The Beach Boys
Jones Beach
June 24th

There’s just something about seeing The Beach Boys in an aquatic setting that just screams BEACHY KEEN!!!  And there was plenty of beachy screams too, by us, cause we become lil girls when seeing the American Beatles, although most of the ladies in the audience only got wetty wet when Uncle Jessie reared his pretty head, when the ladies should only be getting wetty wet at the sight of Al Jardine’s face, Brian Wilson’s crazed-genius, Mike Love’s a$$holey bravado, Bruce Johnston’s smile, David Marks’ marksmanship, and the non-original B-Boy member who’s the true glue making this show the tour of the summer - Jeff Foskett [read this article]

Most people wouldn’t bother seeing The Beach Boys in this day and age, and given their age.  Understandably, as one would think that their concert would be juss one giant geriatric wheelchair bound nostalgia stale air affair, but if one thinks that way, then one will miss out on perhaps one of the last chances to see Rock n Roll royalty reign, and if you do dis & miss out, yer a grade-AAAAA moron and should be deported back to Uranus or whatever anus you came from [we’ve said this before, but repeating things sometimes drives homeslice a point]

The show was basically the same as the Beacon one we saw a month ago, but the fellas dropped a few different tunes into the mix [set list below].  The biggest and bestest addition was ‘Our Prayer’, the actual lead-in intro to ‘Heroes & Villians’ (one of their bestest), and while the song contains no instruments and very few words (mainly ‘oooooh’s, ‘aaaaah’s and a bunch of ‘doooot’s), it captures the pure (cabin) essence of what The Beach Boys are – perfect harmony, in harmony.  YOU CAN HEAR THE LIVE VERSION OF ‘OUR PRAYER’ HEAR!!!

and - more of what they sound like live these days HEAR

Also, whilst wees here, their new album…

is what you would expect from the Beach Boys at 50 (the band’s age, not theirs).  there are slower paced songs about reflecting on times past, and cars and surfing, and other California dreamts.  As a whole, it doesn’t pack much of anything, but hearing songs like the title track & ‘Isn’t It Time’ live, alongside their hits of yesteryear, they sound like they is from yesteryear too!!!  That’s a good thing  Why?  CAUSE GOD MADE THE RADIO, THAT’S WHY!!!!!

First Set – Do It Again / Little Honda / Catch A Wave / Hawaii / Don’t Back Down / Surfin’ Safari / Surfer Girl / Please Let Me Wonder / Marcella / Wendy / Then I Kissed Her /Kiss Me, Baby / Getcha Back / Why Do Fools Fall in Love /When I Grow Up (to Be a Man) / Disney Girls / Isn’t It Time / California Saga / Cotton Fields / Be True to Your School / Don’t Worry Baby / Little Deuce Coupe / 409 / Shut Down / I Get Around

Second Set – Pet Sounds Instrumental /Add Some Music To Your Day / Our Prayer / Heroes and Villains / Sloop John B / Wouldn’t It Be Nice / I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times / Sail On, Sailor / All This Is That / That’s Why God Made The Radio / In My Room / Forever / God Only Knows / Good Vibrations / California Girls / Help Me, Rhonda / Rock and Roll Music / Do You Wanna Dance? / Surfin’ U.S.A.

Encore – Kokomo / Barbara Ann / Fun, Fun, Fun

Seeing the Boys shine together again, with zero signs of rust (just wrinkles), got we thinkings, what if John Lennon had lived?  We all think that a Beatles reunion was something that would have NEVER happened, but that’s mainly cause Lennon’s death rendered that idea moot.  The Beatles were only 10 years apart when John died, but had he lived, there’s no doubt they woulda reunited (even Led Zepp did, without Bonham, once!), and with a full backing band behind them, like The Boys of Beach have, The Beatles would have been able to reproduce that magical mystery studio tour sound on actual tour.  Imagine. What if.  WHAT IF!!!  If only.  And imagine there’s no religion too.  The only thing you don’t have to imagine is what Al Jardine’s face looks like, cause you can see it live, NOW!!!

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

you know the drill – we know nothing of new music (we only listened to four new releases and only liked two of them), cause we love old music, and yer probably muse-sick of hearing all this, but who flipping cares.  by the way, what is Skrillex?  by the way, who flapping cares???????  OK, without further apoo or aplomb or aplum or anapricot

You Can Call
These Al-bums!!!

Bestest Merging of Ladies
& Tron Album of The Year

Ladytron – Gravity The Seducer

[review|buy]

Bestest Music
To Drink The Kool-Aid To

Cults – Cults

[buy]

Reissue That Will Make You
Grab Lotion & Tissues

The Beach Boys – The SMiLE Sessions

[buy]

Discoveries
That Electrified Our Ovaries

Harry Nilsson – Nilsson Schmilsson

[buy]

&

Miriam Makeba – Her Essential Recordings:
The Empress of African Song

[buy]

Tunses For Toonces

‘Abducted‘ by Cults

‘And The Living Is Easy‘ by Guts

‘Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win‘ by The Beastie Boys featuring Santigold

‘Friday‘ by Rebecca Black

‘Immigrant Song‘ by Karen O, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

‘Lina Magic‘ by 3D Friends

‘Mirage‘ by Ladytron

‘Nightcall‘ - by Kavinsky featuring Lovefoxxx

‘Oh My Heart‘ by R.E.M.

‘Pata Pata‘ by Miriam Makeba

‘Sexy Boy‘ by The Fallen Angels 

‘She’s Got Nothing On (But the Radio)‘ by Roxette

‘Surf’s Up (Piano Demo)‘ by The Beach Boys

+ a biiiiiig ole bonus juss for you – a complete Harry Nillsson primer pack of greatlinessness!! cause you have no idea who he is or how greatlinessness he is/was!!!

Men of a Concert-ain Age

(old folks home edition!)

Paul Simon @ The Beacon

Brian Wilson @ The Wellmont (we shook his hand!!)

The Monkees @ The Beacon

U2 @ Ghettolands II

Crosby, Stills & Nash @ The Beacon

& the past is the passed out

’10
’09
’08
’07
’06
’05
’04
’03

and a final goodbye and a thank you for the music Mr Rob Grill, whose roots were totally grassed

see you in the future, 2012, yo!

we can’t stand Christmas music* with one obvious eggggception…

‘Little Saint Nick‘ [mp3]

[Amazon|thIghtunes]

merry hex-mas, yo!

*it’s OK, as we’re sure you’re no fan of Hanukakkakkkah music

what makes we smile? e-z, the long overdue legitimate release of the 9ever bootlegged never released SMiLE by The Beach Boys!!

if you fell in love with Brian Wilson’s 2004 release, yer gonna flip yer shiz over the newly released SMiLE sessions, which has the blessings of Brian, Al Jardine and Mike Love (hear them talk about it)

for those adventurous folks, there’s a 5 Disc /2 LP boxset which includes everything except a lock of Van Dyke Parks’ hair, including a disc with 35+ versions of ‘Heroes & Villains’ and another with 24 versions of ‘Good Vibrations’!!!!!  GOOD GRAVY VIBRATIONS!!!!!

and for those with lighter pocketbooks, there’s a 2 Disc set, which will certainly set yer ears ablaze!!!

you can listen to a stream of the 2 discs here

or better yet…

YOU CAN WIN yer own 2-DISC SET or SMiLE t-shirt, from yers fooly!!!

all you gotta do is email we a pic of Brian Wilson smiling (a link will do juss fine).  two of yas will be chosen at random as winners, although you all are winners in our book!!!