Stamos accused…

[rab2591]

These kinds of discussions are always a giant infinity pool because no matter how much we talk up Brian as this great intellectual artist and diss Mike, Stamos, Bruce, etc ...... the truth is, The Beach Boys are goofballs who made goofball music. Sure, they were cool enough in the very early days when surf music was the thing, but ever since The Beatles, they've been the major dorks they always really were..... Even Dennis was a major dork by association. Pet Sounds is a bit less dorky, but even SMILE is totally dorky and lame: songs about the old west and You Are My Sunshine, Plymoth Rock, Crows, "You're under arrest"!!!! .... Awesome stuff, yes, but completely lame and dorky and cheeseball .... Soooooooooo, turning into an "oldies" act at whatever point, Stamos, Summer Of Love ..... none of this is really much of a drop in dorkiness from what came before ...... Maybe they were a bit cooler again circa CATP, HOLLAND, but that's a mere blip on the radar .... Love You has got to be one of the  most gloriously lame and idiotic creations ever released!!!! It's an amazing album but it's not like you can hold it up next to Tago Mago or something and a random listener might mistake the latter for being the totally lame product of the two..... So, maybe it's unfortunate to have to accept Stamos as just more continued numbskull, dorky behavior by the most awesome dorks in the history of the world ever, but it helps to just let it roll ...... I see Brian's camp try and fight it. His band are all really hip and cool guys but why do they have them wearing such lame, bright colored duds and Hawaiian-shirts-in-denial? Why? Because they know they can't completely win the fight over the basic inherent dorkiness of the material. EVEN the high art stuff. Hell, Mike and Bruce's band actually dresses more cool than Brian's? Why is that? Well, maybe it's because Mike couldn't give two fucks about coming off as hip or artiste, so there's no pressure or insecurity. He revels in the cheese and owns it! And what's wrong with that? .....

Anyhow, I just see these arguments as fruitless in the end ..... The Beach Boys and what they were and what they are. And it's so easy to accept it and love it ...... ALL of it.

Ya know, the last track on MiC has a great line from Carl, he says "[I asked Brian] 'why do you think we succeeded in such a big way?', he said 'well I think the music celebrated the joy of life in a real simple way....with a direct experience of joyfulness."

It's not goofball music. It's not lame. It's not dorky. Much of it is an expression of pure spiritual joy...A joy to be alive. How that is any way awkward is well behind my comprehension.

You know what's lame? Trying to justify some sitcom-starring yogurt-selling drummer's involvement in a "band" by calling that band's music "dorky" "cheeseball" and "goofball". What the f*** happened to this place? Brian gets sh*t on for making a new record. Us Brian fans are reduced to being intellectual hipsters who watch a stone-faced man behind a piano during his concerts. And now we're told that Beach Boys' music is "awesome stuff" but it's "lame and dorky and cheeseball."

I'm sure a lot of Club Kokomo Lounge Experience enthusiasts think the music is "goofball...but awesome!" But to some of us who see a little deeper into the music it's something truly religious....something, as Brian said, that celebrates the joy of life.

[Mikie]

This is hilarious: After Stamos sang "Forever" at the Ohio State fair, he dedicates the song to Nelson Bragg:

http://youtu.be/WMYEAfpPgsc?t=52m7s

An inside joke. See? I knew it. Stamos knows about (through Cowsill) or read Bragg's Facebook exchange last week and probably this thread.

And did Stamos adjust or did Mike tell him to cool it?  Nope.  I see just the opposite.  Stamos upped the anti even more the last few concerts with his stage presence.  Like........"in your face".

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

These kinds of discussions are always a giant infinity pool because no matter how much we talk up Brian as this great intellectual artist and diss Mike, Stamos, Bruce, etc ...... the truth is, The Beach Boys are goofballs who made goofball music. Sure, they were cool enough in the very early days when surf music was the thing, but ever since The Beatles, they've been the major dorks they always really were..... Even Dennis was a major dork by association. Pet Sounds is a bit less dorky, but even SMILE is totally dorky and lame: songs about the old west and You Are My Sunshine, Plymoth Rock, Crows, "You're under arrest"!!!! .... Awesome stuff, yes, but completely lame and dorky and cheeseball .... Soooooooooo, turning into an "oldies" act at whatever point, Stamos, Summer Of Love ..... none of this is really much of a drop in dorkiness from what came before ...... Maybe they were a bit cooler again circa CATP, HOLLAND, but that's a mere blip on the radar .... Love You has got to be one of the  most gloriously lame and idiotic creations ever released!!!! It's an amazing album but it's not like you can hold it up next to Tago Mago or something and a random listener might mistake the latter for being the totally lame product of the two..... So, maybe it's unfortunate to have to accept Stamos as just more continued numbskull, dorky behavior by the most awesome dorks in the history of the world ever, but it helps to just let it roll ...... I see Brian's camp try and fight it. His band are all really hip and cool guys but why do they have them wearing such lame, bright colored duds and Hawaiian-shirts-in-denial? Why? Because they know they can't completely win the fight over the basic inherent dorkiness of the material. EVEN the high art stuff. Hell, Mike and Bruce's band actually dresses more cool than Brian's? Why is that? Well, maybe it's because Mike couldn't give two fucks about coming off as hip or artiste, so there's no pressure or insecurity. He revels in the cheese and owns it! And what's wrong with that? .....

Anyhow, I just see these arguments as fruitless in the end ..... The Beach Boys and what they were and what they are. And it's so easy to accept it and love it ...... ALL of it.

Ya know, the last track on MiC has a great line from Carl, he says "[I asked Brian] 'why do you think we succeeded in such a big way?', he said 'well I think the music celebrated the joy of life in a real simple way....with a direct experience of joyfulness."

It's not goofball music. It's not lame. It's not dorky. Much of it is an expression of pure spiritual joy...A joy to be alive. How that is any way awkward is well behind my comprehension.

You know what's lame? Trying to justify some sitcom-starring yogurt-selling drummer's involvement in a "band" by calling that band's music "dorky" "cheeseball" and "goofball". What the f*** happened to this place? Brian gets sh*t on for making a new record. Us Brian fans are reduced to being intellectual hipsters who watch a stone-faced man behind a piano during his concerts. And now we're told that Beach Boys' music is "awesome stuff" but it's "lame and dorky and cheeseball."

I'm sure a lot of Club Kokomo Lounge Experience enthusiasts think the music is "goofball...but awesome!" But to some of us who see a little deeper into the music it's something truly religious....something, as Brian said, that celebrates the joy of life.

I meant it's dorky, cheeseball, and lame in the most amazing way possible .... One thing that has happened to this place is we're all very uptight and take this all, and ourselves, far too seriously.

I guess it might be just me, but dorky isn't a bad word in my universe.....

I'll take dorky every time over pretentious..... Which might be partly why The Beach Boys are my favorite band ever.

[filledeplage]

These kinds of discussions are always a giant infinity pool because no matter how much we talk up Brian as this great intellectual artist and diss Mike, Stamos, Bruce, etc ...... the truth is, The Beach Boys are goofballs who made goofball music. Sure, they were cool enough in the very early days when surf music was the thing, but ever since The Beatles, they've been the major dorks they always really were..... Even Dennis was a major dork by association. Pet Sounds is a bit less dorky, but even SMILE is totally dorky and lame: songs about the old west and You Are My Sunshine, Plymoth Rock, Crows, "You're under arrest"!!!! .... Awesome stuff, yes, but completely lame and dorky and cheeseball .... Soooooooooo, turning into an "oldies" act at whatever point, Stamos, Summer Of Love ..... none of this is really much of a drop in dorkiness from what came before ...... Maybe they were a bit cooler again circa CATP, HOLLAND, but that's a mere blip on the radar .... Love You has got to be one of the  most gloriously lame and idiotic creations ever released!!!! It's an amazing album but it's not like you can hold it up next to Tago Mago or something and a random listener might mistake the latter for being the totally lame product of the two..... So, maybe it's unfortunate to have to accept Stamos as just more continued numbskull, dorky behavior by the most awesome dorks in the history of the world ever, but it helps to just let it roll ...... I see Brian's camp try and fight it. His band are all really hip and cool guys but why do they have them wearing such lame, bright colored duds and Hawaiian-shirts-in-denial? Why? Because they know they can't completely win the fight over the basic inherent dorkiness of the material. EVEN the high art stuff. Hell, Mike and Bruce's band actually dresses more cool than Brian's? Why is that? Well, maybe it's because Mike couldn't give two fucks about coming off as hip or artiste, so there's no pressure or insecurity. He revels in the cheese and owns it! And what's wrong with that? .....

Anyhow, I just see these arguments as fruitless in the end ..... The Beach Boys and what they were and what they are. And it's so easy to accept it and love it ...... ALL of it.

Ya know, the last track on MiC has a great line from Carl, he says "[I asked Brian] 'why do you think we succeeded in such a big way?', he said 'well I think the music celebrated the joy of life in a real simple way....with a direct experience of joyfulness."

It's not goofball music. It's not lame. It's not dorky. Much of it is an expression of pure spiritual joy...A joy to be alive. How that is any way awkward is well behind my comprehension.

Brilliant adding the CODA on MIC!  I'm using it a for my text messages.  Everytime I hear Carl's calming voice, it's a reminder to "take a breath and not sweat the small stuff."

That said, as I was channel surfing yesterday, whom should I see but the great David Crosby on Roseanne!  No snarky comments about that.  Stamos is singled out.  

Dorky? I guess it is in the eyes of the beholder. If folks perceive it to be "dorky" they should find something else to listen to.  JMHO 

[rab2591]

I meant it's dorky, cheeseball, and lame in the most amazing way possible .... One thing that has happened to this place is we're all very uptight and take this all, and ourselves, far too seriously

Dork: dull, slow witted
Lame: inept, defective.
Goofball: naive, silly, stupid

None of the above define the Beach Boys music I listen to - even when looking at it in the most amazing way possible.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I meant it's dorky, cheeseball, and lame in the most amazing way possible .... One thing that has happened to this place is we're all very uptight and take this all, and ourselves, far too seriously

Dork: dull, slow witted
Lame: inept, defective.
Goofball: naive, silly, stupid

None of the above define the Beach Boys music I listen to - even when looking at it in the most amazing way possible.

Do you always consult a dictionary when listening to your favorite music?

Just try and accept that I meant it in a good way or I'll be forced to explain how those definitions you listed do apply here and there...... and in, yes, fun and amazing ways.....

Oh, and maybe look up the word "perversity" while you have Google up.

[guitarfool2002]

For me, the best part about being a Beach Boys fan is the music…not how many silly pictures of Mike Love there are…not whether or not beach balls at a concert made an appearance, etc.

Stop for just a second…

Isn't there a song by the group that just turns you on your head?  Get your foot tapping?  Gives you goose bumps?  Moves you to a deeply emotional place (even though you've heard it countless times)?  Versatility.  

For me, music is color, and the music of The Beach Boys is as vivid as any painting I've ever seen hanging in a museum.  

I'm repeating myself for the umpteenth time by saying this, but that song and the song which really changed things for me as a musician (and as a music fan and listener) was "Wouldn't It Be Nice". It hits me as deep as any piece of music has ever done, and if there are others I'm just not remembering it's a short list. I hear that intro, that amazing intro, and it's like being transported somewhere else. I get that numb feeling, I get a little bit choked up, I get some kind of bliss that I cannot explain. On a personal note that i won't describe here, that song has been with me on some personal life-changing events that was as simple and as random as turning on a radio and hearing it at exactly the right time, acting as a soundtrack of sorts to what had happened. It has turned out bittersweet, too. Just like the lyrics and pretty much just like the entire undercurrent running throughout the Pet Sounds album. It's deeper than the surface, it's beyond what everyone might say the lyrics and songs mean and relates more to what they mean to each person listening and what feelings they get from each song.

It's the music creating deep feelings, triggering emotions, existing as something idealistic and almost imaginary beyond what the surface meaning or interpretation would say.

That fact - how the music transcends the surface meaning of the lyrics and triggers those individual reactions in whoever is listening - is one of the most powerful and unique aspects of this music. It was at its apex when this band of kids from California was creating a mythology that existed and still exists for listeners around the world.

I remember well a music writer describing how a certain seemingly innocuous Beach Boys song from the early days had an effect on him personally...and it was very much by accident since the lyric that affected him was actually not what the lyric really said! All the great misheard lyrics of all time, this one really doesn't get mentioned. But it should.

The lyric "If everybody had an ocean..." was misheard as "If everybody had a notion...". I admit, for years I heard it that way too. What a concept, right? It wasn't about surfing as a literal activity where you'd wax up the board and hit the waves, it was about the mindset, surfing as a metaphor, no matter where you are in the world you can transport yourself to that idealistic place where the music takes you. It's not even about finding an actual ocean, if you buy into the idea and have the notion, you're able to transport yourself there and let the music be the catalyst.

It's the same kind of multiple meaning concept that makes songs that are on the surface about drag racing, hot rods, surfing, and living on the beach into something much deeper and more symbolic. The way the music sounds, the way those voices sing the lyrics - they transcend what appears on the surface and those listening start getting into the mythology, the imagination, the open interpretation, and the "notion" that no matter where I am, all I need to do is let the music take over and I'm right there with them.

That's why I love the band. That's heavy stuff for "pop" music. That is why the legacy will always survive through the original recordings. I hope people charged with maintaining the legacy recognize this.

[rab2591]

I meant it's dorky, cheeseball, and lame in the most amazing way possible .... One thing that has happened to this place is we're all very uptight and take this all, and ourselves, far too seriously

Dork: dull, slow witted
Lame: inept, defective.
Goofball: naive, silly, stupid

None of the above define the Beach Boys music I listen to - even when looking at it in the most amazing way possible.

Do you always consult a dictionary when listening to your favorite music?

Just try and accept that I meant it in a good way or I'll be forced to explain how those definitions you listed do apply here and there...... and in, yes, fun and amazing ways.....

Oh, and maybe look up the word "perversity" while you have Google up.

Even when defined in a good way, I really don't see how Pet Sounds is even slightly lame dorky.

But yes, I will concede that a lot of the music is silly (by design) at times.

edit: you defined Pet Sounds as being "less dorky", not lame.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I meant it's dorky, cheeseball, and lame in the most amazing way possible .... One thing that has happened to this place is we're all very uptight and take this all, and ourselves, far too seriously

Dork: dull, slow witted
Lame: inept, defective.
Goofball: naive, silly, stupid

None of the above define the Beach Boys music I listen to - even when looking at it in the most amazing way possible.

Do you always consult a dictionary when listening to your favorite music?

Just try and accept that I meant it in a good way or I'll be forced to explain how those definitions you listed do apply here and there...... and in, yes, fun and amazing ways.....

Oh, and maybe look up the word "perversity" while you have Google up.

Even when defined in a good way, I really don't see how Pet Sounds is even slightly lame.

But yes, I will concede that a lot of the music is silly (by design) at times.

Silly, yeah, that's the best word.

And of course this is just on the surface. I never meant such words to reflect the underlying musical complexity.

[rab2591]

I get what you're saying. Even Brian wanted to make a comedy album at one point...so of course some of his music was bound to be goofball stuff.

[Cam Mott]

It's hard to get too snooty over a guy who did "Mt. Vernon" and "Sonny Wilson" etc..

[Cam Mott]

So the whole group was unsure what to do about falling attendance at shows and Dennis took the lead in asking advice and the advice was go hard on oldies setlists and the whole band agreed to go that way? Fascinating.

[joshferrell]

Dorky?? well it's time we all just accept them for what they are, The "Star Trek" of rock music,,,, Brian is "Kirk", Mike is "Spock" Bruce is "Data", Carl is "Scotty", Dennis is "Picard", David is a "Klingon", Murry is "Q", Al is "Sulu" and John Stamos is a "Romulan" (with special guest stars Glen Campbell as "Surak", Hal Blain as "Bones McCoy" and Charles Manson as "Capt Pike." )

[Mikie]

So the whole group was unsure what to do about falling attendance at shows and Dennis took the lead in asking advice and the advice was go hard on oldies setlists and the whole band agreed to go that way? Fascinating.

Hard to believe, Cam. I remember being at a Beach Boys concert in late '74 in Sacramento and wondering who the guy on stage with the glasses playing bass was. Here's a typical setlist with Guercio. Seems like a pretty good smattering of recent tracks were included here - don't really see emphasis on oldies, even into the Beachago tour the following year.

Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, MD
November 22, 1974

C-man says: Both Ricky Fataar and Dennis Wilson played drums at this concert. Surprisingly, there are not many more oldies in this concert than there were in concerts earlier in the year, before "Endless Summer" was released. "Catch A Wave" was added, however, and this is one of the few times it wasn't performed right before "Hawaii". A daring feat is accomplished here..."Good Vibrations" is followed up by "In My Room". Same as the previous night's show, except "All This Is That" has been added, and "Surfin USA" and "Barbara Ann" have been switched.

Beach Boys present:
Mike Love
Dennis Wilson
Carl Wilson
Al Jardine
Ricky Fataar

Backup band probably included:
Billy Hinsche
Bobby Figueroa
Carly Munoz
Ron Altbach
James Guercio

SETLIST

1. I CAN HEAR MUSIC
2. MARCELLA
3. LITTLE DEUCE COUPE
4. DO IT AGAIN
5. THE WARMTH OF THE SUN
6. CALIFORNIA SAGA/PART THREE: CALIFORNIA
7. SAIL ON SAILOR (Billy Hinsche on lead)
8. ALL THIS IS THAT
9. FEEL FLOWS
10. SURFER GIRL
11. HEROES AND VILLAINS
12. DARLIN'
13. CATCH A WAVE
14. I'M WAITING FOR THE DAY (Billy Hinsche on lead)
15. GOD ONLY KNOWS
16. DON'T WORRY BABY
17. THE TRADER
18. SLOOP JOHN B.
19. WOULDN'T IT BE NICE
20. I GET AROUND
21. GOOD VIBRATIONS
22. IN MY ROOM
23. HELP ME, RHONDA
24. CALIFORNIA GIRLS

Encore -
25. JUMPIN' JACK FLASH
26. BARBARA ANN
27. SURFIN' U.S.A.
28. FUN, FUN, FUN

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

That's one hell of a setlist.

EDIT: Also, that line-up on stage must have kicked some serious ass.

I am also very interested in this line of discussion. See? After all of the pain and suffering in this thread, we learned something.

[ESQ Editor]

I think some of the lyrics are dorky (and I'm not just picking on Mike here - 'If Mars had life on it, I might find my wife on it' wasn't written by Mike) but the music is in many cases extremely sophisticated. The Beach Boys are almost defined by such contradictions.

Those beach balls - I'm not an intellectual snob. Sometimes it comes across to me as cynical. It's not that the audience all arrived bearing beach balls. It's a deliberate attempt to create a particular atmosphere. Surely if the music is right it can do that on its own? And during 409 or Ballad of Old Betsy but being hit on the head by a ball thrown by some prat during God Only Knows - no thanks.

Each to his own.

John Stamos dedicating Forever to Nelson?  Wonder what he will dedicate to this thread if it's still going on when they do the next show?

Nothing.  Nelson's comments originated on FB. 

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Dorky?? well it's time we all just accept them for what they are, The "Star Trek" of rock music,,,, Brian is "Kirk", Mike is "Spock" Bruce is "Data", Carl is "Scotty", Dennis is "Picard", David is a "Klingon", Murry is "Q", Al is "Sulu" and John Stamos is a "Romulan" (with special guest stars Glen Campbell as "Surak", Hal Blain as "Bones McCoy" and Charles Manson as "Capt Pike." )

Ha!!!

That or the Star Wars of rock!

Brian's Luke Skywalker, Murry's Darth Vader, Mike's Lando Calrissian, Dennis is Han Solo, Bruce is C3-PO, and Al's R2-D2  

Jack Reilly is Yoda, Rocky Pamplin is Chewbacca, Foskett is Jabba The Hut, Taylor Mills can be Princess Lea, Stamos is Boba Fet, Manson, The Emperor.

[halblaineisgood]

.

[Cam Mott]

So the whole group was unsure what to do about falling attendance at shows and Dennis took the lead in asking advice and the advice was go hard on oldies setlists and the whole band agreed to go that way? Fascinating.

Hard to believe, Cam. I remember being at a Beach Boys concert in late '74 in Sacramento and wondering who the guy on stage with the glasses playing bass was. Here's a typical setlist with Guercio. Seems like a pretty good smattering of recent tracks were included here - don't really see emphasis on oldies, even into the Beachago tour the following year.

Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, MD
November 22, 1974

C-man says: Both Ricky Fataar and Dennis Wilson played drums at this concert. Surprisingly, there are not many more oldies in this concert than there were in concerts earlier in the year, before "Endless Summer" was released. "Catch A Wave" was added, however, and this is one of the few times it wasn't performed right before "Hawaii". A daring feat is accomplished here..."Good Vibrations" is followed up by "In My Room". Same as the previous night's show, except "All This Is That" has been added, and "Surfin USA" and "Barbara Ann" have been switched.

Beach Boys present:
Mike Love
Dennis Wilson
Carl Wilson
Al Jardine
Ricky Fataar

Backup band probably included:
Billy Hinsche
Bobby Figueroa
Carly Munoz
Ron Altbach
James Guercio

SETLIST

1. I CAN HEAR MUSIC
2. MARCELLA
3. LITTLE DEUCE COUPE
4. DO IT AGAIN
5. THE WARMTH OF THE SUN
6. CALIFORNIA SAGA/PART THREE: CALIFORNIA
7. SAIL ON SAILOR (Billy Hinsche on lead)
8. ALL THIS IS THAT
9. FEEL FLOWS
10. SURFER GIRL
11. HEROES AND VILLAINS
12. DARLIN'
13. CATCH A WAVE
14. I'M WAITING FOR THE DAY (Billy Hinsche on lead)
15. GOD ONLY KNOWS
16. DON'T WORRY BABY
17. THE TRADER
18. SLOOP JOHN B.
19. WOULDN'T IT BE NICE
20. I GET AROUND
21. GOOD VIBRATIONS
22. IN MY ROOM
23. HELP ME, RHONDA
24. CALIFORNIA GIRLS

Encore -
25. JUMPIN' JACK FLASH
26. BARBARA ANN
27. SURFIN' U.S.A.
28. FUN, FUN, FUN

I don't know I haven't really made a comparison but many people seem to believe it happened when they were blaming it on Mike. Be interesting to see how it is parsed out now.

My thought has always been that an oldies heavy setlist was inevitable. The Boys from the very beginning it seems to me maintained a practice of playing mostly older cuts with a few of the most recent cuts. As they didn't have newer cuts or their newer cuts were older and older due to low productivity and they had fewer and fewer "new" cuts of lower and lower popularity the setlist got naturally heavier and heavier with older and older cuts. That may be total bollocks if a comparison was actually made.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Also, before we get on the Boys for descending into an "oldies act" we should stop and consider who we're talking about first ...... NO other band in history has the oldies that The Beach Boys do......

It's one thing to bitch about REM not doing Driver 8 or something at a gig, but this is THE BEACH BOYS! The oldies/classics were always there just waiting to take over, and not just because they were oldies or hits, but because they are just so damn good.

[drbeachboy]

I think some of the lyrics are dorky (and I'm not just picking on Mike here - 'If Mars had life on it, I might find my wife on it' wasn't written by Mike) but the music is in many cases extremely sophisticated. The Beach Boys are almost defined by such contradictions.

Those beach balls - I'm not an intellectual snob. Sometimes it comes across to me as cynical. It's not that the audience all arrived bearing beach balls. It's a deliberate attempt to create a particular atmosphere. Surely if the music is right it can do that on its own? And during 409 or Ballad of Old Betsy but being hit on the head by a ball thrown by some prat during God Only Knows - no thanks.

Each to his own.

John Stamos dedicating Forever to Nelson?  Wonder what he will dedicate to this thread if it's still going on when they do the next show?

Nothing.  Nelson's comments originated on FB.  

David, he means this thread, because John Cowsill and Scott Totten read this board on a fairly regular basis and John Stamos has been taking a beating in here.

[joshferrell]

Dorky?? well it's time we all just accept them for what they are, The "Star Trek" of rock music,,,, Brian is "Kirk", Mike is "Spock" Bruce is "Data", Carl is "Scotty", Dennis is "Picard", David is a "Klingon", Murry is "Q", Al is "Sulu" and John Stamos is a "Romulan" (with special guest stars Glen Campbell as "Surak", Hal Blain as "Bones McCoy" and Charles Manson as "Capt Pike." )

Ha!!!

That or the Star Wars of rock!

Brian's Luke Skywalker, Murry's Darth Vader, Mike's Lando Calrissian, Dennis is Han Solo, Bruce is C3-PO, and Al's R2-D2  

Jack Reilly is Yoda, Rocky Pamplin is Chewbacca, Foskett is Jabba The Hut, Taylor Mills can be Princess Lea, Stamos is Boba Fet, Manson, The Emperor.

LOL... 

[Rocker]

Dorky?? well it's time we all just accept them for what they are, The "Star Trek" of rock music,,,, Brian is "Kirk", Mike is "Spock" Bruce is "Data", Carl is "Scotty", Dennis is "Picard", David is a "Klingon", Murry is "Q", Al is "Sulu" and John Stamos is a "Romulan" (with special guest stars Glen Campbell as "Surak", Hal Blain as "Bones McCoy" and Charles Manson as "Capt Pike." )

Ha!!!

That or the Star Wars of rock!

Brian's Luke Skywalker, Murry's Darth Vader, Mike's Lando Calrissian, Dennis is Han Solo, Bruce is C3-PO, and Al's R2-D2  

Jack Reilly is Yoda, Rocky Pamplin is Chewbacca, Foskett is Jabba The Hut, Taylor Mills can be Princess Lea, Stamos is Boba Fet, Manson, The Emperor.

I'd call Mike C3-PO and Bruce R2-D2...
And Carl has to be Lowbac...er...Chewbacca.... 

[the captain]

Also, before we get on the Boys for descending into an "oldies act" we should and consider who we're talking about first ...... NO other band in history has the oldies that The Beach Boys do......

It's one thing to bitch about REM not doing Driver 8 or something at a gig, but this is THE BEACH BOYS! The oldies/classics were always there just waiting to take over, and not just because they were oldies or hit, but because they are just so damn good.

I totally agree. There are a few acts with similarly great catalogs, but not many. Prince concerts can be a similar experience, where he whips out some tune that you'd forgotten he even did ... but that was once a hit song and that just kills you. The Beach Boys are like that, song after song, hit after hit. You're not going to please everyone, because you really can't even do all the hits, much less even scratch the surface of the cool non-hits.

[SonoraDick]

So the whole group was unsure what to do about falling attendance at shows and Dennis took the lead in asking advice and the advice was go hard on oldies setlists and the whole band agreed to go that way? Fascinating.

Hard to believe, Cam. I remember being at a Beach Boys concert in late '74 in Sacramento and wondering who the guy on stage with the glasses playing bass was. Here's a typical setlist with Guercio. Seems like a pretty good smattering of recent tracks were included here - don't really see emphasis on oldies, even into the Beachago tour the following year.

Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, MD
November 22, 1974

C-man says: Both Ricky Fataar and Dennis Wilson played drums at this concert. Surprisingly, there are not many more oldies in this concert than there were in concerts earlier in the year, before "Endless Summer" was released. "Catch A Wave" was added, however, and this is one of the few times it wasn't performed right before "Hawaii". A daring feat is accomplished here..."Good Vibrations" is followed up by "In My Room". Same as the previous night's show, except "All This Is That" has been added, and "Surfin USA" and "Barbara Ann" have been switched.

Beach Boys present:
Mike Love
Dennis Wilson
Carl Wilson
Al Jardine
Ricky Fataar

Backup band probably included:
Billy Hinsche
Bobby Figueroa
Carly Munoz
Ron Altbach
James Guercio

SETLIST

1. I CAN HEAR MUSIC
2. MARCELLA
3. LITTLE DEUCE COUPE
4. DO IT AGAIN
5. THE WARMTH OF THE SUN
6. CALIFORNIA SAGA/PART THREE: CALIFORNIA
7. SAIL ON SAILOR (Billy Hinsche on lead)
8. ALL THIS IS THAT
9. FEEL FLOWS
10. SURFER GIRL
11. HEROES AND VILLAINS
12. DARLIN'
13. CATCH A WAVE
14. I'M WAITING FOR THE DAY (Billy Hinsche on lead)
15. GOD ONLY KNOWS
16. DON'T WORRY BABY
17. THE TRADER
18. SLOOP JOHN B.
19. WOULDN'T IT BE NICE
20. I GET AROUND
21. GOOD VIBRATIONS
22. IN MY ROOM
23. HELP ME, RHONDA
24. CALIFORNIA GIRLS

Encore -
25. JUMPIN' JACK FLASH
26. BARBARA ANN
27. SURFIN' U.S.A.
28. FUN, FUN, FUN

I was at their show two nights earlier, in Burlington, VT. I remember the place was so loud (college campus; the concert sold out in MINUTES & I was lucky to score two tickets day-of-show, although it irked me one of the students who sold me his ticket had the nerve to demand an entire extra dollar above face ) that they were halfway through the opener before I recognized it as "I Can Hear Music". Regarding the encore, we didn't get "Jumpin' Jack Flash", but for many years, I have believed this was my only Beach Boys concert where they did a second encore.  

One other memory of that show... The Beach Boys closed their first set (read Jon & Ian's report of this concert for the whole story) with "Little Deuce Coupe" and, after they left the stage, a guy sitting nearby said to his date "Wow, they're incredible, but what else can they do? They've already played EVERYTHING!" It goes without saying that the second set was even better.

To this day, I think of that night whenever I hear "I Can Hear Music"... even though I couldn't hear it that night.