Saturday, November 06, 2004
Brian Wilson in SF… the Don Daly Report!
“saw brian wilson at the symphony hall. wow!!!!! holy moley, was he GREAT!!! best thing since mccartney. easily THE show of the year. i mean i'd heard raves - and even heard the whole smile section from the show beforehand but i wasn't prepared for this. it was everything people said it was but ten times better.
it started out with him and a few people (the wondermints i guess) backing him up -- huddled together in front of the stage. a guy on bongos, couple of guys on acoustic guitars -- in other words it was like a little beach bongo party. also there was this super hot blonde gal who sang and played some percussion. brian wore a short sleeve green floral (almost hawaiian) short. he looked alright. not at all disturbing - let's put it that way. and they opened with "surfer girl". before long i started to get sweaty. this was gonna be heavy. they did some other old beach boys nuggets --unplugged -- including "wendy". that was killer. absolute perfect harmonies. brian sang lead all night with others doing his falsettoes. okay, after they already blew everyone's mind with that section, they took their places filling the stage -- drummer behind full drum kit -- percussionists, keyboards, bassist, 3 guitars. and they did "sloop john b". i lost it! my eyes filled up and i almost had to walk out for a second. and i wasn't alone. from here on almost every song received a standing ovation. "this is paul mccartney's favorite song ever" he proudly proclaimed before doing a killer version of "god only knows". they ran thru a bunch of classics -- "california girls", "please let me wonder", "our hearts were full of spring", lots more... everything! plus the title cut from his new album - which wasn't bad. then an intermission. people were already talking about how insanely great it was and we hadn't even heard "smile" yet. i mean everyone was just stunned. okay so he comes back and now he's got a 20 piece band - he's added strings and horns. and they do the entire "smile" album spectacular. completely absorbing. starts with the acapella "our prayer" and then a really powerful rendition of "heroes and villains". all of the reservations i had about seeing a mentally ill person onstage were totally unfounded. i mean he was totally together. he sat behind a keyboard and rarely played but i mean he was right there the whole time. went thru the whole smile piece and it's just astounding - i mean - really heavy.
the string section all wore fire hats during "mrs o'leary's cow" and they even had a fire hose -- they had this whole thing choreographed.
they went thru the whole thing -- "surf's up" - the whole fantastic -- well--- symphony. ending with "good vibrations". and then he went off to wild cheers and they came back shortly and all the musicians were introduced one by one and then came a whole nuther set of beach boys stuff starting with "do it again" and moving on to "fun fun fun" and "help me rhonda" and all that. it was like wash dc 4th of july! brian picked up the bass for "barbara ann" and then he saluted chuck berry and ended up with "surfin' usa". and this is the symphony hall! the aisles were full-- people clapping and dancing, including rodney bingenheimer (whom i shook hands with as he was leaving).
brian came back for one more encore... "okay, no more rock n' roll, gonna leave you with a nice quiet one". and he did "love and mercy" (much better than the record). good vibrations all around!” -- don
Then comes Part Two… Don had lost it to the extent that he hadn’t reported on the hardware… Goes something like this…
Don- Dead on awesome review! But no comments on all the different guitars?
The man, having gained his composure by this time duly did his duty…
“okay... you asked for it... that's funny -- right after i sent that out i realized i hadn't mentioned the guitars and then i wrote an addendum but only sent it to the guitar players. so now i'll bore everyone else and you can all blame andy.
ok... there were some pretty cool axes up there, mostly from the guy in the orange shirt with the cap. first the gibson j-200 during the bongo party. this was particularly great on "wendy" when he and the other guy traded off on those chords in the instr break. then that guy had the guitar i currently have the madness for: a white fender jazzmaster. in fact for the last month or so i've been trying to decipher prices on them at japanese websites. i saw one on ebay and very nearly put in a bid. just the other day i saw one on haight street but it was blue. it's gotta be beach boys white with red pickguard or not at all!!
okay, that guy also had a danelectro six string bass. that was the blue sparkly thing. i've already got one of those.(in case i'm ever called upon to play the solo to "wichita lineman").
the other guy on that side of the stage had some nice hollow bodies.
first he had an epiphone 12 string which he used on "california girls"
and "dance dance dance". this was kinda like carl's gibson 12. this guy also had a nice white gibson 335 which he flipped over at the end and it said "smile" on the back. this guy also had a ukelele for that hawaiin bit from "smile".
then there was that other guy -- he had a black telecaster and also a danelectro 12 string which he somehow managed to play slide on. he also played banjo on "cabinessence".
i think they all had blackface fender reissue combo amps -- looked like twin reverbs. bass guy had a 5 (or 6) string gold fender bass. brian had a white fender precision bass (his trademark) which he plucked with his thumb-- in his classic style.
i think that was about it. thanks for the reminder andy” - don
If Don says that was about it then verily that be it!
“saw brian wilson at the symphony hall. wow!!!!! holy moley, was he GREAT!!! best thing since mccartney. easily THE show of the year. i mean i'd heard raves - and even heard the whole smile section from the show beforehand but i wasn't prepared for this. it was everything people said it was but ten times better.
it started out with him and a few people (the wondermints i guess) backing him up -- huddled together in front of the stage. a guy on bongos, couple of guys on acoustic guitars -- in other words it was like a little beach bongo party. also there was this super hot blonde gal who sang and played some percussion. brian wore a short sleeve green floral (almost hawaiian) short. he looked alright. not at all disturbing - let's put it that way. and they opened with "surfer girl". before long i started to get sweaty. this was gonna be heavy. they did some other old beach boys nuggets --unplugged -- including "wendy". that was killer. absolute perfect harmonies. brian sang lead all night with others doing his falsettoes. okay, after they already blew everyone's mind with that section, they took their places filling the stage -- drummer behind full drum kit -- percussionists, keyboards, bassist, 3 guitars. and they did "sloop john b". i lost it! my eyes filled up and i almost had to walk out for a second. and i wasn't alone. from here on almost every song received a standing ovation. "this is paul mccartney's favorite song ever" he proudly proclaimed before doing a killer version of "god only knows". they ran thru a bunch of classics -- "california girls", "please let me wonder", "our hearts were full of spring", lots more... everything! plus the title cut from his new album - which wasn't bad. then an intermission. people were already talking about how insanely great it was and we hadn't even heard "smile" yet. i mean everyone was just stunned. okay so he comes back and now he's got a 20 piece band - he's added strings and horns. and they do the entire "smile" album spectacular. completely absorbing. starts with the acapella "our prayer" and then a really powerful rendition of "heroes and villains". all of the reservations i had about seeing a mentally ill person onstage were totally unfounded. i mean he was totally together. he sat behind a keyboard and rarely played but i mean he was right there the whole time. went thru the whole smile piece and it's just astounding - i mean - really heavy.
the string section all wore fire hats during "mrs o'leary's cow" and they even had a fire hose -- they had this whole thing choreographed.
they went thru the whole thing -- "surf's up" - the whole fantastic -- well--- symphony. ending with "good vibrations". and then he went off to wild cheers and they came back shortly and all the musicians were introduced one by one and then came a whole nuther set of beach boys stuff starting with "do it again" and moving on to "fun fun fun" and "help me rhonda" and all that. it was like wash dc 4th of july! brian picked up the bass for "barbara ann" and then he saluted chuck berry and ended up with "surfin' usa". and this is the symphony hall! the aisles were full-- people clapping and dancing, including rodney bingenheimer (whom i shook hands with as he was leaving).
brian came back for one more encore... "okay, no more rock n' roll, gonna leave you with a nice quiet one". and he did "love and mercy" (much better than the record). good vibrations all around!” -- don
Then comes Part Two… Don had lost it to the extent that he hadn’t reported on the hardware… Goes something like this…
Don- Dead on awesome review! But no comments on all the different guitars?
The man, having gained his composure by this time duly did his duty…
“okay... you asked for it... that's funny -- right after i sent that out i realized i hadn't mentioned the guitars and then i wrote an addendum but only sent it to the guitar players. so now i'll bore everyone else and you can all blame andy.
ok... there were some pretty cool axes up there, mostly from the guy in the orange shirt with the cap. first the gibson j-200 during the bongo party. this was particularly great on "wendy" when he and the other guy traded off on those chords in the instr break. then that guy had the guitar i currently have the madness for: a white fender jazzmaster. in fact for the last month or so i've been trying to decipher prices on them at japanese websites. i saw one on ebay and very nearly put in a bid. just the other day i saw one on haight street but it was blue. it's gotta be beach boys white with red pickguard or not at all!!
okay, that guy also had a danelectro six string bass. that was the blue sparkly thing. i've already got one of those.(in case i'm ever called upon to play the solo to "wichita lineman").
the other guy on that side of the stage had some nice hollow bodies.
first he had an epiphone 12 string which he used on "california girls"
and "dance dance dance". this was kinda like carl's gibson 12. this guy also had a nice white gibson 335 which he flipped over at the end and it said "smile" on the back. this guy also had a ukelele for that hawaiin bit from "smile".
then there was that other guy -- he had a black telecaster and also a danelectro 12 string which he somehow managed to play slide on. he also played banjo on "cabinessence".
i think they all had blackface fender reissue combo amps -- looked like twin reverbs. bass guy had a 5 (or 6) string gold fender bass. brian had a white fender precision bass (his trademark) which he plucked with his thumb-- in his classic style.
i think that was about it. thanks for the reminder andy” - don
If Don says that was about it then verily that be it!
A rabble rousing Mark Morford rallying call to our dejected US cousins.
Map illo supplied by the Very Rev. D. Arnoff Esq.
It's that time of year once again, gang. Blair Buscareno will be celebrating another full trip 'round dear ol' Sol. Come help him have a great time. We (The Miscreants) will be back at Magnetic Field for the fuzztivities on Saturday November 13th (2 days before the actual day, just in case you also want to send candy that Monday.) Here's the way the schedule looks:
7:30 PM - The debut of The Coal Gems (Miscreants Blair, Jahna, and Matt doing something different. This'll be only 5-6 songs, but we're all really looking forward to it. 8:00 PM - The Miscreants take the stage to the roar of the crowd. They proceed to do... Whatever it is they do. 9:00 PM - The Electrolux Combo. Yeah, last year we had Electraluxx. This year it's The Electrolux Combo. This bunch plays sleazy Las Vegas Grind style instros. We love 'em... And not just 'cuz they include a couple members of The Belmondos. All this for only $3. And you are NOT *required* to show up with a gift for Blair's birthday. (Of course, if you'd like to bring some saviata cookies from DiRoberti's on 1st Avenue, he'd be quite grateful.) By the way, rumor has it that Blair will have back issues of The Teen Scene available as door prizes. But who listens to rumors?.
7:30 PM - The debut of The Coal Gems (Miscreants Blair, Jahna, and Matt doing something different. This'll be only 5-6 songs, but we're all really looking forward to it. 8:00 PM - The Miscreants take the stage to the roar of the crowd. They proceed to do... Whatever it is they do. 9:00 PM - The Electrolux Combo. Yeah, last year we had Electraluxx. This year it's The Electrolux Combo. This bunch plays sleazy Las Vegas Grind style instros. We love 'em... And not just 'cuz they include a couple members of The Belmondos. All this for only $3. And you are NOT *required* to show up with a gift for Blair's birthday. (Of course, if you'd like to bring some saviata cookies from DiRoberti's on 1st Avenue, he'd be quite grateful.) By the way, rumor has it that Blair will have back issues of The Teen Scene available as door prizes. But who listens to rumors?.
Our brother in R&R, Mr. Patrick Bainée sent in this DDR report...
DEMOLITION DOLL RODS IN EVREUX NOV 4, 2004
"For once, I didn’t have to go to Paris to see a good show : DDR was in town, yesterday, in a cool venue called “l’Abordage”. The gig began with a duet by The Cool Klebs (The Cool Dogs), composed of DDR tour manager and his girlfriend to whom DDR asked to open the show (it was their second show ever but before, the guy played in a group called Kleptomanes – remember you made a review in the Next Big Thing at the time, Lindsay?). (I don’t but I’ll refresh my memory… - LH) Their performance was pretty cool and they dedicated one track to Greg Shaw (RIP). I told the guy that his voice reminds me of Dominique Laboubée (RIP, again), singer of the best French group ever, The Dogs. It seems it was the best compliment he could receive.
As Margaret and Dan were in the audience, I said hi and gave a Cramps live 2004 CD to them (thanx B.). It was much appreciated and will provide good times while driving during their tour. It was fun to see Margaret in a pullover and jeans (see picture) when she’s gonna wear (?!) a very sexy outfit a few minutes later. The set began with “Get It On” and mostly featured songs from the latest album, “On”. One of the highlights of the show was a version of The Gories “Baby Say Unh!”, with Christine, Margaret’s little daughter coming to the front of the stage to sing the last part. On “Cannonball”, Dan sings and plays a (sounds like a Black Oak moment – LH) kinda washboard with a bottleneck (description by a non technician!)while Margaret, wearing gloves a la Rita Hayworth in “Gilda” was lasciviously dancing, then accelerated in a tribal dance with her boobs jumping off her mini bra (string bra, does that make sense?).
I never saw such a number of photos taken during a show, the crowd (around 250 people)appreciated the show and the music too. At one point, Dan jumped into the crowd but didn’t realise that the stage was so high and badly hurt his feet. They did a few more songs but no encores due to Dan being in obvious pain. It was short but very intense.
Then came the Black Keys – I particularly appreciated their version of “Have Love Will travel”, a good compromise between Richard Berry’s original version and The Sonics. They ended with a slow version of “No Fun”. They did encores but I left to talk to Margaret, Christine and Dan after buying some stuff from the DDR merch stall (the new album, window sticker, poster and a lot of T-shirts. Margaret was kindly massaging Dan’s foot that seemed to be getting better. They kindly autographed their new LP for me. We talked about new DDR projects (a DVD is soon to be made available by their pal Allen and Margaret’s connection with Mr Airplane Man), souvenirs from the Gories(1992) and the DDR Paris shows, some of their faves: Oblivians, Reatards and even Jonathan Richman (one of my heroes) who is “a constant source of inspiration” said Margaret.
I left after a last photo with Margaret holding me by the hips “Shake Your Hips” could be a good cover for DDR, don’t you think ?. Those DDR are beautiful human beings."
Patrick
Portrait of the author with Margaret Dollrod
DEMOLITION DOLL RODS IN EVREUX NOV 4, 2004
"For once, I didn’t have to go to Paris to see a good show : DDR was in town, yesterday, in a cool venue called “l’Abordage”. The gig began with a duet by The Cool Klebs (The Cool Dogs), composed of DDR tour manager and his girlfriend to whom DDR asked to open the show (it was their second show ever but before, the guy played in a group called Kleptomanes – remember you made a review in the Next Big Thing at the time, Lindsay?). (I don’t but I’ll refresh my memory… - LH) Their performance was pretty cool and they dedicated one track to Greg Shaw (RIP). I told the guy that his voice reminds me of Dominique Laboubée (RIP, again), singer of the best French group ever, The Dogs. It seems it was the best compliment he could receive.
As Margaret and Dan were in the audience, I said hi and gave a Cramps live 2004 CD to them (thanx B.). It was much appreciated and will provide good times while driving during their tour. It was fun to see Margaret in a pullover and jeans (see picture) when she’s gonna wear (?!) a very sexy outfit a few minutes later. The set began with “Get It On” and mostly featured songs from the latest album, “On”. One of the highlights of the show was a version of The Gories “Baby Say Unh!”, with Christine, Margaret’s little daughter coming to the front of the stage to sing the last part. On “Cannonball”, Dan sings and plays a (sounds like a Black Oak moment – LH) kinda washboard with a bottleneck (description by a non technician!)while Margaret, wearing gloves a la Rita Hayworth in “Gilda” was lasciviously dancing, then accelerated in a tribal dance with her boobs jumping off her mini bra (string bra, does that make sense?).
I never saw such a number of photos taken during a show, the crowd (around 250 people)appreciated the show and the music too. At one point, Dan jumped into the crowd but didn’t realise that the stage was so high and badly hurt his feet. They did a few more songs but no encores due to Dan being in obvious pain. It was short but very intense.
Then came the Black Keys – I particularly appreciated their version of “Have Love Will travel”, a good compromise between Richard Berry’s original version and The Sonics. They ended with a slow version of “No Fun”. They did encores but I left to talk to Margaret, Christine and Dan after buying some stuff from the DDR merch stall (the new album, window sticker, poster and a lot of T-shirts. Margaret was kindly massaging Dan’s foot that seemed to be getting better. They kindly autographed their new LP for me. We talked about new DDR projects (a DVD is soon to be made available by their pal Allen and Margaret’s connection with Mr Airplane Man), souvenirs from the Gories(1992) and the DDR Paris shows, some of their faves: Oblivians, Reatards and even Jonathan Richman (one of my heroes) who is “a constant source of inspiration” said Margaret.
I left after a last photo with Margaret holding me by the hips “Shake Your Hips” could be a good cover for DDR, don’t you think ?. Those DDR are beautiful human beings."
Patrick
Portrait of the author with Margaret Dollrod
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