1981 up at Bellagio...

[Ian]

1981 is now posted...I advise you to check out AGD's great site http://www.btinternet.com/~bellagio/gigs81.html ....I mention this not only because I researched the gigs, but also because I am aware that there are many gigs still missing-so if you know of any-please shout them out (that goes for earlier years too)....Don't be shy

[adamghost]

I was at the Syracuse State Fair show on Sept. 2, 1981.  It was pouring rain and an outdoor concert.  I actually have a poor quality cassette of the show from a portable tape deck I smuggled in.  I remember that Dennis plowed through the segueway in the car medley (the 409, 509 part) and the band actually fell apart for about a minute trying to figure out how to start again.  Brian sang the first two lines of "Sloop John B" in a Mike Love imitation voice, then the last two as Wild Man Fischer.  I already knew enough about the band to appreciate what I was seeing...a fascinating train wreck.  It was a godawful show.

[TdHabib]

I'd love to hear more 1981 (or 1982) Brian anecdotes from the BB tours from anyone, has to have been the worst period of his life.

[Ian]

Well...To quote from the LA Times (July 20 1981) about a show at the Greek Theater "Brian was apparently annoyed by some bugs in the sound system. Whatever the cause, he suddenly bolted from the stage after croaking the first note of 'God Only Knows'.  As Johnston took up the lead vocal, Jardine raced into the wings after Brian. Both returned momentarily, and Brian finished the song. He then started to leave the stage again, only to be intercepted by his brother Dennis (who earlier had come to the rim of the stage and graciously waved his rear end at the crowd). Back at the piano, Brian took a mighty swipe at his mike stand and knocked it loudly to the floor. After the next song, he departed again, returning later for the final numbers....This public psychodrama made the Beach Boys charade of celebration ring completely hollow...The only visible argument against the group's packing it in tomorrow was the blissfully enthusiastic response of the crowd, which takes the prize as the most undemanding audience of the year."  And that is only half the review.....Sounds like a fun time....

[c-man]

Well...To quote from the LA Times (July 20 1981) about a show at the Greek Theater "Brian was apparently annoyed by some bugs in the sound system. Whatever the cause, he suddenly bolted from the stage after croaking the first note of 'God Only Knows'.  As Johnston took up the lead vocal, Jardine raced into the wings after Brian. Both returned momentarily, and Brian finished the song. He then started to leave the stage again, only to be intercepted by his brother Dennis (who earlier had come to the rim of the stage and graciously waved his rear end at the crowd). Back at the piano, Brian took a mighty swipe at his mike stand and knocked it loudly to the floor. After the next song, he departed again, returning later for the final numbers....This public psychodrama made the Beach Boys charade of celebration ring completely hollow...The only visible argument against the group's packing it in tomorrow was the blissfully enthusiastic response of the crowd, which takes the prize as the most undemanding audience of the year."  And that is only half the review.....Sounds like a fun time....

Billboard gave a pretty similar review, only they said it was Jardine who took over on "GOK" and Johnston who ran backstage after Brian.  The Captain & Tenille (and I think Glen Super) joined the group for "Fun Fun Fun" (which the reviewer called "Run Run Run").  They said Dennis was so hoarse he could hardly talk.

[Jay]

I have always been interested in the 1981 period of The Beach Boys. The thing that seems weird to me is how the band could have gone from playing a GREAT show in Philadelphia the previous year, to the terrible trainwreck that was the Long Beach 7/4 show. Did Carl really make them that much better? It seems that without him there, nobody even TRIED to give a half decent show. Al's butchering of Wouldn't It Be Nice from the 7/4 show is downright embarrassing. Bobby Figueroa insisted on beating the hell out of anything in his path. Brian sometimes didn't even play the same song as the group.

[MBE]

I think the Long Beach Show was 7/5.  Brian and Dennis were by 1981 worse then ever and that made a difference. As far as why Al was playing worse he probably was dismayed at the drama and found it hard to care anymore.

[Jay]

Yep, Long Beach was 7/5. I KNEW that, too. That, my friends, is what you call a "brainfart". 

[Jay]

I think the Long Beach Show was 7/5.  Brian and Dennis were by 1981 worse then ever and that made a difference. As far as why Al was playing worse he probably was dismayed at the drama and found it hard to care anymore.

Wasn't 1981 the year that Dennis was given his SEVERE beating? I wonder if it caused him to miss any shows?

[MBE]

I have the Walking On Water tape, the song with it is called Rings not Reins. What was the People Are Talking show? An interview?

Also Dean has told me that Mike and himself didn't do anything together until early 1982 when he and Jan broke up for several years due to Berry's use of cocaine.
The beating happened Superbowl Sunday 1-25-81 in between shows. He never could really speak or sing  properly again

[Andrew G. Doe]

Brian sometimes didn't even play the same song as the group.

There's a tape from 1981, post-Carl, where during an intro Brian can clearly be heard playing and singing a Spector song. And Alan can just as clearly be heard saying "what the f*** is Brian playing ?". 

[Dave in KC]

Oh those were the days. I was there for most of it. They once again climbed out of the abyss and got their act together. More than a few times.

[The Shift]

Brian sometimes didn't even play the same song as the group.

There's a tape from 1981, post-Carl, where during an intro Brian can clearly be heard playing and singing a Spector song. And Alan can just as clearly be heard saying "what the f*** is Brian playing ?". 

I'm sure Brian was playing different tunes at the Knebworth gig in Britland the following year, too. That's how it struck me as a 16-year-old fan in the audience. Strange it didn't seem to make it to the DVD!

[XY]

Why did Brian do that? Was this some kind of 'why do I have to sit here on stage, let me go home' thing or was he really that ... crazy?


And just for the paper, the January 14 session for "Stevie" @ Sounds Good Studio was just the horn overdub, the rest was already recorded in December 1980. Source: Garby Leon on the Blueboard

[MBE]

Well some of the people I have spoken too who were close to him at the time said it was his way of rebelling. It seems he thought it was funny, but perhaps his ahem "high" spirits played a role.

[phirnis]

The guys must have virtually hated him for that kind of behavior, but judging from the state the Beach Boys were in by the early eighties, BW sure had every right to rebel. It's quite obvious that all three Wilson brothers backed out during that period in one way or another. There's lots of Long Beach footage on youtube and you can tell Brian wasn't exactly "into it", telling the TV host at one point that "this is the day that lasts forever". Always thought that part was equally hilarious and tragic.

[Mr. Wilson]

Those 1981 greek shows in LA were after the july 5th show Long Beach show  + the band was much better..  I went in part to see if they were gonna improve the show..There also was an incident  at the show that was similar to 79 universal shows..Mike + Dennis got into it + the drums flew across the stage at Mike..... Dennis while introducing Bruce in his solo spot ..made some rude comments about Barry Mainilow standing atop the white piano.. And wiggled his but at audience.. The incident was after that.... BW was much better but it was clear they were in disarray + needed CW

[adamghost]

I think Brian may have just been bored.  Peter Ames Carlin indicated in his book that Brian really wanted to be playing bass, and Carl forced him to the sidelines.  I originally found this hard to swallow but I've seen concert footage from 1978 where Brian is playing bass for the whole concert.  Brian is very animated and while he isn't as good as Ed Carter or JWG he's playing all the parts correctly, if dumbing them down a little.  Bass may have been more of a challenge for him, and more of a vital role in the band.

I'm not blaming Carl for taking Brian off bass -- it's a key instrument and a lot of damage can be done if it's not being reliably played -- but you can understand why Brian would be bored off his ass just plunking away at the piano.  I've seen another concert from 1980 -- it's on Youtube -- where the camera is near Brian's monitor and you can hear his piano loud and clear.  For the most part, he's playing everything right, if in his inimitable Brian four on the floor piano playing style.  So it's not like he wasn't capable of playing  the parts.

I've often wondered how Bruce Johnston -- who by all accounts is a first-rate keyboard player -- can stand just sitting onstage playing an inaudible keyboard.  It's clear from a careful viewing of some of the old concert footage that in many cases he's turning himself down out of the mix, just bringing it in for a few parts.  I realize he's just drawing a check at this point, but back in the late '60s and '70s he was a key part of the band on organ and bass.  It would make me nuts.

[Fun Is In]

Tiny error in 1978: April 17 1978 says Pine Bluff AZ

Pine Bluff is in Arkansas = AR  (not AZ), along with the adjacent midwest dates

[Fun Is In]

A 1981 nit to pick: November 28, 1981 Seattle OR

Seattle of course is in WA, not OR

[the captain]

I think Brian may have just been bored.  Peter Ames Carlin indicated in his book that Brian really wanted to be playing bass, and Carl forced him to the sidelines.  I originally found this hard to swallow but I've seen concert footage from 1978 where Brian is playing bass for the whole concert.  Brian is very animated and while he isn't as good as Ed Carter or JWG he's playing all the parts correctly, if dumbing them down a little.  Bass may have been more of a challenge for him, and more of a vital role in the band.

I'm not blaming Carl for taking Brian off bass -- it's a key instrument and a lot of damage can be done if it's not being reliably played -- but you can understand why Brian would be bored off his ass just plunking away at the piano.  I've seen another concert from 1980 -- it's on Youtube -- where the camera is near Brian's monitor and you can hear his piano loud and clear.  For the most part, he's playing everything right, if in his inimitable Brian four on the floor piano playing style.  So it's not like he wasn't capable of playing  the parts.

I think that's probably quite true: there is a certain endless cycle downward here. We can't rely on you, so you lose interest and f*** up, so we can't rely on you, so you f*** up more, and so on. If he knew--and he had to know--he was just being set at the side of the stage so they could say "LOOK! It's [an inaudible and generally useless except for a few lines when we turn on his mic] BRIAN!" how is he supposed to pretend to be interested or feel even vaguely wanted? Would you be motivated? I wouldn't. I'm not saying Brian was in the right to let himself (however much control he had of himself; I certainly don't know, but I'd guess some) f*** around even more, but it does become an unfortunate cycle at some point.

[MBE]

All in all Brian being there from 1976-82 was a dysfunctional act by a dysfunctional family.

Brian has some fault because he showed up stoned so often. Of course Carl pulled him off bass, I am sure a lot of us have seen the 1977 footage where he leaps behind Mike gets in to an outstage shouting match and at the end of the song throws the bass at him. Brian should have tried to sing and play as well as he could and be sober. He was relatively clean in late 76 so it was his choice to start again. Still I do feel bad that he no longer had the guts to say no. It just shows you the the Brian of 76-82 was far worse then he had been before (except maybe 74-75) because he didn't want to go on stage except when he felt like it and didn't. Now he was just going along with what others told him if somewhat rebelliously.

Stephen Love and Landy must take a lot of the blame. They pushed Brian well before he was ready just to make themselves look good. The only thing I can say in their defense is perhaps they couldn't have realized how bad things would get.

The Beach Boys themselves got what they wanted, but lost what they had. Brian was back, but his performance helped derail their sound. None of them should have let Brian come back without contingency that he would fully particpate or not at all. Still I am sure every member felt good to have him there if only for old times sake. Dennis in particular seemed to get a lot of joy having Brian there. He may have hurt Brian by sharing his drugs, but he also seemed to be the most warm and loving towards him. Carl should have told Brian get into shape or you are off the stage. He should not have tolerated sub par performances. He put Brian in the background perhaps because he felt it would cold to ask him not to come. Wrong move because it made Brian seem like a sideshow attraction. Mike was at times condescending to Brian on stage, but he did have a right to be disappointed. He worked hard on stage and must have been truly dismayed that Brian wasn't trying.

I have no real malice against the group, they were trying to hold on to their fame, and maybe they thought it would help him. Brian was lost, perhaps he had nothing else he could think of to do. It's just sad that the worse case scenario played out instead of the best.

[the captain]

^ That's a really good post. I'd add that, while you said "[Carl] should not have tolerated sub par performances," neither should have anyone else who had an ear to hear them. Mike also--for all his many faults--was working his ass off to do a good show in the way that he knew how (for better or for worse). I think that by the "Brian is Back" campaign, there was just layer upon layer of strangeness that complicated the picture. It is, of course, a big part of why so many people find the story interesting. But from an actual, personal perspective, it is sad ... even pathetic. I find some of those clips from shows in the late 70s hard to watch, with Brian obviously sick. And yet, Dennis's obvious affection for his brother is beautiful to me. And even (the "villain") Mike has moments on film from those shows when I can't help but think all he is interested in is seeing whether Brian is OK. What a weird time it must have been to be among them: jealously, greed, love, hatred, anger, frustration, hope, optimism, pessimism ... not pretty.

[John]

My favourite moment on the Knebworth show is when Al leans over to Brian and you see him mouth something like, "How're you doing? Are you okay?".

[the captain]

I'm watching it now, and even after a billion (give or take a few hundred million) viewings, when Dennis kisses the back of Brian's head just before "God Only Knows," I'm honestly touched.