience whether Brian is having an off night is considered irrelevant to much of the audience. As is how well or badly Brian sings. If people are having emotional connections then I think it`s often based just on the fact that he is there and isn`t dead (putting it bluntly).

[AndrewHickey]

That emotional connection is what Brian Wilson brings to the table as far as what he adds to the overall "Beach Boys" presentation.  Is he on his game 100% of the time?  No in fact, on his off nights it can be painfully obvious to the audience that he would rather be anywhere else than onstage.  But when Brian Wilson has his mojo going he is able to deliver some very special moments to his audience which I think was one of the main reasons why the C50 shows last year were so unique.

In my experience whether Brian is having an off night is considered irrelevant to much of the audience. As is how well or badly Brian sings. If people are having emotional connections then I think it`s often based just on the fact that he is there and isn`t dead (putting it bluntly).

I'm not sure that's the case. The first few times I saw Brian live I went with non-fans, and they all came out saying how wonderful he was -- precisely because of his unusual stage presence. The first time I saw him, for example, was with a cousin of mine who barely knew any Beach Boys music, but he *loved* Brian pointing to the musicians in the instrumental break of Please Let Me Wonder and said to me "that guy's a buzz!"

On an off night Brian is, frankly, awful. But on an on night he's certainly not the kind of dynamic stage presence Mike is, but he still connects with the audience, even if they don't have a pre-existing reason to feel that connection.

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

This thread is supposed to be a haven from the C50 Wars, isn't it? I think it's best to preserve this as a space free of Love bashing and focus on the work that M&B are currently doing. There are enough other places for that stuff.

Not trying to shout anyone down, but we just let OSD derail this thread.

There are a couple M&B shows coming around my area soon. Everyone is all like "Hey did you know the Beach Boys will be playing near here soon?" And I bite my tongue, trying not to sound like a music snob. So, I'll probably just suck it up and go see them. Hell, I'm not really too cool for Be True to your School, am I? Even geeks can have fun sometimes.

[RubberSoul13]

I'm seeing my first of three M&B shows this year on Saturday, should be a fantastic time! It's the same venue I saw them the first time, and it is my absolute favorite venue in Baltimore and as of now.......NO STAMOS!

[Jay]

It was probably mentioned here already, but I just found out today that the Mike and Bruce BB's recently performed Goin' To The Beach. I wonder if they'll perform other songs from the MIC box set?

[Nicko1234]

It was probably mentioned here already, but I just found out today that the Mike and Bruce BB's recently performed Goin' To The Beach. I wonder if they'll perform other songs from the MIC box set?

l certainly don`t think they will perform any other unreleased songs. They may well play some deeper songs in the right venues (as they always do) but I`m not sure they will do any songs they have never played before. There aren`t that many songs on the box set that they both haven`t played and that have any real connection with Mike. Things like Surfer`s Rule, Amusement Parks USA, Country Air etc are among the more plausible though I guess.

[Sheriff John Stone]

He needs Brian Wilson onstage for that to give the band legitimacy beyond a nostalgia act.  There will always be a section (and to be fair a decent sized section) of the general public that enjoys the nostalgia trip but there are many Beach Boys fans who won't sniff a M&B show let alone attend one not merely because they think they are above it but also because M&B do not accurately represent the complete spirit of the band.

The problem is without Brian Wilson they lack everything of true emotional value that The Beach Boys are capable of bringing to an audience either in concert or on record.  Mike Love is a great MC and can read his audience very well in that regard and connect with them by throwing them beach party after beach party.  But as far as making deep emotional connections with their audience that all great performers (including Brian Wilson) are able to do in concert, M&B hit that roadblock every time out.

John, I usually agree with a lot of what you post, but I highlighted part of your above post that I really don't think is accurate - in my opinion. First, Mike (and Bruce) have PROVEN that they don't need Brian Wilson to give the band legitimacy. Sure, Brian adds a lot to the mix - that's an understatement - but without him over the last decade and a half, Mike and Bruce have been vital and prospering. And, to an overwhelming number of fans that attend their shows, THEY ARE THE BEACH BOYS, not some nostalgia act. They are far from one of those nostalgia acts like The Temptations, where NONE of the members WERE Temptations. They're not ready for the PBS oldies concerts - yet. Really, most of the people who attend the Mike & Bruce shows don't know who is who, don't know who or how many died, don't know who are original members, and really don't care. To an extremely large percentage of people attending the shows, they are going to see THE BEACH BOYS - the Beach Boys of today.

I also think you're way off base when you say that Mike & Bruce aren't able to make deep emotional connections with their audience. Seriously, when was the last time you saw a Mike & Bruce concert? I only ask because they CAN touch their audience with their current show/lineup. The ballads like "Surfer Girl", "In My Room", "God Only Knows", "Good Timin", and Bruce's performance of "Disney Girls" consistently hit the emotional mark. The band can sing with emotion. And, remember, there's more than one kind of emotional connection. I saw people singing and dancing to every note of the car songs. I saw Scott Totten wowing the audience with a Hendrix-like solo on "Barbara Ann". I saw 70 year-old people dancing in the aisles - to "Wild Honey"! I saw people walking to their cars after the show smiling and singing and talking about what they just experienced. THAT was pretty emotional.

To me the majority of fans M&B draw are people who view music as "just something to listen to" and never go further beyond that.  If you want to say that is elitism, I can roll with that as there are worse things in the world that one can be.  So while M&B draw money each summer they draw it by and large from a section of the public that are not music fans and are mainly just looking for a party.

While that may be true - fans going to concerts "just something to listen to" and mainly looking for a party (hell, after seeing The Beach Boys over 30 times, I'm starting to go for that reason,too ) - it doesn't necessarily mean those fans don't view the band as the legitimate Beach Boys. Fans can do both, go to a show to have fun but still appreciate the legacy of the band. I don't want to measure that legitimacy entirely on ticket sales; I'm not ignorant. But, Mike & Bruce continue to book a lot of shows, sell a lot of tickets, get good reviews, and leave fans happy. Those "oldies" bands who lost their legitimacy CANNOT do that. They are part of a traveling oldies show with multiple groups on the bill. They couldn't tour on their own like Mike & Bruce - The Beach Boys!

[RubberSoul13]

Well put Sheriff...a good comparison would be The Happy Together Tour, that The Turtles put together. I saw it at Wolf Trap this year and it featured The Turtles, Chuck Negron, Gary Puckett, Mark Lindsay, and Gary Lewis.........all of these groups were around and popular and scoring hits when The Beach Boys were BUT, it took all FIVE of them to fill a venue that Mike & Bruce can by themselves.

[SMiLE Brian]

But really it was just Brian's presence that contributed to the live show last year...what did he really do that enhanced the show?

Being there and restoring the luster that had been lacking from the BBs name for decades. The band's main songwriter righted the ship and rediscovered being a BB.

If The Beach Boys were a law firm he'd be the senior partner with his name above everyone else on the letterhead.  He might not take as many cases as the rest of the firm does but he gives them more legitimacy than any other member of the firm.  He was a huge reason (if not the sole reason) why the C50 was able to gain access to certain venues and draw certain crowds that the M&B hasn't been able to do for years.  Like I said when Brian is on stage with The Beach Boys he's at the head of the pecking order as far as a lot of the public is concerned.  I also think that he could deny it until the cows come home but this still rankles Mike Love big time and might have been a contributing factor to why he isn't touring alongside BAD this summer.  It's been said that the C50 was extremely Brian centric which flies in the face as to how Mike Love has run his version of "The Beach Boys" since Carl passed.  Add to the fact that when Brian Wilson is part of the act, that he is no longer the "senior partner of the law firm" and well...

Just how I see it.

Great analogy John, the BBs could be lawyers since they know the law after suing each other so many times...

[Steve Mayo]

The fact is that Brian Wilson is one of the worst live performers out there today. He often sits there blankly with his arms by his side and when he does decide to play a little piano it's inaudible anyway. And his shouty, robotic vocals are often way off key. His band carry him in every way. How anyone can listen to a M&B show and think that it would sound sooooo much better with Brian there is baffeling.

brian was  on fire on his tour in late 2009. jaw dropping compared to other tours he did. if he would be like that all the time it would be a sight to see and experience.

[oldsurferdude]

This thread is supposed to be a haven from the C50 Wars, isn't it? I think it's best to preserve this as a space free of Love bashing and focus on the work that M&B are currently doing. There are enough other places for that stuff.

Not trying to shout anyone down, but we just let OSD derail this thread.

There are a couple M&B shows coming around my area soon. Everyone is all like "Hey did you know the Beach Boys will be playing near here soon?" And I bite my tongue, trying not to sound like a music snob. So, I'll probably just suck it up and go see them. Hell, I'm not really too cool for Be True to your School, am I? Even geeks can have fun sometimes.

Hey Butch, do ya think you used enough dynamite?

[drbeachboy]

@JohnMill

Here is the difference at shows. Mike connects with the fans. The fans connect with Brian. Personally, at Brian's shows, throughout all but the encore, I feel like Brian could care less about being there or about the fans being there. Most of the time he is very disconnected. It is the fans who come and show the love. Mike on the other hand is just the opposite. He includes the audience in the show. He talks to them, jokes with them, and makes them feel that he is happy that they attended the show. He connects to the fans by inclusion. Two very different approaches for two somewhat different types of fans.

[JohnMill]

@JohnMill

Here is the difference at shows. Mike connects with the fans. The fans connect with Brian. Personally, at Brian's shows, throughout all but the encore, I feel like Brian could care less about being there or about the fans being there. Most of the time he is very disconnected. It is the fans who come and show the love. Mike on the other hand is just the opposite. He includes the audience in the show. He talks to them, jokes with them, and makes them feel that he is happy that they attended the show. He connects to the fans by inclusion. Two very different approaches for two somewhat different types of fans.

Yeah they both can do different things up there that's for sure.  Brian is never going to be a great MC for a number of reasons but engages the fans through his performances when he's having an on night.  When he's not he relies on his crack band and as you mentioned, his audience to pull the show through. 

[Shady]

The fact is that Brian Wilson is one of the worst live performers out there today. He often sits there blankly with his arms by his side and when he does decide to play a little piano it's inaudible anyway. And his shouty, robotic vocals are often way off key. His band carry him in every way. How anyone can listen to a M&B show and think that it would sound sooooo much better with Brian there is baffeling.

brian was  on fire on his tour in late 2009. jaw dropping compared to other tours he did. if he would be like that all the time it would be a sight to see and experience.

Agreed.

It really is something to see a Brian concert when you know he wants to be there and is loving it. Then it can be incredibly depressing when you know he wishes he was anywhere else.

I've seen both.

[Magic City Surfer]

It's not part of a race or the state fair. It's part of a RV convention called "The Rally". You have to buy a day pass for $79 to see the concert and that's not with reserved seating.

http://therally.com/2013/03/vince-gill-and-the-beach-boys-to-perform-at-the-atlanta-rally/

Ah.   So M&B are playing RV Rallies now?  Hm.

Thank you very much.  This is what I needed to know.
No, I won't be going to this show.  Now I need to see if I can make a Thursday show in Tuscaloosa or make the drive to Biloxi the week before.

But probably neither will work out.  Shame.

[baseball95]

Anybody have a recent Mike and Bruce U.S. setlist, i'm going tomorrow night in Baltimore and i just wanted to see what they have been playing recently and if there were any changes since they got back from the Europe leg of the tour.

[RubberSoul13]

Anybody have a recent Mike and Bruce U.S. setlist, i'm going tomorrow night in Baltimore and i just wanted to see what they have been playing recently and if there were any changes since they got back from the Europe leg of the tour.

ditto this!

I've been looking all over for a Tampa setlist...they're playing in Virginia tonight so a list may creep up tomorrow morning...but would love to know what was played in tampa! Even though they usually swap a few songs from show to show.

[Wrightfan]

Anybody have a recent Mike and Bruce U.S. setlist, i'm going tomorrow night in Baltimore and i just wanted to see what they have been playing recently and if there were any changes since they got back from the Europe leg of the tour.

ditto this!

I've been looking all over for a Tampa setlist...they're playing in Virginia tonight so a list may creep up tomorrow morning...but would love to know what was played in tampa! Even though they usually swap a few songs from show to show.

He just posted one on his facebook page for tonight. Interesting songs include Darlin and Cool Head, Warm Heart

[RubberSoul13]

Thanks for that! That's funny...he's never done that before!

Tonight's set is...

Do it Again
Little Honda
It's OK
Catch a Wave
Hawaii
Summer Means Fun (VERY interesting!!!)
Surf City
Surfin' Safari
Surfer Girl
Getcha Back
Why Do Fools Fall in Love?
When I Grow Up To Be a Man
Darlin'
Be True To Your School
Still Cruisin'
Don't Worry Baby
Little Deuce Coupe
409
Shut Down
I Get Around
God Only Knows
Cool Head, Warm Heart
California Dreamin'
Sloop John B
Wouldn't it Be Nice
Dance, Dance, Dance
Then I Kissed Her
California Girls
Good Vibrations
Kokomo
Help Me Rhonda
Rock and Roll Music
Do You Wanna Dance?
Barbara Ann
Summertime Blues
Surfin' USA

ENCORE

Goin' To The Beach
Fun, Fun, Fun

.....very interesting assortment, even for Mike and Bruce! I didn't expect to see It's OK, Summer Means Fun, Still Cruisin', Cool Head Warm Heart, California Dreaming, or Summertime Blues on there!

We'll see what sticks and what they try out tomorrow! My only complaint? Where's "Wild Honey"?

[Rocky Raccoon]

It's great that they play "Cool Head Warm Heart" because everyone goes to a Beach Boys show to hear Mike Love solo material from an obscure and out of print Hallmark CD.

[Jim V.]

It's great that they play "Cool Head Warm Heart" because everyone goes to a Beach Boys show to hear Mike Love solo material from an obscure and out of print Hallmark CD.

While I personally think "Cool Head, Warm Heart" is pretty great, I gotta say that, yeah, it is pretty interesting that Mike uses "Beach Boys" shows to promote his solo music. And at the same time, "Summer Means Fun"? Meh. Not a Beach Boys song, nor one they ever covered on record. For Bruce, more than any other Beach Boy, it seems like they try to find solo vocal spots for him, and they usually drag down the show. Like at the C50 show I was at last year, why does he need to play "Disney Girls"? Why is that one at nearly every show? Hardly anybody knows that song honestly. I'd say "Surf's Up" is more well known that that. Or "Friends". My thing is, if there aren't any Bruce led live favorites, then lets not give him a vocal. I don't think anybody would go home saying, "man I wish they played 'Disney Girls'!"

[RubberSoul13]

It's great that they play "Cool Head Warm Heart" because everyone goes to a Beach Boys show to hear Mike Love solo material from an obscure and out of print Hallmark CD.

While I personally think "Cool Head, Warm Heart" is pretty great, I gotta say that, yeah, it is pretty interesting that Mike uses "Beach Boys" shows to promote his solo music. And at the same time, "Summer Means Fun"? Meh. Not a Beach Boys song, nor one they ever covered on record. For Bruce, more than any other Beach Boy, it seems like they try to find solo vocal spots for him, and they usually drag down the show. Like at the C50 show I was at last year, why does he need to play "Disney Girls"? Why is that one at nearly every show? Hardly anybody knows that song honestly. I'd say "Surf's Up" is more well known that that. Or "Friends". My thing is, if there aren't any Bruce led live favorites, then lets not give him a vocal. I don't think anybody would go home saying, "man I wish they played 'Disney Girls'!"

I happen to like Disney Girls! I happen to like Bruce's voice actually. There's a real pretty youtube clip from around 1990 of him singing "Please Let Me Wonder"...again, it isn't better than the original, but I enjoyed it. The one that kinda bugs me though is when he sings "Wendy"...I mean- Mike is RIGHT there! It's his lead vocal!

I hope they keep "Summer Means Fun" for tomorrow night's show...AND add Disney Girls!   I wouldn't mind if they decided to dust off "Tears in The Morning" or even "Deirdre"! I doubt the second one has EVER been played live.