Beachago - 1975

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by AudiophilePhil, Jan 9, 2007.

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  1. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Being a fan of both premier American bands, the "Beach Boys" and "Chicago,"
    is there anyone in this forum who have seen them performing together live in a series of big concerts in the summer of 1975? Would you please share your memories and experience while watching these two great bands.
    Chicago was at the peak of its success as a jazz-rock group while the Beach Boys were making a big comeback.
    Is there any available video or recording for sale of this historic concert?
     
  2. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    No response. It is clear that none of the members of this forum has seen the Beachago concerts in 1975.
     
  3. Simon A

    Simon A Arrr!

    Out of respect for these two bands, please refain from using "Beachago". The Beach Boys and Chicago will do just fine...

    Thank you! :)
     
  4. posieflump

    posieflump New Member

    Location:
    .
    But wasn't that how the coalition was advertised in promotional literature at the time?
     
  5. Simon A

    Simon A Arrr!

    Perhaps it was, no offence intended, but I just thought it was of dubious taste... :sigh:
     
  6. pool_of_tears

    pool_of_tears Searching For Simplicity

    Location:
    Midwest
    Are you a gort? If not then don't worry.

    Give the guy a break. The tour was called "Beachago" so it's not disrespectful at all. It's actually quite accurate.

    There are no recordings available officially. There were several concerts recorded though...by Phil Ramone if I remember correctly. No film exists as I understand it. I also recall Mark Linett and Alan Boyd saying they found that material in the Brother Archives on 2002 or so. I don't know where the Chicago portion is...maybe in their archives....w/Guercio or at Brother.

    It sure would be nice to have a full show from a multi-track source though. :righton:
     
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  7. TheNomadicSoul

    TheNomadicSoul Active Member

    Location:
    Chicagoland
    I have boots of that tour and Robert Lamm, among others, refers to the tour as Beachago on stage! What's so offensive about it? :chill:
     
  8. Eric B

    Eric B Forum Resident

    Location:
    Baltimore,MD
    It's hard to believe, but it's true. I have some of the promotional materials tucked away in a box somewhere!
     
  9. 905

    905 Senior Member

    Location:
    Midwest USA
    It was called Beachago. Not as cool as Rolling Thunder Review or Wings Over America, but that is what it was called.
    I wish I could of seen it, but I was negative two years old in 1975... any shows filmed?
     
  10. pool_of_tears

    pool_of_tears Searching For Simplicity

    Location:
    Midwest
    Unfortunately, no.

    There was a short featurette made about that tour that lasted 15 minutes or so. There are clipps of both bands separately and together onstage, as well an intreview with James William Guercio. As far as is known, no full concert footage exists on film. As for multi-track tape, that's a different story.
     
  11. TheNomadicSoul

    TheNomadicSoul Active Member

    Location:
    Chicagoland
    So there ARE multi-tracks that exist from that tour? What a great project for Rhino! Do you have any source(s) for this info?
     
  12. pool_of_tears

    pool_of_tears Searching For Simplicity

    Location:
    Midwest
    There are indeed mutli-tracks from this tour. I don't see Rhino being involved. I see this as being more of an issue with Brother Records who would most likely squash such a Beach Boys release, in their finite wisdom. Chicago might not have such an issue with a release. And then there's James Guercio who would probably have some sort of stake in that project too. There'd be a lot of red tape involved in that one. Then there's the issue who would mix and master it, etc...And would former members Cetera and Seraphine object to a release?

    I sent Mark Linett an email about this in 2002 and he did say that the tapes were found. I didn't think to ask him if it was the entire show or just The Boys' sets. I wish I still had that email.
     
  13. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    There was a rumor that the tapes were destroyed in Caribou Ranch studio on Colorado.
    According to a newer article about the Beach Boys, the Beachago concert tapes are still in the hands of producer James William Guercio.
    I still wait for him to fanally release them for the first time on CD's.
     
  14. AudiophilePhil

    AudiophilePhil Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    The Beach Boys & Chicago

    I would surmise that no one not even one of the forum members have seen these concerts in 1975.
     
  15. reechie

    reechie Senior Member

    Location:
    Baltimore
    Sheesh, what's the deal today? First, people suddenly take offense at calling Paul McCartney "Macca" (a nickname both John Lennon, and McCartney himself have used), and now suddenly "Beachago" is considered offensive?

    Yipes...just yipes... :shrug:
     
  16. rstamberg

    rstamberg Senior Member

    Location:
    Riverside, CT
    I know someone who saw the show and thought it was great. Guess that's as close as we'll get, huh?
     
  17. dave1961

    dave1961 New Member

    WELL, I'M ONLY 7 YEARS LATE ... BUT I WAS AT THE FORT COLLINS, COLORADO SHOW. If anyone is still interested, say so, and I will tell you what I can recall. FWIW, I was 14, and it was my first concert.
     
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  18. BobT

    BobT Resident Monkeeman

    Yes, please tell us about this show :)
     
  19. MidnightRocks

    MidnightRocks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ireland
    Wasn't there a second Beachago tour in the '90s or thereabouts?
     
  20. LeeDempsey

    LeeDempsey Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Yes, they toured together in both 1989 and 1997 -- albeit on a smaller scale than the 1975 stadium tour. In 1989, on the heels of the Beach Boys' "Kokomo" resurgence, they were playing medium-size venues -- basketball arenas and the like. I saw them on October 15, 1989, in Charlotte, NC, at the Charlotte Coliseum. Here's a TV commercial for the 1989 tour:



    The two bands were dual-headliners -- they would actually flip a coin to see who opened, and who closed.

    The 1997 tour dates were some of the late Carl Wilson's last shows. He had been working with Robert Lamm on the Beckley-Lamm-Wilson project, which may have led to the two groups hooking back up. Carl played sitting on a stool for most of the show; he was wearing a hairpiece to cover up the effects of the chemo; and he basically remained isolated from the other members of the group, VIPs, fans, etc. (including a separate tour bus for him and his wife Gina), so that his depleted immune system wouldn't be exposed to anything. By this time they were playing outdoor pavilions and smaller venues. I saw them on June 13 in Raleigh, NC, at the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre.

    Lee
     
  21. LeeDempsey

    LeeDempsey Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Carolina
    By the way, I can't remember all the songs they played together -- I definitely remember "Wishing You Were Here" and "Darlin'." Carl Wilson took Peter Cetera's part on several songs.

    EDIT: The book THE BEACH BOYS IN CONCERT by Ian Rusten and Jon Stebbins says in 1989 they played the following songs together: "Darlin'," "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?," "You're the Inspiration," "Wishing You Were Here," "Rock and Roll Music," "In the Midnight Hour," "Dancing in the Street," "Feelin' Stronger Every Day," and "Fun, Fun, Fun."

    Lee
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2014
  22. MarkTheShark

    MarkTheShark Senior Member

    I saw them at the Rosemont Horizon (now Allstate Arena) in 1989.
     
  23. dave1961

    dave1961 New Member

    OK. A word of warning: I'm not a music or sound person, but I love music - all kinds. Grew up listening to my dad's McIntosh / ESS Heil Towers. And I apologize for not having any technical or specific info for you, but, like I said, this was almost 40 years ago, and I was 14. That said . . .

    About 8 of us crammed into an orange Honda CVCC and drove from Colo. Spgs. to Fort Collins. It was early July, very hot, and only an occasional cloud. Fort Collins, and Hughes Stadium, is north of Denver, and just west of I-25, IIRC. The stadium is oriented north-south, as I recall, and backs up to a hill. We sat about 2/3 of the way up on the east side, at about the south 40 yard line, and the stage was on the south end. (So we looked left and down at the stage.) On each side of the stage there was a wall of black speakers that each looked to be about 4 ft x 4 ft. No fancy sets. There was a high-wire strung from the northwest corner of the top of the stage structure to the southeast corner of the press box (which was on the west side of the stadium) - which a tightrope walker, with a balance bar, walked as part of the pre-show entertainment. Can't remember if she walked up or down, but she made it. Also seems like there was a flyover (maybe a bi-plane). I had originally bought tickets because I loved Chicago -- come to think of it, my roommate at the time was from Chicago, so he probably was with us. Seems like it took forever for the Beach Boys to come out, but I really enjoyed their set. I'm sorry, but I simply can't remember the playlist, except to say the whole stadium was signing every song. Then there was an intermission as they changed the set. That seemed to take forever, too. Then Chicago came out.

    The feeling in the stadium definitely changed. Seems like everyone had had been having fun, and now everyone was getting more fired up. Horns. Wow. A totally different sound than the BB, and it seemed to me to be louder. Much more powerful than the BB. I can also remember Peter Cetera's voice, and the amazing guitar of who I now know was Terry Kath.

    After Chicago, I want to say that Elton John came out and played at the very end (I've read somewhere that he had been working at the Caribou Ranch), but that was not nearly as memorable as Chicago. Looking back on it, that seems strange that I wouldn't clearly remember seeing him because we had been listening to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road for a month before going to the concert.

    I did buy the t-shirt. I've seen one online recently for sale for $79 (!), but it was tan, whereas mine was light blue, and it was worn out and gone long ago.

    On the way back, we got pulled over in a town called Love (or Love-something), and had to follow the cop to the station and pay the ticket right then or get locked up.

    And the tops of my thighs were the worst sunburn of my life - to this day. They actually blistered up, and all I did for them was put Noxzema skin cream on them (stupid 14 yr old), which didn't help.

    Anyway, I'm sure more will come to me. As I said, I apologize for not having more "music" or "sound" info for all you music and sound folks. But to a lay person like me, a concert is more of an event, and a memory to be cherished. And that was a great one.

    Cheers.
     
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  24. Comet01

    Comet01 Forum Resident

    I saw the show at the Madison Square Garden June 15, 1975 - my first concert. I was 15 (thanks Mom for driving me 60 mins from NJ!). Chicago had just released VIII.

    Although I was a huge fan of both bands, I was hoping to see a full set by each band. Neither band played a full set. To be honest, I had nothing to compare the show to. I was a bit disappointed that the only song from "Holland" that was played was "Sail on Sailor" (without Blondie Chaplin). The only song from VIII was "Old Days".

    Unusual moments from the Beachago tour:

    Lamm sang lead on "Surf's Up".
    Mike Love shared lead on "Feeling Stronger Every Day" with Cetera.
    Chicago horns joined Beach Boys on "God Only Knows" and "Darlin".
    Beach Boys joined Chicago for "Saturday In The Park" and "Wishing You Were Here".
    Cetera sang lead on "Darlin".
    Final song of the night was "Jumping Jack Flash" by both bands.

    I wish that there was a good recording available from that tour.
     
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