Last Friday I was extremely lucky to see The Beach Boys live at Rod Laver Arena. It's part of their 50th anniversary tour, and as such afforded me the kind of opportunity I never thought I'd get to have. Original lineup (sans Carl and Dennis), 50+ songs, great backing band, and a great view from my 'cheap seat'. It was an awesome night.
I'd read that while the guy's voices still sounded good, they are all 70ish, so hey, expect them to sound different. But I was amazed with the record-quality vocals. Everything sounded great and beautiful. Mike Love sounded like Mike Love, and he still kinda acted like a 20something, groovin' around. Brian Wilson sat at the piano mostly looking pretty glum (...Wasn't Made for These Times), but still sounded great (especially on tracks like Heroes and Villians). And he of course recieved continual ovation. Al Jardine was great, and seemed really fun and charming (and Help Me Rhonda went off).
It was spectacular to see and hear The Beach Boys playings songs like Wouldn't It Be Nice and Good Vibrations. Mythical songs colliding with your reality
