The Beach Boys Olympia Show, 1969

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Yeah, well, even as a goofball, he still fit in with the Beach Boys perfectly well. Just one more goofball in a white robe among a few other gooffballs (Dennis excluded) in matching white suits playing very unhip (for the time) songs with barely audible guitars.

We get you hate Myke with a passion. If so, WHY are you supposedly a "fan" of The Beach Boys?

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I happen to hate Eddie Vedder with a passion. I always have. I respect Pearl Jam and all they stand for, but I can't stand Eddie Vedder's voice, his lyrics, or his whole vibe/thing in general. I've tried to listen to Pearl Jam and get into them, but I can't get past my dislike of Eddie Vedder. No disrespect to him as a person, but artistically, he just isn't my cup of tea.

Therefore: I don't claim to be a Pearl Jam fan and I certainly am not all over any Pearl Jam message boards bashing Eddie Vedder all day and night.

If you hate Myke so much, please stop bashing him on a Beach Boys message board. I'm sure there are better places to do so, but I don't think it's here.

Most of us here are FANS of the guy, begrudgingly or not!

[oldsurferdude]

Yeah, well, even as a goofball, he still fit in with the Beach Boys perfectly well. Just one more goofball in a white robe among a few other gooffballs (Dennis excluded) in matching white suits playing very unhip (for the time) songs with barely audible guitars.

We get you hate Myke with a passion. If so, WHY are you supposedly a "fan" of The Beach Boys?

Been a fan considerably longer than you have-take a look at the first part of your own post-and you call yourself a stinkin' fan??? Huh, huh, huh,??

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Yeah, it's called duality of opinion, at worst. I can see that the Beach Boys are completely unhip and goofy yet still LOVE them! I don't reduce myself to simple name calling.

I don't see how it matters how long you've been a fan if you can't deal with your raging hatred of a key component of The Beach Boys.

Maybe you've been a "fan" TOO long?

[oldsurferdude]

Yeah, it's called duality of opinion, at worst. I can see that the Beach Boys are completely unhip and goofy yet still LOVE them! I don't reduce myself to simple name calling.

I don't see how it matters how long you've been a fan if you can't deal with your raging hatred of a key component of The Beach Boys.

Maybe you've been a "fan" TOO long?

...duality of opinion?? There's a new one! And, no, I can deal with it quite well-looks like you're the one having the problem dealing with it.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

A new one for you perhaps! And perhaps one you should attempt 

[Rocker]

Well, Mike's stage banter is terrible and not crowd-pleasing. There's nothing to deny. It's got nothing to do with hating Mike or not hating him, it's just the way it is. I can clearly see why Jack Riley made them change their show completely and why they then got popular and "hip" again.  You know, it's Mike's humour and that's okay, but you got to please the audience and if that doesn't work that way, then you better shut up and sing your heart out. Without interrupting the songs.

I've nothing against Mike's robe. I think it looks cool. In fact all the guys look good in those white suits but they don't work as a uniform imo.


Regarding the fan or no fan comments:
I can be a fan of the Beach Boys and their individual members and at the same time be as honest as possible and critisize them for what they did or didn't do. In fact that's why I chose that certain Riley-quote for my signature. Being a fan should never ever stand in your way when it comes to seriously discussing their work. If something is sh*t, then it is sh*t. It's shouldn't have anything to do with if you like theat certain person more than the other or not

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I agree. I just think oldsurferdude unendingly attacks Mike/Myke on such a regular basis and with such a vile ferocity that you just have to wonder why he even likes or listens to The Beach Boys....... ever!

I don't see anything Mike's doing in the Olympia clips that is unfitting for an insane rock star.

John Cale once came out in a hockey mask and chopped up a live chicken onstage causing a band member or too to flee in horror!

It's rock n roll, kids! Home of all manner of maniac. Some come in black leather, some in white robes.

[adamghost]

I think the Mike criticism here is (mostly) fair, and I'm waaaay far away from being an ML apologist.  That said, it kind of worked for me personally because it was so... bizarre.  It wasn't mean-spirited like a find a lot of his latter day stage patter.  It was just plain weird in a good-natured way.  If I didn't know the history of the band and saw that cold, I would have bet anything that of all the guys onstage, he was the one doing major drugs!

Having said that, it does cast Rieley's actions in a different light, and give some credence to his version of events.  Whatever his motives, he made the right moves for the time.

[Emdeeh]

I love this band!! Many thanks!

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I think Riley's actions were damn right at the time.

To push Carl out into the forefront was most certainly the best "2nd phase" Beach Boys decision possible. Carl, being the groups best (IMHO) singer and most hip style/sensibility-wise, was really the crucial link toward making The Beach Boys hip, or as hip as was possible. I would be including Dennis in this, but he's pretty much missing from The Surf's Up album.  Plus, Carl was really the only one whom I could see fitting into CSNY or playing with Zappa or The Byrds of Dylan or whoever.

Dennis was, of course, hipper than any of The Beach Boys, but he was really an individualist.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

BTW, it's awesome to see Bruce playing that little descending (I think: I'm a drummer  )  bass part at the end of California Girls that's not a part of the original arrangement. I always loved that little detail on "In Concert" and always assumed it was an Ed Carter invention!

Man, does Dennis just sound so freaking GOOD on drums or what?

[SG7]

This is such great footage of them. Makes me wish I could have seen this lineup for myself!

[urbanite]

Mike Love's "robe" looks like the robe all the heavyweight boxers would wear from the dressing room as they walked into the ring in the big fights.  It would make them look badass before they started duking it out.  Mike Love just looks strange, just like that weird picture in the Sunflower album.

[phirnis]

What's not to like about Mike Love's robe or his overall stage antics? Just sit back and enjoy because there's probably never going to be a pop/rock group like this again. Personally I have to say that the overall weirdness the group went through is what first drew me in to the group's post-Smiley career.

[filledeplage]

Yeah, well, even as a goofball, he still fit in with the Beach Boys perfectly well. Just one more goofball in a white robe among a few other gooffballs (Dennis excluded) in matching white suits playing very unhip (for the time) songs with barely audible guitars.

We get you hate Myke with a passion. If so, WHY are you supposedly a "fan" of The Beach Boys?

White suits were quite the rage and even John Lennon can be seen wearing one on the Abbey Road cover, about a year later...The London Carnaby St. influence was certainly at work here, as well as the note that the back up orchestral section was from Britain.  We all wore those neckerchiefs for a year or so during that "pre-Woodstock" time.  It was a lighthearted break from formality in dress, mini-skirts and white lipstick, blue eyeshadow, and chunky shoes,  shiny vinyl raincoats and guys had those thick sideburns, as you see on Carl.  It was "tailored" (mod) without being "tailored" (geek) and Twiggy was the female fashion icon.    They were "hip" alright!

This video is a real contrast to the Gaumont Palace, in Paris, show done a year or so later.  They are out of "uniform" as it were, and are more "unplugged" and very relaxed.  What is cool for me is that I have never seen "The Nearest Faraway Place" live  and the Pompidou thing that Mike did showed "deference" to the venue and was well-received.  Georges Pompidou being the French Premier from 1962-1968, and President of France, from 1968 until his death in 1974.  It was appropriate to the audience, as well as the time of the release of 20/20.

For the younger fans, or those who think the talent of the Band, is confined to an early 1960's time warp, this historic video is the first line of defense.  It is such a "defined time" contemporaneous with the art, literature and fashion.  And, it shows the irrefutable talent of each of the band members, either sharing a lead or doing a solo. 

Magnifique! 

[punkinhead]

Yeah, well, even as a goofball, he still fit in with the Beach Boys perfectly well. Just one more goofball in a white robe among a few other gooffballs (Dennis excluded) in matching white suits playing very unhip (for the time) songs with barely audible guitars.

We get you hate Myke with a passion. If so, WHY are you supposedly a "fan" of The Beach Boys?

White suits were quite the rage and even John Lennon can be seen wearing one on the Abbey Road cover, about a year later...The London Carnaby St. influence was certainly at work here, as well as the note that the back up orchestral section was from Britain.  We all wore those neckerchiefs for a year or so during that "pre-Woodstock" time.  It was a lighthearted break from formality in dress, mini-skirts and white lipstick, blue eyeshadow, and chunky shoes,  shiny vinyl raincoats and guys had those thick sideburns, as you see on Carl.  It was "tailored" (mod) without being "tailored" (geek) and Twiggy was the female fashion icon.    They were "hip" alright!

Could you enlighten me on the difference in "tailored"?
Perhaps through a picutre?
Thanks

[filledeplage]

Yeah, well, even as a goofball, he still fit in with the Beach Boys perfectly well. Just one more goofball in a white robe among a few other gooffballs (Dennis excluded) in matching white suits playing very unhip (for the time) songs with barely audible guitars.

We get you hate Myke with a passion. If so, WHY are you supposedly a "fan" of The Beach Boys?

White suits were quite the rage and even John Lennon can be seen wearing one on the Abbey Road cover, about a year later...The London Carnaby St. influence was certainly at work here, as well as the note that the back up orchestral section was from Britain.  We all wore those neckerchiefs for a year or so during that "pre-Woodstock" time.  It was a lighthearted break from formality in dress, mini-skirts and white lipstick, blue eyeshadow, and chunky shoes,  shiny vinyl raincoats and guys had those thick sideburns, as you see on Carl.  It was "tailored" (mod) without being "tailored" (geek) and Twiggy was the female fashion icon.    They were "hip" alright!

Could you enlighten me on the difference in "tailored"?
Perhaps through a picutre?
Thanks

Generally, "tailoring" involves a trained-professional tailor taking measurements, to ensure proper fit.  In its absence we have sizes which meet rough equivalents of "sizing" - both men and women can wear custom-fitted garments. 

Mike is wearing what I would call a "caftan" which is not tailored but perhaps comes in a more general Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, etc.

I could not upload a photo if my life depended on it as I am "technically challenged." 

Sorry, if I was not clear.     

Check wiki for a picture of Lennon on Abbey Road...

[MBE]

Hell it's the Beach Boys in their prime and I love it. Mike's who he is but as the work he was doing vocally and as a songwriter was strong through Holland he could be a goof. Back then he had the chops to back it up and what he added to the group was way more important then some silly jokes. It's when he began to decline as an artist that I don't like his work. For me you can't beat the pre nostalgia Beach Boys!

[punkinhead]

Hell it's the Beach Boys in their prime and I love it. Mike's who he is but as the work he was doing vocally and as a songwriter was strong through Holland he could be a goof. Back then he had the chops to back it up and what he added to the group was way more important then some silly jokes. It's when he began to decline as an artist that I don't like his work. For me you can't beat the pre nostalgia Beach Boys!

here here

[Rocker]

Check wiki for a picture of Lennon on Abbey Road...

Here's a picture of that suit:

[filledeplage]

Check wiki for a picture of Lennon on Abbey Road...

Here's a picture of that suit:

That is very cool! 

You get the prize for research! 

Bravo! 

This is great for those fans who started following the music in the 80's or so and cannot get their head around the tie-in as between music, fashion, art and literature...and think the Boys are just stereotyped as a "car-girl-y-surf" band.   

[MBE]

I like the toga myself . The Beach Boys are supposed to be a little nutty.

[donald]

Where to begin.........

First of all; Thanks for posting this.  Where has this BEEN?
2nd;  How can i save this to my computer to record?
3rd;  Mike is bizarre....al of that Jesus stuff and assorted silliness...
4th ; Bruce doing NFP solo....
5th ; Bruce playing bass while EC is on tambourine....
6th ; CW in very fine form.....
7th; the band moving equipment themselves so BJ can be seen playing the piano....
8th; Breakaway and that ending!
9th ;lDennis playing very welll...and with no closeups......

[filledeplage]

Having just re-listened with "headphones" I am blown away by this concert.  The sound is better than trying to hear it out of computer speakers, so "my bad" for not knowing better. 

Mike, was the "front man" for a "foreign" audience...and one would expect that he would be "emphatic" in his role, with simpler banter, knowing that the only English many of the members of the audience knew were the songs of the Beach Boys or Beatles or Stones or other English speaking groups.  I did notice that he did not wait for any stage people to move the organ out of the way for the piano to be visible.  He did it himself.  I had forgotten how cool that organ was for a lot of that music, especially I Get Around.   

The audience would know some of the lyrics better than others, the more simpler ones, to be sure. 

It is too bad that the camera did not zoom in more closely on Dennis, who did a great job at that show.  My sense is that they were a little nervous in front of a foreign audience and did the best they could to make themselves understood and the approach they might use would be different than performing before an English speaking audience. 

It is tremendous...it made me feel 16 again!  Thanks again, for posting the link.