1967 Hawaii Concerts

[TimmyC]

I think I'm going to get pummeled for asking this question, and it probably more rightfully belongs in the questions that don't deserve their own thread thread, but here goes: why are the 1967 Hawaii concerts so famous/infamous? What's so unique or interesting about them that sets them apart from any other touring they did in 1967? Just the inclusion of Brian Wilson? Maybe that's it.... 

[SMiLE Brian]

They were the only shows where Brian sang H&Vs with the "classic" voice.

[EgoHanger1966]

There is a rumor that (at least) Brian brought acid and tripped during the shows.

[Jukka]

They were the only time they recreated Smiley Smile -sound on stage. But the whole deal was a bit of a trainwreck. Bruce skipped the trip, the band hadn't rehearsed properly, substances were being used and abused...

Still, they make a very interesting listen, even though it's clear why the proposed live album never materialised. Oh, and they played one song (Hawthorne Boulevard) that was never heard of since. And the new proto-Do it again -arrangement of Surfin' is really neat.

[Jon Stebbins]

It was the only Beach Boys concert between May and October 1967 which in itself was a big sign of trouble on many fronts... considering summer touring had been their bread and butter up to that point and would be again in the future. It was concocted as a career life preserver, a live album in a fan friendly place while their popularity was in free fall elsewhere in the US, but it was a relative failure, the Wilsons were on acid at Brian's behest, the shows came off less than stellar, there was an unsuccessful attempt to fake record the "live" album in the studio back in LA....that didn't work either. So the whole thing was scrapped, mind you Smile had recently been scrapped too...so they went back to square one...what do we do now? You have to get your head into the context of mid 1967 and understand that so so many things were going wrong for the Beach Boys franchise at that time, faster than they could plug holes, new leaks were occurring. Hawaii was an attempt to turn it around, but it fizzled. Personally i like the version of Heroes and Villains that came from those concerts...but back then everyone around the BB's organization thought of the Hawaii venture as a failure.

[Jukka]

I just noticed... The Hawaii concert songs don't really end properly. They just fizzle out, like the boys don't know what they're doing (duh). Dang. It would have made a great, odd album. Just one trip less and one rehearsal more... "We could be sharper".

[Ram4]

The whole idea of the Hawaii concerts with Brian back (and on Baldwin organ) is very cool.  It would have been better with Bruce on bass.  I don't know why Hawthorn Blvd gets mentioned as a "song," it's nothing more than a short sloppy jam that sounds like it was performed by the band when they in junior high.  And why was the song Hawaii cut short!  2 minutes was too long?   If you like the Smiley Smile sound then these shows are for you.  Everything they played at these shows sounds like that album which is interesting for non-Smiley tracks, but...  it's mostly interesting from a historical perspective.  These concerts would not show the band in a positive light.

[punkinhead]

The whole idea of the Hawaii concerts with Brian back (and on Baldwin organ) is very cool.  It would have been better with Bruce on bass.  I don't know why Hawthorn Blvd gets mentioned as a "song," it's nothing more than a short sloppy jam that sounds like it was performed by the band when they in junior high.  And why was the song Hawaii cut short!  2 minutes was too long?   If you like the Smiley Smile sound then these shows are for you.  Everything they played at these shows sounds like that album which is interesting for non-Smiley tracks, but...  it's mostly interesting from a historical perspective.  These concerts would not show the band in a positive light.

I totally agree with you!
I always figured the reason Hawaii was so short was the fact that they already did it on the Concert album and since they were in the great state of Hawaii, there was an obligation. As I always noticed, for the most part, the songs on the Concert album and Live in London do not double over, which is a good thing. Perhaps they were trying the same thing in thinking of songs to produce for an album.

[hypehat]

It would have been better if they rehearsed.

The 'rehearsals' are worth your time. Beautiful harmonies abound. Especially the new fade on Cali Girls. Some of my favourite Beach Boys recordings in that set.

See, what Brian was attempting (besides, y'know, tripping during the gig) would have worked perfecting in a small intimate venue - the rehearsals prove that. Instead, they have to play in a stadium. Cheers, attitudes to popular music in 1967.

[Jukka]

Off topic, but... So the official truth about Brian tripping only twice is just a myth? Not that it surprises. But just myth?

[guitarfool2002]

The 1967 Hawaii saga has always been one of my favorite topics, it was a bit of a trainwreck but it is still fascinating, and that includes the music we have on tape.

Honestly, and I may be wrong, I think the whole saga of Hawaii may have remained a footnote in BB's history had it not received such a glowing report in "Look Listen Vibrate Smile", where the average fan of the thousands who bought that book could only see the silent film footage in the American Band documentary and see the collections of still photos included in LLVS and other places and assume that perhaps the event itself was bigger than it really was.

With the advent of CD releases, more widely available bootlegs, CDRs, trading, and especially the web, when a lot of us got to actually hear what happened through various means it added a taste of reality to what I think may have been some hype of an unknown thing.

Seriously, read through the Hawaii section of LLVS and without the actual audio evidence it makes it sound like a major event, and I think that's where some of the legend and hype came from before the actual audio could be heard.

But it does need to be remembered too, for history, that the Beach Boys themselves considered the Hawaii shows a major event, and spent a small fortune not only hiring an audio crew, Jim Lockert and a group of assistants, and some of the most high-tech recording equipment of its time to capture the shows, but they also paid for all these folks and the band's own families to travel there, and shipped Brian's Baldwin organ there as well at great cost. Only to take the stage pretty much raw and sounding under-rehearsed, to the point of seemingly not being able to end songs together as someone above pointed out.

The whole thing is full of contradictions and what-if's and why's. Just like much of 1967 for the band in general...

[Rocker]

When they came to Hawai'i in 1967, it marked Wilson's first appearance with the Beach Boys in three years. At the time, the young falsetto had stopped touring to focus instead on writing and recording. But the show at the Honolulu International Center was to be part of a live album called "Lei'd in Hawaii."

"I'm actually nervous — afraid," he said before the concert. "Why Hawai'i? It's a good place. We wanted to do another live album where the mood's good. And it's great here."

Although the album was never released, bootleg copies have circulated for years. Some say the version of "Surfer Girl" recorded then was the best the group ever produced.



Source: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Aug/22/il/hawaii808220330.html

[Rocky Raccoon]

From the bootlegs I've heard, it was a fabulous minimalist approach to their songs and it's historic in retrospect being the last concert performed by the classic five man lineup of Brian, Dennis, Carl, Mike, and Al without backing musicians.  I would love to see an archival release of it.

[Jon Stebbins]

When they came to Hawai'i in 1967, it marked Wilson's first appearance with the Beach Boys in three years. At the time, the young falsetto had stopped touring to focus instead on writing and recording. But the show at the Honolulu International Center was to be part of a live album called "Lei'd in Hawaii."

"I'm actually nervous — afraid," he said before the concert. "Why Hawai'i? It's a good place. We wanted to do another live album where the mood's good. And it's great here."

Although the album was never released, bootleg copies have circulated for years. Some say the version of "Surfer Girl" recorded then was the best the group ever produced.



Source: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Aug/22/il/hawaii808220330.html

Obviously the first sentence is erroneous due to the fact that Brian appeared with the Beach Boys in concert multiple times in 1965.

[TimmyC]

Thanks for all the awesome comments guys - I definitely get it now!

[Jason]

About the only plus I can think of is that they're professionally recorded, despite technical difficulties (sound problems, tape ending abruptly before the end of the second show on 8/26). It's basically like listening to a bunch of Smiley Smile-esque renditions of everything. They sound very unrehearsed and very out of it. I remember a long thread here a while back when Desper talked about the equipment the band brought to Hawaii. If I remember correctly they rented what was a (then) state-of-the-art mobile recording unit from Wally Heider and had it shipped to and from, alongside all of the band's gear (and that pig of a Baldwin organ). The shipping costs alone would probably frighten folks like us NOW, let alone then.

[guitarfool2002]

About the only plus I can think of is that they're professionally recorded, despite technical difficulties (sound problems, tape ending abruptly before the end of the second show on 8/26). It's basically like listening to a bunch of Smiley Smile-esque renditions of everything. They sound very unrehearsed and very out of it. I remember a long thread here a while back when Desper talked about the equipment the band brought to Hawaii. If I remember correctly they rented what was a (then) state-of-the-art mobile recording unit from Wally Heider and had it shipped to and from, alongside all of the band's gear (and that pig of a Baldwin organ). The shipping costs alone would probably frighten folks like us NOW, let alone then.

Yeah, I mentioned all that too. See Dale Manquen's page for more on that equipment/gear topic from about 8 years ago or so.

Best studio gear available to rent for the job, Jim Lockert, Bill Halverson, and Dale Manquen on salary to record all of it, closed circuit monitoring of the stage, top notch equipment, shipping by freight the Baldwin from Brian's house to and from Hawaii...then booking time at Heider's to try replicating the performances...very, very expensive either by 1967 standards or by 2013's standards.

And the band couldn't pull off more than a few tight endings of their songs. The pessimist would call that a ridiculous waste of money and time. But I said that already.

[guitarfool2002]

If what I write is just going to be repeated and rewritten by someone else a few posts later, please let me know before spending time on it. Sorry for being so strong, but that's a pet peeve that comes off as an insult when I read basically the same thing I literally just wrote *three posts earlier* and it's like the original post was done for nothing or has no value to the discussion. At least quote the original and add a +1 .

The other way is just not cool especially coming three posts up the same page, I'm sorry.

[punkinhead]

If what I write is just going to be repeated and rewritten by someone else a few posts later, please let me know before spending time on it. Sorry for being so strong, but that's a pet peeve that comes off as an insult when I read basically the same thing I literally just wrote *three posts earlier* and it's like the original post was done for nothing or has no value to the discussion. At least quote the original and add a +1 .

The other way is just not cool especially coming three posts up the same page, I'm sorry.

A plus one, in karma points?

[Jason]

If what I write is just going to be repeated and rewritten by someone else a few posts later, please let me know before spending time on it. Sorry for being so strong, but that's a pet peeve that comes off as an insult when I read basically the same thing I literally just wrote *three posts earlier* and it's like the original post was done for nothing or has no value to the discussion. At least quote the original and add a +1 .

The other way is just not cool especially coming three posts up the same page, I'm sorry.

Quit being all passive-aggressive. Yup, the first thing I think when I post something is "let me paraphrase what guitarfool2002 said before I post." It was just a post on a fucking message board. Take it for what it's worth - admittedly, not much. I wasn't even trying to copy what anyone was saying. It was a personal reflection based on the questions that TimmyC (and sorry for derping on your thread, TimmyC - welcome to the board) posed in this thread.

Next time, I'll make sure to kowtow to your holy benevolence and quadruple-check my posts to ensure that I don't even use the same words you do in the same thread. Give me a break. Another "historian" who thinks he's the tits but is just another petty schmuck. You people make me want to puke.

[guitarfool2002]

If what I write is just going to be repeated and rewritten by someone else a few posts later, please let me know before spending time on it. Sorry for being so strong, but that's a pet peeve that comes off as an insult when I read basically the same thing I literally just wrote *three posts earlier* and it's like the original post was done for nothing or has no value to the discussion. At least quote the original and add a +1 .

The other way is just not cool especially coming three posts up the same page, I'm sorry.

A plus one, in karma points?

Sure! I'd also accept s&h Green Stamps.  

[guitarfool2002]

If what I write is just going to be repeated and rewritten by someone else a few posts later, please let me know before spending time on it. Sorry for being so strong, but that's a pet peeve that comes off as an insult when I read basically the same thing I literally just wrote *three posts earlier* and it's like the original post was done for nothing or has no value to the discussion. At least quote the original and add a +1 .

The other way is just not cool especially coming three posts up the same page, I'm sorry.

Quit being all passive-aggressive. Yup, the first thing I think when I post something is "let me paraphrase what guitarfool2002 said before I post." It was just a post on a fucking message board. Take it for what it's worth - admittedly, not much. I wasn't even trying to copy what anyone was saying. It was a personal reflection based on the questions that TimmyC (and sorry for derping on your thread, TimmyC - welcome to the board) posed in this thread.

Next time, I'll make sure to kowtow to your holy benevolence and quadruple-check my posts to ensure that I don't even use the same words you do in the same thread. Give me a break. Another "historian" who thinks he's the tits but is just another petty schmuck. You people make me want to puke.

Oh, the passive aggressive bullshit again? Please. It's a pet peeve of mine to post and then three posts later have someone else say the same thing almost in the same order, I came right out and said it, it didn't seem right.

Petty schmuck? You're setting a great example for a moderator by the name-calling, chief. At least I didn't sink to that level of nonsense.

Show some fucking respect.

[Chris Brown]

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the rehearsals - I dig the Smiley vibe in general, so the super cooled-out versions of "Surfer Girl", "California Girls", etc. are neat to listen to.  The sloppiness can be a bit distracting at times, coming from a band who at that time was known for their precision (especially in the studio).  But dammit if that isn't one of the most beautiful renditions of "Surfer Girl" that the band ever did.

[Wirestone]

It strikes me now that surely the crashing and burning of this project was yet another big stumble as far as Brian's leadership of the band was concerned. He basically convinced everyone through force of his personality that this approach would work, and it was a disaster. No wonder that by the next album, Mike is firmly in the co-writing spot with Brian, and by the album after that, all the other guys are writing. It was probably made clear to everyone about this time that Brian would not or could not save the group. Not anymore.

[Jukka]

^ I'm sure they had their doubts, but Brian DID still produce the next two albums, and especially Wild Honey's overall stripped-down sound is pretty far removed from the mainstream... No-one forced him to step down, he did it willingly. But then again, if the story of Mike and Carl confronting Brian during a Redwood session, so they did try to put some reins.