It seems like six months barely go by these days without the so-called Beach Boys passing through B.C. on the casino concert circuit. Of course, everyone knows these are The Beach Boys in name only. The spirit of the band exited years ago with the passing of Dennis and Carl Wilson, and the departure and psychological struggles of its undeniable musical genius, Brian Wilson.
Which made this opportunity to catch the great man in person on the last stop of his 2011 Tour a must-see for music nerds. Even the knowledge that he'd be playing two sets, one featuring his interpretation of George and Ira Gershwin compositions, couldn't deter a theatre full of concert-goers with first-hand memories of the 1960s, interspersed with a generous smattering of youngsters with a taste for pop history.
Accompanied by 14 of the finest musicians in North America, the man of the hour shuffled on stage to a standing ovation and proceeded to play the ‘Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin' album from beginning to end.
It's a fine concept, executed to perfection. The raw material includes some of the most famous songs of the first half of the twentieth century and putting them through Brian Wilson's brain produces far more hits than misses. ‘They Can't Take That Away From Me' re-emerges as classic surf pop. The harmonies on ‘Summertime' and ‘It Ain't Necessarily So' are as rich and creamy as anything on Wilson's orchestral pop masterpiece, ‘Pet Sounds'. Through the Queen Elizabeth Theatre's exquisite sound system, the effect is like being gently massaged with audio.
After a brief intermission Wilson and the band launch into ‘Do It Again'. An hour and a half later, they've somehow ploughed through 27 more Beach Boys classics. It's nostalgia gone wild. But what sets tonight apart from the golden oldies circuit is that this is much more than a greatest hits party.
"I wrote this song for John Lennon," smiles Wilson from his piano stool, before kick-starting the brilliant album track ‘Girl Don't Tell Me', just one of a handful of lesser-known songs on display that he's rightfully proud of.
Naturally, the hits are plentiful. Few songwriters have a back catalogue this rich. Highlights? How about ‘I Get Around', ‘California Girls', ‘Wouldn't It Be Nice', ‘Sloop John B' and ‘God Only Knows'. Had Wilson and his band delivered ‘Good Vibrations' then sat on stage clipping their toenails in silence for two hours, the crowd would still have left happy that it'd had its money's worth.
It's an evening celebrating the musical ideas of Brian Wilson. For a 69-year old man, it's only natural that his voice isn't what it was decades ago. Clearly a long way from peak physical (or mental) condition, he sits still behind his keyboard for virtually the entire performance and introduces every song with a brief explanation and a modest smile. This is the man whose early records were the first great celebrations of the teenager and whose finest work still tops all-time album polls. Being in his presence is honour enough.
It helps that he's surrounded himself by brilliant musicians, including a guitarist, Jeff Foskett, who looks like Paul Sorvino but sings like Carl Wilson. And it's this band that takes the lead during an encore including ‘Help Me Rhonda', ‘Surfin' USA' and ‘Fun Fun Fun', turning the Queen Elizabeth Theatre (including its dancing in the aisles ushers) to a 1965 beach house party.
It was never a fair fight: Wilson's song writing legacy soundly pummels the iconic work of the Gershwins.
Still, as record sales slowly become an irrelevance and new music loses its potency, don't be surprised when musicians follow Brian Wilson's lead (again) and launch tours highlighting familiar set lists that celebrate their influences. Kings of Leon re-imagine U2. Coldplay pay homage to Echo and the Bunnymen. Lady Gaga recreates Madonna. Although with that last example, she's obviously started already.
