M & B Tour 2013

[Lonely Summer]

I'm not much of a ML fan, but the more BW's fans bash, the more I'm inclined to check out a M&B show. They don't seem to be headed my way this summer, though....but I can see Kale's Klones aka the bogus Guess Who at the county fair.

[RubberSoul13]

Wild Honey!!! AW YEAH!

Isn't it time...umm...awkward...

Hoping they keep "Wild Honey" in for at least one of my two shows this year! Honestly, don't feel that bad about missing this concert. That's the only song I regret not hearing...and hopefully they keep that for the year if it made the encore.

[oldsurferdude]

...I've heard the rest of the setlist about 437 times already, so please give me another reason to plunk down 75 smackers to see the Mike & Bruce Travelin' Jukebox....

There isn't another reason for you, Mikie. The Mike and Bruce version of The Beach Boys isn't for everybody. No problem. So, spend your money on somebody else.

I will.  The Stones are coming to town.  They have a lead singer that dances around the stage like Mike Love use to.

Or They have a lead singer that mYke luHv tried in vein to imitate but fell flat on his face.

[SMiLE Brian]

Mike's "jagger-lite" stageware was about the worst clothing I have ever seen.

[KittyKat]

At least Mike and Bruce don't charge over $600 for seats that are halfway up the back of a basketball arena, or over $200 to sit on the top deck behind the stage. Or $1,500 for the privilege of standing for several hours hemmed in to view their show from the "tongue pit." The Beach Boys 50th reunion shows didn't even approach anywhere close to those type of prices. If I had the money and were that big of a fan of the band, I'd still boycott the latest Stones tour on principle.

[Micha]

...I've heard the rest of the setlist about 437 times already, so please give me another reason to plunk down 75 smackers to see the Mike & Bruce Travelin' Jukebox....

There isn't another reason for you, Mikie. The Mike and Bruce version of The Beach Boys isn't for everybody. No problem. So, spend your money on somebody else.

I will.  The Stones are coming to town.  They have a lead singer that dances around the stage like Mike Love use to.

Or They have a lead singer that mYke luHv tried in vein to imitate but fell flat on his face.

That's "in vain", Awldsyrfahdood.

[LostArt]

I stopped for a cup o' joe on my way to work this morning, and saw a poster advertising The Beach Boys for a July show just 15 minutes from my house.  Tickets are $15.00 (or two for $25.00) in advance.  Are you kidding? I will be there.  Now that's value!  Anyway, Mr. Totten, if you read this, I'd sure like to meet you and talk about Beach Boys music from a guitarist's perspective.  I've been playing for 40 years, and I really enjoyed your playing when I saw the C50 show in Milwaukee last summer.  I've never seen you with just Mike and Bruce and the small band, though, so I'm really looking forward to it.  So, if by any chance you are allowed to hand out a back stage pass, please PM me.

[Nicko1234]

I stopped for a cup o' joe on my way to work this morning, and saw a poster advertising The Beach Boys for a July show just 15 minutes from my house.  Tickets are $15.00 (or two for $25.00) in advance.  Are you kidding? I will be there.  Now that's value!  Anyway, Mr. Totten, if you read this, I'd sure like to meet you and talk about Beach Boys music from a guitarist's perspective.  I've been playing for 40 years, and I really enjoyed your playing when I saw the C50 show in Milwaukee last summer.  I've never seen you with just Mike and Bruce and the small band, though, so I'm really looking forward to it.  So, if by any chance you are allowed to hand out a back stage pass, please PM me.

It is amazing how much the ticket prices to the shows can vary and that is ridiculously cheap.

I would love to watch the band at Henley this summer as it will probably be the band's only U.K. show but tickets will be more than 10 times that much!

[AndrewHickey]

I stopped for a cup o' joe on my way to work this morning, and saw a poster advertising The Beach Boys for a July show just 15 minutes from my house.  Tickets are $15.00 (or two for $25.00) in advance.  Are you kidding? I will be there.  Now that's value!  Anyway, Mr. Totten, if you read this, I'd sure like to meet you and talk about Beach Boys music from a guitarist's perspective.  I've been playing for 40 years, and I really enjoyed your playing when I saw the C50 show in Milwaukee last summer.  I've never seen you with just Mike and Bruce and the small band, though, so I'm really looking forward to it.  So, if by any chance you are allowed to hand out a back stage pass, please PM me.

It is amazing how much the ticket prices to the shows can vary and that is ridiculously cheap.

I would love to watch the band at Henley this summer as it will probably be the band's only U.K. show but tickets will be more than 10 times that much!

Yeah. I actually worked out it would be as cheap for me to go to Paris to see them do a full theatre show, rather than hire evening wear, pay for transport down to Henley and somewhere to stay there, and pay for those tickets. (I seriously considered going to Paris, actually, but decided against doing either -- though if they announce any more European dates I'll be very tempted).

There's still hope for more UK/Europe dates though -- there's several weeks prior to the Paris show where they've got nothing booked -- but it is looking less likely.

LostArt, you should be in for a good show, even though at that price it'll probably be one of the shorter sets. And whether you get a backstage pass or not, it's worth trying to meet the band members afterwards -- Scott and Cowsill, in particular, are usually very friendly.

[STE]

As far as I understand, it's not the band to define the price of the tickets.
They get their agreed fee and then it's up to the promoter/venue to get their money back and make the required profit.

[oldsurferdude]

...I've heard the rest of the setlist about 437 times already, so please give me another reason to plunk down 75 smackers to see the Mike & Bruce Travelin' Jukebox....

There isn't another reason for you, Mikie. The Mike and Bruce version of The Beach Boys isn't for everybody. No problem. So, spend your money on somebody else.

I will.  The Stones are coming to town.  They have a lead singer that dances around the stage like Mike Love use to.

Or They have a lead singer that mYke luHv tried in vein to imitate but fell flat on his face.

That's "in vain", Awldsyrfahdood.

Knew you were good for something, mYkuh. You've found your little niche-spell checking on a message board-Oh my, you'll be up all night looking for those typos.

[Micha]

...I've heard the rest of the setlist about 437 times already, so please give me another reason to plunk down 75 smackers to see the Mike & Bruce Travelin' Jukebox....

There isn't another reason for you, Mikie. The Mike and Bruce version of The Beach Boys isn't for everybody. No problem. So, spend your money on somebody else.

I will.  The Stones are coming to town.  They have a lead singer that dances around the stage like Mike Love use to.

Or They have a lead singer that mYke luHv tried in vein to imitate but fell flat on his face.

That's "in vain", Awldsyrfahdood.

Knew you were good for something, mYkuh. You've found your little niche-spell checking on a message board-Oh my, you'll be up all night looking for those typos.

No, I do that in the afternoon.

[donald]

I have plans to see the ML Beach Boys on June 9th at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga CA.  I saw them there two summers ago.  A beautiful venue.  Can't wait to see if they cover Wild Honey at this show.  And I am glad they are doing a different intro now.  This will be my 3rd time seeing this configuration with John Cowsill on drums (four if you count the C50 tour I attended last May).   I agree with those posters who say this is the best configuration of the touring band since the passing of Carl Wilson.  I thoroughly enjoyed the C50 show.  So much that it seemed to fly past my senses in a matter of a few minutes leaving me stunned as they left the stage.  There was so much to see and hear that it was almost overwhelming.  But seeing the ML touring band in this configuration is just plain enjoyable.  You can sit back and dig the scene and the music.  If you are in the San Jose/Saratoga area in June, I highly recommend you see the show at the Winery.  Go early and take a bottle of wine and join the picnic crowd on the mountainside  overlooking the city.  Then go in and enjoy the Beach Boys under the stars of the Northern California sky.

[Pretty Funky]

Here you go. "Wild Honey"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMtYa1QoawU

[Nicko1234]

Here you go. "Wild Honey"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMtYa1QoawU

Nice. A good performance.

The rendition of It's Ok from the same show is sluggish though.

[drbeachboy]

Here you go. "Wild Honey"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMtYa1QoawU

Nice. A good performance.

The rendition of It's Ok from the same show is sluggish though.

Here you go. "Wild Honey"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMtYa1QoawU

Nice. A good performance.

The rendition of It's Ok from the same show is sluggish though.

Nick, is Cowsill doing the lead on WH? It is hard to tell in the video.

[AndrewHickey]

Here you go. "Wild Honey"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMtYa1QoawU

Nice. A good performance.

The rendition of It's Ok from the same show is sluggish though.

Here you go. "Wild Honey"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMtYa1QoawU

Nice. A good performance.

The rendition of It's Ok from the same show is sluggish though.

Nick, is Cowsill doing the lead on WH? It is hard to tell in the video.

That's definitely Cowsill.

[Rocker]

Thanks for "Wild honey"! I'm not a fan of Cowsill's singing and this certainly won't change that. But it's nice to see them doing that song. Totten's solo is nice although I kinda wished Bruce would play his cool organ part from the record.

[gfac22]

Awesome.  I'm still having a hard time believing they played Wild Honey, even after seeing the video.  Hopefully it sticks around for a while.

[Nicko1234]

Thanks for "Wild honey"! I'm not a fan of Cowsill's singing and this certainly won't change that. But it's nice to see them doing that song. Totten's solo is nice although I kinda wished Bruce would play his cool organ part from the record.

Bruce has said he didn't particularly like that part on the record so he is probably happy to pass it to Scott.

John's voice sounded vaguely similar to Blondie in the clip. Christian seemed moderately uninterested.

[AndrewHickey]

Thanks for "Wild honey"! I'm not a fan of Cowsill's singing and this certainly won't change that. But it's nice to see them doing that song. Totten's solo is nice although I kinda wished Bruce would play his cool organ part from the record.

Bruce has said he didn't particularly like that part on the record so he is probably happy to pass it to Scott.

John's voice sounded vaguely similar to Blondie in the clip. Christian seemed moderately uninterested.

Yeah, Christian is pretty much always like that. You get the impression he really doesn't want to be there and doesn't want to put in more than the absolute minimal effort. Which is a shame given how hard the rest of the band are working.

[Rocker]

Thanks for "Wild honey"! I'm not a fan of Cowsill's singing and this certainly won't change that. But it's nice to see them doing that song. Totten's solo is nice although I kinda wished Bruce would play his cool organ part from the record.

Bruce has said he didn't particularly like that part on the record so he is probably happy to pass it to Scott.

Really? I seem to remember that he posted on BBBritain that he is kinda proud of that part. But maybe I'm misremembering.

[Nicko1234]

I think he mentions it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nZjikvKQSo

[Rocker]

I think he mentions it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nZjikvKQSo

Thanks! Didn't know that. His story of Brian's reaction remembers me of Carl Perkins' description of Sam Phillips' way of working in the studio. Just adds to my opinion of "Wild honey" sounding like The Beach Boys on Sun Records.

[Mikie]

I gotta say, I'm not a big fan of the M & B show. But accolades to Totten or whoever proposed that they do Wild Honey. It's not an easy song to sing, by any means. I think it even stretched Carl Wilson's voice to the max. I've always liked the Blondie version from '72 - thought he did a helluva job on it. But Cowsill did a fantastic job on it here and he just cooked on the drums at the same time his voice was belting it out. I think he does a damn good Rhonda too. Good thing they have John Cowsill in the band!

And Totten's searing guitar solo - shades of Eddie Carter. Excellent job, Scott, if you're reading this. Yeah, an extended organ solo in the middle woulda been nice, but Scott pulled it off well on guitar. Very good rendition. See? That's the kind of song the Mike & Bruce band should be singing to garner more respect from the older crowd of fans! Respect, I tell's ya!

Mike seems disinterested. Seems like he couldn't wait to get it over with to get to the cover songs. Pulling a Bruce and waving to somebody in the crowd in the middle of the song takes away from its intensity.