Mike and Bruce Tour 2015

[Wirestone]

Lovely set list.

Shame the band is too small to do justice to the arrangements.

[Autotune]

I think it'a great that this band has so many solid vocalists with such distinct tones and yet a wondeful blend. Jeff doing Carl-like vocals these days is priceless. I'm sure Ike's role will increase through time. And Scott's role as music director has been superb. Criticizing yesterday's concert with the argument that Mike alledgedly nixed Surf's Up from a C50 playlist is petty.

[Ang Jones]

Who can forget his love of the cantina verse and Our Prayer? Mike Love was always such a staunch advocate of SMiLE music and it's good to see him so proud of Brian's legacy.

Last time I looked at the cover of Smile it had the artist as The Beach Boys. Mike has also never knocked the music, just some of Van Dyke's lyrics. Brian will be remembered just as much for I Get Around and California Girls as for Smile.  

Not the impression I have got over many years of reading various articles. Like this one: http://somethingelsereviews.com/2014/05/22/such-weirdness-going-on-mike-love-still-doesnt-get-the-beach-boys-smile/

In Mike's own words:

“I have mixed feelings about it,” Love tells the Austin Chronicle. “I think there was some great music on SMiLE, some incredible tracks. But at that point in time, there were so many drugs being taken by Brian and other members of the group, and there was a lot of collaborating with people other than myself. I had literally nothing to do on anything on the SMiLE album, so naturally I was a little upset.”

And:

“There was such weirdness going on at the time. I’m not trying to poo-poo it, but it was just a little too weird for my taste. Then Brian shelved the album, and whenever you have an unfinished symphony it takes on mythological proportions. I do think there’s some beautiful tracks, like ‘Wonderful’ and ‘Heroes and Villains,’ but there’s a negative side to it too.”

These comments seem to indicate two separate problems for Mike (apart from VDP's 'acid alliteration'): it's weirdness and the fact that he wasn't involved enough with it.

Both of your quotes as not positive are positive.

I wonder what the reaction would have been if Mike, as the licensed Beach Boys, had decided to finally do something with those SMiLE recordings they had all paid for and made it a part of their tour and then put out a solo album of it as "Mike Love Presents SMiLE"?

They weren't wholly positive. Mike said he had mixed feelings, citing the weirdness and the fact he had nothing to do with it. This was a response to the comment that Mike was ALWAYS a staunch advocate.

[wantsomecorn]

Just going to counter the negativity here: all the songs posted sounded great, and I had no problem with Mike's singing on any of them. Sometimes Jeff Foskett's voice is a bit too "much" for me, but he sounded great on them too.

A huge thanks to Scott for taking time out of his day to visit here and ask the fans what we want to hear, and then do all the work to prepare the songs for us to hear.

Hopefully when you come to Chicago in June, All I Wanna Do will stick around in the setlist.  

[Autotune]

Mike in these later years doing setlists with more rarities is kind of a bittersweet thing for certain fans of a certain mindset. But there’s really no way to get into the topic without the two extremes coming out. I think there’s a polite, constructive way to point out the irony of Mike doing thoughtful setlists and stage presentations and singing along to Carl and Dennis, but only on his *own* terms, after choosing to leave Brian and Al. Some people aren’t *looking* for something negative to say. They see a band called “The Beach Boys”, with some great musicians and singers, doing some truly thoughtful, quality setlists, and then, sometimes it’s hard to not think about a few years ago when the guy that wrote most of that stuff, and the guy with the most intact voice, were also there.

People who pine for another reunion have to live with the fact that it probably won’t happen again. But people who are “just about the music” and don’t care how many configurations are out there touring or what they call themselves, *those* people have to deal with the fact that the fallout from C50 will chase Mike down for the remainder of his career, and will, for some fans and spectators, color everything and anything he does under the band name. 

I think one would have to be massively divorced from any subjective thought about the band’s history to NOT see the irony in Mike choosing to leave a willing Brian Wilon, and then doing “Surf’s Up” live without Brian there. (Mike’s predisposition to do or not do the song isn’t a factor; it’s clearly about Brian. Indeed, the C50 lineup rehearsed “Surf’s Up” back in 2012). Whether there’s any point in mentioning these ironies in a thread devoted to Mike’s tour, I don’t know.

On another note, Mike’s setlist is a nice one, and I HOPE that Brian and his band are motivated by this (and/or their own muse) to truly do an awesome setlist for the upcoming tour. Al just recently did a radio interview where he seemed *very* enthusiastic about getting Blondie to do “Funky Pretty” with the band. 

1) Mike's role in nixing catalogue-deep setlists must be revisited.
It wasn't him who held the most vocal opposition against the boxed-set tour. Or so we've been told.

2) It is a bit of a paradox to me that most of those who are vocal about Mike killing the reunion, and shame on Mike for playing songs now that he didn't play with Brian, and what a douchebag Mike is, are also vocal about their wish to see this guy perform next to Brian again. I'm all for a reunion. I traveled 8.000 miles to see a reunion show; but for the haters... isn't Brian better away from the alledged ass-hole?

[HeyJude]

Mike in these later years doing setlists with more rarities is kind of a bittersweet thing for certain fans of a certain mindset. But there’s really no way to get into the topic without the two extremes coming out. I think there’s a polite, constructive way to point out the irony of Mike doing thoughtful setlists and stage presentations and singing along to Carl and Dennis, but only on his *own* terms, after choosing to leave Brian and Al. Some people aren’t *looking* for something negative to say. They see a band called “The Beach Boys”, with some great musicians and singers, doing some truly thoughtful, quality setlists, and then, sometimes it’s hard to not think about a few years ago when the guy that wrote most of that stuff, and the guy with the most intact voice, were also there.

People who pine for another reunion have to live with the fact that it probably won’t happen again. But people who are “just about the music” and don’t care how many configurations are out there touring or what they call themselves, *those* people have to deal with the fact that the fallout from C50 will chase Mike down for the remainder of his career, and will, for some fans and spectators, color everything and anything he does under the band name.  

I think one would have to be massively divorced from any subjective thought about the band’s history to NOT see the irony in Mike choosing to leave a willing Brian Wilon, and then doing “Surf’s Up” live without Brian there. (Mike’s predisposition to do or not do the song isn’t a factor; it’s clearly about Brian. Indeed, the C50 lineup rehearsed “Surf’s Up” back in 2012). Whether there’s any point in mentioning these ironies in a thread devoted to Mike’s tour, I don’t know.

On another note, Mike’s setlist is a nice one, and I HOPE that Brian and his band are motivated by this (and/or their own muse) to truly do an awesome setlist for the upcoming tour. Al just recently did a radio interview where he seemed *very* enthusiastic about getting Blondie to do “Funky Pretty” with the band.  

1) Mike's role in nixing catalogue-deep setlists must be revisited.
It wasn't him who held the most vocal opposition against the boxed-set tour. Or so we've been told.

2) It is a bit of a paradox to me that most of those who are vocal about Mike killing the reunion, and shame on Mike for playing songs now that he didn't play with Brian, and what a douchebag Mike is, are also vocal about their wish to see this guy perform next to Brian again. I'm all for a reunion. I traveled 8.000 miles to see a reunion show; but for the haters... isn't Brian better away from the alledged ass-hole?

I look at these things from the fan perspective. Brian and Mike are both better when they’re together with the full band, most especially with Al. Musically, I’d prefer to see the reunion lineup as compared to Brian’s solo tour. Is that what’s best for Brian personally at this stage? Fudge if I know. Maybe not.

People who disagree with Mike leaving the reunion lineup in 2012 aren’t all saying he’s an irredeemable a**hole. They’re saying that particular move was objectionable. One can dislike his actions, but still want to see him sing and perform, especially with the full band.

So no, sorry, we’ve heard the “why do you want to see Mike perform with Brian if Mike’s such a d**k?” commentaries many times before. Such comments assume every fan who objects to something Mike does also don’t want to ever see him perform, or hate him, or whatever. I look at it the opposite way: Wanting Mike to continue with the reunion is an ENDORSEMENT of what he brings to the table. Indeed, especially considering how little Bruce adds to the live shows, truly staunch anti-Mike folks would have preferred Brian’s 2013 lineup to the 2012 C50 lineup. I didn’t. That had A LOT to do with Mike.

As for the ’93 boxed set tour, I’ve never heard a report that any of the other principles were against that tour, and I’ve certainly never heard any report that anyone was *more* against it than Mike was or could have been. It may or may not be telling that the rehearsal tapes for that tour that circulate are notable in that it is *Mike* who appears to not even be in attendance. Al and Carl are, and I believe Bruce is. Al in particular was very into that tour, and I believe Carl was too.  

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

In all fairness, the band (apart from Jeff...or was it Ike? Can't tell) sound good on these clips. Mike's leads, though...yeah...not the best, but I applaud the effort.

[Lee Marshall]

The live experience CAN [amd often does] offset the things we later 'catch' with a live recording.  I'm looking forward to the show.

[Autotune]

Mike in these later years doing setlists with more rarities is kind of a bittersweet thing for certain fans of a certain mindset. But there’s really no way to get into the topic without the two extremes coming out. I think there’s a polite, constructive way to point out the irony of Mike doing thoughtful setlists and stage presentations and singing along to Carl and Dennis, but only on his *own* terms, after choosing to leave Brian and Al. Some people aren’t *looking* for something negative to say. They see a band called “The Beach Boys”, with some great musicians and singers, doing some truly thoughtful, quality setlists, and then, sometimes it’s hard to not think about a few years ago when the guy that wrote most of that stuff, and the guy with the most intact voice, were also there.

People who pine for another reunion have to live with the fact that it probably won’t happen again. But people who are “just about the music” and don’t care how many configurations are out there touring or what they call themselves, *those* people have to deal with the fact that the fallout from C50 will chase Mike down for the remainder of his career, and will, for some fans and spectators, color everything and anything he does under the band name.  

I think one would have to be massively divorced from any subjective thought about the band’s history to NOT see the irony in Mike choosing to leave a willing Brian Wilon, and then doing “Surf’s Up” live without Brian there. (Mike’s predisposition to do or not do the song isn’t a factor; it’s clearly about Brian. Indeed, the C50 lineup rehearsed “Surf’s Up” back in 2012). Whether there’s any point in mentioning these ironies in a thread devoted to Mike’s tour, I don’t know.

On another note, Mike’s setlist is a nice one, and I HOPE that Brian and his band are motivated by this (and/or their own muse) to truly do an awesome setlist for the upcoming tour. Al just recently did a radio interview where he seemed *very* enthusiastic about getting Blondie to do “Funky Pretty” with the band.  

1) Mike's role in nixing catalogue-deep setlists must be revisited.
It wasn't him who held the most vocal opposition against the boxed-set tour. Or so we've been told.

2) It is a bit of a paradox to me that most of those who are vocal about Mike killing the reunion, and shame on Mike for playing songs now that he didn't play with Brian, and what a douchebag Mike is, are also vocal about their wish to see this guy perform next to Brian again. I'm all for a reunion. I traveled 8.000 miles to see a reunion show; but for the haters... isn't Brian better away from the alledged ass-hole?

I look at these things from the fan perspective. Brian and Mike are both better when they’re together with the full band, most especially with Al. Musically, I’d prefer to see the reunion lineup as compared to Brian’s solo tour. Is that what’s best for Brian personally at this stage? Fudge if I know. Maybe not.

People who disagree with Mike leaving the reunion lineup in 2012 aren’t all saying he’s an irredeemable a**hole. They’re saying that particular move was objectionable. One can dislike his actions, but still want to see him sing and perform, especially with the full band.

So no, sorry, we’ve heard the “why do you want to see Mike perform with Brian if Mike’s such a d**k?” commentaries many times before. Such comments assume every fan who objects to something Mike does also don’t want to ever see him perform, or hate him, or whatever. I look at it the opposite way: Wanting Mike to continue with the reunion is an ENDORSEMENT of what he brings to the table. Indeed, especially considering how little Bruce adds to the live shows, truly staunch anti-Mike folks would have preferred Brian’s 2013 lineup to the 2012 C50 lineup. I didn’t. That had A LOT to do with Mike.

As for the ’93 boxed set tour, I’ve never heard a report that any of the other principles were against that tour, and I’ve certainly never heard any report that anyone was *more* against it than Mike was or could have been. It may or may not be telling that the rehearsal tapes for that tour that circulate are notable in that it is *Mike* who appears to not even be in attendance. Al and Carl are, and I believe Bruce is. Al in particular was very into that tour, and I believe Carl was too.  

Initially, Carl was against the box-set tour. He did not believe the band could pull it through and had to be talked into it-- or convinced. Thankfully, once this happened, he worked hard to put it together. Nevertheless , I think the safe setlists of the mid 80s to mid 90s period has a lot more to do with Carl than is admitted.

[Mike's Beard]

I thought the performance of All I Wanna Do was great. Loved the loud, near thrashy guitar part in the chorus. Thanks Scott for passing on the suggestion to Mike and thanks Mike for agreeing to give it a go.

[Robbie Mac]

Lovely set list.

Shame the band is too small to do justice to the arrangements.

And the rub is that in 2012,  he had the perfect  band to do justice to the material that they are trying out.

[CenturyDeprived]

Mike in these later years doing setlists with more rarities is kind of a bittersweet thing for certain fans of a certain mindset. But there’s really no way to get into the topic without the two extremes coming out. I think there’s a polite, constructive way to point out the irony of Mike doing thoughtful setlists and stage presentations and singing along to Carl and Dennis, but only on his *own* terms, after choosing to leave Brian and Al. Some people aren’t *looking* for something negative to say. They see a band called “The Beach Boys”, with some great musicians and singers, doing some truly thoughtful, quality setlists, and then, sometimes it’s hard to not think about a few years ago when the guy that wrote most of that stuff, and the guy with the most intact voice, were also there.

People who pine for another reunion have to live with the fact that it probably won’t happen again. But people who are “just about the music” and don’t care how many configurations are out there touring or what they call themselves, *those* people have to deal with the fact that the fallout from C50 will chase Mike down for the remainder of his career, and will, for some fans and spectators, color everything and anything he does under the band name.  

I think one would have to be massively divorced from any subjective thought about the band’s history to NOT see the irony in Mike choosing to leave a willing Brian Wilon, and then doing “Surf’s Up” live without Brian there. (Mike’s predisposition to do or not do the song isn’t a factor; it’s clearly about Brian. Indeed, the C50 lineup rehearsed “Surf’s Up” back in 2012). Whether there’s any point in mentioning these ironies in a thread devoted to Mike’s tour, I don’t know.

On another note, Mike’s setlist is a nice one, and I HOPE that Brian and his band are motivated by this (and/or their own muse) to truly do an awesome setlist for the upcoming tour. Al just recently did a radio interview where he seemed *very* enthusiastic about getting Blondie to do “Funky Pretty” with the band.  

1) Mike's role in nixing catalogue-deep setlists must be revisited.
It wasn't him who held the most vocal opposition against the boxed-set tour. Or so we've been told.

2) It is a bit of a paradox to me that most of those who are vocal about Mike killing the reunion, and shame on Mike for playing songs now that he didn't play with Brian, and what a douchebag Mike is, are also vocal about their wish to see this guy perform next to Brian again. I'm all for a reunion. I traveled 8.000 miles to see a reunion show; but for the haters... isn't Brian better away from the alleged ass-hole?

I for one believe that there is a good person lurking inside the "alleged ass-hole" as you call him, and that he could possibly find common ground and a healthy working and, most importantly, personal relationship with Brian if he himself really, really tried hard enough. Hatchets could still be buried before it's too late. Just IMHO.

[HeyJude]

Initially, Carl was against the box-set tour. He did not believe the band could pull it through and had to be talked into it-- or convinced. Thankfully, once this happened, he worked hard to put it together. Nevertheless , I think the safe setlists of the mid 80s to mid 90s period has a lot more to do with Carl than is admitted.

I’d be interested to hear the source of those stories. It certainly sounds like the mindset Carl reportedly had a few times in things of this nature (e.g. reportedly not thinking Brian was up to a “Pet Sounds” tour). Carl was also the defacto band leader at that time and had to make musical decisions, whereas Mike just had to show up and sing. Ultimately, it seems Carl took to the idea more than Mike may have, especially if Mike’s absence on the rehearsal tape is any indication.

It’s very true that it was the entire band including Carl that was complicit in the stale 80’s and 90’s setlists. It’s especially a bummer on the part of Carl, since he was so full of piss and vinegar in the early 80’s about the stale setlist and flaccid live show, to the point of leaving for a year and half. Eventually by the end of the 90’s, it appears it was only Al who had any scattered interest in doing something interesting with the setlist, but of course he lacked the power in the organization to do anything about it.

I would say, though, that a predisposition to not thinking the band could pull off a quality performance (in other words, setting a higher musical standard) is very different from a predisposition to not feeling the band should weigh the set down with “obscure” songs as if the audience doesn’t want it, which I think to varying degrees some of the guys including Mike seemed to have over the years.

I sure wish Carl could have been around for the era where both Brian’s and Mike’s (and Al’s, early on) bands have proven that you can dip into the back catalog a little bit and the audience won’t start rioting because you didn’t lead off with “Barbara Ann.”

[Sam_BFC]

There are some seriously cool selections on that set list.

Hope all of those deep cuts make the set for Sunday's RAH show.

Didn't listen to the whole of the All I Wanna Do clip because I don't want to spoil it, but it will be such a thrill to hear Mike and the guys do that one - sure there are a couple of missed notes, but Mike won't be the only one guilty of that this summer.  Thanks to Scott etc for doing the necessaries to get it in to the set.

The whole C50 end was a bummer, but a summer of shows like this from Mike and performances of new songs from Brian is quite the blessing.

[Cam Mott]

Criticizing yesterday's concert with the argument that Mike alledgedly nixed Surf's Up from a C50 playlist is petty.

Yeah, who is that coming from, I must have missed it?

[Cam Mott]

Who can forget his love of the cantina verse and Our Prayer? Mike Love was always such a staunch advocate of SMiLE music and it's good to see him so proud of Brian's legacy.

Last time I looked at the cover of Smile it had the artist as The Beach Boys. Mike has also never knocked the music, just some of Van Dyke's lyrics. Brian will be remembered just as much for I Get Around and California Girls as for Smile.  

Not the impression I have got over many years of reading various articles. Like this one: http://somethingelsereviews.com/2014/05/22/such-weirdness-going-on-mike-love-still-doesnt-get-the-beach-boys-smile/

In Mike's own words:

“I have mixed feelings about it,” Love tells the Austin Chronicle. “I think there was some great music on SMiLE, some incredible tracks. But at that point in time, there were so many drugs being taken by Brian and other members of the group, and there was a lot of collaborating with people other than myself. I had literally nothing to do on anything on the SMiLE album, so naturally I was a little upset.”

And:

“There was such weirdness going on at the time. I’m not trying to poo-poo it, but it was just a little too weird for my taste. Then Brian shelved the album, and whenever you have an unfinished symphony it takes on mythological proportions. I do think there’s some beautiful tracks, like ‘Wonderful’ and ‘Heroes and Villains,’ but there’s a negative side to it too.”

These comments seem to indicate two separate problems for Mike (apart from VDP's 'acid alliteration'): it's weirdness and the fact that he wasn't involved enough with it.

Both of your quotes as not positive are positive.

I wonder what the reaction would have been if Mike, as the licensed Beach Boys, had decided to finally do something with those SMiLE recordings they had all paid for and made it a part of their tour and then put out a solo album of it as "Mike Love Presents SMiLE"?

They weren't wholly positive. Mike said he had mixed feelings, citing the weirdness and the fact he had nothing to do with it. This was a response to the comment that Mike was ALWAYS a staunch advocate.

"Mike has also never knocked the music, just some of Van Dyke's lyrics."

Both of your quotes are positive about the music.

[Ang Jones]

Criticizing yesterday's concert with the argument that Mike alledgedly nixed Surf's Up from a C50 playlist is petty.

Yeah, who is that coming from, I must have missed it?

More than one person actually if you examine this long thread. But if this is aimed at me, I didn't criticise the concert. That would have been ridiculous as I wasn't there. I gave my view of three tracks I'd heard via this very MB and expressed an opinion of choosing to do Surf's Up at this show after allegedly (according to someone who was in the band at the time) ruling it out at the C50. If that is petty, well, I think it was quite petty to rule it out at the C50 unless that was done for sensible reasons, like not being able to handle it. If a smaller band can handle it, then sure the C50 band could too. But, hey, I forgot, some opinions aren't welcome on this forum.

[ontor pertawst]

Mike Love would never nix Surf's Up from a setlist, he's been the biggest champion of it from day one and you have to give the guy free hats from auto parts stores and chambers of commerce so he DOESN'T burst into Surf's Up in public. I look forward to it being a permanent addition to the M&B setlist to make way for the 2017 Mike Love Presents SMiLE tour. He could finally reimburse VDP for that plane ticket and lure him over to his camp!

C'mon, we could have surveillance camera footage of Mike Love angrily throwing a hissy fit about it and folks would duck, weave, cam, and mott about it.

[Andrew G. Doe]

[sigh]

Didn't take long for normal service to be resumed, did it ?

[Cam Mott]

Criticizing yesterday's concert with the argument that Mike alledgedly nixed Surf's Up from a C50 playlist is petty.

Yeah, who is that coming from, I must have missed it?

More than one person actually if you examine this long thread. But if this is aimed at me, I didn't criticise the concert. That would have been ridiculous as I wasn't there. I gave my view of three tracks I'd heard via this very MB and expressed an opinion of choosing to do Surf's Up at this show after allegedly ruling it out at the C50. If that is petty, well, I think it was quite petty to rule it out at the C50 unless that was done for sensible reasons, like not being able to handle it. If a smaller band can handle it, then sure the C50 band could too. But, hey, I forgot, some opinions aren't welcome on this forum.

Is there a quote or a source?

[ontor pertawst]

As if that would matter. It would be paristy-parse semantic city. Hopefully someone will be willing to talk and/or discuss it, tho!

(drops mic and angrily stomps offstage)

[drbeachboy]

[sigh]

Didn't take long for normal service to be resumed, did it ?

It's always the same ones.

[Dave in KC]

All I Wanna Do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6Q6qNt6qks
Surfs Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct1HCqVwmnw
Cottonfield: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIp4J5iqC1s
Farmer's Daughter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWPq527RTjI

I'm not uploading these, by the way, just finding them on YouTube. Looks like someone taped most, or all, of the deep cuts.

I wonder why the tempo was so slow on AIWD compared to the album track? Sounded sluggish as a result.

[SMiLE Brian]

Because Mike Love's voice is shot....

[RubberSoul13]

I too would be interested in a source for the anti-surf's up comment from C50 as well...I remember it coming up at the time, just not the context or who it actually stemmed from...I really doubt it was Mike, but could easily be wrong.


If there is truth behind it, I too agree that it's pretty ass-backwards to be playing Surf's Up at this point, especially considering the fact that it's such a sacred piece of music and no one on that stage really had anything to do with it despite billing it like they did. The same sort of thin relates to Till I Die. I wasn't there so I don't know, I'm sure they sounded gorgeous...but those are probably two of the biggest songs in the BB's cannon that just scream Brian Wilson...and not exactly the Brian Wilson that is with us today. It's very touchy.

The other additions seem wonderful though! All I Wanna Do has been a long time coming...and there's more where that came from, I hope they continue to discover it.