Al Jardine’s Face Time

The Beach Boys
Beacon Theatre
May 9th

They do it-ed!  Again!  Just like the song says!  They old, but they no moldy.  They the Beach Boys, the ultimate American band, and if you think otherwise, we’re gonna get the House Un-American Activities Committee to come ittee to your house and make your activities nothing but American!!  Carl & Dennis Wilson are gone and surely missed, but the Boys of Beach didn’t miss a beat.  Sure, they aint those golden haired boys catching waves no more (although Dennis was the only surfer in the band), but these gray haired gentlemen were true to their school and their roots and to their fans and even to John Stamos who made like 2188282 cameos

We had seen Brian twice and the Mike Lovely version of the BBs at Coney two years ago, but not together, WITH AL JARDINE’S FACE, since the 80s, when wees was a child and they seemed to play DC’s 4th of July thing year after year. Now we old(er) and appreciate them more, and happy they put their greedy differences behind them and reunited to tour and roar, and roar they did.  Sure, a lot of the hactual music work is supplied by Brian’s usual and brilliant touring band, with them falsetto spots hit up by long time associate Jeff Foskett, but who cares, as long as a Beach Boys concert sounds like a Beach Boy concert, no?  Well, it did, and it sounded flawless!  Honestly, when all the Boys pass on (which we hope is never), we’d pay to see Brian’s backing band in concert.  They’re already pretty much the greatest Beach Boys cover band going!

They played 44 songs(!!!!!) and outside of ‘Disney Girls’ (it’s fine and all, but the one song you can use to take a pee break during) and ‘Kokomo’ (sure, it blows-a-mo, but we understand why it needs to be included), the tracks they choose were solid choices from a catalog that offers too munch goodness to choose from, and choosy moms choose JIF AND THE BEACH BOYS!!!!

First Set - Do It Again / Catch a Wave / Hawaii / Don’t Back Down / Surfin’ Safari / Surfer Girl / Please Let Me Wonder / You’re So Good to Me / Wendy / Then I Kissed Her / The Little Girl I Once Knew / Why Do Fools Fall in Love (Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers cover) / When I Grow Up (to Be a Man) / Cotton Fields (Lead Belly cover) / Disney Girls / Don’t Worry Baby / Little Honda / Be True to Your School / Little Deuce Coupe / 409 / Shut Down / I Get Around

Second Set - California Dreamin’ (Mamas & the Papas cover) / Sloop John B / Wouldn’t It Be Nice / Forever / Sail On, Sailor / Heroes and Villains / In My Room / All This Is That / This Whole World / I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times / God Only Knows / That’s Why God Made the Radio / California Girls / All Summer Long / Help Me, Rhonda / Rock and Roll Music (Chuck Berry cover) / Do You Wanna Dance? (Bobby Freeman cover) / Barbara Ann (The Regents cover) / Surfin’ USA

Encore  –  Kokomo / Good Vibrations / Fun, Fun, Fun

if you have ears and eyes, it is your American civic/cervix duty to see these Boys on tour this summer