Al Playing More Random Gigs - In Atlantic City This Saturday

[KittyKat]

Al seems to be playing some random gigs here and there. It would be nice if he would do an actual tour.

http://www.ticketmaster.com/al-jardine-mac-mcanally-atlantic-city-new-jersey-06-07-2014/event/02004C8BC560C916

[Foster's Freeze]

And the fact that's he playing with Mac Mcanally is also really random.

If you don't know who Mac is, he's an *incredible* musician and songwriter but he's arguably better known for being Jimmy Buffet's right hand man in the Coral Reefer band.  He's won the Country Music Association Awards  "Musician of the Year" title every year since 2008 I believe.

I don't get it but it has the potential to be a cool show.  

[drummer083]

  I've thought about going to this, but just have no idea what to expect. Never heard of Mac Macanally, can't stand Jimmy Buffet,  don't like country music much, and would probably hang myself if I had to sit through a bunch of it. But the prospect of seeing Al a half hour from home is very tempting.

[Foster's Freeze]

  I've thought about going to this, but just have no idea what to expect. Never heard of Mac Macanally, can't stand Jimmy Buffet,  don't like country music much, and would probably hang myself if I had to sit through a bunch of it. But the prospect of seeing Al a half hour from home is very tempting.

It's Beach Boy Al, yes you should go.

[KittyKat]

Tickets are cheap. A lot cheaper than either the Beach Boys or Brian Wilson have charged in recent years. I doubt Al is making any money off it, he must be doing it for fun. No mention of the Endless Summer Band, so it would be interesting to know what type of backing Al will have.

[Sheriff John Stone]

I'm not going unless the Endless Summer Band is there.

[ToneBender631]

I'm not going unless the Endless Summer Band is there.

They are. It's gonna be good. :-)

resortsac.com/headliners/event-category

[KittyKat]

Who is in the Endless Summer Band? Dave Marks, his sons, ex-touring Beach Boys?  He's being mysterious about it.

[ToneBender631]

Who is in the Endless Summer Band? Dave Marks, his sons, ex-touring Beach Boys?  He's being mysterious about it.

"Al Jardine and the Endless Summer Band features Matt Jardine on vocals and percussion, Adam Jardine on vocals, Billy Hinsche on keyboard, Ed Carter on bass, Bobby Figueroa on drums, Tom Jacob on keyboard and organ, and Richie Cannata on sax."

- Beachboysfanclub.com

David has been known to join them occasionally for NY-area gigs, so who knows. I would think they'd be advertising that, though.

[Tony S]

I've seen Al solo before and he puts on a great show. The A/C show is pretty close to home for me, but unfortunately I already had family plans for that day. Otherwise, I would have definitely attended.

[drummer083]

  I ended up going to last night's show, and I feel like an absolute jackass for my previous post. Mac Macanally opened and was absolutely incredible. He is a true virtuoso and had me stunned with incredible guitar and piano playing. His between song banter was also really amusing. Then Al and Band came out and kept us entertained for the remainder of the concert. The set was a bit short but they sounded really good, especially the young bass player, who was a sub (his name escapes me at the moment). Great seeing all those old BB sidemen. Bobby Figueroa especially needs to be singled out for praise. There was no percussionist per se (Matt Jardine did some light percussion), but the way Bobby played his parts you never missed it. I'd never seen Al solo before, and was surprised to see him playing some leads on his beautiful natural finished Fender Strat. His voice, as always, was perfect. I'm glad I didn't let this one pass me by.

[Gohi]

Al playing leads? This I gotta see! Thanks for the report, drummer.

[ToneBender631]

Al playing leads? This I gotta see! Thanks for the report, drummer.

Yeah, he played some leads quite ably. I'd seen him double parts that David was doing at the BAD shows last year...

Al was in a great mood throughout the show, mentioning Carl a number of times and alluding to the fact that the venue was where Carl played his last show with the band before having to leave the tour. There was quite a bit of attention given to Carl, who Al referred to as their "spiritual leader".

The entire band sounded great. Was very impressed by super-sub Royston Langdon (who learned the songs from Ed Carter that week) and filled in quite ably. For those unaware, Royston is in a band named Spacehog (who recorded a massive hit in the late 90s with "In The Meantime") and was also married to Liv Tyler. He also joined Al for the show at the Rubin in NYC. Considering how glam rock Spacehog is, it was a bit of a shock to see him with a beach shirt on!

Also, after last night's show I'm fairly certain that the Jones Beach show will be the only show that Al will be joining Mike and Bruce for in the near future based on some stage commentary.

[acedecade75]

Where there any surprises in the setlist?

[ToneBender631]

Where there any surprises in the setlist?

Not at all. This was definitely a "comped crowd at a casino" show. I would've been okay with another 15-20 minutes or so but the casino clearly asked them for X amount of time with a strict curtain time. There were shouts for Cottonfields, Welfare Song and a few others, which Al acknowledged, but it was not to be, sadly.

[KittyKat]

Did Al mention Brian at all?  Anything said that would lead one to believe he'll tour or do any appearances for Brian's future tour?

[ToneBender631]

Did Al mention Brian at all?  Anything said that would lead one to believe he'll tour or do any appearances for Brian's future tour?

He mentioned Brian once in the context of re-recording "Help Me Rhonda". No mention of upcoming shows with Brian but after being goaded by an audience member into commenting on Mike, it didn't sound like Al is gearing up for a full tour with M&B either. Perhaps someone else that was in the audience would care to weigh in on it?

[Mayoman]

So what did Al say about Mike?

[ToneBender631]

So what did Al say about Mike?

Here's what I heard:

"WHERE'S MIKE?"

"Mike? Let's not talk about him."

"WHERE'S MIKE?"

"Mike...*sigh* Mike's at home recuperating from impersonating the Beach Boys."

Don't get me wrong, this was clearly said in jest, but there was a tinge of bitterness in it to my ears. Anyone else at the show care to weigh in?

[Jason]

Al is actually quite a good lead guitarist. Even during the 90s he used to play a few leads, especially during the '97 tour when Carl was confined to a stool for most of the shows due to his cancer treatments.

[Chalk n Numbers]

I can add just a few random thoughts.

ToneBender's account of the Mike Love remarks is accurate. As I heard it, the comments came up in the context of Al dedicating the next song ("Come Go with Me"?) to Carl. Someone in the audience asked "How about Mike?" To which Al replied either "Let's not talk about him" or "Let's leave him out of it." That would have ended the exchange, but Al went on to say something like "No, no, Mike's at home, recuperating from his strenuous tours impersonating the Beach Boys." The comments drew a fair amount of laughter from the crowd.

Other points:

Someone in the crowd did indeed request "Cottonfields." Al replied along the lines of: "Yeah, I'd really like to play 'Cottonfields,' but there isn't time." At that point, Matt piped up, saying something like "If you really want to hear something that'll knock you out, how about "Looking at Tomorrow"? Scattered applause. Al really seemed to consider going off-setlist at that point; he turned to Billy and asked "Do you know the chords to that?" Billy shrugged in a positive way (as if to say 'sure, I can fake it'), and played a few chords that sounded like they might be the right ones. But that was as far as it went.

To my ears, the band sounded a little ragged and under-rehearsed on the opener, "California Girls." They hit their stride quickly, but there were a few hiccups later on. "Good Vibrations" was a mess: Matt (singing lead) totally blew the "blossom world" verse lyrics, and whatever they were using to fill in for the Tannerin didn't do the job.

Matt took a lot of leads. He sounded very good on "Don't Worry Baby" and "I Can Hear Music."

Not at all sure why Al felt compelled to play "Kokomo," but he did. He introduced it with an allusion to its number one stature all over the world, and then went on to praise John Phillips for writing it - adding a reference to Mike doing a good job of adding some material (a reminder that Mike didn't write the entire song?). Billy took the lead on that one, and while my ears could have been playing tricks on me, I almost had the sense that he was giving the vocal a close-to-parody bar-band treatment.

For me, the high point was "Sail On Sailor," with Billy and Bobby sharing the lead, trading off verses. That one had a very chunky, rocking feel - sort of a throwback to a 70s sound.

Members of the Rip Chords were in the audience, right up front. Al talked to them throughout the show, and at one point the band noodled around with a line or two of "Hey Little Cobra." The Rip Chords folks were invited up for the encores, and that made for a messy finish to the show…but encores are often messy.

I want to add my own praise for Mac MacAnally. I wasn't familiar with his work before the show, and I was very impressed. He's a superb player and a fine singer, and he was unfailingly genial, warm and charming - polished without being slick. Plenty of people in the audience seemed to be familiar with his songs, and were enthusiastic in their applause. He was very gracious to Al, telling the crowd, just before the end of his set, that they were about to experience some of the "finest harmonies" they would ever hear. Just a class act all around.

My best effort at a setlist - not in order, and almost certainly not complete (hopefully some kind soul will be able to rectify any omissions):

California Girls
Do It Again
Come Go with Me
Little Deuce Coupe
Sail On, Sailor
God Only Knows (a second dedication to Carl)
Wouldn't It Be Nice
Sloop John B.
Surfin' USA
Help Me, Rhonda (thanks for the correction!)
I Can Hear Music
Kokomo
I Get Around
Fun, Fun, Fun (encore #1)
Barbara Ann (encore #2)

Acknowledging that this was very much a time-limited casino show, I do wish Al had chosen to play one or two less obvious songs…songs more closely associated with him, either as a Beach Boy or as a solo artist. I'm confident that no-one would have objected to "Looking at Tomorrow" or "Cottonfields" replacing "Come Go with Me," and I have the impression, based on audience reaction, that "Kokomo" could have been skipped as well. Make no mistake: this was a very good show (it was a treat to see Billy and Bobby). But I wish that Al, being in total control of the setlist, had opted to mess with the formula…just a little. Having Matt tease the crowd with "Looking at Tomorrow" didn't help.

[Jim V.]

Did he really not do "Help Me, Rhonda"? That would seem quite odd that he wouldn't do the biggest hit with his lead vocal on it!

[Chalk n Numbers]

Oops, sorry...I knew I could count on somebody catching my embarrassing errors. Yes, "Help Me Rhonda" was in the set (original post edited). Thank you!

[Sheriff John Stone]

Al's really a class act. Taking a shot at the guy whose lyrics he (Al) was singing on several songs. And, I'll bet Al has no problem cashing those Beach Boys' checks that he was disparaging. I'm surprised Al didn't take a shot at Mike & Bruce's setlist, based on the deep one Al played. Hypocrite.

[ToneBender631]

Al's really a class act. Taking a shot at the guy whose lyrics he (Al) was singing on several songs. And, I'll bet Al has no problem cashing those Beach Boys' checks that he was disparaging. I'm surprised Al didn't take a shot at Mike & Bruce's setlist, based on the deep one Al played. Hypocrite.

I'm guessing there's more going on behind the scenes lately as things with the two of them had seemed to be on the mend lately.