dtk
Grommet
Posts: 3
Likes: 31 
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Post by dtk on Apr 24, 2023 21:24:55 GMT -5
Hello,
I made an account here after lurking for quite some time. I haven't seen too much regarding Al's solo shows so I thought I would share my firsthand account. Not so much a review, just various thoughts and pictures from the show.
This is the 2nd show in the last year I've seen from him. I saw the Family and Friends show with Wendy and Carnie last May in Des Plaines. I thought the band was tighter this time. Perhaps the extra year to get the format down has helped. It was still somewhat obvious that they aren't in the tight groove of a band that has been touring regularly. Things like needing the know they key they are playing in and what not. Matt also did some of the talking for Al at times. Perhaps being 6 feet away from the band makes those small things more noticeable. It was very obvious that Matt Jardine is running the show. Still improved from last year and very enjoyable. My mother-in-law had not seen any Beach Boys related shows are really enjoyed it. My wife enjoyed it and even got a set of drum sticks from Bobby!
We had first row, center aisle tickets for only $35 thanks to my wife's quick purchase. I'd say the room held 600ish people and was mostly full. I did see some empty seats towards the back on the ticketing site before the show. It one was a casino convention hall type venue. Not especially made for shows, lower ceiling, could be divided for weddings next weekend. It did the job.
One nice thing was staying in the casino hotel and seeing the band out and about. Saw Al as we were checking in. I believe they had just finished soundcheck (could be heard as we walked over) and were getting things settled with their own arrangements. Matt seemed somewhat serious and was getting things together while Al hung with a security guard at the far end of the check in desk we were at. Thankfully my wife and mother-in-law were doing a better job listening to our check in guy, I was kind of distracted deciding if I wanted to bug Al. I ended up letting him go. I didn't want to walk away from our own hotel check in and it didn't seem like the right time.
My wife has a Cricut machine and I was able to convince her to make a pair of "Keep it Clean with Al Jardine" shirts. Being front and center, Al noticed my shirt during the first song of the show. Eventually I got the extra shirt on stage. The timing was just about right, right before California Saga and Sail on Sailor. Al used it as a chance to tell his "Keep it clean with Al Jardine" story. The crowd seemed to like his environmental story the shirt got him talking about.
After the show we ended up chatting with friends in the hallway outside the venue. Apparently the venue has no backstage pathway for the artists and Al ended up coming through. This time, I took the chance to meet him. And he was carrying my shirt! Al was friendly. Got a picture and he signed my setlist from the show. Later on in the evening Ed Carter and Bobby Figueroa were hanging out in the casino snack bar/ restaurant. The only empty seats were across from them. My shirt gave me away from the front row and Ed starts chatting with us right away, asking how the sound was (he thought it sounded good on stage), this show, the Des Plaines show, etc.. He was definitely proud of his history with The Beach Boys and mentioned how many of the guys today in the various bands never shared a stage with Dennis and Carl. It didn't come off as slagging against any of the of the modern Brian/Mike bands, just pride of his era with them. You could tell his feelings for Carl.
I guess this is enough rambling about the show. It was a great time. I got more out of the shirt than I expected, met Al, had a nice chat with Ed. A perfect Beach Boys weekend.
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Post by AGD on Apr 25, 2023 0:29:48 GMT -5
Man, what a memory, and what a great review - thanks.
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Post by Al S on Apr 25, 2023 0:54:36 GMT -5
Great stuff, keep rambling away if anything else pops into your mind - we're all ears. Glad you got to see & meet Al in a low pressure kinda situation!
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Post by John Manning on Apr 25, 2023 1:43:37 GMT -5
Brilliant! A night to remember forever; thanks for sharing the experience. (Not at all jealous 🤨)
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Post by E on Apr 25, 2023 4:24:53 GMT -5
Thanks. Really enjoyed reading that - and I'm also jealous!
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Post by newbbfan on Apr 25, 2023 10:33:59 GMT -5
Dtk,
Not at all rambling because seeing one of Al's shows is a complex social emotional, historical , personal and musical experience all at once.
I feel the same from having gone and look forward to another such experience in June. Somehow his personality creates a sense of familiarity and warmth and his desire to engage and open up himself to the fans is hard to explain but it's kind of a vortex of curiosity and warmth and sharing, as is displayed in your wonderful journalistic account of your experience there.
Each of the Beach Boys gives a different Fan Experience in this regard and it would be wonderful if a scholar far greater than I could write a poem ,sort of troping upon Eliot's four quartets, and write five or even seven movements about the personae of the various Beach Boys and how each is manifested in the outside world and in relation to their fans.
I'm sure that meeting Dennis and meeting Carl and meeting Mike, etc.all enact different emotional and cognitive reactions in fans.
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Post by Mikie on Apr 25, 2023 12:07:33 GMT -5
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robin
Kahuna
Posts: 116
Likes: 149
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Post by robin on Apr 25, 2023 20:33:20 GMT -5
Dtk, Not at all rambling because seeing one of Al's shows is a complex social emotional, historical , personal and musical experience all at once. I feel the same from having gone and look forward to another such experience in June. Somehow his personality creates a sense of familiarity and warmth and his desire to engage and open up himself to the fans is hard to explain but it's kind of a vortex of curiosity and warmth and sharing, as is displayed in your wonderful journalistic account of your experience there. Each of the Beach Boys gives a different Fan Experience in this regard and it would be wonderful if a scholar far greater than I could write a poem ,sort of troping upon Eliot's four quartets, and write five or even seven movements about the personae of the various Beach Boys and how each is manifested in the outside world and in relation to their fans. I'm sure that meeting Dennis and meeting Carl and meeting Mike, etc.all enact different emotional and cognitive reactions in fans. Agreed. Each member of the band contains "multitudes" (maybe Walt Whitman is a more appropriate template for a poetic appreciation of the band, as he--like them--is so definitively American?). They all had their own varied emotional/cognitive responses to being in the band, and I think it's wonderful that the long-time member of the band who most flew under the radar is the one who is currently carrying the torch for the band in all of its complex (and sometimes contradictory) social/aesthetic legacy. In some ways it seems to me that Al has found a way to blend all of that together in his own shows, and it's a beautiful thing to see. Kudos to dtk for his writeup and for his quick-witted efforts in adding his own contribution to Al's show in a way that clearly made it an even more special occasion. |
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Post by newbbfan on Apr 25, 2023 21:05:02 GMT -5
Please let me immediately agree with your preference in this sregard to Whitman over Eliot. Though Mike has a certain lyricism about the way he carries himself philosophically and religiously that could rise to the level of burnt Norton for example.
There is something intense and poetic in each of the Beach Boys in terms of Mystique and persona , and they fit in so many different ways in the American landscape, but I will let greater Scholars than I write about this topic at great length. It's not the subject of a post on the discussion board but the subject of a year-long sabbatical.
And I remain forever grateful that Al and his wife took a few minutes to talk to me and take a photo. and al let me tell him how much their work and their lives mean to me. And I got to tell Al about my teaching, and he was so warm and kind to listen. A man whose soul is without guile and exudes a sense of kindness and eternal innocence. What more could you ask from your Heroes than that they share themselves in such a genuine way.
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dtk
Grommet
Posts: 3
Likes: 31
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Post by dtk on Apr 25, 2023 21:29:27 GMT -5
Thanks for the welcome. I've attached a few more pictures. Hopefully he comes back to Wisconsin or Chicago area again. They won't be around forever but Al & Mike seem to enjoy still getting out there. You never know what they have left to give.
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Post by newbbfan on Apr 25, 2023 21:44:02 GMT -5
That's one of the coolest outfits that I've seen Al wear with that blue jacket and sort of aqua shirt underneath. I congratulate you on a great night which was very fulfilling and wonderful in every way, and every Beach Boy fan deserves a special Moment Like This of community with a beach boy, and very few actually get it so again hats off to you and what a joy for you to share your report in such an open-hearted and gracious way.
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Post by Emdeeh on Apr 25, 2023 22:45:16 GMT -5
Who's that on keyboards?
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Post by newbbfan on Apr 25, 2023 23:11:33 GMT -5
I neglected to realize that this manifestation of the band is not the friends and families tour but rather a backing band without Wendy and Carnie.
However it looks like an expanded version of the band I had seen, which was only Al and Matt and a keyboard player whose name escapes me now sorry.
Matt played some complimentary percussion, and Al rotated back and forth between the guitar and bass, and the overall sound was rather thin and regged. This looks like a much fuller band and a better sound presumably.
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Post by John Manning on Apr 26, 2023 4:56:29 GMT -5
Think it must be Jeff Alan Ross. |
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Post by boogieboarder on Apr 26, 2023 10:06:49 GMT -5
Not even one song from Al Jardine’s solo works?
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Post by jojofig on May 31, 2023 17:51:21 GMT -5
Rick Cohen. He filled in for Debbie Shair while she was on vacation.
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