Brian / Al / Blondie Summer 2015 Tour Thread

[Wirestone]

Any reports from tonight's show?

just about time for Brian to start playing, isn't it?

I'm on the East Coast, so it's all a blur to me. Hurry up, Pacific Timers!

[ontor pertawst]

Surf's Up. Bar raised.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Oh wow

[HeyJude]

Surf's Up. Bar raised.

Very cool. Who sang the lead?

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

This makes me excited for 23 June. I like the fact that both touring groups are playing around with the setlists...in the battle of 'who has the best rarities in a live show' the real winners are us the fans.

Keep them reports coming!

I do hope it was Brian who sang lead, for the selfish reason being I am such  a huge fan of his voice, all eras.

[HeyJude]

Lots of good pics of opening night in Saratoga posted by Brian's and Al's Facebook pages, by the way.

[ontor pertawst]

Surf's Up. Bar raised.

Very cool. Who sang the lead?

BW! The Greek show should be spectacular, the band is unspeakably tight and BW is very engaged, playing keys on most songs, in great spirits...

[Andrew G. Doe]

Outstanding !

[barsone]

15 minutes ago, I just bought 2 tickets for the July 12 show in Seattle.......5th row!!   I checked this morning and these seats weren't available at that time....kinda lucky I guess.   A lot of $$$'s but we never know if this is the last time !!!    Great reviews guys    keep them coming

[Eric Aniversario]

Got back about an hour ago from the San Diego show.

Great show, Brian was very engaged and in a very fun mood! The setlist was moved around slightly, and Dance Dance Dance and Row Row Row Your Boat were dropped, and Surf's Up and Then I Kissed Her were added. Got to meet Blondie afterward and my friend took a picture of us! Now I have pics with Mike, Bruce, Al, Brian, Dave, and Blondie individually (and also a C50 backstage pic with the 5).

[Eric Aniversario]

The Trader and San Miguel will never, ever happen. With the limited exception of "Forever," BW has never performed songs written by Dennis or Carl live. He ain't gonna start now.

Edit: Although, now that I think about it, Dave Marks did sing Little Bird at the BAD shows ...

So never mind. 

I'd say "The Trader" is a micro percentage likely just because Matt and Al rehearsed it in 2000 with Family & Friends, and I would presume Matt would probably have sung it. But also worth considering is that they clearly don't consult Al on the setlist much at all. I thought they might actually get Funky Pretty in the set since Al seemed so into it with Blondie there.

Brian also recently called it his favorite Carl song.

True...


From the Facebook Q&A on 3.26.15
Q: what do you think of carl's song the trader?
Brian: I loved that song, he had a great vocal and great lyrics

From the Twitter Q&A on 3.30.15
Q: what's your favorite Beach Boys song written by someone in the band other than yourself?
Brian: "Trader" by Carl.

I could be making this up (I'm fairly sure I'm not) but didn't Brian play a few chords from The Trader during a show rehearsal? I could have sworn I read about Brian playing some chords from the song and Darian and Scott joining in. I have no idea where I read it but I couldn't find it using the search function here.

I remember that story, but it wasn't The Trader, it was Lady Lynda. Not sure if these were two separate incidents?

[Custom Machine]

The San Diego concert was incredibly good.  I've seen BW in concert many times, both as a solo act and as a member of the BBs, but I've never seen him come across so upbeat, so at ease, and so happy to be there as I did this evening.  An amazingly great concert!  Overall, the top highlights for me were This Whole World and Sail Away.  Would have loved to hear Funky Pretty with Blondie.

BTW, a couple days ago I had posted that the venue had taken over 250 seats off the select-a-seat chart due to slow ticket sales, but this evening I was very pleased to see that they had put all but about 50 of those tickets back on sale and the venue (minus those 50 tixs in a comparatively undesirable "dog ear" section) had sold out.

PS to Eric - Didn't grab a burrito after the concert, but realizing I was hungry as well I enjoyed some tuna and crackers, along with a few Jack Daniels, after which I decided it was time to check out the Smiley Smile Board.

[Custom Machine]

And a Happy 73rd Birthday to BW from me as well. I first saw the BBs in concert (minus Brian and with Bruce) as a teenager in the sixties. And I well remember seeing them two nights in a row in 1971 when Mike acted like he was and old guy walking with a cane and said they were "an aging rock group". At that time there was no way I would have expected them to be performing in their fifties, sixties, or seventies, and probably their forties too. Just wish Carl and Dennis could be here on Earth performing today as well, but thanks guys, all of you, for providing me with the most enjoyable and inspirational music of my life, of which the BW concert this evening, with Al, Blondie, and crew, was a reaffirmation of how much BW and company's music means to me.

[Eric Aniversario]

The San Diego concert was incredibly good.  I've seen BW in concert many times, both as a solo act and as a member of the BBs, but I've never seen him come across so upbeat, so at ease, and so happy to be there as I did this evening.  An amazingly great concert!  Overall, the top highlights for me were This Whole World and Sail Away.  Would have loved to hear Funky Pretty with Blondie.

BTW, a couple days ago I had posted that the venue had taken over 250 seats off the select-a-seat chart due to slow ticket sales, but this evening I was very pleased to see that they had put all but about 50 of those tickets back on sale and the venue (minus those 50 tixs in a comparatively undesirable "dog ear" section) had sold out.

PS to Eric - Didn't grab a burrito after the concert, but realizing I was hungry as well I enjoyed some tuna and crackers, along with a few Jack Daniels, after which I decided it was time to check out the Smiley Smile Board.

Ah! So you are still awake too! Yeah the burrito hit the spot, but gave me energy to stay up even more! Usually after a concert, I'm up for quite a while because I'm still wired from the show! Great time tonight, you're right in saying that Brian was very upbeat and enthusiastic.

If you are still awake, could you text the two pictures with Blondie?

[Custom Machine]

Just sent 'em!

[Ang Jones]

Surf's Up! Words aren't enough for this one. So pleased.

[Eric Aniversario]

Just sent 'em!

Got them, thanks! I sent you a few immediately after...let me know if you didn't get them! Ok, I think it's finally bedtime!

[tpesky]

Did Al sing his part on the tag of Surf's Up?

[lee]

I remember that story, but it wasn't The Trader, it was Lady Lynda. Not sure if these were two separate incidents?

It was a separate incident because it was definitely one of Carl's songs. I think I read about it within the last year so I don't think it was what Wirestone linked but maybe it was. If I can find it, I'll post it.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Surf's Up stays in the setlist.

[thatjacob]

Quite a few videos from the past two shows are up on youtube now. Brian definitely seems a bit more "on" this tour than he did with Jeff Beck.

[Smilin Ed H]

I remember that story, but it wasn't The Trader, it was Lady Lynda. Not sure if these were two separate incidents?

It was a separate incident because it was definitely one of Carl's songs. I think I read about it within the last year so I don't think it was what Wirestone linked but maybe it was. If I can find it, I'll post it.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Surf's Up stays in the setlist.

Long Promised Road.

[lee]

^Thank you.

[DC310]

Matt performed Trader with CalSaga a couple of times.  WOuld be incredible to hear that live!

[ontor pertawst]

So who was it behind me that yelled "keep it clean" before I could? C'mon, I know you're out there!

[HeyJude]

Surf's Up is always awesome to see in the set list. I'm probably a bit jaded in not feeling it's a mind-blowing inclusion only in the sense that he did it at pretty much every gig in 2004 and 2005 on the Smile tours and most of the US dates in 2001 and probably some European dates in between.

Would be cool to hear Al do his part on the tag, though. That's for sure.