My work is done, the Cruiser is packed, and we leave tomorrow on the morning tide. Somehow in between finishing work and leaving for Iowa we have managed to squeeze in a Beach Boys concert.
I went with a 21 year-old, a 20-year old and a 17 year-old. None of them had been born when I attended my last Beach Boys concert. But they all knew almost all the words to almost all the songs.
On stage, there was Mike and Bruce and about seven guys that I don't know who they were. Last time I saw them, Dennis was gone, but Brian, Carl, and Al were still there. But the new guys are all really good. Especially their new bass player. He has a really sweet falsetto. He sang "Don't Worry Baby" as good as it's ever been sung.
Mike is 63 now. His voice is still pretty good, but he wisely shares the lead singing pretty broadly. Every member of the band sang lead on at least two songs. I won't try to list all the songs they played. They didn't play my favorite (Heroes and Villains), which did not surprise me. They did surprise me by playing "Oh Darling," another fave but a song that was hardly a hit.
The audience was mostly pretty old -- in their 60s -- but maybe that's because the venue is a casino in Tucson. There were some young folks in the crowd, and they all knew the songs. And there were some young people in the band. In my imagination, the Beach Boys just go on forever, rolling in new young members as the old ones roll out, and keep on performing their timeless harmonies. I'll call it the Endless Summer Theory.
So, all God's blessing on the Band That Won't Go Away. And now it's time to pack up the laptop and catch some Zzzs. My next dispatch will be from the road.
1 comment:
That was a fun concert. Jennifer even got me to dance, which surprised no one more than it did me!
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