Al Jardine - 2023 Tour Thread (Plus Archived 2018-2022)

[Tony S]

Tickets to the Keswick show went on sale yesterday. Lots of seating there, and lots of good seats available. My guess is this will not be a sell out, and good seats will still be able to be ad close to the show, they are also advertising tickets at the door being a couple of bucks higher.

[HeyJude]

Updated the top post schedule to reflect that the 1/28 Al "Family & Friends" show has been rescheduled to March 10th.

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

Nice to see these tour date lists again! Thanks for keeping them rolling.

I'd love to catch the NYC show, but really want to see a *dramatic* drop in the covid stats (and I'm cautiously hopeful we will see that in February, at least in the NY area) before committing.

[Tony S]

I was thinking about the New York City show to but the Keswick is actually only an hour or so from me and it's drivable on essentially the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Pretty easy ride and I've seen Brian's band there, with Al first tour with him, there before it's a great theater and only look to have about three hundred tickets sold so far.

[SMiLE]

Who is in the backing band other than Al, Matt , Carnie and Wendy?

[Tony S]

Not sure about who's in the backing band but I wonder if Billy was planning to be? I believe he was as musical director went out toward a few years ago.

[All Summer Long]

Who is in the backing band other than Al, Matt , Carnie and Wendy?

Bobby Figueroa announced he is on Facebook.

EDIT: Bobby’s wife Joanne has confirmed that Ed Carter will also be in the band. If anyone has a Facebook account, you can see here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10209143260494706&id=1715461151

Not sure about who's in the backing band but I wonder if Billy was planning to be? I believe he was as musical director went out toward a few years ago.

I assume so. Maybe Jeff Alan Ross or Debbie Shair will fill in as they alternated as keyboardist for the Postcards storytellers shows?

[Rocker]

Who is in the backing band other than Al, Matt , Carnie and Wendy?

Bobby Figueroa announced he is on Facebook.

EDIT: Bobby’s wife Joanne has confirmed that Ed Carter will also be in the band. If anyone has a Facebook account, you can see here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10209143260494706&id=1715461151

Not sure about who's in the backing band but I wonder if Billy was planning to be? I believe he was as musical director went out toward a few years ago.

I assume so. Maybe Jeff Alan Ross or Debbie Shair will fill in as they alternated as keyboardist for the Postcards storytellers shows?

Posted by Al on Facebook:


Our Family & Friends Tour kicks off in three weeks in Bethesda, Maryland--joining Carnie & Wendy Wilson and Matt Jardine will be an all-star cast of Beach Boys and Brian Wilson backing band musicians including Ed Carter, Bobby Figueroa, Probyn Gregory and Debbie Shair.  Go to my website for all the shows!

[HeyJude]

Ed Carter, Bobby Figueroa, and Probyn Gregory have all played with the "California Surf, Inc." cover band over the years. As has Matt Jardine of course in the past as well.

[HeyJude]

Al should definitely record these shows, and also put something out sooner rather than later (and not take several years as he did years ago with the "Live in Las Vegas" album).

It'll be interesting to see how much "Wilson Phillips" material they do.

Al just posted that they're currently rehearsing, and they're doing a rare cut from "Holland", though he didn't name it.

[Emdeeh]

So what about Rob Bonfiglio? Early reports had him as part of the band.

[Tony S]

I thought Rob was in the band too especially since his connections with Wilson Phillips and of course Carnie  he still may show up there

[Tony S]

I just saw that Als show at the Keswick theater in Glenside Pennsylvania has been canceled. I know ticket sales were light I don't even think they sold 300 but still this is so disappointing I was planning on attending it was less than an hours drive from my home.  Damn!

[HeyJude]

Updated the top post schedule noting the cancellation for the Keswick show. I'll leave it there for a while in case it gets rescheduled, however unlikely that is.

[Emdeeh]

The March 5th Warner Theatre show in Torrington, CT has also been cancelled. Wilson Phillips is now performing at "Miami Beach Live!" in Florida on that date.

[Tony S]

Sadly I guess there's just no market for an Al Jardine and friends show. Certainly not one that's going to fill a few hundred seats. Here in New Jersey though it would be interesting we have a couple of theaters in the Red Bank area called the Vogel and the two rivers theater that seats somewhere around 200 to 300 people. That's the type of venue Al would need to perform in but my guess is that's not going to pay the bills. So sad

[darling]

It's funny... I work about ten minutes from the Keswick and the first I heard about the show was yesterday lunchtime. But when I tried to look at tickets I got a 'none available' message. I was kind of shocked that they would have sold out the place: I suppose the cancellation wheels were already in motion.

But their website answers a lot of the questions upthread:

The five-member band for the tour will be led by Rob Bonfiglio, who is Wilson Phillips’ musical director and performs regularly in Brian Wilson's band. Audiences will enjoy legendary hits of The Beach Boys, including “Help Me”, “Rhonda”, “California Girls”, “I Get Around”, “God Only Knows”, and “Good Vibrations” to name a few. The show will also feature the Wilson Phillips catalogue, including “Hold On”, “The Dream is Still Alive”, “You’re In Love”, “Impulsive”, and “Release Me”.

[All Summer Long]

If the pandemic was over, I’d be at one of these shows in a heartbeat, but I’m not comfortable yet.

[juggler]

If the pandemic was over, I’d be at one of these shows in a heartbeat, but I’m not comfortable yet.

I don't want to derail the thread, and we all make our own individual choices about risk based on our overall health, vaccination status, age, etc.  But I just want to share a personal reflection. For two years, I pretty much did everything the public health authorities recommended on all fronts... and, nevertheless, about I month ago, I got covid-19.  For me it was a two-day cold/flu, followed by another 5 or 6 days of mild fatigue and continuing to test positive on home kits.  And that was it.
Your mileage may vary.  But over the past few weeks, I've come to reflect on the last two years. How many things did I *not* do?  How many concerts did I *not* see?  How much in-person socializing with friends and family did I *not* do? How many new places did I *not* visit?  How many new friends did I *not* make?  How much living did I not do in favor of staying home and watching Netflix?  Why?  To avoid what amounted to a two-day cold?  In hindsight, it wasn't worth it.  None of us are getting any younger. And I'll never get those two years back, but I'll tell you, I'm done.  From now on, I'm living my life.  Oh, I still comply with masking etc out of courtesy, but I'm done being afraid. If Al and/or Brian were coming to my area, I'd be on it like white on rice. If the BBs do something special for the 60th at the Hollywood Bowl, etc., I'm going.  

[Pretty Funky]

I don’t think Al needs the money, and maybe he was planning the ‘Family’ shows to support his friends after a tough 2 years, but I think the niche 3 person ‘Storyteller’ show he does is the only way to go.

[HeyJude]

The "Family & Friends" shows in 1999/2000 were really great. I hope Al can get this tour up and running.

[ExUpstairsCaptain]

I don’t think Al needs the money, and maybe he was planning the ‘Family’ shows to support his friends after a tough 2 years, but I think the niche 3 person ‘Storyteller’ show he does is the only way to go.

It's noteworthy that this group is going to play Wilson Phillips music, since previous iterations didn't. Others here have noted the lack of ticket sales for this tour. I wonder if there would be a market for a "Wilson Phillips + Al Jardine" tour. Of course, if Al went that route, he would likely just use WP's band, thus negating potential "support" that he could give the Endless Summer Band, even though some folks have obviously been known to play with both acts.

[marcella27]

I just checked the tickets for the Bethesda MD show and am kinda shocked at how many seats are still available ...

[Emdeeh]

The "Family & Friends" shows in 1999/2000 were really great. I hope Al can get this tour up and running.

Yes, those shows were great and I'd love to see this show come out my way, to GA.

[Rocker]

Al posted a short video on Facebook of them rehearsing "Good Vibrations". Bobby Figueroa was on drums, Probyn Gregory on guitar (and he sang the Theremin line as he did on Live Aid). I couldn't see who the guitar player was (seemed to look like Blondie to me) and don't know the piano player's name.