Thursday February 16 and Friday February 17, 1978
Aladdin Hotel, Las Vegas, NV (One show each night at 8:30 PM)
As 1978 began, the Beach Boys were preparing for an Australia/New Zealand tour promoted by Paradine Productions (David Frost’s company) and the AGC Corporation. The tour came at a tense time for the group, which remained divided between “the meditators” and “the partiers.” Carl characterized the current situation as, “a truce rather than an armistice.” The tension made even the most trivial decisions difficult, since no one was in the mood to compromise. The complications regarding hiring a replacement for Ron Altbach illustrates this. He’d announced he wouldn’t accompany the band to Australia. Dennis immediately thought of a pianist named Sterling Smith. Smith recalled, “Dennis hired me to do the tour but the meditating people had hired a piano player from New York, which was Wells Kelly. When we went to Las Vegas to do the rehearsals, Dennis and Carl were still at Caribou Ranch recording, so I flew to Vegas alone. I sat backstage but was pushed out of practices because at that point Al and Mike were planning to hold rehearsals with their meditating piano player…I was asked to return to L.A. the next day. So I said to the road manager, ‘Well that’s fine but it’s a shame you spent the money to get me out here and didn’t get to hear me play because I know all this stuff. My brother was a huge Beach Boys fan and I grew up around his collection of hits.’ So he called Dennis and Carl and they said under no circumstance was I to leave. The next day when they got there, Dennis went around to everyone and said, ‘If Sterling doesn’t go, I won’t go!’” Since the terms of the Beach Boys Australian/New Zealand tour agreement specified that to receive their two and a half million-dollar sum all five-original Beach Boys had to be there…Dennis had the needed leverage. Smith recalled sarcastically, “So in the end there were five keyboard players. Exactly what the band needed!”
Prior to the tour of New Zealand and Australia, the Beach Boys played a few warm up gigs. The backing musicians consisted of Ron Altbach (who joined them only to teach Wells Kelly his parts), Sterling Smith, Wells Kelly, Carli Munoz (returning for the first time since September) and Gary Griffin on keyboards and piano, Mike Kowalski on drums, Ed Carter on bass and the Tornado horns. Smith recalled “An hour before the first show there were just a few people in the auditorium and we started hearing these catcalls, ‘Hey Brian…Brian! Hey Brian!’ So from backstage we came out to look and Brian’s lying underneath the grand piano on his back looking straight up. He was overweight and had this Adidas warm-up suit on…The bodyguards weren’t around, so the stage manager got the road managers and they went and got him and said, ‘Hey Brian, come on let’s go for a run! And Brian said ‘ok’ and disappeared but it was still like ‘wow, I mean he’s really out of touch with reality!’ And later (during the show), there he was…just sitting at the piano staring at it. His hands weren’t even on the keys.”
Saturday February 18, 1978
Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, UT (8:00 PM Show)
Brian did not accompany the band to Salt Lake City and Will Grey of the Deseret News commented that his absence was noticeable in the high harmonies. “Nevertheless, the night was pure Beach Boys and we kept calling for more. …Songs such as ‘Surfin’ USA’, ‘Help Me Rhoda’, ‘Surfer Girl’ and ‘Little Deuce Coupe’ were the biggest crowd pleasers…Another pleasant part of the concert was a four song encore which really got the crowd going. Dennis Wilson rendered a very moving version of the Billy Preston song ‘(You are so) Beautiful’ which is the best way to describe the concert, beautiful.” The photo was taken on one of the previous two nights in Las Vegas.
Sunday February 26, 1978
Western Springs Stadium, Auckland, NZ-with Stars (3:00 PM Show)
The Beach Boys flew to Auckland to begin their third tour of New Zealand. Paradine Productions hired a familiar face to supervise the tour, Dick Duryea. Also present were Jerry Schilling, Stephen Love and road manager Greg Berning. Engineer Tom Murphy recalled, “Greg was well behaved and treated the Wilsons well and was liked by everyone.” Stage manager Jason Raphalian and Brian’s minders’ Rocky Pamplin and Stan Love came on the trip as well. The touring band was the same as at the Las Vegas/Salt Lake City gigs except for the absence of Ron Altbach. A crowd of over 30,000 turned out on Sunday. Robyn Langwell of the New Zealand Herald declared it, “the best rock and roll show seen in Auckland in years…the sound was bold and brassy with 17 musicians cramming the stage. But the music emanated totally from the magic fingers and voices of the five Beach Boys. Their high, tight harmonies combined with a thumping powerful orchestra background to drive the crowd into a frenzy of dancing and screaming.” Phil Gifford of the Auckland Star was troubled by the appearance of Brian. Gifford noted, “Wilson sat at a white grand piano gnawing the fingernails on his left hand while he absently picked at the keyboard with his right…No matter how the others tried to encourage Brian to react (Love introduced him as ‘The Big B’ before a sad attempt by Brian-whose voice seems completely shot-to take a lead vocal) he sat stolidly at the piano, a stranger to his own music…Some must have wondered as I did, whether it’s fair to a man or his audience to use a massive outdoor concert as some form of therapy.”
Tuesday February 28, 1978
Queen Elizabeth II Park, Christchurch, NZ-with Stars (8:00 PM Show)
Following the Auckland show, the group flew to Christchurch. They spent the night at Noah’s Hotel, where they held a press conference the next morning. Asked how they felt about having Brian on the road with them, they replied, “We did not know how much we missed him until he came back on stage.” Asked what their favorite Beach Boys album was, Dennis quickly replied “Pacific Ocean Blue!” Other members said, “The new ones coming out.” Brian volunteered that Smiley Smile was his favorite, which prompted a surprised Carl to laugh and say, “I thought it was Friends.” Brian agreed. 20,000 fans turned up for the concert that night, which was filmed by New Zealand TV, and the group received an enthusiastic reception. However, an underwhelmed Rob White of The Christchurch Star commented, “The Beach Boys are getting old…. They cannot hit the high notes, occasionally go flat and those wonderful Beach Boys harmonies are often rough…The fact that the audience went away last night satisfied was not due to the band’s performance; it was due to the fact that virtually every individual’s favorite Beach Boys song was played, particularly in the latter part of the band’s 90 minute performance.” A fan told me that NZ television edited the performance to an hour long show, which was screened once and presumably remains in the vaults. A poor quality audio exists among collectors. The accompanying photo was taken in April 1978 when Brian performed ‘Almost Summer’ with Mike and his side project Celebration on American Bandstand (the clip aired in May).
Friday March 3 to Sunday March 5, 1978
Festival Hall, Brisbane, QLD, Australia-with Stars (One show on Friday and two on Saturday and Sunday)
The Beach Boys flew into Sydney on March 1 and held a press conference the next day at their hotel (where the photo was taken). Each member was seated at a separate table, forcing the press to interview them individually. Reporters noted that the last time the group had played in Australia they appeared to be fading in popularity, whereas now they were again playing at stadiums and major venues. Carl told a reporter he was not surprised by the renewed popularity. Since so many young people were coming to their concerts in the states, he “knew the appeal was just going from one generation to another. To some people all our old hits are new.” Mike added, “We never set out to become stars. To this day we don’t have a smoothly choreographed stage act. It’s just more an attitude and the harmony of the music that keeps us going. So long as people like what we do and we like the music, which seems to be a lifetime occupation, then we’ll keep performing.”
The Australian leg of the tour began in Brisbane. They were originally scheduled to play two nights, but the group ended up playing five shows in three days to capacity crowds. Brian was suffering from a cold and finished only two of the shows. Despite the poor acoustics of the indoor venue, Lindsay Scott of the Sydney Herald noted that the crowd at the Saturday evening show, “aged between 10 and 50 started dancing from the first song and shaking the hall’s foundations by the encore…From the crunching beat of Do It Again to the gentle harmonies of In My Room and the sing along of Good Vibrations, the Beach Boys provided an exhilarating trip down memory lane in 25 songs.” Scott gave special praise to Charles Lloyd for his sax solos on “Help Me Rhonda”, “All This Is That” and “Country Pie.”
Sterling Smith recalled that the Brisbane shows gave him the chance to prove himself to the “meditators” who viewed him with suspicion due to his friendship with Dennis. “At the second Brisbane show…Brian suddenly decided not to play the piano and he went over and started playing bass like the old days. So I’m up there, one of five keyboard players, playing a pretty useless role. So I’m looking down at this empty piano bench. Most of time, Brian would just sit and stare at the piano or play simple triads anyway. So I said, ‘what have I got to lose?’ I went down and played the piano for the rest of the set and I was hugged and thanked by everyone afterwards and they all remarked how great it sounded on the monitors and that it was the best piano had been. So then at that point everything was great (with everyone in the group).” With Brian playing bass, Ed Carter shifted to playing extra guitar on stage.
Wednesday March 8 and Thursday March 9, 1978
Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, VIC, Australia-with Stars (One show each night at 8:00 PM)
The 1978 Australian tour came at a very tense time for the group and unfortunately it marked the absolute height of dysfunctional Beach Boys behavior. The tour was certainly the nadir of Carl Wilson’s professional career. He had recently gone through a painful divorce and was suffering from chronic back pain, which led him to self medicate. The second Melbourne concert was filmed by Australian Channel 7 TV and aired in May as Good Vibrations from the Myer Bowl. Carl looked and sounded stoned and was frequently off-key. His between song patter was bizarre and Dennis had to keep him on track. At one point, Carl mentioned Pacific Ocean Blue was out and that he’d gone to the store and bought a copy. When Dennis told the audience his brother had gotten it for free, Carl exclaimed, “That’s Bullshit!” prompting Dennis to whisper to him that he was on stage. Dennis was in great form and looked healthier than he ever would again. Brian also looked well but seemed more like a side musician. He stayed in the background, playing bass while sitting on a riser.
Carl was certainly substance addled, and his equilibrium was screwed up, but, according to keyboardist Sterling Smith, it wasn’t without reason. On the first night there, Brian allegedly escaped his minders, Rocky Pamplin and Stan Love, and scored some drugs. As a result he exhibited wild behavior at the first show, twirling about on bass. The episode occurred on the night the Beach Boys were to meet with the promoters at the Hilton. At the meeting, Carl commented sarcastically, “Nice going bodyguards. Good job watching Brian!” Rocky Pamplin allegedly responded by knocking Carl out, giving him a black eye. Even worse was the fact that Pamplin wasn’t disciplined for his actions. Sterling Smith recalled that when he came into the Myer Music Bowl the next day to prepare for the televised show that night, he found Carl being worked on by makeup artists and afraid to go in the green room to get a sandwich because Rocky was there. It was a disturbing scene for the uninitiated. “He’s on painkillers and he’s screwed up, while this guy, who should have been fired and on a slow boat back to the States, is in the green room calmly eating a sandwich. The point is that Carl wasn’t irresponsibly drunk or high as a kite (at that show). He was fighting a particularly strange battle or dynamic within the group.” The photo of Carl was taken in Sydney on March 18.
Sunday March 12, 1978
Football Park, West Lakes, Adelaide, SA, Australia-with Stars (2:30 PM Show)
Sterling Smith recalled, “Essentially from the Melbourne incident on-Dennis and Carl flew separately from the band-Dennis was supporting Carl-who didn’t want any part of the entourage if he had to be around Rocky-so they flew separately to Adelaide. The appearance attracted 23,000 people. Demand was so great that fans who failed to get tickets attempted to cut the cyclone fencing surrounding the venue. Critics who attended the Melbourne shows had been put off by the sloppy performances and the band had been criticized on the ABC television show Countdown for going through the motions. So, everyone was on his best behavior in Adelaide. Ian Meikle of the Adelaide Advertiser commented, “the band’s distinctive harmonies have lost a lot of their sharpness, but the style of the act was on a casual good time. And there wouldn’t have been too many discerning customers when the entire stadium was on its feet dancing and clapping and having fun, fun, fun.” This show marked the first appearance of a short classical piano intro to “Lady Lynda” that became part of the performances from then on. Sterling Smith recalled that at the hotel in Adelaide, “I was playing piano, just fooling around in the lobby, and I said to Al ‘Here’s the song Lady Lynda is based on” and I played “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” by Bach and Al immediately thought that would be a great way to introduce the song. So I had a little solo spot all of the sudden from the Mike Love/Al Jardine side of things.” The photo was taken in Sydney on March 18.
Tuesday March 14 and Wednesday March 15, 1978
Perth Entertainment Centre, Perth, WA, Australia-with Stars (One show on Tuesday and two shows on Wednesday)
The Beach Boys’ first Perth concert on March 14 may have been their worst gig ever. The show started twenty-five minutes late, allegedly because Carl needed to be put in a shower. Indeed, he was so out of it that he told reporters the next day he had no recollection of even playing. Witnesses reported that he staggered about the stage, dropped his guitar a few times and at one point stumbled into the drum kit and fell over. He frequently missed high notes and failed to finish lines he was singing. Since he was bandleader and responsible for counting off and ending songs, numbers rambled on interminably. Brian was so troubled by his brother’s condition that the Adelaide Advertiser reported he “spent most of the evening sitting expressionless with his guitar near the back of the stage or off the stage.” He did, however, rescue the group at the end. They were eager to get the show over with, but Carl kept singing choruses of “Good Vibrations.” Brian moved things mercifully along by suddenly interrupting Carl and launching into the unreleased “Hum-De-Dum” section of the original track, which allowed the band to force the song to a conclusion.
The first Perth show was a major embarrassment. Newspapers across the country reported on Carl’s behavior. Over 300 angry fans demanded their money back. Promoters were extremely alarmed and one of the organizers, Verity Byrne, demanded an explanation. The band apologized and agreed to hold a press conference the next day. A contrite Carl told reporters he’d taken a Valium and two other pills on an empty stomach and that the combinations of these medications and two beers he drank had a major effect on him. He apologized to the band, noting that his behavior “made the rest of the group nervous and they did not perform as well as they could have done-I was frightening them.” Many in the Beach Boys’ inner circle blamed Carl’s troubles on Dennis’ influence. Dennis was allegedly introduced to heroin around this time and his increased chemical dependencies, combined with his large alcohol intake made him difficult to deal with. On a good night Dennis was still great, but on a bad night he might do or say anything. As drummer Bobby Figueroa recalled, “He just started to become a different person. (After a while) I didn’t recognize him anymore.” The photo was taken in Sydney.
Saturday March 18 and Sunday March 19, 1978
Sydney Sports Grounds, Sydney, NSW, Australia-with Stars (One show on Saturday night and one show at 2:00 PM on Sunday)
The group concluded their Australian tour with two massive outdoor shows in Sydney. Sterling Smith recalled, “We flew across the country to Sydney, and we are driving down to the hotel, and we looked out the window and saw a tabloid that said “Beach Boy says I was dead drunk” with a very unflattering picture of Carl. News traveled everywhere in Australia very quickly.’ Over 35,000 fans turned out for the Saturday night concert, despite terrible weather. Lindsay Scott noted in the Sydney Herald that “probably only a rock concert would get people outdoors in such dreadful conditions. Probably only the fun of the Beach Boys music could keep them happy, dancing and singing in the rain. The weather affected the sound quality, but what we could hear of the group sounded reasonably good, except for some of Brian Wilson’s flat vocals. The notes that were either not sung or did not reproduce clearly were filled in by the fans’ voices or imaginations.” Following the Sunday afternoon show, the group flew to Hawaii and checked into the Hilton Hawaiian Village for a week. Though they tentatively planned to visit Australia again in 1986, they did not ultimately return for a fourth tour until 1992. Mike, however, briefly visited with his Endless Summer Beach Band in 1989. The photo was taken at a press conference on March 17.
Monday March 20 and Tuesday March 21, 1978
Neil Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, HI-with Charles Lloyd (One show each night at 8:00 PM)
The Beach Boys shows in Hawaii were family affairs. Brian’s wife Marilyn attended and his two daughters Carnie and Wendy were invited on stage to help sing “Good Vibrations.” Brian, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and terrycloth shorts, seemed in a happy mood and engaged in some decidedly un-Brian behavior, dancing around while playing his bass and smiling a lot. A fan filmed him and the video, which makes the round in collector’s circles, is something to see! As John Christensen noted in the Star Bulletin, “Brian leaped and gyrated like a bear who’d been into the hard cider.” Christensen, however, seemed to have seen a different show than Wayne Harada of the Honolulu Advertiser. While Christensen praised the group, Harada suggested they were on their last legs and that the harmonies were beyond ragged. He went so far as to declare that “if last night’s show is an indication of two decades worth of performances, the Beach Boys should retire tomorrow… Never has a rock group looked so badly on a stage… Only in a few instances were the crystalline falsetto harmonies of yesteryear captured during the 90 minute set.”
The group gave Charles Lloyd the chance to open. With little or no rehearsal, he came out with pianist Sterling Smith and played some jazzy songs. The group realized that they could save money and provide Lloyd with the chance to spotlight his music so they offered him a regular slot as opening act. On future tours, he was accompanied by Carli Munoz on piano, Ed Carter on guitar, Sterling Smith on bass, Phil Shenale on synthesizer, and a drummer (Mike Kowalski or Bobby Figueroa). While many musicians had great respect for Lloyd, there was grumbling behind the scenes because they received no compensation for backing him.
Friday April 14, 1978
The Summit, Houston, TX-with Charles Lloyd
The Southwest tour was organized as a promotional tie-in with the film, Almost Summer, which featured the participation of a Beach Boys off shoot called Celebration on the soundtrack. Celebration had come about in the fall of 1977 when director Marty Davidson contacted the Beach Boys about contributing to his film. Unfortunately, the soundtrack was on MCA and the group had an exclusive contract with CBS. However, while the Beach Boys could not participate, there was nothing stopping individual members from taking part. Mike got together with Brian, wrote three songs (“Almost Summer”, “Crusin’” and “Sad, Sad Summer”) and recorded them with the band he had put together for his Waves shows. For the soundtrack, the band was billed as Celebration and consisted initially of musicians Ron Altbach, Wells Kelly, Ed Carter, Mike Kowalski, Charles Lloyd, Gary Griffin and Dave Robinson. Mike told a reporter that he called the group Celebration because, “The word celebration imparts positive fun, having a good time.” Two of the actors from the film, Lee Purcell and Tim Matheson, traveled to each tour date and screened a fifteen-minute clip from the movie prior to the concerts. In addition, two of the songs that Mike had recorded with Celebration were included in the set list, “Almost Summer” and “Cruisin.’”
The Summit was equipped with jumbotron screens and a video exists of this concert. The performances were a little rough since the group took the stage after a three-week break with no rehearsal. Indeed, Al announced to the audience of 17,000 that the gig was the rehearsal! Mike apologized for the ragged harmonies and noted that since the return from Hawaii “the whole thing had fallen apart.” Nevertheless, the producers of the 1985 American Band movie opted to use footage of Brian leading the band through “In My Room” from this show, though they dubbed in music from another concert. They also used footage of Dennis introducing “You Are So Beautiful” from this night, though when he starts to sing the film switches to footage from the July 3, 1976 Anaheim show.
Saturday April 15, 1978
Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, TX-with Charles Lloyd
Over 14,000 fans turned out for this concert. The set list consisted of: “California Girls”, “Sloop John B”, “Do It Again”, “Little Deuce Coupe”, “In My Room”, “Back Home”, “It’s OK”, “Be True To Your School”, “Catch a Wave”, “Almost Summer”, “Cruisin’”, “Lady Lynda”, “Country Pie”, “Everyone’s In Love With You”, “Surfer Girl”, “Heroes and Villains”, “Help Me Rhonda”, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”, “I Get Around”, “Rock and Roll Music” and “Surfin’ USA.” During the encore of “Good Vibrations”, “Barbara Ann” and “Fun, Fun, Fun,” Jim Guercio strapped on a bass and joined the band on stage. Much of the focus was on Brian, making his first area appearance since May 1964. He did not disappoint, dancing and racing around the stage manically. However, Pete Oppel of the Dallas News opined that in doing so “He came across as rather bizarre. He never could settle into a lead vocal. He would pull away from the microphone at the most inopportune times and his singing never carried the forcefulness that his other stage antics portrayed.”
Meanwhile, Mike was eager to promote the Almost Summer soundtrack and the Celebration band accompanied him on the road on this tour. In-between Beach Boys shows, he found time to make promotional appearances with his new band. Prior to the show at Fort Worth, they appeared in the parking lot at Peaches Records in Dallas to perform some songs and sign albums.
Sunday April 16, 1978
Assembly Center, Tulsa, OK-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
The Beach Boys tour traveled to Tulsa to perform before 6,700-fans. Vern Stefanic of the Tulsa World commented, “Their music hit like a wall with tight, high-pitched vocal harmonies leading the way. The band was backed by 12-musicians but the Beach Boys traditional vocal harmonies provided the musical and emotional force. The Beach Boys were very good Sunday, despite a few brief lead vocal shortcomings that, at the concerts start, affected all three lead Beach Boys vocalists-Mike Love, Al Jardine and Brian Wilson. Yes, Brian was here Sunday and the man with the shy, withdrawn reputation apparently went out of his way to prove he was serious about touring with the group again by repeatedly dancing on stage plus handling many lead vocal chores.”
Once again Mike and his Celebration band performed at Peaches Records prior to the concert. The photo of Mike was taken at a press conference after the Beach Boys concert that night at his hotel. Despite the punishing schedule, Mike told a reporter that he didn’t mind the promotional responsibilities, “It’s good to let people know what you are doing.”
Monday April 17, 1978
Convention Center, Pine Bluff, AR-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
Tuesday April 18, 1978
Lloyd Noble Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK-with Charles Lloyd
More than 10,000 fans turned out to see the Beach Boys in Norman. Once again, Charles Lloyd served as opener and actors Tim Matheson and Lee Purcell appeared to plug Almost Summer. Bruce Westbrook of the Oklahoman commented, "Truly, this was the most celebratory rock concert of the year...The Beach Boys show is a smart blending of classy sophistication and unassuming. unpretentious boisterousness....The Beach Boys opened with California Girls and segued into Sloop John B, Do It Again and Little Deuce Coupe, the latter introduced by Love as 'a tribute to that great American institution, the automobile.'...Love's low-key clowning gave the show a wry undercurrent, affecting the giddy, heady enthusiasm of the crowd, which went absolutely bonkers at times-first for Be True To Your School and Surfin USA, then for the lengthy encore sequence. " The photo is from June 1978.
Wednesday April 19, 1978
Special Events Center, University of Texas, Austin, TX-with Charles Lloyd
The Beach Boys put on a high-energy show for thousands of enthusiastic fans. The University crowd went particularly wild when Mike Love, dressed in a cowboy hat, launched into “Be True To Your School,” thrusting ‘hook ‘em horns” signs up in the air. Brian added to the vibe, leading the band on “In My Room”, “Do It Again” and “Sloop John B.” Kathryn Jones of the Trinitonian noted that he “darted about the stage in a blue warm up suit and tennis shoes.” Jones argued that the highpoint of the evening occurred in the middle of the show when the group performed “Surfer Girl”, “Help Me Rhonda” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “the audience mounted chairs and joined in synchronized hand-raising. At times the Beach Boys stopped singing and let the crowd carry the tune.”
Thursday April 20, 1978
Municipal Coliseum, Lubbock, TX-with Charles Lloyd (8:30 PM Show)
This show was sponsored by Texas Tech.
Friday April 21, 1978
Pan American Center, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
The Beach Boys concert at New Mexico State University was a huge hit with the El Paso Times newspaper critic Ed Kimble, who declared it "one of the greatest rock concerts I have ever experienced." Kimble noted that, "The Beach Boys achieved that level Friday with a combination of excellence in sound and a surprisingly enthusiastic attitude about performing onstage. Of the two, the enthusiasm was the key to the concert's success....Lead singer Mike Love's centerstage prancing, dancing and theatrical gestures seemed totally genuine...and succeeded in luring the most skeptical of the audience into his magical web. Charles Lloyd...rocked around the stage like an ecstatic captive of his flute and saxophone. Brian Wilson, who seemed bored at the start of the show, wound up bouncing to his bass rhythm later."
Saturday April 22, 1978
Activity Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ-with Charles Lloyd
Sunday April 23, 1978
McKale Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
This concert before 11,000 fans brought a depressing end to what had been a successful tour. According to Donna Hutchinson of the Arizona Wildcat, professionalism was completely absent in what was described as a “poor to fair show.” Dennis was “too loaded to do his drumming (and) at one point stalked offstage until the rest of the band consented to play his favorite, ‘Surfer Girl.’ Brian Wilson on several occasions also had to leave the stage, apparently to see what the condition of his brother was." Dennis was so drunk that he was only able to play half of the show. He continued to drink afterwards and picked up a 16-year-old girl at a party, who accompanied him to his room at the Plaza International Hotel. The girl’s mother got wind of it and called the police. Dennis was arrested on Monday morning and taken to Pima County Jail. He was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and released on bail. He flew home to California after agreeing to return to Superior Court on April 28. Luckily for Dennis, neither the girl nor her parents chose to pursue the case further and the charges were dropped in early May. However, the episode was national news and pictures of Dennis being frisked were in newspapers across the country. His bandmates, especially Mike, were displeased by the negative publicity.
Friday April 28, 1978
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (3:00 PM Show)
This was actually a Mike Love and Celebration show but I have included it here because Carl and Brian also participated. The musicians that played at this show were Ed Carter, Mike Kowalski, Charles Lloyd, Ron Altbach, Dave Robinson, Wells Kelly and Gary Griffin. They were joined by emcee Wolfman Jack, a reunited Jan and Dean, Carl Wilson and an extremely animated Brian Wilson. Critic Sylvie Simmons, who'd seen Brian at the Los Angeles concert in December, noted in Sounds, “At the Forum concert he did little more than scratch his head and look uncomfortable-here he grabbed a guitar, a tambourine, a piano, anything that made a noise.” Ron Altbach recalled, “Brian every once in a while would chip in. At that particular show I remember that Brian was just fantastic! I mean he was really into it. He was digging it. He was having a good time.” Indeed, Brian had such a good time that he also joined Celebration for a fun appearance on American Bandstand that aired on May 6, 1978. Songs performed included: Good Vibrations, Fun-Fun-Fun, 409, I Get Around, Surfin' USA, Almost Summer, Sad-Sad Summer, Song of Creation, Everyone's In Love With You, Summer in the City, Dancing in the Moonlight, Surf City, Little Old Lady from Pasadena and California Girls. The next day, Mike and Celebration performed at UC Santa Barbara, though without Brian and Carl
Friday May 12, 1978
University of New Mexico Arena, Albuquerque, NM-with Charles Llloyd (8:00 PM)
The Beach Boys performed a benefit concert for Muscular Dystrophy in Albuquerque. Carl's foot was in a cast, as he'd broken it playing racquetball with his agent and attorney. He told a reporter, "I'll be in cast four weeks. It'll be my rocking cast in Albuquerque." Keith Raether of the Albuquerque Tribune noted that the show got off to a painfully slow start, as the group initially seemed indifferent to the 15,000 screaming fans. "Bass-guitarist-vocalist Brian Wilson seemed to be wincing from heartburn, guitarist-vocalist Al Jardine looked as if he were dreaming of his Arabian horses back home in Monterey, CA and drummer Dennis Wilson might have just boxed 10 rounds with a middleweight, for all his sagging expression and dulled percussion reflexes seemed to indicate." Hugh Gallagher of the Albuquerque Journal commented that the show did not take off until Brian and Dennis left the stage and returned (perhaps having partaken of some kind of stimulant). Gallagher noted, "Brian had a smile underneath his Lobo booster's cap and Dennis was jumping. Dennis invited the audience down front and down they came like converts at a Billy Graham revival. He dedicated the next song to all the pretty girls. It was, of course, Surfer Girl. From that point on the concert came alive....It was as if they suddenly remembered who they are, what they mean to three generations of young people and what rock and roll is all about. Mike Love became really enthused instead of mock enthused. Brian began to bounce in his loose blue outfit. Dennis banged his drums with abandon. Carl, in a foot cast, smiled wryly. Even Al Jardine came alive on the classic 'Help Me Rhonda.' The audience went insane....The Beach Boys did them all-God Only Knows, Heroes and Villains, I Get Around, Chuck Berry's classic definition Rock and Roll Music and Surfin' USA."
Saturday May 13, 1978
Folsom Stadium, Boulder, CO-with Firefall, Bob Welch and Journey
Over 35,000 fans turned out for this outdoor show. After opening acts, Journey, Bob Welch and Firefall, the group took the stage and played a ninety-minute set that had fans forming conga lines around the stadium. According to Boulder Camera reporter John Leach, the band joined in the fun. “Mike Love, clad in an orange Hawaiian print shirt, pranced across the stage and joined the rest of the band in a series of chorus line kicks for ‘Surfin’ USA,’ the group’s two time (1963 and 1974) single.” This must have been difficult for Carl since Leach noted “Wilson hobbled onto the stage on crutches with a ‘broken foot’ according to his brother, the often reclusive Brian, who was dressed in a yellow running suit.”
Sunday May 14, 1978
UNI Dome, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
The 7,000 fans that attended this show had a blast but Deb Lorenzen of the Waterloo Courier argued the concert was “less than satisfying” because the band was sloppy and the Wilson brothers especially seemed “indifferent” to the audience. Like many reviewers who failed to “get” the Beach Boys mystique, she was baffled that “After each crashing chord, after each mistimed introduction and after each badly out of tune harmony the Beach Boys were applauded with cheers and whistles. Obviously, the Beach Boys following isn't interested in new musical ideas or anything else close to musical perfection-they are interested in the simple, easily-identifiable sound that has become the group's trademark...Two new releases presented, including Jardine's Lady Lynda were refreshing but nearly indistinguishable from the old favorites." The photo was taken at the Day on the Green on May 28.
Sunday May 28, 1978
Day on the Green, Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA-with Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Elvin Bishop and Norton Buffalo (11 AM Show)
This was a busy day for Mike, who made a morning appearance with Celebration in the San Fernando Valley to promote Almost Summer, before jetting north for the “Day on the Green.” The event brought out 40,000 fans for an eclectic day of musical performances, including country singer Dolly Parton. Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle titled his review “Have the Beach Boys Had It?” He declared the band’s performance “not only listless and uninspired but fraught with the kind of technical incompetence-from both instrumentalists and vocalists-that even the rankest amateur bands have little trouble avoiding.” He noted that Mike took most of the leads, while Carl hardly sang at all and that Brian, who was apparently suffering from laryngitis, gave a performance of “In My Room” that “was so off key and wretched that his brother Carl Wilson waved him away from the microphone and the group finished the song without a lead vocal.”
Ironically, the syndicated television show PM Magazine chose to film a portion of the Beach Boys set as part of a feature on them that appeared in the fall. The group were seen performing “Surfin’ USA.” Mike, Brian and Carl were also interviewed separately backstage. One interesting exchange took place when Brian was asked about difficulties with songwriting that he was having, to which he replied, “Well I used to sit down and try to come up with a concept first and then build around a concept. You know conceptual and I’ve even had trouble doing that in the last couple of years.” The interviewer replied, “Really it’s just not there when you reach back for it?” “No it sometimes takes quite awhile. More than it used to take.” “What do you suppose is the reason for that?” “I don’t know. I think subject matter is scarce. I am not as attuned at coming up with the subject matter as I used to be. Because of course we used to have trends that we could write on and now we have no trends.” “Back then, in the old days, you wrote about what you knew growing up like surfing and cars and girls.” “Yeah that’s true.” “What’s there to write about now?” “Well they say write about what you go through, write about things you do. But the things I do don’t seem like (things) I would want to write about.”
Friday June 16, 1978
Civic Center, Providence, RI-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
Following the Day on the Green, Mike played a series of free concerts with Celebration to promote Almost Summer, including performances in Memphis and Cleveland. However, the Beach Boys continued to be Mike’s bread and butter. They embarked on a ten-day east coast tour in mid-June. Backing musicians included the Tornado horns, Carli Munoz, Sterling Smith, Ed Carter and Wells Kelly. Although Kelly had been acting as a keyboardist, he was originally a drummer and was enlisted to play percussion. John Philip (“Phil”) Shenale was a new face in the band. He was a keyboard player, who’d attended Brian and Al’s alma mater El Camino College. He’d also studied TM and was recommended to Mike for Celebration. Instead, he ended up being employed by the Beach Boys. He recalled “the funny thing was that I got the gig through Mike Love and everyone thought I was his guy because I was a meditator but I grew to like Dennis much better. We... got to be good friends. Dennis was a great guy. I think he was a real rock and roll drummer and a great artist, as I later found when I worked with him at Criteria Studios. Dennis and Carli and Sterling and I hung around a lot together…I also liked Carl a lot. He was a truly spiritual man and he brought stability to the group.”
Once again the concerts were tied-in with Almost Summer. In the middle of each show, Mike played a solo set while the Wilsons took a break. It consisted of “Almost Summer”, “Cruisin’”, “Everyone’s In Love with You” and “Country Pie.” Sterling Smith recalled, “Dennis would leave because he didn’t want any part of that, but to his credit he told us that whatever he thought of it, it was part of the Beach Boys show and we ought to be there.”
Saturday June 17, 1978
Civic Center, Springfield, MA-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
The Beach Boys sold out the Springfield Civic Center easily. Comparing the group to the first time he saw them in 1965, Michael Serafino of the Daily News commented, "Mike Love, the ageless cheerleader, sports a beard flecked with gray, Carl Wilson continues to fight a weight problem but plays a meaner and grittier guitar than ever before. Al Jardine still looks like a Beach Boys but is betrayed by his blue leisure suit. Brian Wilson, having licked deep emotional problems, plays bass onstage with a detached air about him. And Dennis Wilson still makes the girls swoon as he reels around the stage when he isn't playing the drums."
Illustrating difficulties the Beach Boys were beginning to have with an increasingly out-of-control Dennis, promoter Jim Koplik recalled that he demanded Quaaludes prior to the show. When Koplik got them for him, “Carl told me what a mistake I made because he would eat them before the show. I felt terrible and I watched the whole concert terrified something would happen. When he came off the stage after the main show, I was standing right by the riser and his wife Karen Lamm said something to him and he said something back to her and she kicked him right in the balls! He went down like a ton of bricks and he didn’t do the encore.”
Sunday June 18, 1978
New Haven Coliseum, New Haven, CT-with Charles Lloyd
The Beach Boys played for over 10,000 people in New Haven. On this tour Charles Lloyd served as opener. Sterling Smith recalled, "The idea was broached of saving the Beach Boys money and also promoting Mike’s friend Charles Lloyd-so he was introduced as the opening act. Charles didn’t want me to play piano-he said, ‘Sterling is from a different neighborhood,' which I understood. He wanted a jazzier guy-so Carli played the piano. Ed Carter was going to play guitar-but that meant no bass player and I could play left-handed bass-so I took a mini-Moog and I played bass and Charles really liked that-so we became the opening act." Frank Rizzo of the The Journal Courier noted, "California Girls, In My Room, Be True to Your School and Surfer Girl were just some of the standards that the group performed to whoops of joy....The songs of surfing and beaches and high school and girls and California gave the two-hour concert a feeling of juvenescence. Eternal youth was represented by the band, whom most fans at the concert might have looked at as their crazy uncles." The photo was taken in Philadelphia on June 20.
Monday June 19, 1978
Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, VA-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
The photo of Brian and Marilyn was taken around this time. The two would soon divorce but always remained close.
Tuesday June 20, 1978
Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
Close to 17,000 showed up to see this concert. Ken Shuttleworth of the Camden Courier Post noted, "Unlike many rock groups, the Beach Boys have had so many hits over the past 17 years that they can deliver a biggie right off the top and grab a firm hold on the audience. As usual they pulled it off with Brian Wilson's California Girls...They followed it with at least a half-dozen other hits from the 1960s-including Sloop John B and Little Deuce Coupe-before offering their first bona fide surfing number-Catch a Wave...Later they tore the house down with the hard-driving Help Me Rhonda, following up a few minutes later with Rock and Roll Music....The Berry flavor was abundantly clear as they followed up his big hit with Brian Wilson's Surfing USA. Brian, who has worked with the group only on and off in recent years, remained on stage wearing a high style red jogging suit through the entire performance. He drew a warm response on his Wouldn't It Be Nice solo." The photo shows Dennis's wife Karen Lamm performing with the group during the encore.
Wednesday June 21, 1978
Community War Memorial, Rochester, NY-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
10,000 fans attended this show, which started an hour and a half late. Jack Garner of the Democrat and Chronicle commented, “Unlike many bands, that would blend several oldies into a kiss off ten minute medley; the Beach Boys did an incredible range of classic songs at full length. They also blended in just the right amount of new material, including two songs that are among the best California summer songs they’ve ever done (‘Almost Summer’ and Cruisin’’).”
Thursday June 22, 1978
Forum, Montreal, QB, Canada-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
Juan Rodriguez of the Montreal Gazette threw some praise on the BBs, noting 'there's a bit of magic about the group', but spent most of his review of their Forum concert criticizing them. He commented that Brian 'is a most idiosyncratic performer, seemingly dazed half the time and extremely enthusiastic the rest of the time' and noted that 'their music is out of sync with today's trends yet the audience that attended last night's show was so young that most of their fans weren't even born when the group first started.' The picture was taken on June 20
Friday June 23, 1978
Civic Centre, Lansdowne Park, Ottawa, ONT, Canada-with Charles Lloyd
Bill Provick of the Ottawa Citizen was surprised the Civic Centre was still standing the next day since the Beach Boys “set the building rocking on its foundations.” Many fans came to catch a glimpse of Brian, making his first appearance in Ottawa. Provick noted, “He stepped forward to croon the opening of the graceful Beach Boys’ version of ‘Sloop John B’ and though his voice was weak and he moved in an obvious daze all evening long, suddenly it simply felt great to have him on hand.”
Saturday June 24, 1978
CNE Stadium, Toronto, ON, Canada-with Journey, Pablo Cruise and the Steve Miller Band (12:00 PM Show)
The group headlined this six-hour show, taking the stage after Journey, Pablo Cruise and Steve Miller. However, by the time they came on the crowd of 35,000 was spent and irritated, having been in the hot sun for five hours, and in no mood for anything but hits. According to Stephen Godfrey of the Globe and Mail when the group deviated from that formula to play “Lady Lynda” the crowd whistled disapproval. Godfrey didn’t think it was the Beach Boys finest hour anyways, noting: “The famous harmonies sounded ragged and pinched. In some of the older numbers, such as ‘I Get Around’, in which they have to convert to some especially tricky falsetto in the refrain, they barely got by.” This photo was taken the next day at Giants Stadium.
Sunday June 25, 1978:
Giants Stadium, Meadowlands Sports Complex, NJ-with Pablo Cruise, Stanky Brown and the Steve Miller Band
The Beach Boys played before a massive crowd of 61,128 people at the first concert held at the newly constructed Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands. The set list for this show, which aired live on WNEW FM, consisted of: “California Girls,” “Sloop John B,” “Do It Again,” “Little Deuce Coupe,” “In My Room,” “God Only Knows,” “Back Home,” “Darlin’,” “It’s OK,” “Peggy Sue,” “Be True To Your School,” “Catch a Wave,” “Lady Lynda,” “Almost Summer,” “Cruisin’,” “Everyone’s in Love with You,” “Country Pie,” “Heroes and Villains,” “Surfer Girl,” “Help Me Rhonda,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “I Get Around,” “Rock and Roll Music,” “Surfin’ USA,” “Good Vibrations,” “Barbara Ann,” and “Fun, Fun, Fun.”
The band had even more ambitious plans for the summer of 1978. They were asked to participate in a massive free concert being organized by Bill Graham that would take place in Leningrad on July 4. The show would feature Western and Soviet artists and it was hoped that it would foster greater cultural exchange between the super-powers. The concert was to be documented by Russian born British filmmaker Dmitri Gruenwald as part of a documentary. Mike told reporter Juan Rodriguez that he expected the same enthusiastic reception that had greeted the group when they played in Czechoslovakia in 1968. Unfortunately, it never happened. By late June plans had run aground because officials from the Soviet Film Agency, that was co-sponsoring the show, found historical inaccuracies in the script. The Beach Boys tried to get permission to play in Russia in 1979, but nothing panned out.
Saturday July 15, 1978
Cal Expo Amphitheater, Sacramento, CA-with War and the Skins (12 PM Show)
Brian went through a number of ups and downs in 1978. Early in the year he seemed to be on an upswing, leaping and dancing about on stage and playing mostly bass. However, perceptive critics noted that he seemed to be trying to give the impression that he was having a good time, rather than actually enjoying himself. By the summer he had again sunk into a depression. Brian was absent from this tour because, according to Mike, “he had to go in for a physical, for some tests.” In actuality, he’d allegedly had some sort of breakdown and was placed in Alvarado Hospital for a month's observation. Brian was not the only member of the touring group missing. The horn section was eliminated entirely, with the exception of Charles Lloyd on saxophone. The group were looking to cut down on expenses and it came to their attention that one musician could replicate a five piece horn section by skillful use of the Oberheim synthesizer, a new eight voice keyboard. Thus, starting on this tour, Phil Shenale alone supplied horn sounds. While the horn section was gone, Bobby Figueroa was back, after a ten-month absence, on percussion. He recalled, “I was happy to be back because I missed it. Everybody was fine. When I showed up again I felt welcome. I wasn’t holding any grudges. I was happy to be there.” Other backup musicians included Carli Munoz, Sterling Smith and Ed Carter.
Sunday July 16, 1978
Memorial Stadium, Seattle, WA-with the Kinks, Randy Hansen and Jr. Cadillac (3:00 PM Show)
This six-hour rock fest was dubbed “Summer Sunday 78” and attracted 20,000 fans despite wet weather that turned the field into a soggy mess. Sterling Smith noted, "Randy Hansen was amazing-he was a Jimi Hendrix imitator-he dedicated his life to playing in that style-The Kinks were great, of course, but all of us sidemen were watching Hansen in amazement." Patrick MacDonald of the Seattle Times was disappointed by the take the money and run attitude of the bands on the bill. The spirit and camaraderie of the 1960s between musicians and audience was nowhere to be found. He noted that the Beach Boys “did essentially the same set they’ve been doing the last four years. They could do it in their sleep and almost did.” The photo was taken by Dennis's best friend Ed Roach.
Tuesday July 18, 1978
Stampede Corral, Calgary, Alberta, Canada-with Zingo
The trip up to Calgary was extremely memorable for Phil Shenale. He recalled, “Apparently Dennis took the furniture from two or three other rooms as a prank and stuffed it in Carl’s hotel room while he was sleeping, so that Carl couldn’t get out of the room and as a result we were late for the commercial flight and missed it. So they literally had to lease eight or ten four-seat planes to fly from Seattle to Calgary. It was the worst flight I have ever been on in my life. I mean going over the Rockies in a four-seat prop plane…we were getting sick. And the plane we were on didn’t have any extra oxygen. It was madness.” Bobby Figueroa added, “The oxygen meter was faulty so we were all having trouble breathing, at least on our little plane. So we said to the pilot, ‘Are you sure this is up, because we’re having trouble breathing?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, the oxygen gage reads full.’ Then he tapped it and it went all the way down to empty!! So the meter said full but it was empty. That was scary. But we made it.” Once in Calgary, the group entertained a crowd of over 6,000 at the Stampede Corral. Peter Morton of the Calgary Herald noted that the audience seemed so reverent in the presence of the group that they were practically “mesmerized” during the first half of the show, however “the crowd finally overcame its shock and began dancing, singing and screaming to songs like I Get Around, Wouldn’t It Be Nice and Good Vibrations.”
Wednesday July 19, 1978
“Klondike Days Festival”, Edmonton Expo, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Two shows at 4:00 and 8:00 PM)
These Edmonton shows were marred by erratic behavior by Dennis, who admitted at the conclusion of the second show that he was drunk. He disappeared for large portions of both concerts and played dreadfully when he was behind the kit. According to Joe Sornberger, of the Edmonton Journal, Dennis messed up the timing on “Sloop John B” and ruined “God Only Knows” by drumming over the vocal harmonies. When he returned to the stage after a twenty minute break he “walked into a microphone; jumped up and walked across the top of a baby grand piano while dragging a mike stand with him at the same time; kicked over a speaker box near his drums and frequently turned his back on the audience between songs.”
Thursday July 20, 1978
Agridome, Regina, SK, Canada-with Zingo (8:00 PM Show)
The Beach Boys first Regina show in ten years was well received, with none of the drama of the night before. Denise Ball of the Leader Post noted that the group overcame the dreadful acoustics at the Agridome and the “unmistakable Beach Boys sound and presence projected so that by the end of their show Thursday evening, everyone was on their feet dancing and begging for more…Their encore, including ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’ brought most of the audience down to the front of the stage dancing, singing and yelling for more.” The photo is from around this time but may not be from this show-Bobby Figueroa, who'd returned to the touring band for the first time since September 1977 is on drums behind Dennis.
Friday July 21, 1978
Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN (8:00 PM Show)
The Beach Boys appearance before 13,000 was a huge success. However, the concert was almost derailed by troubling behavior by Dennis. He wandered off stage early in the show and returned later in a clearly drunken state. He then proceeded to ad-lib introductions for the band members (for example, introducing Carl as “the legendary Kenny Wilson”) before actively requesting boos from the crowd. He exclaimed “C’mon let’s hear some boos. Get vicious.” The rest of the group did their best to ignore him, but Dennis commandeered a spare keyboard. Tim Carr of the Minneapolis Tribune reported, “Singing off-pitch and playing disruptive chords, he began making a nuisance of himself. Love was obviously upset, but brother Carl seemed to be taking it in stride and was laughing along with his brother’s fraternity style pranks. But the concert was in jeopardy of becoming a shambles. Then Dennis reclaimed the drums and began funneling his nervous energy into the music and kicked the band into a rousing final burst, propelling the songs along at a full-tilt pace.” The photo by Ed Roach was taken in Seattle on July 16.
Saturday July 22, 1978
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
19,000 attended this stadium show. Carl granted an interview to Lynn De Matre of the Tribune. Despite evidence to the contrary, he argued that the Beach Boys were on 'an upswing' after the negativity of the previous year. "Last summer we had a little flare up. Actually, I'd have to call it a big flare up, really. It was a thing that had to do with stuff we've been avoiding facing for a lot of years. There'd been a lot of failure to communicate and we all had different lifestyles and different viewpoints and some things had gotten left unsaid. But instead of really confronting our differences and dealing with them, we just kind of go along with whatever seemed to make everybody happy but then it would come out that someone was really displeased, you know? It was like everyone went through a lot of change last summer. Then last fall we started getting back together and you know what happened...really? We got to choose to be a group again. We got to really evaluate everything and see what it was worth to each of us and we all decided we really did want to be a group."
Sunday July 23, 1978
Dane County Memorial Coliseum, Madison, WI-with Freeze (7:30 PM Show)
The Beach Boys wrapped up their tour with one show in Madison before 8,000 fans. Genie Campbell of the State Journal noted that "The Beach Boys are in the midst of a comeback that hasn't settled into one direction...They spent the first half of the show showcasing material they recorded during the last several years in which the surfin' beat and natural Beach Boys harmony is not nearly as heavy. The audience was polite but not moved to participate. Then it happened. Love asked everyone to stand up and Dennis Wilson woke up. And the nostalgia trip took off-Wouldn't It Be Nice, Little Deuce Coupe, Surfer Girl and Help Me Rhonda-to name just four that roll off the tip of my tongue. People clapped and danced in the aisles. They're not into the future of the band. They wanted all the old stuff and the Beach Boys, of course, obliged."
Thursday August 3, 1978
Carowinds Beach Bash, Carowinds Amusement Park, Charlotte, NC-with Charles Lloyd (Two shows at 3 and 9 PM)
Brian was again absent for this tour. The ship lit up by neon lights the group had played in front of in 1976-1977, however, was back. Charles Lloyd again opened but Sterling Smith recalled, "Since Mike was promoting Charles Lloyd-Dennis decided to promote Carli-so Carli also played some of his own songs with Charles. Dennis hired the bassist that I played with (Dave Hessler)-who had a double-neck guitar that he built. So on one song Dave would play the doubleneck and I switched to bass. Then Dave would play bass on Carli’s other songs. We also played on Charles Lloyd songs. He was writing these more poppy songs-not really jazz-he was trying to widen his audience. But that only happened on one tour." Bob Wisehart of the Charlotte News noted, "Led on stage by Mike Love...the Beach Boys sensed the mood of the crowd and refused to hustle things along and beat the rain. They cranked it up with the early oldies. Like the pros they are, they know you always get them on your side right away. They opened with California Girls and marched right into Sloop John B...and then into songs from their later period, none of which you knew from before and all of which you liked. The Beach Boys know how to do it to you...The only thing missing was brother Brian Wilson, whose busy the last decade with his legendary freak out. They say Brian's back as the creative, arranging and producing force behind the group but still can't handle the performing."
Friday August 4 and Saturday August 5, 1978
Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD-with Charles Lloyd (One show at 8:00 PM on Friday and two shows on Saturday at 1:00 and 8:00 PM)
The Beach Boys remained a hot draw in the DC area and a matinee on Saturday was added. The opening show on Friday was delayed by 90 minutes because a truck carrying equipment ran off the road, but the group was still greeted with wild applause when they took the stage after 10 PM. Richard Harrington of the Washington Post argued that it was “not a classic performance” because the material played was becoming a bit too familiar and the group needed “a bit more fire than the Beach Boys were able to instill last night.”
Sunday August 6, 1978
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY-with Charles Lloyd (7:00 PM Show)
The Beach Boys returned to SPAC but the vibrations were not all good, according to Carol Powell of The Saratogian: "Brother Brian Wilson was nowhere to be seen and the audience was none too happy when drummer Dennis Wilson walked off stage after about five numbers. Almost half way through the concert, cries of 'where's Dennis?' echoed loudly through the amphitheater. He eventually came back on stage but never seemed to get his energy up until their last few numbers. Carl Wilson looked bored to death and Al Jardine sometimes had problems with the harmonies. Mike Love though was his usual crazy self and managed to keep the audience in a happy mood....Surprisingly enough, the best numbers of the evening were played during the encore. Maybe it was relief that the concert was almost over but the best vocals and the best organization came through during Vibrations, Barbara Ann and Fun-Fun-Fun.'
Monday August 7, 1978
Boston Garden, Boston, MA-with Charles Lloyd (8:00 PM Show)
The group didn’t take the stage until after 10:00 PM. However, the audience was treated to a 25-song set that kept the band onstage till after midnight. Bill Adler of the Boston Herald criticized their unprofessionalism, noting, “The pacing was poor, the choice of tunes sometimes deliberately obscure, the playing and singing ragged.” However, he admitted that “These failures aside, the opening chords of their classics never failed to trigger a familiar kind of knee-jerk nostalgia and the mostly high school age audience enthusiastically clapped along…”
Tuesday August 8, 1978
Hersheypark Arena, Hershey, PA-with Charles Lloyd (8 PM Show)
The photo was taken a week later at Pine Knob
Wednesday August 9 and Thursday August 10, 1978
Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH-with Charles Lloyd (One show each night at 8:30 PM)
The Beach Boys made the first of many appearances at this venue 33 miles south of Cleveland. The Wednesday night crowd stood in drizzling rain for much of the night but the majority remained for the whole show. Mark Hruby of the Cleveland Press argued that the audience stayed because “the Beach Boys means having a good time. They perform with style and cool. Their lyrics and melodies are among the most remembered of rock ’n’roll. From ‘California Girls’ and ‘Little Deuce Coupe’ to ‘Rhonda’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ the patrons vocalized as much as the performers.”
Friday August 11 to Sunday August 13, 1978
Pine Knob Music Theater, Clarkston, MI-with Charles Lloyd (One show on Friday and two shows on Saturday and Sunday)
The group played five shows in three days. Barbara Griffin of the Detroit News reported that at the Friday show they appeared tired and bored “performing their standards in a puppet like manner” for the first ten or eleven numbers. However, they came alive for “Help Me Rhonda” and “it was all uphill from there as the Pine Knob Pavilion became a giant discotheque and stayed that way for the rest of the concert…Dennis Wilson came out from behind the drums to sing ‘Surfer Girl’: Such classics as Chuck Berry’s ‘Rock and Roll Music’ and Buddy Holly’s ‘Peggy Sue’ were extremely well done.” The photo shows the BBs with Dennis's wife Karen Lamm and assorted kids (including Brian's daughter Carnie, who was on the road with the group despite her father's absence).
Monday August 14, 1978
Illinois State Fair, Springfield, IL-with Charles Lloyd (Two shows at 7:00 and 9:00 PM)
Ten-year-old Carnie Wilson came out to introduce the band at these shows ("Get ready for the Beach Boys!"), though her father was not on the tour. The photo was taken at the residency at Pine Knob on Aug 11-13.
Friday August 25, 1978
Buccaneer Stadium, Grand Haven, MI-with Jan and Dean and McGuinn, Clark and Hillman (6:00 PM Show) and Alpine Valley Music Theater, East Troy, WI-with Jan and Dean (8:00 PM Show)
The highlight of 1978 was probably the tour with Jan and Dean. Their career had been derailed by Jan’s tragic car accident in 1966 but interest in the duo had been sparked by the February airing of the TV movie “Deadman’s Curve,” which depicted his slow and painful recovery. Jan’s condition remained shaky and he had trouble remembering words to his old songs, but he was desperate to return to the stage. The Beach Boys invited Jan to play a few numbers during their gigs. Dean Torrence agreed to accompany him but was quick to remove the pressure to live up to the duo’s 60s image. He told a reporter from the St. Petersburg Press that it was not a Jan and Dean Tour. “We’re just guests. We’ll have the whole Beach Boys back up group behind us. It’ll be fun, just traveling with the Beach Boys tour and stepping on stage for three songs or so." Dean was probably wise to deflate expectations since reviewers noted that the duo struggled to command the audience’s attention. Terry Hazlett of the Observer Reporter wrote that at the Pittsburgh show they received a warm welcome but “the buzz through the stadium told the real story. Jan and Dean frankly can no longer carry a tune. ‘Surf City’ in fact took three warm up tries before the boys could hit the initial high notes for ‘Two Girls for Every Boy.’ Even if the crowd were not sun-soaked their faces would have been red in sympathetic embarrassment.” Nevertheless, the Beach Boys clearly got a buzz from having the duo along for the tour. There was a sense of fun at these concerts that had been missing from recent tours. Indeed, even Brian seemed energized.
The tour took place while the BBs were recording LA (Light Album) at Criteria Studios in Miami. The boat backdrop the group had pulled out of mothballs for the last tour was gone, but Brian was back and took an upfront role on bass. The rest of the musicians were Ed Carter on bass, Charles Lloyd on Sax, Sterling Smith, on piano and keyboards, Phil Shenale on Oberheim Synthesizer, Bobby Figueroa on drums and Carli Munoz on keyboards. Kenny Loggins was set to open the Grand Haven concert but was replaced by Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark and Chris Hillman (three fifths of the original Byrds) at the last minute. Following their well-received appearance, the Beach Boys took the stage. The set list consisted of: “California Girls”, “Sloop John B”, “Do It Again”, “Little Deuce Coupe”, “In My Room”, “Back Home” “God Only Knows”, “Darlin’”, “Be True To Your School”, “It’s OK”, “Catch a Wave”, “Surf City” (with Jan and Dean), “Little Old Lady From Pasadena” (with Jan and Dean), “Lady Lynda”, “Almost Summer”, “Cruisin’”, “Everyone’s In Love With You”, “Country Pie”, “Surfer Girl”, “Peggy Sue”, “Help Me Rhonda”, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”, “Rock and Roll Music”, “I Get Around”, “Surfin’ USA”, “Good Vibrations”, “Barbara Ann” (with Jan and Dean) and “Fun, Fun, Fun” (with Jan and Dean).
As was often the case in the first show of a tour, the group was under rehearsed and harmonies were off. Indeed, Sterling Smith recalled that they didn’t get around to rehearsing with Jan and Dean until the bus ride to the show. However, he noted, “Carl had an acoustic guitar on the bus and they practiced ‘The Little Old Lady from Pasadena’ and two or three others and the harmony in its acoustic purity was phenomenal. They were doing the old songs and it was scary how good it was. I thought ‘Wow! If we went out and did this onstage it would be one of the best tours in the world!’ But it all fell apart at the gig.” Following the concert, they flew to Wisconsin for one more show.
Saturday August 26, 1978
Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA-with Jan and Dean, the Steve Miller Band, Axis, the Barkin Band and Sweet Breeze (12:00 PM Show)
16,000 fans turned out for this all-day event billed as the “Tri State Jam’ 78.” Promoters hoped to attract more people, but high-ticket prices and competition from a Fleetwood Mac concert in Cleveland led some to stay away. Nevertheless, reviewers agreed that those that did attend received “good vibrations.” Sandy Polarkoff of the Beaver Times noted, “The Beach Boys took the crowd through all the phases of their career from way back then to now. The oldies like ‘Little Deuce Coupe’ (done incidentally by Jan and Dean on their Drag City LP) and ‘Help Me Rhonda’ to the newer ones like ‘Back Home’ and ‘Rock and Roll Music’ (from the BBs 15 Big Ones album) bridged the generation gap. By the end, after an encore with Jan and Dean of ‘Barbara Ann’ and ‘Fun, Fun, Fun,’ the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean proved they still have the knack and talent to please their audience.”
Sunday August 27, 1978
Edgewater Raceway, Cincinnati, OH-with Jan and Dean, Blue Oyster Cult, the Cars, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Starcastle (12:00 PM Show) and Charleston, WV (canceled)
This was another all-day event, billed as the “Great Miami River Music Festival.” The venue was, according to Sterling Smith “the property next to a drag strip. Not your ordinary venue. It was like here is this outdoor venue and we’re going to build a stage and invite everyone out to be hot and sweltering.” The 7,000 fans that turned out were treated to a very diverse bill, ranging from the new wave of the Cars to the heavy metal of Blue Oyster Cult. Strangely enough, despite vast differences between their performing styles, the members of Blue Oyster Cult all professed to be Beach Boys fans and drummer Albert Bouchard was even spotted in the audience singing along to “Surfer Girl.” The concert, however, was delayed by rain and concluded later than scheduled, forcing the band to cancel a stop in West Virginia.
Friday September 1, 1978
Mobile Municipal Auditorium, Mobile, AL-with Jan and Dean
Prior to the start of this tour, the BBs had traveled to Miami’s Criteria Studios to work on their next album. Brian was with them but it soon became evident that his participation would be limited. In desperation, Bruce Johnston was called in to help. Despite the differences that had led Bruce to leave in April 1972, the Beach Boys recognized that he had talent. In the intervening years he contributed to most of their albums. CBS Records was eager to have Bruce lend a hand since he had had amazing success with Barry Manilow. Bruce was summoned to Miami and took charge of what would become the LA (Light Album). He diffused the tension present at sessions for the past two years and had the ability to deal amicably with all the factions within the band. Phil Shenale, who took part in the sessions at Criteria, commented, “The thing I was wondering was, if Brian couldn’t take charge, why didn’t Carl take charge? But the reason was that the group had developed so many regions within the band. It was easier to have a guy from the external then for any of them to take charge.” The group continued work on the album during a four day hiatus from touring before heading to Mobile on September 1. The group’s first ever concert appearance in Mobile was a sell-out and excited fans demanded a number of encores. One interesting change to the set list was the addition of “Deadman’s Curve” which the group performed with Jan and Dean. The photo was taken at Criteria.
Saturday September 2, 1978
Omni, Atlanta, GA-with Jan and Dean and Le Roux (8:00 PM Show)
Bruce Johnston appeared on stage with the group for the first time since 1973. He'd been working with them at Criteria Studios and remained on the road for the remaining dates of the short tour. He told writer David Leaf that it was interesting being on stage with Brian, “because the only other time we’d ever officially played together, in terms of a set, all six of us, was the Whiskey (in 1970). The shows were good, a little sloppy, which is just a matter of rehearsing. A lot of times when you break for a few days it gets sloppy, but that’s something every band goes through," Sterling Smith noted, "I was just an observer but I was amazed. They had so much money and resources to be phenomenal but…Mike refused to do sound-checks and they barely rehearsed and it was very loose-it was like 'let’s just go on and survive this'-that was the approach to touring!'
Sunday September 3, 1978
Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, FL-with Jan and Dean and Le Roux (8:30 PM Show)
The Beach Boys did not take the stage until after 10:00 PM, but the crowd remained in a good mood throughout their two-hour set, which included a solo performance by Bruce of his composition “I Write the Songs.” Bruce told the audience that it was the first time he’d ever performed the song, which had been a mega hit for Barry Manilow. It became a concert staple. The only dark cloud affecting the concert was more odd behavior by Dennis. According to the Lakeland Ledger, “the drummer disappeared halfway through the set, cutting the band’s drum power in half, and reappeared to stagger around the stage, dance on the piano and disassemble the microphones." Phil Shenale recalled, that such behavior became increasingly common. “There were so many times where he would jump on the piano and Sterling would be playing and they would put this fish net on the piano with big holes in it that his feet would fit into and he would dance on the piano and he would (frequently) almost crash thirty feet into the crowd. The guy was just…taunting.”
Monday September 4, 1978
Savannah Civic Center, Savannah, GA-with Jan and Dean (6:00 PM Show) and Jacksonville Coliseum, Jacksonville, FL-with Jan and Dean and Roundhouse (8:00 PM Show)
The tour concluded with two capacity shows. Hank Orberg of the Savannah Morning News commented, “The Beach Boys dazzled the enthusiastic throng with such hits as ‘Help Me Rhonda’, ‘Surfer Girl’, ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’, ‘Be True To Your School’, ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’, ‘Rock and Roll Music’ and of course the quintessential ‘Good Vibrations.’ No one has yet managed to successfully emulate that lush Beach Boys sound of high, tight harmonies and because of that their popularity remains virtually constant over the years.” The group was late leaving Savannah and didn’t take the stage in Jacksonville until 10:20 PM. The crowd didn’t seem to mind the delay, however, and clapped and sang along from opening number “California Girls” till the end. Phil Kloer of the Florida Times Union noted that the Beach Boys “kept the audience on its feet, swaying to ‘Darlin’,’ ‘God Only Knows,’ ‘Catch a Wave,’ ‘Little Deuce Coupe,’ and other hits which span 17 years in show business.” The photo showing the BBs with Jan and Dean was taken at Lakeland on September 3.
Friday October 27, 1978
Crisler Arena, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (8:00 PM Show)
In the midst of recording their next album, the BBs hit the road one more time for a few midwest dates. In addition to the five Beach Boys, the touring lineup for these dates consisted of Sterling Smith, Carli Munoz and Phil Shenale on piano/ keyboards/synthesizers, Bobby Figueroa on drums and Ed Carter on bass. Jason Raphalian was also present, as well as road manager Greg Berning and sound mixer Tom Murphy. The band pulled out the stage set used in late 1977 in which the piano was inside the frame of a 57 Chevy.
This opening show was plagued with technical problems. Indeed, Mike’s vocals were all but drowned out in the first half and Brian received a shock from his bass guitar in the middle of performing “In My Room” and left the stage never to return. According to a fan in attendance, “Mike told the audience that Brian was hung-over from drinking too much the night before and couldn't hack it. ‘C'mon everybody,’ Mike announced, ‘let's 'boo' Brian!’ The crowd responded with a few half-hearted boos as Mike added his own ‘Boo! Hiss!’” Dennis also disappeared for much of the show, though he returned during the second half. The Michigan Daily reported, “he brought the subdued crowd to life when he leapt on top of a piano to dance hotly with a broom, which finally got the audience moving and making noise. After this the audience never sat down and the band never let up. The show was capped with raucous versions of ‘Barbara Ann,’ and ‘Fun, Fun, Fun,’ and a final ‘Thank you very much, we love you,’ from Carl Wilson.”
Saturday October 28, 1978
Notre Dame University, South Bend, Indiana (7:30 PM Show) and Arie Crown Theater, Chicago, IL (11:30 PM Show)
Although still not a full-time member again, Bruce was giving a lecture at Purdue and joined the group at Notre Dame (Brian was apparently absent). Following that show, the group, with Bruce, played a late night concert in Chicago. The Notre Dame show attracted 7,000 fans. John Miller of the South Bend Tribune argued that the band, possibly because they knew they still needed to summon the energy to play another show in Chicago, started sluggishly. However, after a thirty-minute intermission, he noted that 'The Boys came back refreshed and renewed...and the audience bounced back with them. By evening's end no one could legitimately claim they hadn't gotten their money's worth." The photo was taken at the Notre Dame show.
Sunday October 29, 1978
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, WI (7:30 PM Show)
A tiny crowd of less than 4,000 attended this concert, the last the group played in 1978. Brian was absent, but they still “had them dancing in the aisles” according to Damien Jacques of the Milwaukee Journal.
