Brian to appear on Late Night with Conan O'Brian this evening

[Amy B.]

This is a weird observation, but you can usually tell how Brian's doing by how  the cuffs on his shirt are in proximity of his hands. If the shirt is too long, he usually will have a bad day. I don't know why that is.

So this whole time, he's just been upset about his sleeve length? He just needs a better tailor and he'll be back to his old 1966 self! 

About the "his band is young" thing, I'm not sure how accurate that is. They've been together a decade. I think most of them are over 40. Not that it matters, but it's funny to still read some articles that still refer to "Brian's crackerjack young band."

[the captain]

True, Amy. Of course, it's all relative. For aging journalists and an aged Brian Wilson, people in their 40s are pretty young! To your average teenage pop music fan, they're all ancient.

[Amy B.]

True, Amy. Of course, it's all relative. For aging journalists and an aged Brian Wilson, people in their 40s are pretty young! To your average teenage pop music fan, they're all ancient.

Well, yes. But in rock and pop, "young band" usually means teens or 20s. A band in their 40s are "veteran," and a band in their 60s are "aged" or "venerable."

[the captain]

And in the case of the Stones, miraculously alive and/or undead. 

[Dave in KC]

What about NKOTB? They ain't no spring chickens! Who and why would anybody go to see them? There's nothing relative about it. Why would anybody even care? Maybe if some youngin' got free tix at the record shop. 

[Pretty Funky]

This is a weird observation, but you can usually tell how Brian's doing by how  the cuffs on his shirt are in proximity of his hands. If the shirt is too long, he usually will have a bad day. I don't know why that is.

That's genius.

Also allows him to wipe is nose!

[Sheriff John Stone]

This is a weird observation, but you can usually tell how Brian's doing by how  the cuffs on his shirt are in proximity of his hands. If the shirt is too long, he usually will have a bad day. I don't know why that is.

That's genius.

Also allows him to wipe is nose!

You can usually tell, if Brian's sleeve is wet, he will actually do a better job with Mike Love's parts. If his sleeve is dry, well, he usually will have a bad day.

[Ptolemaios]

Can someone upload the mentioned Conan episode and maybe the other performances that were mentioned on youtube? The link wont let me see the show outside US.

[Mark H.]

The whole thing sounded dry as noted and the band as a whole wasn't all that tight.  That said, I thought it didn't sound all that bad....it looked awkward for sure.  Get rid of that keyboard and give Brian a stool and a hand-held mic.  The hand motion stuff is retarded looking.  Also Brian looks like they just woke him up and said, "Your on!"   

The worst TV I recall was a skin tight leather suit with Brian singing "Night Time" from the original solo album with only a backing track.  Brian attempting to sing and dance in a leather suit was not an attractive sight.   This Conan performance wasn't even that geeky!

[Aegir]

I don't know about skintight leather suit, but I think this performance of Night Time with the backing track is pretty cool. Weird, but cool.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

This is a weird observation, but you can usually tell how Brian's doing by how  the cuffs on his shirt are in proximity of his hands. If the shirt is too long, he usually will have a bad day. I don't know why that is.

That's genius.

Also allows him to wipe is nose!

I think what I was trying to say (and it might not have come out the way I intended) is that whenever Brian looks like he just got out of bed in the morning, he usually doesn't perform that well.  Not the cause of it but rather a sympton.

[donald]

I've mentioned this before but Brian did dumb hand gestures from the get go when his hands were not busy.

Most of you have seen the demo video of I Get Around from one of the documentaries.

"I'm a real cool head (points to head) making real good bread (slides thumb over fingers as if flashing bills)"

He didn't do this when he was playing the bass during the same era.  Why can't he tinker with a dead keyboard and only occasionally gesture?  Its like he has tardive dyskinesia.   

The late Eddie Arnold had really weird hand gestures when performing ...and lets not forget Joe Cocker

[MBE]

He seemed cool to me on the I Get Around video. They weren't jerky awkward movements. Maybe he took emcee lessons from Mike!

[TdHabib]

When I saw Elton (I've seen him three times, and I can remember him doing this twice), he did all kinds of weird hand motions during a song called "Sixty Years On." Macca also has a tendecy to do them when he is just focusing on singing and doesn't need to play his axe (I'm thinking "She's Leaving Home" and "Eleanor Rigby"). Brian's hand motions are far more weird and extensive, but that's just the game with Brian.

(Completely O/T on the subject of hand motions, I remembered Macca doing them on "She's Leaving Home" and found http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2mFfP1q50o, with him doing them; and I remembered why I'm such a Macca. You can argue that Brian's a better composer (I think they're even), you can say that he's getting help on the falsetto (which he is), but he still has one heck of a voice!)

[Chris Brown]

When I saw Elton (I've seen him three times, and I can remember him doing this twice), he did all kinds of weird hand motions during a song called "Sixty Years On." Macca also has a tendecy to do them when he is just focusing on singing and doesn't need to play his axe (I'm thinking "She's Leaving Home" and "Eleanor Rigby"). Brian's hand motions are far more weird and extensive, but that's just the game with Brian.

(Completely O/T on the subject of hand motions, I remembered Macca doing them on "She's Leaving Home" and found http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2mFfP1q50o, with him doing them; and I remembered why I'm such a Macca. You can argue that Brian's a better composer (I think they're even), you can say that he's getting help on the falsetto (which he is), but he still has one heck of a voice!)

I love "Sixty Years On," it's one of my favorite Elton songs.  There is a video on Youtube of him doing it in 1970 that is amazing.  That particular performance he didn't make any overly weird hand motions, although it was odd just to see him not behind a piano. 

Unfortunately I don't think there is much that can be done with Brian's hand motions.  Ideally he could just bang out chords on the piano, but he doesn't because he is trying to focus on his singing (that's my theory anyway).  He needs something to do with his hands, and without an instrument to play, they just have minds of their own.  I doubt he even thinks about what he's doing, and nobody is about to tell him "hey Bri, could you not do those weird hand gestures?"  It is what it is.

[Amy B.]

Unfortunately I don't think there is much that can be done with Brian's hand motions.  Ideally he could just bang out chords on the piano, but he doesn't because he is trying to focus on his singing (that's my theory anyway).  He needs something to do with his hands, and without an instrument to play, they just have minds of their own.  I doubt he even thinks about what he's doing, and nobody is about to tell him "hey Bri, could you not do those weird hand gestures?"  It is what it is.

I might be making this up, but I think one of the band members said he likes when Brian is doing hand motions because it means he's in good spirits and enjoying the music. It's when he just sits there and sings that there might be a problem.