Mr. Heartbreak Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Geezer rock! Okay, so Brian Wilson doesn't sound like he did in 1967. But hell, Brian wasn't even the one with the "prettiest" voice. That was Carl, or maybe Mike Love. I know it wasn't Dennis, but a few of these guys are no longer with us, so what you get, for the 50th anniversary tour (gulp) is a band comprised of the remaining Beach Boys and about 10 or 12 other people. I shit you not, I counted the number of people onstage at one point, and I think it was 16. Two drummers, horns, some younger dudes to supplement the vocals and play maracas and whatnot...this is not your mother's Beach Boys. Still, they brought the hits, and I don't think they skipped too many. They have video of Dennis and Carl, and they backed them on it (on God Only Knows and on...well, I admit I don't know what the hell that Dennis Wilson song was, but it was pretty decent.) This incarnation of the band was so slagged off in the Beach Boys thread over in Someone Else's Song, I actually hesitated about reviewing it here. But you know...if you're thinking about seeing them, and haven't seen them before...you should go. I guess if you have great memories of the seven other Beach Boys shows you saw...well, okay, fine, take a pass. For me, seeing Brian Wilson sing I Guess I Just Wasn't Made For These Times was amazing. Not in the overused sense of the word you hear now, but really amazing. Seeing him get up and strap on a guitar for the last few numbers was even more amazing. This is a guy who needs assistance getting offstage. I didn't expect him to do anything beyond staying stock still behind the piano all night. Other highlights: Good Vibrations (why wouldn't I want to see that live?), Surfer Girl (almost brought a tear to my eye) and In My Room. Oh, and Brian nailed Sail On Sailor. If you really love these guys, see 'em...it may be your last chance. I had never seen them before in any incarnation, and I'm glad I did. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Albert Tatlock Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Geezer rock! I also thought it was one of those 'it has to be done' things a couple of years ago when I saw Brian with the Wondermints, and I enjoyed it tremendously. God Only Knows was just the best. Brian was more lucid and active than I expected so it didn't feel like a freak show. The Wondermints were the key component though - no idea if they are involved here. Thanks for thevreport. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 There are playing 30 minutes from my house for $20...maybe if the cards align! Thanks for the review! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 The song by Dennis is called Forever. It's on the Sunflower album. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 Thanks, A-Man.Here is the setlist, btw. Do It Again Catch a Wave Hawaii Don't Back Down Surfin' Safari Surfer Girl The Little Girl I Once Knew Wendy Then I Kissed Her You're So Good to MeWhy Do Fools Fall in Love When I Grow UpCotton Fields Be True to Your School Disney Girls Please Let Me Wonder Don't Worry Baby Little Honda Little Deuce Coupe 409 Shut Down I Get AroundSet IICalifornia Dreamin' Sloop John B Wouldn't It Be Nice In My Room This Whole World Forever Heroes and Villains All This Is That Sail on, Sailor I Just Wasn't Made for These Times God Only Knows That's Why God Made the Radio California Girls All Summer Long Help Me, Rhonda Rock 'n' Roll MusicDo You Wanna Dance?Barbara Ann Surfin' USAEncore Kokomo Good Vibrations Fun Fun Fun Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 I think they are pretty much playing the same songs every night. I would go to all the shows I could, if I had the time and bread. The Beach Boys Mike Love – lead vocals (1961–present) Brian Wilson – keyboards, vocals, bass (1961–1996 (on and off), 2012) Al Jardine – guitar, vocals (1962–1997, 2012) Bruce Johnston – keyboards, vocals (1965–1972, 1978–present) David Marks – guitar, vocals (1961–1963, 1997–1999, 2012) Supporting Musicians Jeff Foskett - guitar, mandolin, percussion, vocals (1981-1991,2012) Scott Totten - guitar, vocals (2001-present) Nick Walusko - guitar, vocals (2012) Probyn Gregory - guitar, horns, bass, theremin, percussion, vocals (2012) Mike D'Amico - bass,, drums, vocals (2012) Darian Sahanaja - keyboards, mallets, vocals (2012) Scott Bennett - keyboards, guitar, vocals (2012) Paul von Mertens - woodwinds (2012) Nelson Bragg - percussion, vocals (2012) John Cowsill - drums, vocals (1999-present) John Stamos - percussion, guitar, vocals (1988-2012; select shows) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 By the way, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston sounded surprisingly good for the most part. I mean, I didn't know what to expect from them, and was pleasantly surprised, especially by Al. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Long sets! How long did they play for? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mpolak21 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 By the way, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston sounded surprisingly good for the most part. I mean, I didn't know what to expect from them, and was pleasantly surprised, especially by Al. I am glad they seem to doing interesting stuff and that they seem to be finding some peace with each other. As they all get up there in age, you'd hate to think of them going out hating each other regardless of who did what to Brian years ago. --Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 Long sets! How long did they play for?I think it was about 2 hours altogether, maybe a little longer. There was an intermission, so I lost track of the actual time playing.I forgot to give props to Mike Love, too. They all sounded pretty damn good, for the most part. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 This was the best shot I got of them...toward the end with Brian Wilson on his feet. I was surprised he actually strapped on a guitar. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
suites Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 I think it was about 2 hours altogether, maybe a little longer. There was an intermission, so I lost track of the actual time playing.I forgot to give props to Mike Love, too. They all sounded pretty damn good, for the most part. FUCK MIKE LOVE Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 Honesty, I don't even know who is who in that band, other than Brian. I know they have a lot of turbulent history, but was never enough of a fan(atic) to absorb all the details.Just passing along a concert review. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 suites seems to has a lot of animosity towards particular names of bands and band members - which is cool (to each their own) - but at the end of the day who the hell cares, as longs as the music is good. Long Live Rock! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 FUCK MIKE LOVEsuites seems to has a lot of animosity towards particular names of bands and band members - which is cool (to each their own) - but at the end of the day who the hell cares, as longs as the music is good. Long Live Rock! Well I was also one of the dissers I suppose (fessing up!!) but ultimately if you want to see the Beach Boys its cool with me, just not something I am interested in.(I suppose I would enjoy it once I got there!!) But the fact is that without Mike Love there would be no Beach Boys to have a reunion at this point. You gotta figure that he did the county fair circuit for decades keeping the rag tag bunch together so that there even IS a 50th anniversary tour at this point. So he can be dissed all you like, but you got to give him credit for playing every crappy booking these guys had to endure during the lean years. Brian Wilson wasn't doing it. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 cool to see them playing some gems from sunflower and surf's up. probably my two favorite Beach Boys albums. if you took the best from both of those albums you'd have a masterpiece. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
suites Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 The only reason I say F Mike Love is that is a standing joke with many people...because he is known as an ass with a lot of people...should have noted it was a joke. He was the guy that said the Stones were scared to jam with the Beach Boys at a Rock and Roll HOF jam years ago. see this guys rant...lol Why I hate Mike Love 21Jul06A few weeks ago on Jay’s message board, Matt asked me who my favorite Beach Boy is. (He claims his is John Stamos.) From there, it wasn’t hard for him to prod me into discussing my least favorite Beach Boy, Mike Love. Yesterday, I was talking to a co-worker, and wouldn’t you know it, but the subject of Mike Love came up again. I’ve touched on my dislike for Mike Love on this blog in the past, but if this is going to keep coming up, what I clearly need is a fact sheet on why I hate Mike Love to which I can simply refer people when needed. So, since I was pretty thorough on Jay’s forum, I’m reprinting my comments below to fit the bill. Now watch the litigious asshole sue me.My favorite Beach Boy is obviously Brian because he’s the genius. Next comes Dennis because he was the coolest by far, emerged as a late-blooming significant talent in his own right, and once beat the living shit out of Charles Manson and reduced him to a blubbering mess in front of the Family. And then comes Al, because he’s basically the Ringo or the Michael Anthony — the friendly, funny-looking goof who just can’t believe his good fortune at being allowed to be in the band. Mike comes way down at the bottom after John Stamos.There should be a Wikipedia page on Reasons People Hate Mike Love. My two primary ones are these: First, he hassled Brian so much that he had a breakdown and abandoned his masterpiece, Smile, thus leaving Mike free to take control of the Beach Boys and turn them into their own cover band, a corny travelling jukebox endlessly belching out their beach and car songs for the next 40 years. And second, when Brian finally got it together enough to release Smile as a solo album, Mike had the gall to sue him for promoting it in a way that, to quote, “shamelessly misappropriated Mike Love’s songs, likeness and the Beach Boys trademark, as well as the Smile album itself.”Other reasons to hate Mike Love:He apparently beat his wife.He rewrote the Leiber/Stoller song “Riot in Cell Block 9″ into the song “Student Demonstration Time”, which sucks ass, yet somehow made it onto the Surf’s Up album while excellent songs by Dennis such as “4th of July” and “Fallin’ in Love” stayed in the can. (Of course, Dennis got the ultimate revenge agains his longtime foe by marrying Mike’s illegitimate daughter and giving him a grandson just to piss him off.)His cousin Stan, along with Rocky Pamplin, kicked down Dennis’ door and beat the shit out of him, messing up his larnyx and ruining his voice.He really got into transcendental meditation, and just wouldn’t stop writing shitty songs about it.He pushed a very obviously mentally ill and terrified Brian onstage as part of the “Brian’s Back!” campaign, and even wrote a song called “Brian’s Back” in which he pretended to like him.He’s an alleged racist.He’s a right-wing Republican, but he did give $5000 in start-up capital to Tipper Gore to start up the PMRC to censor pop music.He thinks no one will notice he’s bald if he just keeps wearing a hat.He created a TV miniseries full of revisionist history to glorify his own contributions to the band and take credit for a lot of things he never actually did. He also used it to give the impression that John Lennon wanted to jam with him, although Lennon is quoted as calling him a “jerk”.He sued Brian over songwriting credits he claimed he never received, which might have been due to his not actually having done the songwriting he claims to have done.He did do a little songwriting, which used all kinds of hip slang that didn’t age well at all and sounds retarded years later. And his onstage patter was lame and unfunny.He keeps suing poor Al every time he tries to tour.He was a real dick to lyricist Van Dyke Parks during the Smile era, and even 20 years later, took a cheap shot at him on the “Wipeout” single the Beach Boys did with the Fat Boys.He introduced himself to Sean O’Hagan of the High Llamas, a huge Beach Boys fan who Bruce Johnston brought in to produce an album for them, by saying, as soon as he met him at the airport, “You’re English, right? Aren’t all you English guys fags?”He went on a drunken, bizarre, classless rant when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, calling out the Beatles, Mick Jagger, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, the Supremes, and possibly the MC5, for no discernible reason.His solo albums suck, even for Beach Boys solo albums, which mostly kind of suck to start with.He is responsible for “Kokomo”. And he’s proud of it.He just plain has one of those thin-lipped humourless-asshole-looking faces you want to punch.He’s still alive, while Dennis and Carl are dead.Matt, for his part, was very satisfied with my vigorous dislike of the man, and responded to my call for a Wikipedia page on Reasons People Hate Mike Love by writing an introductory paragraph of one that I quite liked:“Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941 in Los Angeles, California) is an American singer and songwriter who was one of the lead singers and lyric writers of The Beach Boys. He formed the band along with Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and a school friend Al Jardine. He is an asshole.” Also, I will defend that fact the the Allman's should not be using that name...never said they shouldnt play music. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 A good bit of that information is not exactly right. And - if one gets into the personal lives of musicians, you are always going to find nasty things. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 He really got into transcendental meditation, and just wouldn’t stop writing shitty songs about it.He thinks no one will notice he’s bald if he just keeps wearing a hat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 I must admit, whether that is factual or not, it made me laugh. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mpolak21 Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 FUCK MIKE LOVE Can't somebody be a shit their whole life and try to repair the damage? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 I never would have dreamed that this thread would extend beyond one page.Probably helps that I added the setlist and posted a bunch of times too, but still.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 What a dick, wow.What year was this... 80-something, obviously? at that synth in the background Quote Link to post Share on other sites
EatMorePez Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 What year was this... 80-something, obviously? It was 1988. My favorite quote from his rant: "The United States is 6% of the population of the world. That's why I came here tonight with Muhammad Ali." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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