Brian Wilson 2016 Tour Thread (Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary Tour)

[Empire Of Love]

Anyway, I just wanted to mention something:  with the exchange rates, I think the tix for the Osaka concert cost me about 90 bucks.  The seats weren't great, but I did have the option to pay not a whole lot more for better seats.  And for that, we got 40 songs and (I think) nearly 2.5 hours of music.  That's about $2.25 per song--an absolutely fantastic bargain for seeing one of the greatest pop composers of all time playing with a large band and two other significant ex-BB's.  Just a wonderful deal for the fans.  I'm really grateful to Brian, Al, Blondie and the band for this! 

Who were the other two ex-Beach Boys that played beside Blondie?  Was Ricky performing?  If so, who else?

EoL

[mabewa]

Anyway, I just wanted to mention something:  with the exchange rates, I think the tix for the Osaka concert cost me about 90 bucks.  The seats weren't great, but I did have the option to pay not a whole lot more for better seats.  And for that, we got 40 songs and (I think) nearly 2.5 hours of music.  That's about $2.25 per song--an absolutely fantastic bargain for seeing one of the greatest pop composers of all time playing with a large band and two other significant ex-BB's.  Just a wonderful deal for the fans.  I'm really grateful to Brian, Al, Blondie and the band for this! 

Who were the other two ex-Beach Boys that played beside Blondie?  Was Ricky performing?  If so, who else?

EoL

By 'two other significant ex-BB's' I mean 'Al and Blondie.'  It WOULD have been extremely awesome if, say, Ricky and David were there, but getting Brian, Al and Blondie plus Brian's band for that price and setlist is already pretty awesome! 

[Kylo Ren]

Anyway, I just wanted to mention something:  with the exchange rates, I think the tix for the Osaka concert cost me about 90 bucks.  The seats weren't great, but I did have the option to pay not a whole lot more for better seats.  And for that, we got 40 songs and (I think) nearly 2.5 hours of music.  That's about $2.25 per song--an absolutely fantastic bargain for seeing one of the greatest pop composers of all time playing with a large band and two other significant ex-BB's.  Just a wonderful deal for the fans.  I'm really grateful to Brian, Al, Blondie and the band for this! 

Cool. I had tickets to see Brian in Japan literally 2 weeks before 9/11/01... the tour was cancelled, natch.

[Empire Of Love]

Anyway, I just wanted to mention something:  with the exchange rates, I think the tix for the Osaka concert cost me about 90 bucks.  The seats weren't great, but I did have the option to pay not a whole lot more for better seats.  And for that, we got 40 songs and (I think) nearly 2.5 hours of music.  That's about $2.25 per song--an absolutely fantastic bargain for seeing one of the greatest pop composers of all time playing with a large band and two other significant ex-BB's.  Just a wonderful deal for the fans.  I'm really grateful to Brian, Al, Blondie and the band for this! 

Who were the other two ex-Beach Boys that played beside Blondie?  Was Ricky performing?  If so, who else?

EoL

By 'two other significant ex-BB's' I mean 'Al and Blondie.'  It WOULD have been extremely awesome if, say, Ricky and David were there, but getting Brian, Al and Blondie plus Brian's band for that price and setlist is already pretty awesome! 

Ah, thanks for clarifying.  You do realize Brian and Al are still Beach Boys, right?  Only Blondie is an ex-Beach Boy.

EoL

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

I'm gonna be really disappointed if I get then I kissed her instead of honkin. Would love to see a few more "deep cuts" added for the UK tour.

[mabewa]

Anyway, I just wanted to mention something:  with the exchange rates, I think the tix for the Osaka concert cost me about 90 bucks.  The seats weren't great, but I did have the option to pay not a whole lot more for better seats.  And for that, we got 40 songs and (I think) nearly 2.5 hours of music.  That's about $2.25 per song--an absolutely fantastic bargain for seeing one of the greatest pop composers of all time playing with a large band and two other significant ex-BB's.  Just a wonderful deal for the fans.  I'm really grateful to Brian, Al, Blondie and the band for this! 

Who were the other two ex-Beach Boys that played beside Blondie?  Was Ricky performing?  If so, who else?

EoL

By 'two other significant ex-BB's' I mean 'Al and Blondie.'  It WOULD have been extremely awesome if, say, Ricky and David were there, but getting Brian, Al and Blondie plus Brian's band for that price and setlist is already pretty awesome! 

Ah, thanks for clarifying.  You do realize Brian and Al are still Beach Boys, right?  Only Blondie is an ex-Beach Boy.

EoL

Technically, of course you're right.  I was thinking in terms of 'people who have played with the BB's as official members,' which applies to all three. 

[mabewa]

OK, here's my review of the Osaka show.

First, a little background:  I've in my late 40's, been a BB's fan since elementary school, have always owned some albums and been interested in their convoluted story, but never got to see them till the 2012 reunion tour, when I saw the Osaka and Nagoya shows here in Japan.  Those were brilliant, though a bit short compared to most of the rest of the tour (35 and 38 songs respectively, as if that's 'short' compared to most bands).  I took my then 3 year old daughter Hisui to the Nagoya show, and she loved it and told me she wanted to see the BB's again.  That was kinda bittersweet, since even then I knew it was unlikely that she'd ever have the chance, even before the reunion predictably ended up not continuing.  So when I heard Brian was touring Pet Sounds with Al, Blondie and Matt along, I was determined not only to go myself but also to take her too.  

It was in the Orix theater, maybe 2500 capacity, and sold out.  Right away, I noticed that the audience seemed a bit different from that of the 2012 tour...  Brian attracts the hardcores here in Japan.  I could tell by the response to some of the more obscure songs, and other things (Hisui asks 'where Al?' and the lady next to us point him out before I can).  Quiet and attentive during the quiet stuff, but howling Brian's name in-between songs.  Fantastic, devoted audience, and they got repaid in spades.  

The first set of greatest hits and deep cuts was blindingly great--so good that it could have been an awesome (if somewhat short) concert by itself.  They resolved the hits/deep cuts tension that we've been discussing on this board by simply playing everything that they've tried out on the tour so far--so we got Honkin' AND Then I Kissed Her AND Little Honda AND Wake The World AND Darlin.'  20 songs in all, the longest first set so far on this tour.  It was longer than the 2012 Japanese shows.  Man, were we lucky!

The sound was fantastic from the start--'Our Prayer' and 'Heroes and Villains' were crystal clear, and you could hear every nuance. Brian also sounded spot-on vocally. If anything, they sounded a bit too perfect (I remember the 2012 versions of 'Heroes' being more raucous), but really strong for opening songs, which typically tend to have a lot more technical and vocal glitches.  It was also good to hear some unusual parts like 'Cantina' and 'Bicycle Rider' included.  As Woodstock noted in his review, Brian seemed a bit introspective in the first couple of songs, but the massive response after 'Heroes' made him brighten up massively--he seemed to realize that he had the audience in the palm of his hand.  

The rest of the set seemed to get looser and louder as it went along, save for the ballads. Al got a number of leads and sounded just as good as he had in 2012. The only exception was 'Shut Down' which I felt didn't quite fit his range, but by 'Little Deuce Coupe,' he was spot on.  'Honkin' was fun with the Al leads alternating with Brian featuring heavily on the chorus, 'Wake The World' was really beautiful and intricate, and while I don't think that 'And I Kissed Her' is strictly necessary, his voice sounded so good on it.  Brian introduced it  by saying something like 'Al, you're going to do an bonus song of yours, right?' or something to that effect, which made me think that they hadn't originally played to play so many songs but had decided to pad the set out.    

It was also interesting to hear Brian's doing Mike's leads on songs like 'CA Girls,' 'I Get Around' and 'Dance Dance Dance.'  They actually fit his current range pretty well.  All of that stuff came across well, though I enjoyed 'Dance Dance Dance' the best.  It seemed to be played pretty fast, and it's such an exuberant song.  I had missed it in the 2012 Japan tour,, so it was good to hear it too.

But the ballads were, if anything, even better.  'In My Room' had a very BB's sound due to Brian, Al and Matt dominating the vocal stack, and brought tears to my eyes (they missed this one in 2012 too, and it's always meant a lot to me).  I was surprised that Brian didn't share 'Add Your Music' with Al, but even more surprised that he sang all of the various member's parts so well by himself.  And I think that 'One Kind of Love' was his best vocal performance of the night--as Woodstock mentioned in his Osaka review, he really knocked it out of the park.  I was amazed!  And as everyone else has noted, Matt owned 'Don't Worry Baby.'  

Darian also ruled on 'Darlin'--so well that I'm surprised they don't have him doing more Carl leads. That was another song that moved me emotionally.  They DID play it in the 2012 Nagoya show and knocked me out then, but it's always meant a lot to me, and I couldn't help having it bring me to tears again.  

Hisui was having a good time--she likes 'Heroes' 'Honkin' 'Little Deuce Coupe' and 'Dance Dance Dance' especially, so those songs went over well with her, she liked the 'faster, faster, it's all right!' part of 'Little Honda,' and I explained that 'One Kind of Love' is about Melinda, which got her listening carefully, as the 'Love and Mercy' movie made a big impression on her.  The only disadvantage of the long first set is that she got a bit impatient 'When's Blondie coming out? When's Blondie coming out?'  I told her 'soon' a few times, but after they played  'One Kind of Love,' I confidently predicted that he would be out next, because they had literally run out of anything else to play, unless they had decided to introduce something they hadn't played before.  

Based on previous reviews, I was expecting to be blown away by Blondie, and he lived up to expectations really well.  His vocals were extremely strong, but I wasn't completely knocked out for some reason, but it was still great to hear him powering through everything, especially of course his original part on 'Sail On Sailor.'  It was great to hear both 'Wild Honey' and 'Funky Pretty' which of course weren't featured at all on the 2012 tour, though I was a bit surprised that they didn't include more of the vocal interaction on 'Funky Pretty.'

But what really stood out was Blondie's showmanship, especially walking all around the stage while shredding out leads--very fun to watch, especially with a kid in tow.  It really ended the set with a bang.  

During the intermission, I noted to Hisui that we had gotten a longer set than any of the other shows so far, and we were really enjoying feeling the love together.

'Pet Sounds' was a very different experience.  Musically, it was stunning--in fact, I've never enjoyed the instrumentals more, especially the title song.  The band really brought this stuff to life.  I loved how they opened it, with the old tapes of Brian directing the band working on 'Wouldn't It Be Nice.'  The audience was actually fooled the first time it started, with the old recorded music, which made it all the more exciting when they started it for real.  It's a great trick!

Vocally, it was a bit more mixed.  Matt sounded stellar great on 'Wouldn't It Be Nice,' but I couldn't help feeling that Al actually delivers the song more convincingly.  Having said that, Matt took over the high parts for Brian perfectly on all the other songs.  Al sounded great as usual, and I thought the vocal trade-offs on 'I Know There's An Answer' were perfect, with Brian doing Mike, Matt doing Brian, and Al doing Al.  Ditto for 'Sloop John B:  I thought that Brian did his old vocal parts very nicely in 2012, but having Al do Brian's parts and Brian doing Mike's parts worked just as well.  

But during the slower songs on Side One, Brian's vocal performance was suddenly much creakier than they had been during the first set.  'I'm Waiting For the Day' was probably the best of Brian's vocal parts on the first side, and the others had their moments, but he had sounded better during the first set. It might have been doing 3 shows in 4 nights, or that the first set was so long, or maybe it's just that this stuff has become tougher for him to sing (perhaps why this tour will be the last full Pet Sounds performances).  

But he did his best, and things generally improved the second side.  I thought he did especially with with the two most emotionally important songs:  'God Only Knows' and 'Caroline No,' especially the latter.  'Caroline' is another song I've loved since childhood, and it was the 3rd song of the night that really brought me to tears. I also liked the way he sings 'God Only Knows'--clearly, he knows how to do the song within his current range, and by changing the melody slightly, doing things like kind of whispering the falsetto on 'what,' he can manage it well without trying to do it exactly like Carl did it.  Another one of my favorites 'I Just Wasn't Made For These Times' had a few shaky parts at first, but he's great on the 'Sometimes I feel very sad' lines--just spot-on.  

Hisui did seem to lose attention a bit during this more complex stuff, though 'Sloop John B' and all of the great musical interaction during the instrumentals and instrumental sections of the vocal songs seemed to get her attention--Blondie's weird tambourine dances on the title track especially!

Overall, it was a beautiful, moving performance, and the musical performance will forever enhance my experience of listening to the album.  Vocally, it was incredibly moving at best, and a little bittersweet at worst, because I do suspect that some of this material is becoming too hard for Brian to do.  

For the final set, the band introductions were great fun.  The audience gave everybody massive respect, but Blondie turned it up a notch, Al got a deafening response, and Brian was greeted like a conquering hero.  

The encores were loud, raucous, great fun, but also with great sound.  Brian's vocal parts were pretty much spot-on for 'Good Vibrations' and for the rest of the set, which again makes me suspect that the Pet Sounds stuff is harder for him to sing.  Al predictably nailed 'Help Me Rhonda,' which became a massive harmony-fest for the whole band and audience, and Blondie added a lot to the guitar jams on 'Surfin' USA' and 'Fun Fun Fun.' Blondie was really being a nut during 'Barbara Ann'--he appeared to be giving Brian a backrub or something (maybe a backrub with his tambourine?  The keyboard solo and sax solos were a lot of fun for those songs too.  Hisui enjoyed it a lot; we recently saw 'American Graffitti,' which helped put some of this stuff in context, especially 'All Summer Long,' (and 'Little Deuce Coupe' in the earlier set). And as before, you got lots of Brian, Al and Matt, plus a fair amount of Blondie in the vocal stack, so it really seemed like seeing the BB's. 

'Fun Fun Fun' ended in the same trash-can style as it had with the 2012 tour...  this of course would have been a great closer by itself, but Brian has his own way of ending the set.  I have to say, the two Brian solo songs were also two of the best songs of the night.  I can still remember being in my late teens, working on a strawberry farm in rural Washington State in summer 1988, and hearing 'Love and Mercy' on the radio for the first time. I knew Brian's story then, and it just made me melt, as it did now.  Brian's singing on 'Love and Mercy' was so good in this show, too--it really sounds unrehearsed, like he feels the song and sings it exactly how he's feeling.  Massively moving.  I cried.  

And when it was over, the audience just howled.  The band bowed, the audience bowed, the band bowed more and the audience bowed more.  I think everyone knew it was all over, but just wanted to show as much love as possible.  

Walking back to the subway, Hisui and me talked a bit about how it was too bad that Brian and Mike just can't get along, but that it's nice that they are both out there doing the Beach Boys thing anyway.  This was kind of a good wrap-up to our wistful conversation 3.5 years ago--this may well really be the last time, but what a nice way to go out.  

By the way, this thread has my review of the Nagoya concert, back in 2012:  

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,14107.0.html

[Summer_Days]

Great concert review, mabewa, sounded like a cool show.

I (hopefully) will be seeing Brian in Denver in October at the Paramount. If I have to give my left testicle to go see him, so be it. I hate how I've missed out these past years, particularly C50. And especially because Brian, Al, Blondie and the band will be playing my favorite album, Pet Sounds. Gotta go see him no matter what.

[Pretty Funky]

Several sound check clips on YouTube which I am enjoying just to see what goes on behind the scenes.

About 2.15 they play 'Do It Again'. Paul says "we are needing to do that coming up pretty soon" so I guess that might be added at some point.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PK7VIkK6A-8

[rasmus skotte]

Given the latest development here, perhaps we need some positivity. Like a Tribute renga palindrome poem to The Pet Sounds *50* world tour, to Brian's super-band(s) and to the Album itself - all made up by Renga-WagneR (jk)!
[Band-lineup: BRAGG, SAHANAJA, BENNETT, BOB Lizik, Probyn GREGORY, ALAN, Blondie CHAPLIN (no more 'embargo' for him, NOT in this band!), NI(c)K Walusco & Mike D'AMICO. However, there will be no guest appearences by RI(c)K* Fataar (sadly!), Toni TENILLE, Chris REA, (multi-Instrumentalist:) LU, or Blondie's former band-'mate' RON Wood. And NO sound-P.A. from Hillary CLINTON! FURTHERMORE: No Songs from the catalog of Roy Rogers, Steely Dan'-LP: 'Aja'. But maybe from California SAGA!! (the first lines in both poems could (in hindsite) be seen as comments to sa(i)d state of affairs(?):]

                            '
       ->->"Doc, I'm admin ..." "I'm
     red NELSON BRAGG! Unstrap a >
               gas, an airbag, a
        SAHANAJA (no 'Rea' ; 'LU'!).
BENNETT ... RI'K*, Skin-BOB, TENNIL'?"
                           ²
       "(P.A.: H. Clinton?)  ... SO >
         grab MEN a lá Roy Roger*!
         (= GREGORY or ALAN(!))
    Embargos? NOT/NIL, CHAPLIN!!
               Net - BOB; NI'K!
                          ³
            Skirt (ten nebulae)?
        Ron, 'Aja'?  NAH!"   A 'SAGA',
          BRIAN?    "A 'Saga'-PART!
   (snug-garb). NO slender minim.,
               D'AMICO'd!!"<-<-


            ->ONE-NIL? --- OR a con?

Dogs, 'PET*S', 'SLOOP's, spools, steps, 'GOD'? ...

            "No - CAROLINE, NO!!"<-

[JK]

Given the latest development here, perhaps we need some positivity. Like a Tribute renga palindrome poem to The Pet Sounds *50* world tour, to Brian's super-band(s) and to the Album itself - all made up by Renga-WagneR (jk)!

It's all been a bit of a shock but we'll survive (we have to). Thanks for the dose of positivity!

[HeyJude]

Brian did a private show in Las Vegas last night. There's a pic of just him on Facebook, so perhaps Al and Blondie weren't there?

Added that date and a new 8/22 Virginia show to the top post.

[HeyJude]

Looks like the tour is hitting Iceland in September! I've added this date to the top post as well.

[schiaffino]

Just got an update from Bandsintown app that Brian is doing Montreal Jazz Fest on July 7!!! Its confirmed on brianwilson.com but tickets not yet available in the festival's site.

 

[HeyJude]

I've added the Montreal date to the top post. Interesting that they're still filling in dates on the schedule.

[The Real Barnyard]

New dates added in September:
Sep. 1 - Randers, Denmark (Vaerket, with Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin)
Sep. 3 - Brighton, England (Together the People, with Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin)
Sep. 4 - Southend-on-Sea, England (Cliffs Pavilion, with Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin)
Sep. 6 - Reykjavík, Iceland (Harpa Concert Hall, Eldborg, with Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin)

[mabewa]

That's cool that they are adding more European dates, especially considering that it's supposedly Brian's last European tour. 

[HeyJude]

Added the new dates to the top post.

Still need a setlist for the 4/18 Las Vegas show, but I'm not expecting one to easily surface, as it was a private show.

[NOLA BB Fan]

If you know of anyone who's on the fence concerning going to the BW show in Jackson, MS tomorrow night, there are still seats available, mainly in the balcony, but a few good seats still in the orchestra and loge sections.

I just got an email - enter the word "surfboard" in the promo section of the ticket order to get a discount (too late for me - got tickets the day they became available)

Anyone going to New Orleans for JazzFest - it's a 3 hour or so drive to Jackson.  And with all the rain we're getting today, the conditions at the Fest tomorrow will be yucky (although there are Fest goers who relish sloshing around in the mud puddles).

Love and Mercy, y'all!

[HeyJude]

Setlists and reviews please from anyone who goes to the show tomorrow (or any other shows of course).....

[Reverberation]

About to leave for Austin right now to see Brian this Saturday at Austin Psych Fest (Levitation) and I can't wait. Is anyone else here going?

[skabandit22]

I will be there! Flying out of Ohio this evening. This will be my first music festival and my second time seeing Brian/Al/any Beach Boys band. First was C50. Interested to see how he and the band handle this type of show as it seems like they've recently only been doing theater shows. Beyond excited.

[Reverberation]

Nice. I went last year. I'm jealous you saw them during the C50, they did come to my city but I thought I would have another time to see them.. deeply regret it. I'm watching the pre-shows tonight too but at Empire Garage with The Golden Dawn (legendary texas psychedelic band from the 60s) and Ringo Deathstarr. I'll be wearing a Radiant Radish shirt Saturday and try to get a spot near the front around when The Black Angels go on

[HeyJude]

Now Brian's website has him doing two days of the "Together the People" festival on September 3 and 4. So I'm not sure where the Sep. 4 "Cliffs Pavilion" date came from, but I guess this means that show isn't happening?

I'll go ahead and update the top post to reflect the two days at the festival on 9/3 and 9/4, but if anyone has any info on whether the Cliffs Pavilion date in Southend-On-Sea might still be happening, let me know.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

About to leave for Austin right now to see Brian this Saturday at Austin Psych Fest (Levitation) and I can't wait. Is anyone else here going?

I wish, but couldn't make it this year. Let us know how it goes!