GIG NUMBER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN
Who
I'd fully anticipated that there'd be no support band but was a bit confused over when the doors would open. My ticket said 7:30pm and I correctly predicted that this would be the time that Brian would start. I also had seen 6:30pm and 7pm advertised, casting some doubt over when I could actually take my seat. In the end I headed back to the Symphony Hall a bit too early and had to sit around the bar. Although it was just Bass on tap and most likely it was overpriced it was tempting to get more to drink. However I was wise enough to resist as I'd spent plenty of cash on my ticket and didn't want to waste the show in either a drunken or a sleepy haze. I therefore just sat around and waited patiently, thinking what a pleasant venue it seemed. The whole walk in Birmingham between the Council House and Brindley Place is undoubtedly the nicest part of the city and it was great to be able to stick to this area rather than having to head down to the Academy locale. Once it became clear that the doors were open I headed upstairs and was ushered to my seat. This was a good touch as I was helpfully led inside and the emphasis wasn't on checking our tickets at all as they didn't even look the next time around! It does make me wonder if I could have waltzed in halfway through without any ticket and found an empty seat, but the trick is knowing which seats are empty! For some reason I'd expected the door staff to be Nazi's and had even thought that there could be a dress code in operation. However that would have been unforgivable as we'd received no warning and clearly everyone was wearing exactly what they wanted, including plenty of Brian Wilson or Beach Boys t-shirts amongst the hardcore. The room was spacious and looked great so it was clear why this venue was so well-regarded. I never found out if you were allowed to take photos or not but they actually seemed flexible and reasonable about it as quite a few people downstairs were taking the occasional snap. I took a few of the room and a couple of the show, but as it was only on my phone they sadly didn't turn out too great. I was sitting upstairs on the first level slightly to the right in a pretty decent position, if a bit further back than ideal. The best part was that the relevant seats in front of me were empty so I didn't have any massive heads interfering with my enjoyment!
Brian and his band came onstage just a few minutes after 7:30pm to a warm welcome, if not as rapturous as it could have been. I guess that's what happens when the crowd aren't warmed up! Some people downstairs were still coming in so I think they should make it crystal clear on the tickets that Brian actually is onstage at 7:30pm rather than just advertising the time with no explanation of its meaning! Brian explained first of all that the Gershwin family had asked him to rework some songs and that they'd flipped when they heard the finished result. "Flipped" is a real favourite word of Brian's but it's probably a word I've never used to describe anything ever! He then proceeded to play the album in full, as had been advertised beforehand. It was probably for the best to get it out of the way to allow for a solid run of hits in the second half and it was wonderful to hear Brian still making great music. However, as much as I appreciate the Gershwin album, it's something to deeply admire rather than something I could ever love, putting it firmly in the vein of That Lucky Old Sun rather than SMiLE or The Beach Boys Love You which I feel compelled to listen to time and again. Brian has certainly been on an amazing run of form since SMiLE though and this album continues it, even if it is ultimately just cover versions. It does have a wonderful flow to it though and the songs have clearly been adapted to Brian's style, thereby is far more admirable than the pointless cover versions churned out by so many other acts. The whole album was performed very impressively with applause throughout as it wasn't a continuous medley as That Lucky Old Sun had been. Particular highlights were the lovely The Like In I Love You and Someone To Watch Over Me, but it all pretty much gelled into one pleasant whole, as half of my mind was on the amazing hits that would follow later. Brian was wearing an amazing bright Hawaiian shirt but had put on some weight and sadly wasn't walking as well as he used to. However the man is nearly 70 and has been through a lot so it would be churlish to criticise him too deeply. His singing during this part of the show was fantastic and the fact he'd put this album together proved that he was a greater current force than pretty much any musician ever to reach his age could hope to be!
The band praised the venue and the sound but to my ears it was a little loud and I'm sure I'd heard much better at other places. I don't know whose fault this was or maybe it was so good that you could hear every tiny flaw? Who knows! The band said that they were going to take a 20 minute break then come back and play some classics so I headed outside and got a nice small tub of strawberry ice cream for an acceptable £2.50. The crowd were older than I expected, with plenty of oldies amongst the under-40s, and I'm sure they had been a bit more varied in London. I can't praise them though as there were some fucking morons who'd got front row tickets and couldn't be bothered to take their seats during the Gershwin songs. Either that or some opportunists had sneaked in later and they simply hadn't been sold, but I don't see how that's possible? Also there were a couple to my left who never returned for the next segment so I wonder if some people had been sneaking into empty seats as the evening wore on, or if they'd been dumb enough to miss the second half? I can't think of any emergency that could drag me away from this! The saddest thing was that the show clearly hadn't sold out. Brian had been touring quite a bit over the last ten years so presumably a lot of people had seen him once and didn't see the need to do it again, but shame on the people of Birmingham for not taking the opportunity to see the greatest songwriter of all time performing! I'm sure shows regularly sell out at the Symphony Hall so it's a real shocker that Brian didn't! I will always be grateful for the chance to see Brian live and wouldn't blame him if he decided to call it quits and either retire or focus on studio recordings which I expect he'd be happier to do. If it is the last time he comes to Britain it would be nice for him to have told us so, but I guess he hasn't decided yet for sure? It would be awesome if he did a final Beach Boys show in California in 2012, which would encourage me to visit the West Coast specially, but it's up to him! It would be hard to retire knowing he's still making such good music though? Despite the clear warning that they'd be back in 20 minutes people were slow to return to their seats. I don't know if there were announcements outside telling people to get back to their seats, but I couldn't hear anything in the arena.
As a final comment about the audience, the couple next to me had decided to bring along their young daughter who spent much of the show on her Gameboy, indicating that children are incapable of paying attention and appreciating brilliant music. The show was utterly wasted on her but at least she was reasonably quiet. But anyway, the band returned to the stage and launched into the intro of California Girls which was applauded as Brian walked back onstage. This was followed by Dance, Dance, Dance which I still don't think very much of, but the real delight was Catch A Wave! I'm pretty disappointed to read that he'd played it last time for me as I could have sworn that this was a rare exclusive treat, but it doesn't take away its brilliance! Surfer Girl was introduced as the first ballad that Brian ever wrote but the band did most of it for him, and perhaps the weirdest moment of the evening was when he insisted we sing along with him to Mary Had A Little Lamb! Please Let Me Wonder may be a pretty song but I've never been too fussed about it. I think this was the moment when Brian had a coughing fit towards the end and worryingly he handed over vocal duties for Don't Worry Baby to Jeff Foskett, who did an admirable job but I just wanted to hear Brian! The real question mark for me was if this was intended or not. His band seemed unfazed but perhaps they're just ready to fill in at short notice? Apart from the unfortunate timing of having a coughing fit and then handing over vocal duties for the next song there was no indication that anything had gone wrong as Brian continued to introduce the songs and still rocked the house, such as on Do It Again! He strangely put his keyboardist "on trial" for playing badly and demanded that he sing Darlin' as punishment. This would have been hilarious if it wasn't for the thought that this was just a clever improv to hand over the vocal duties. He did an admirable job of Darlin' but, once again, we simply wanted to hear Brian! All Summer Long was possibly the highlight for me but again I'm shocked to read that I'd heard it before in 2008 which took the edge off it! A top bit of banter was when Brian started to introduce I Get Around but another guy jumped in and suggested that they just play it and surprise us. This classic got the people downstairs to their feet and dancing in the aisles in a largely embarrassing middle-aged way but it was especially noteworthy to see that the stewards just left them to it. The Nazi's at Manchester Opera House who were wildly screaming for everyone to sit down when Gorillaz played Dare would do well to take a leaf out of their book and let the crowd enjoy themselves as they see fit!
It was hilarious how quickly everyone sat down for the next song as Brian played Your Imagination. It took me a while to recognise it but I did appreciate it, even though there were so, so many better songs that could have been played in its place! Brian sung this all himself and it's interesting how he quite happily took lead vocal duties on the newer songs, making me wonder if part of the problem was that he was bored with playing the hits? The few reviews I read afterwards made no mention of the fact that Brian didn't sing lead on everything as he pretty much had done last time around, so either they weren't paying attention or I was reading too much into it! Brian delegated vocal duties again for Sail On, Sailor and waved his arms about amusingly throughout but yet again I just wanted Brian to sing it! One moment where he could sit back without taking anything from the performance was for the track Pet Sounds which demonstrated just how brilliant his band were. I'll always regard Pet Sounds as inferior to SMiLE and several other Beach Boys albums, but there's little doubt that it's got some great songs on it and this was a brilliant instrumental to show off his band's talent! According to my setlist below this was in fact a Pet Sounds segment of the show as four of its tunes were played in a row. Sloop John B will always remain a classic but it was particularly upsetting that Brian let another guy do so much of Wouldn't It Be Nice. He did come in around the second verse but it just wasn't the same. Brian then said that this was his very best song and he hoped we liked it before playing God Only Knows. It received the longest and warmest applause of the evening and probably deserved it as you could really feel the love in the room. Brian did get a bit bored of our noise in the end and said "yes, yes, thanks, it's a beautiful song" to encourage us to stop clapping and to move on. Before the show we'd been promised some of SMiLE but we only got to enjoy two of the highlights. Heroes And Villains was introduced as an all-singing number before the main set was drawn to a close with some Good Vibrations. Once the band hit the chorus it's just so amazing that you can see why so many consider it the masterpiece but it was slightly soured when Brian got up towards the end, gave us a curt wave and then wandered off to leave his band to finish it! I don't know if he was trying to be understated or amusing but it didn't come across well at all and it looked like he was just desperate to leave.
Maybe I am just reading to much into all this though, as we were then put through a long introducing the band segment as they walked on individually, starting with the drummer. Surprisingly it seemed that Taylor Mills had left the group as I couldn't see her amongst the many onstage? There also was a string section who mainly were utilised for the Gershwin portion of the show. Clearly they weren't needed anymore as they took the applause before leaving the stage again! Also the "band leader" was a guy who didn't seem to do anything much except play a bit of sax, so I'm not quite sure how he'd earned that title. A guy standing at the back was introduced as the man with 963 instruments and another was declared as having a three week old baby back at home! Jeff Foskett was the only guy who stood out for me though, but apparently it's Scott Bennett who's been co-writing with Brian. Perhaps it's to the credit of the group that so few of them stood out because they just played so well together? There was only one man we wanted though and he was introduced as having written every song we'd ever heard. We were already on our feet but Brian received a massive ovation as he returned to the stage and got back behind his piano. I don't see why he feels the need to delve into the back catalogue of lesser artists but he clearly loves Johnny B Goode as he launched into it yet again! The encore was pretty much as I'd expected and as it had been the last two times, the only difference being that he'd thrown I Get Around into it the first time. However it's a trick that works and who can complain with Help Me Rhonda? Brian then rose to his feet to be a guitar hero for Barbara Ann and the incredible Surfin' U.S.A. before sitting down again for Fun, Fun, Fun. Frustratingly he chose to kill some of the momentum he'd built up by waving curtly then walking offstage again before it was over! Maybe it's just nerves, but I wish he wouldn't do it. The little girl next to me was practically screaming at her mother to ask why he did that! We wondered if it was all over but Brian came back onstage again for a wonderful, almost solo, take on Love And Mercy. A couple of the band were giggling their way through it, implying that the evening had gone according to their intentions, and this was followed by a proper bow and exiting of the stage which helped make up for the earlier curtness - Brian even wished us a safe drive home!
Everyone was pretty quiet on the way out, and I guess like me they weren't quite sure what to make of it all. Brian had performed so strongly back in 2007 and 2008 had been a crazed overload of hits in the summer sun so sadly this was an anticlimax. There were few great songs which I hadn't heard before so the main selling point for me was a chance to see Brian three years on. I think if I hadn't gone I'd had regretted it, especially if this does prove to be the final tour. It would have been nice if Brian had delved a bit deeper into his back catalogue rather than playing the same old songs. Having said that, looking back at the setlist it's difficult to know what he could leave out! If it were up to me the band would have dropped the Gershwin set and some of the weaker tracks to play unexpected delights such as Surf's Up, In My Room, 'Til I Die, Surfin' Safari, Smart Girls, Keep An Eye On Summer, or indeed much more off SMiLE or The Beach Boys Love You. Due to the early start, three breaks and lack of support I think my perception had been warped and I'm shocked to see that Brian had played 40 songs, which is up there with a Macca show, making it impossible to complain about the length of the performance! I had plenty of time on my hands but not quite enough to go back to the pub so I enjoyed a delightful Galaxy Smooth Chocolate McFlurry before catching the penultimate train home. I was thus only one hour later to bed than I'd normally be which is always nice! I have my fingers crossed that Brian will rejoin The Beach Boys and play some final shows, but if that doesn't happen then at least I had the Disney album to look forwards to. Either way, Brian is continuing to make far better music than he has any right to be and I will jump at the chance to see him again, even though I fear he may have reached his live peak?
Mark: 8.5/10
Brian Wilson
Where
Birmingham Symphony Hall
When
14th September 2011
Price
£50.00
Who with
No-one
Position
Circle (i.e. lower tier)
Comments
It's hard to believe it had been three years since I'd last seen Brian Wilson but I felt I was long overdue for a repeat viewing. I was originally unwilling to commit until I knew what was going on with my job but quickly purchased a ticket once it was established that I was highly unlikely to be moving to a different country and when Brian Wilson appeared on Jools Holland and hinted that this could well be his last tour. I think I could have lived with the idea of not seeing this because the first time in 2007 had been so gloriously definitive whereas the second time had seemed anti-climatic despite the stronger setlist. However the whole experience certainly helped me get back into The Beach Boys again as I tried to hear their entire back catalogue beforehand. Although I started listening well in advance I didn't quite manage it but did get through the studio albums and some live performances. To put it in perspective, my iPod states that I have a stonking 1094 Beach Boys songs and another 130 by Brian Wilson, and even considering that many of these will be duplicates from Greatest Hits compilations this is a truly staggering figure! The day didn't go as I'd hoped as my train was running late and my shaver decided to randomly break but I made up the time and got my shaver to work eventually so overcame the inconvenience in the end. I also didn't take my bag into work or even a change of top which left me feeling quite shitty, but it was an unavoidable sacrifice to make in order to arrive at the show on time. In a dream world I'd be able to attend all my gigs on Saturdays, but they randomly don't run the last train on the busiest night of the week so I'd then have trouble getting home! After heading into Birmingham I walked towards the Symphony Hall intending to eat at Wetherspoons. However the shutters were down with no explanation whatsoever despite some staff wandering around inside. It was exactly the same after the show too and it would be nice if they'd had put a sign together explaining what was going on! I just carried on walking through the Symphony Hall towards Brindley Place to the super-cheap pub to find that it was in fact steak night! It was wonderfully cheap if marred by the disgusting pint of pale ale that came with it! After this I walked back a bit to the Slug And Lettuce and ordered another pint of pale ale which was equally horrible! I don't know if it was bad luck or if my preference towards Belgian/Czech/German beers had now grown so strong that I just couldn't go back to the English stuff! It's funny as I'd enjoyed pale ale a few times before, but perhaps my recent trip to Belgium and Holland had tipped me over the edge?
Setlist
Rhapsody In Blue/Intro
The Like In I Love You
Summertime
I Loves You, Porgy
I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'
It Ain't Necessarily So
'S Wonderful
They Can't Take That Away From Me
Love Is Here To Stay
I've Got A Crush On You
I Got Rhythm
Someone To Watch Over Me
Nothing But Love
Rhapsody In Blue/Reprise
California Girls
Dance, Dance, Dance
Catch A Wave
Please Let Me Wonder
Surfer Girl
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Don't Worry Baby
Do You Wanna Dance?
Do It Again
Darlin'
All Summer Long
I Get Around
Your Imagination
Sail On, Sailor
Pet Sounds
Sloop John B
Wouldn't It Be Nice
God Only Knows
Heroes And Villains
Good Vibrations
Johnny B Goode
Help Me Rhonda
Barbara Ann
Surfin' U.S.A.
Fun, Fun, Fun
Love And Mercy
n.b. This setlist was from another gig, but it's either correct or similar
