When was the last the The Beach Boys schlepped their own gear?

[CenturyDeprived]

When did the band first get roadies? Did those roadies always stay helping to set up stuff, or were there some shows where the band had to drag their own amps, guitars, drum equipment, etc?

And when's the last time the band actually dragged their own gear on their own, or assisted in setting their stuff up?

As anyone who's been in a band can attest, it sucks when some bandmates don't pull their weight in terms of helping to load/carry the band's gear somewhat equally. I wonder if in the early pre-roadie days, Mike helped out with lugging gear from show to show, being that he didn't have an instrument to carry (except a sax)?

[astroray]

In 1981 Carl Wilson played the Agora here in Atlanta. I stayed till the end, he started packing stuff up. I asked him, "When was the last time you packed your on gear up"? he laughed and said "It's been a long time"!

[CenturyDeprived]

In 1981 Carl Wilson played the Agora here in Atlanta. I stayed till the end, he started packing stuff up. I asked him, "When was the last time you packed your on gear up"? he laughed and said "It's been a long time"!

LOVE that story! Thanks for sharing.  Fascinating.

By packing up, you mean he was putting his guitar and cables back in their cases, and moving amps offstage? Or was this a backlined show with house amps/drum kit? (Not expecting you to remember, being so many years, but just the story you already shared was super cool).

I tend to think that for smaller, oddball one-off gigs, like when they would play small sets at hospitals, or early solo shows like this where it was not an actual Beach Boys show, they may have done some of this type of thing on their own.