Beach Boys - Live at the Paramount 11/93

[PS]

Hello folks,

I consider myself to have a fairly comprehensive knowledge (and collection) of Beach Boys and Brian "unofficial" material amassed over the years, and saw the Boys well over 20 times since my first concert at Carnegie Hall in the fall of 1971 (still the best, most exciting show and greatest overall performance for me). But I just bumped into this fantastic recording (online) from the Paramount (which Paramount?) dated 11/93 and it completely took me by surprise. It came with soundboard rehearsals and an immaculate soundboard recording (and a useless funky audience recording) of the concert. For me, this was one of the very best concerts I have ever heard them play, particularly toward the end of the career of the group as such. Carl was in supreme form, Al was not straining handling Brian's leads, Mike was fairly subdued and singing without pinching his nose, Bruce did a gorgeous Disney Girls, the intros were short and graceful, the playing was tight, the falsettos were covered beautifully (Foskett?), the setlist was fairly eclectic (Wonderful - w/o Bill - All This is That, Add Some Music, Hushabye, I Can Hear Music, Hawaii among a 40 song setlist). In short, I am prepared to say that this might be the very best live recording (in terms of both sound and performance) that I have ever heard them do - including the IN CONCERT record.

Can someone provide me some background on this concert - where were they exactly in terms of their touring career, who played that night, was it recorded for a possible release etc.? and whether I've been living under a rock by not being  heretofore aware of this recording for all these years (I don't recall seeing it mentioned on this board before... thrilling to hear something so good that I was completely unaware of. Is this show renown among collectors?

Thanks

PS

[Sheriff John Stone]

I want it. Badly. Where can I get it?

[humanoidboogie]

Is this the show where they perform 'Vegetables'? If so, it's awesome! I had no idea they sounded this good in 1993... And what a set list!

[Don't Back Down]

Al's son, Matthew Jardine, provided the falsetto parts. Info can be found at Eric's site:

http://members.tripod.com/~fun_fun_fun/11-26-93.html

Yes they played the Smile version of Vegetables (with the "mama says" added in)

From the link above:

"Unbelievable!! The Beach Boys decided to add THIRTEEN songs to their normal 29-song setlist, without dropping any of the standard oldies, in an effort to promote the just-released "Good Vibrations" boxed set. This "unplugged" set was featured only on a few east coast dates (unfortunately). Quite a noble effort and proof that the Beach Boys still wanted to acknowledge the fact that they did make great music between "Good Vibrations" and "Rock and Roll Music." Wish I could've seen this one...

Drummer Liberty Devito substituted for Mike Kowalski for at least part of the show, if not all of it. Paul Shaffer came appeared on stage but did not perform."

Richie Cannata played Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, and percussion as part of the backup band.

[PongHit]

I want it. Badly. Where can I get it?

Me too...  Some kind soul had provided download links a while back, but I lost them in an external hardrive crash... 

If I remember correctly, I think recordings exist from the rehearsals too...

[tpesky]

Great concert! Bruce has stated before there were even better performances on this tour than Paramount, Atlanta rings a bell? There are some rehearsals with Bruce, Al Carl, and Matt , maybe the ones you have, from Jardine's Barn.  Great set list, falsettos are Matt Jardine who I thought did the best Beach Boys falsettos out of all of the Brian replacements. These concerts were recorded and one does need to be released.

[Rocker]

This was to promote the "Good Vibrations"-boxset. I belive it was Al's idea.
Anyone know why Mike didn't attend (at least it seems that way) the rehearsals?

And I agree that Matt Jardine is the best falsetto after Brian's original (at times I like Matt's even more)

[Exapno Mapcase]

"Unplugged set" lobbied for by Al, I believe.  Think I read it in an Alan Boyd post on this site.

[phirnis]

Their Paramount performance of Hushabye has to be one of the most stunningly gorgeous pieces of music I've ever heard.

[PS]

It's fascinating, upon listening more fully to this concert today - this is the first live recording that prompted me to think that I could actually imagine this group attempting to successfully do SMiLE live. Throughout the ENTIRE show, they are actively concerned with the nuances of their performance, the subtleties of the blend and the vocal "grace notes", with renewed attention to songs they've been playing for decades - and adding little deft instrumental touches from orchestral sampling possibilities (e.g., pizzicato strings and nifty percussion for FEET; sampling Brian's original haunted piano strings opening of IJWMFTS, then continuing with very present harpsicord and kettle samples; a vamped intro for Heroes that works beautifully (instead of the usual chug a chug/countoffs, snare hits, etc.) The endings of the songs are not the out of control sheets of endless white noise/cymbals and strums, but more of a "flourished" cadence; and most of all  - ALL OF THE TEMPOS ARE UNHURRIED (Darlin', for example, was always performed rather breathlessly, as if they couldn't wait to get through it) - here the rhythmic pace is exciting but MEASURED AND FULLY IN CONTROL...and POWERFUL, expressive, as if they were actually listening to their monitors and to each other - even on the (usual throwaway) surf and car medleys - they are actually playing ALL of the songs in the set with great DELIBERATION (that's the best description I can come up with), playing them as SONGS again instead of hurdling through them (I found myself actively LISTENING to Catch a Wave again, of all things...). And Mike, even with his noticeable 'Ican'thelpmyself' reactionary stabs at (freshly elected) Clinton (cute rants on taxes and NAFTA), is singing throughout completely without that self-hating/group hating/audience hating CAMP attitude in his voice. Simply amazing. He is, at the end of the day, a great and utterly dependable, consistent harmony singer. And his leads are all uncringeworthy, dare I say even pleasurable and memorable - and, well... sincere. The backgrounds are flawless and you are able to really penetrate the blend, with great separation in the recording mix.

And yes, they clearly give credit to Matt Jardine (who is impeccable) and mention Mike Kowalksi as well. Even their banter throughout the show is comically rhythmic and endearing - and mercifully brief - none of the usual constant tunings and extra musical shenanigans that interrupt the flow of their live recordings. Best of all - you can hardly hear the audience. And, as I said, I've never heard this group better miked and mixed (it might be uncompressed and is still punchy and dynamic) for a live recording. And they seemed ALL to be in a great, great mood for playing again. How long did this renaissance last?

So what caused this sudden reffirmation of attention to the actual arrangements and performance, and the complicit agreement of the entire ensemble to actually perform the music with such feeling and even grandeur on this tour? (BTW, the sax is a nice touch here  too - not too MOR). Is this their last hurrah as a group, in terms of excellence? And why has this recording been gathering dust in the vault for 14 years? This concert made me remember why I loved this group so very much, how irreplaceable that combination of voices was. I spent a week with Brian and his band helping out on the SMILE live DVD and kept thinking about how raw, scruffy and imprecise (compared to the note-perfect MINTS and CO)  so many of the BOYS' concerts were in comparison (at least in my memory) when it came to the actual performance (though they were clearly so much more soulful - primarily, for me, because of Carl's voice from heaven and his gift for feeling the song at hand and being in the present moment). This concert was a blessed reminder that this was a great band who could present this beautiful music with such care, precision and affection...and joy - at least on this night. They were HEARING it again, anew and refreshed. A brief, shining moment...

Indeed, is there a better live recording of this group (in terms of quality and performance) that you know of?  (I'm a little hopeful for Carnegie '71 or '72 from Mr. Boyd and the future website)

[Jonas]

Please do not discuss sharing bootlegs on this forum.

Thank you.

[No. Fourteen]

The last Beach Boys show i saw was on this tour at Brandeis University.  Amazing stuff, and Al's son did a great job!  I remember Carl playing keyboards on a song or two.