Mike and Bruce Tour 2015

[lastofmykind]

Ike sang the hell out of YSBIM, the instrumental track was damn near perfect.  This is the best sounding song I have seen on youtube, from all of the shows!

[Jim V.]

If it was "Love and Mercy" or "In My Car" or "Lay Down Burden" or "Imagination," there might be a cogent argument to be made. That was solo work.  And, who knows, maybe they will cover some of those some day...I had truly wished they had done "Love and Mercy" to close C50. But, it wasn't my choice.  

In what way is "In My Car" a solo song? It's on a Beach Boys album and features at least three original Beach Boys (Brian, Carl and Al).

It was a huge step to do SU, but Foskett sang it for years with both Brian and, likely Carl. Why not try something unheard for a long time? Can they improve? We all can improve.

When did Jeff Foskett sing "Surf's Up" with Carl? At the 1983 Dipshit County Fair? I think it's fair to say Carl and Jeff never ever performed "Surf's Up" with each other.

[startBBtoday]

Awesome to see the band playing this setlist. Ike sounds great on YSBIM.

Nice to hear Scott getting more falsetto leads. His falsetto sounds like a mix between Bruce and Brian. Definitely a Beach Boys tone.

Also love that they picked up the tempo on Shut Down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4i9EpQY748

[The Shift]

And mods.....I've intentionally been avoiding posting here because there is NOT discussion of the quality of the Mike and Bruce tour by the fans. It's simply bashing. Very few here are actually critiquing what they are doing or even accepting it...so why isn't anything being done to ensure intelligent discussion of the musical quality instead of watching B.S. pissing matches?...

Agree. If this was a debate about autotune, or Auto Tune, I can't help but think there'd've been some heavy handed wading-in of mods with truncheons flailing… but this is about The Beach Boys, performing music, and the board seems to have moved on from that subject.

[Sam_BFC]

Agree YSBIM was very well done.

Was less convinced by Mike and Bruce's trading of the lead on Here Today.

Hearing Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring performed live like that was a real highlight that I could hear again and again.

I noticed that there was a Pro Tools rig recording the whole show, probably just for archival reasons.

[Ang Jones]

Damn Ike sounds good. I wonder why the heck Brian let him go so fast. 

I doubt it's Brian letting him go as much as it's Mike poaching him.

Mike now has Jeff F and Brian E - both of whom have been in Brian's band. It's hardly surprising that Mike's band has improved somewhat and their having two singers who can handle the falsettos makes it understandable how they were able to include songs like Surf's Up although the Manchester show version didn't work. Perhaps it's improved since.

[Andrew G. Doe]

If it was "Love and Mercy" or "In My Car" or "Lay Down Burden" or "Imagination," there might be a cogent argument to be made. That was solo work.  And, who knows, maybe they will cover some of those some day...I had truly wished they had done "Love and Mercy" to close C50. But, it wasn't my choice.  

In what way is "In My Car" a solo song? It's on a Beach Boys album and features at least three original Beach Boys (Brian, Carl and Al).

In the way that it was recorded as a BW solo track and offered for the album, as Bruce told me, "very late... big surprise". Carl and Alan's vocals are so obviously later overdubs.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Damn Ike sounds good. I wonder why the heck Brian let him go so fast.  

I doubt it's Brian letting him go as much as it's Mike poaching him.

Mike now has Jeff F and Brian E - both of whom have been in Brian's band. It's hardly surprising that Mike's band has improved somewhat and their having two singers who can handle the falsettos makes it understandable how they were able to include songs like Surf's Up although the Manchester show version didn't work. Perhaps it's improved since.

So, exactly how do you account for the vast improvement in the band in 2004 & 2008, before Jeff & Ike joined  ? The falsettos were previously handled by Scott, Christian and Randell - hardly slouches. Seriously, if you're trying to make a point, it helps if it's tenable and backed by the available evidence.

[c-man]

Damn Ike sounds good. I wonder why the heck Brian let him go so fast. 

I doubt it's Brian letting him go as much as it's Mike poaching him.

Mike now has Jeff F and Brian E - both of whom have been in Brian's band. It's hardly surprising that Mike's band has improved somewhat and their having two singers who can handle the falsettos makes it understandable how they were able to include songs like Surf's Up although the Manchester show version didn't work. Perhaps it's improved since.

THREE singers who can handle the falsettos (including Scott). Well, actually, make that FOUR (including Bruce - who still wails the closing falsetto on "FFF" last I heard, as well as the main falsetto on "Surf City" whenever they do it).

[Andrew G. Doe]

Waiting for someone to claim they've only recruited Ike so Mike has a Brian in the band... 

[Autotune]

Enjoying the clips so far. Shut Down kicks some serious ass. Isn't it Time is the only oddball for me: either under-rehearsed, or or with a funny mix, or the clip sounds weird for some reason. It isn't a very complex song really, so it's hard to imagine why it would give them such a bad time performing it.

[Ang Jones]

Damn Ike sounds good. I wonder why the heck Brian let him go so fast.  

I doubt it's Brian letting him go as much as it's Mike poaching him.

Mike now has Jeff F and Brian E - both of whom have been in Brian's band. It's hardly surprising that Mike's band has improved somewhat and their having two singers who can handle the falsettos makes it understandable how they were able to include songs like Surf's Up although the Manchester show version didn't work. Perhaps it's improved since.

So, exactly how do you account for the vast improvement in the band in 2004 & 2008, before Jeff & Ike joined  ? The falsettos were previously handled by Scott, Christian and Randell - hardly slouches. Seriously, if you're trying to make a point, it helps if it's tenable and backed by the available evidence.

How can I possibly account for improvement in 2004 when I had never seen M&B's live show before? Nor had I seen them in 2008 so again, how can I assess an improvement from 2004? I've seen them twice: 2004 and 2014. I am not suggesting they sounded awful on either occasion. I think John Cowsill in particular is extremely talented and I'm not knocking the performances of the other band members either. The reason that I made the comment about the falsettos is that whilst lots of Beach Boys' songs include them, material like Surf's Up is notoriously difficult to do and someone like Jeff, who has done it many times before,  would seem likely to be an asset.  The only things that have changed since I last saw them as far as I know are the firing of Randell Kirsch, the addition of Brian Eichenberger and changes to the set list so it seems reasonable to assume that one or more of these changes are responsible for the improvement. I wouldn't dream of suggesting the firing of Randell is responsible.

Perhaps you can think of some other reason the concerts are better. I didn't go, as you are aware. I've just heard some clips. Most were fine,  not all however.

[Cabinessenceking]

Heroes & Villains with the brass section at RAH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0TB0zE1TK8

Holy sh*t they put out the live version from the 70´s

Nothing beats that upbeat chorus! 

[Cabinessenceking]

Isn't It Time from last night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hszuII8tPX4

Dang this is really, really bad.

very bad indeed.



That YSBIM was truly excellent!

[Andrew G. Doe]

For 2008 the answer is simple - they had a drummer who could keep time and a new MD. For 2004, it's even simpler - Brian's BWPS tours delivered a metaphorical kick up the arse. I saw them in 2003, granted in a torrential downpour, and both performance and setlist alike were, to be polite, pedestrian. Just over a year later, they blew me away.

I have to agree with various others here, in that I cannot fathom why Mike & Bruce performing a three hour 60 song setlist is somehow worthy of censure, or at best extremely grudging and lukewarm praise. I was speaking with several people last night post show (band members and other fans) and they all voiced negative opinions of this board, and frankly right now I cannot blame them at all. A handful of posters are making this an increasingly dismal place to be. There's a cancer here that needs to be excised.

[Sheriff John Stone]

I have to agree with various others here, in that I cannot fathom why Mike & Bruce performing a three hour 60 song setlist is somehow worthy of censure, or at best extremely grudging and lukewarm praise. I was speaking with several people last night post show (band members and other fans) and they all voiced negative opinions of this board, and frankly right now I cannot blame them at all. A handful of posters are making this an increasingly dismal place to be. There's a cancer here that needs to be excised.

Totally agree, and with RubberSoul13 and John Manning's above posts.

[Jim V.]

If it was "Love and Mercy" or "In My Car" or "Lay Down Burden" or "Imagination," there might be a cogent argument to be made. That was solo work.  And, who knows, maybe they will cover some of those some day...I had truly wished they had done "Love and Mercy" to close C50. But, it wasn't my choice.  

In what way is "In My Car" a solo song? It's on a Beach Boys album and features at least three original Beach Boys (Brian, Carl and Al).

In the way that it was recorded as a BW solo track and offered for the album, as Bruce told me, "very late... big surprise". Carl and Alan's vocals are so obviously later overdubs.

I know that. And that still doesn't make it a solo song at all. Maybe at one point during it's creation it was, but as far as the eye can see it was released as a Beach Boys song and has three Beach Boys on it, regardless of when certain vocals were added.

[drbeachboy]

If it was "Love and Mercy" or "In My Car" or "Lay Down Burden" or "Imagination," there might be a cogent argument to be made. That was solo work.  And, who knows, maybe they will cover some of those some day...I had truly wished they had done "Love and Mercy" to close C50. But, it wasn't my choice. 

In what way is "In My Car" a solo song? It's on a Beach Boys album and features at least three original Beach Boys (Brian, Carl and Al).

In the way that it was recorded as a BW solo track and offered for the album, as Bruce told me, "very late... big surprise". Carl and Alan's vocals are so obviously later overdubs.

I know that. And that still doesn't make it a solo song at all. Maybe at one point during it's creation it was, but as far as the eye can see it was released as a Beach Boys song and has three Beach Boys on it, regardless of when certain vocals were added.

Isn't this similar as saying Pet Sounds & Love You are Brian Wilson solo albums? I hear Beach Boys all over those albums, yet there are many that brush that notion off as just being guests on their own album.

[GoofyJeff]

For 2008 the answer is simple - they had a drummer who could keep time and a new MD. For 2004, it's even simpler - Brian's BWPS tours delivered a metaphorical kick up the arse. I saw them in 2003, granted in a torrential downpour, and both performance and setlist alike were, to be polite, pedestrian. Just over a year later, they blew me away.

I have to agree with various others here, in that I cannot fathom why Mike & Bruce performing a three hour 60 song setlist is somehow worthy of censure, or at best extremely grudging and lukewarm praise. I was speaking with several people last night post show (band members and other fans) and they all voiced negative opinions of this board, and frankly right now I cannot blame them at all. A handful of posters are making this an increasingly dismal place to be. There's a cancer here that needs to be excised.

I stopped posting regularly years ago because of all the bullcrap that goes on. I still read the board every day. Or should I say I scroll more than I read because most of what is posted is useless back and forth bickering about this or that.

Seriously people. The Beach Boys are in their early to mid 70s. They aren't going to be around (or at least performing) much longer. The fact that the touring band is doing a killer 3 hour, nearly 60 song set, is nothing short of amazing.

[Jim V.]

If it was "Love and Mercy" or "In My Car" or "Lay Down Burden" or "Imagination," there might be a cogent argument to be made. That was solo work.  And, who knows, maybe they will cover some of those some day...I had truly wished they had done "Love and Mercy" to close C50. But, it wasn't my choice. 

In what way is "In My Car" a solo song? It's on a Beach Boys album and features at least three original Beach Boys (Brian, Carl and Al).

In the way that it was recorded as a BW solo track and offered for the album, as Bruce told me, "very late... big surprise". Carl and Alan's vocals are so obviously later overdubs.

I know that. And that still doesn't make it a solo song at all. Maybe at one point during it's creation it was, but as far as the eye can see it was released as a Beach Boys song and has three Beach Boys on it, regardless of when certain vocals were added.

Isn't this similar as saying Pet Sounds & Love You are Brian Wilson solo albums? I hear Beach Boys all over those albums, yet there are many that brush that notion off as just being guests on their own album.

Yep. And I never, ever bought into the theory that those were "solo" albums. If they were, they would've been released as such, and without the extensive Beach Boys involvement that both have.

[Andrew G. Doe]

If it was "Love and Mercy" or "In My Car" or "Lay Down Burden" or "Imagination," there might be a cogent argument to be made. That was solo work.  And, who knows, maybe they will cover some of those some day...I had truly wished they had done "Love and Mercy" to close C50. But, it wasn't my choice.  

In what way is "In My Car" a solo song? It's on a Beach Boys album and features at least three original Beach Boys (Brian, Carl and Al).

In the way that it was recorded as a BW solo track and offered for the album, as Bruce told me, "very late... big surprise". Carl and Alan's vocals are so obviously later overdubs.

I know that. And that still doesn't make it a solo song at all. Maybe at one point during it's creation it was, but as far as the eye can see it was released as a Beach Boys song and has three Beach Boys on it, regardless of when certain vocals were added.

Odd, then, that "Daylight Over The Ocean", a song with an identical genesis, is widely regarded in some quarters as NOT being a Beach Boys number.

[drbeachboy]

If it was "Love and Mercy" or "In My Car" or "Lay Down Burden" or "Imagination," there might be a cogent argument to be made. That was solo work.  And, who knows, maybe they will cover some of those some day...I had truly wished they had done "Love and Mercy" to close C50. But, it wasn't my choice. 

In what way is "In My Car" a solo song? It's on a Beach Boys album and features at least three original Beach Boys (Brian, Carl and Al).

In the way that it was recorded as a BW solo track and offered for the album, as Bruce told me, "very late... big surprise". Carl and Alan's vocals are so obviously later overdubs.

I know that. And that still doesn't make it a solo song at all. Maybe at one point during it's creation it was, but as far as the eye can see it was released as a Beach Boys song and has three Beach Boys on it, regardless of when certain vocals were added.

Odd, then, that "Daylight Over The Ocean", a song with an identical genesis, is widely regarded in some quarters as NOT being a Beach Boys number.

People think lots of incorrect stuff here, especially here where you would think that would be the last place for that to happen.

[Jim V.]

If it was "Love and Mercy" or "In My Car" or "Lay Down Burden" or "Imagination," there might be a cogent argument to be made. That was solo work.  And, who knows, maybe they will cover some of those some day...I had truly wished they had done "Love and Mercy" to close C50. But, it wasn't my choice.  

In what way is "In My Car" a solo song? It's on a Beach Boys album and features at least three original Beach Boys (Brian, Carl and Al).

In the way that it was recorded as a BW solo track and offered for the album, as Bruce told me, "very late... big surprise". Carl and Alan's vocals are so obviously later overdubs.

I know that. And that still doesn't make it a solo song at all. Maybe at one point during it's creation it was, but as far as the eye can see it was released as a Beach Boys song and has three Beach Boys on it, regardless of when certain vocals were added.

Odd, then, that "Daylight Over The Ocean", a song with an identical genesis, is widely regarded in some quarters as NOT being a Beach Boys number.

Last time I checked, "Daybreak Over The Ocean" has Mike, Brian, Al and Bruce on it, and was first released as a Beach Boys song. So once again, whoever's saying that needs their head checked.

So yeah, whatever quarters don't think it's a Beach Boys number, can also remove "Darlin'", "Time To Get Alone", "Had To Phone Ya" and others from The Beach Boys canon as well, since all of those apparently weren't intended for them at first either.

[HeyJude]

I can’t disagree that there are waves of negativity that can overwhelm this place. I also would reiterate what I mentioned some time back regarding something like a discussion of Mike’s recent setlists: I think an enlightened, fair-minded discussion/debate over the context of Mike doing these types of setlists could theoretically take place, but it’s nearly impossible on this board (or any active board for that matter). I don’t have an answer for the question of whether it’s worth stepping into a thread devoted to Mike’s tour and criticizing Mike’s band, even in a respectful, constructive fashion. On the one hand, one is entering a thread where folks are going to more heavily disagree with criticism of Mike’s band. On the other hand, all the threads on the board are theoretically for all fans to discuss. Is a thread about an album, for instance, only meant for those who like said album? On yet another hand, at one point is stepping into a thread on a given album and offering nothing but “I hate that album, why would anyone like that album?” a case of, and I truly wish there was a better term for this, a “threadcrap?”

I don’t know how much we need to weigh the opinion concerning this board of concert-goers and band members at a Mike/Bruce gig, as any fan (or band member) at said gig would who are into the band enough to be familiar with this board are surely far more likely to disagree with a good hunk of sentiment from any BB-related fans and forums across the internet outside of fan pages and Facebook pages devoted specifically to Mike. Smiley Smiley didn’t invent negative fan sentiment concerning Mike.

For a large hunk of fans, Mike touring without surviving members as “The Beach Boys” is always going to be an inflammatory, frowned-upon act. Post-2012, even moreso for many fans. The passage of time, and the growing number of shows Mike continues to do on his own as the years go by, and the objective likelihood of anything about that changing decreasing as times goes by, *none* of those things are ever going to keep Mike from continuing to be a target of this criticism.

Truly, and I do say this objectively, the list of “most inflammatory board topics” probably goes like this:

Religion
Politics
Mike Love touring as “The Beach Boys”

I honestly don’t know how to fix that. Mike not touring on his own and using the name tends to fix that (e.g. C50). Indeed, 2012 was the only year in my 20 years on the internet where nearly all fans let up on Mike, and for good reason. But nobody can make him do that again.

I guess if both “sides” at least *try* to ignore the other in threads like this, it might reduce the acrimony. If you think Mike’s use of the name is a sham or think ditching a willing Brian Wilson and then performing Brian-centric “Smile” and “Pet Sounds” songs without Brian is a douche move, then at least *try* to ignore threads overflowing with effusive praise for Mike’s tour. If you think Mike’s band is awesome and you don’t care what the bands are called and that it’s “all about the music”, then at least *try* to ignore the fans pointing out the irony and conflicted feeling elicited by Mike Love’s band performing “Surf’s Up”, or performing the reunion-centric track “Isn’t It Time” three years after ditching said reunion, continuing to sing about how “the good times never have to end, now’s the time to let them happen again.”  

[HeyJude]

If it was "Love and Mercy" or "In My Car" or "Lay Down Burden" or "Imagination," there might be a cogent argument to be made. That was solo work.  And, who knows, maybe they will cover some of those some day...I had truly wished they had done "Love and Mercy" to close C50. But, it wasn't my choice.  

In what way is "In My Car" a solo song? It's on a Beach Boys album and features at least three original Beach Boys (Brian, Carl and Al).

In the way that it was recorded as a BW solo track and offered for the album, as Bruce told me, "very late... big surprise". Carl and Alan's vocals are so obviously later overdubs.

I know that. And that still doesn't make it a solo song at all. Maybe at one point during it's creation it was, but as far as the eye can see it was released as a Beach Boys song and has three Beach Boys on it, regardless of when certain vocals were added.

Odd, then, that "Daylight Over The Ocean", a song with an identical genesis, is widely regarded in some quarters as NOT being a Beach Boys number.

Last time I checked, "Daybreak Over The Ocean" has Mike, Brian, Al and Bruce on it, and was first released as a Beach Boys song. So once again, whoever's saying that needs their head checked.

So yeah, whatever quarters don't think it's a Beach Boys number, can also remove "Darlin'", "Time To Get Alone", "Had To Phone Ya" and others from The Beach Boys canon as well, since all of those apparently weren't intended for them at first either.

It doesn’t terribly matter, but the context of these tracks aren’t exactly the same. Both “In My Car” and “Daybreak…” were recorded as *solo* tracks, and had minimal group overdubs specifically to justify inclusion on a “Beach Boys” album. Both were (arguably/debatably/allegedly) political concessions to their main authors (e.g. “okay, we’ll fly in one of your solo songs, but we have to add a quick BB overdub to make it a “Beach Boys” track), whereas those older tracks were cases of liking those songs so much to the point of yoinking them away from other prospective bands and *improving* a Beach Boys album with them.

Al and Carl weren’t pestering Brian to “give up” “In My Car” to make the “Still Cruisin’” album better. Same with “Daybreak….” The other band members in these respective cases probably weren’t even particularly or maybe even at all familiar with “In My Car” or “Daybreak….” prior to being offered to the band.