Roughly 8 months ago, i stumbled across a listing of upcoming concert events at the Civic Community Center in Sacramento. One of which was Brian Wilson, on a “Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary Tour”. I vacillated about going or not. The tickets were relatively reasonable and the chance to see this legendary and dramatically influential piece of work performed in its entirety was hugely compelling. But at the same time, knowing what I did about the man, his personal battles, and his age, I was hesitant. I wasn’t sure it’d be more fun than sad to see, and wanting to avoid the possible disappointment, I passed on the opportunity.
I reconsidered my decision after I found myself listening repeatedly to the album and watching several fascinating documentaries about this recording. It made me realize that I wanted the opportunity to see it performed in its entirety, by Brian, while I still have the opportunity to do so. He’s 74 and even if he doesn’t hold to the threat that it’s the final time he’ll perform it start to finish, this could still be the last opportunity. So I set up an alert and watched for tickets to surface on craigslist. I eventually found a reasonably priced set that I immediately purchase.
My childhood friend Matt was responsible for introducing me to the Beach Boys in my youth. It was through him that I ended up becoming familiar with their music, eventually buying and listing repeatedly to the “Endless Summer” double-album compilation of hits. Sacramento is where Matt lives, we’ve remained friends all these years, so I gave him the birthday gift of the 2nd ticket.
The show was amazing. The tour isn't just Brian, but also Al Jardine, an original Beach Boy guitarist and singer too. It was more of a "Brian and Al" show then just Brian. In many ways Al was more of the central figure on stage then Brian was, which fits into what we know about Brian's comfort in the spotlight. The seats were actually "Wheelchair Access" seats on the 1st tier. They sold them once the rest of the space sold out, and we had ample room to sit in comfortable chairs with lots of space around us. And the position afforded me a great and unobstructed view. I can't say I've sonically experienced anything on par with this, live music wise, in decades. The sound was phenomenal, the harmonies were perfection, and although Mr. Wilson’s demeanor and singing voice show the signs of age and personal demons well documented by now, the event was a complete joy to have experienced. It was far more “fun fun fun” than I’d imagined it would be. So much more so that, come early 2017 when he’s scheduled to return on this tour to Santa Barbara, I may just throw my kids in the car and make the drive down and back to see it once again and allow them the opportunity to experience it as well.
The 1st few notes of "California Girls" opening the show was a huge thrill, as were the succession of deeply familiar hits. "Don't Worry Baby" was sung by one of Brian's band members, introduced as "Matt" by his father, Al Jardine! How cool is that? Another performer, Blondie Chapman, who's worked with the Beach Boy in later years, was present and played lead guitar, but they went deep into a few more obscure tracks towards the close of set 1. Frankly, they sort of lost me at that point, and it seemed they'd lost Brian too, who sat at the piano appearing to do little of anything beyond waiting it out, as did I. At the last sound of the last vocals of "Sail on, Sailor", while the rest of band bad conitinued, Brian abruptly rose, waived, and walked off stage. It was quite a surprise. But 30 minutes later they returned and went right into the entire "Pet Sounds" performance. It was breathtaking. All of it. In fact, the sound quality was so noteworthy (pun intended) that I consciously chose to close my eyes and allow my senses to be overtaken by the sounds alone during "Waiting For the Day" and "Let's Go Away for Awhile", and most of the others too. "God Only Knows" received a massive standing ovation, lasting for longer than Brian appeared comfortable with. Aafter a couple of Thank You's he sort of barked "please be seated" a couple of times, appearing almost anxious about the time being spent against a need to move forward. The brilliance of the performances continued right on through, with incredible crystal clear musicianship and harmonies including "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" and closing with "Caroline, No". Brian abruptly stood again and exited after the final vocal segment of the closing track while the band played through to the ending, capped with the playback of the train whistle and barking dogs of the original release. It could not have been done any better. Returning for a 6 song encore of 5 top hits raised the excitement level to a peak for the evening, concluding with the closing performance of "Love and Mercy". As Brian walked off stage, I saw him, just before disappearing out of view, raising a clenched fist of excitement to somebody unseen in the wings, denoting a victorious performance. It was a pleasure to catch that glimpse of his excitement at the performance.
I bought (and I am wearing now as I write this) a T-shirt of the tour as a souvenir after the show. This concert occurred within a few days of the release of his autobiography, “I Am Brian Wilson”, an autobiography that I am almost finished listening to, greatly enjoying, and which is getting very positive reviews as well.
Next year – Phil Collins. :-)