Catch a Wave ...

I don't think its that ghoulish of me to be in the mode of trying to see all the bands I loved when I was in my teens before they move on or stop playing and touring.  The reality is that they like me are aging but unlike me in many cases have had a much tougher time of things health wise.  Putting it another way, they are simply dying off one by one at an earlier age than maybe they would have otherwise.

The first concert I took the entire family to was The Who at Madison Square Garden in 1997.  As had been my wont, I played the band's songs endlessly at home before hand so they could get some familiarity but in the few days before the concert, it was announced that their long time bassist John Entwistle (The Ox, no less) had died of a heart attack in the Hard Rock Cafe Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas with a hooker and undisclosed amounts of cocaine in his system.  Personally I now eat oatmeal for breakfast instead of the greasy stuff that is so bad for your cholesterol.

So its not too bad a ploy of mine and when I saw Brian Wilson would be in Toronto when I was there with Ali, I thought why not?  Interestingly he was due to be playing in the Danforth Music Hall, a small clubby sort of place.  I'd have thought he'd have been playing in a bigger or more auspicious downtown auditorium as he's such an icon.  But a more clubby atmosphere is far more conducive to great music, so I wasn't complaining.

BW himself has had some troubles in the past.  Wikipedia goes into them at far greater length than I could possibly want to (check here) but in summary: drugs, mental, parental, ego, money and litigation.  A typical rock star in fact.  However these days he's a shadow of his former self but I didn't care, I knew all the songs and was going to sing them with the rest of the audience!

BW and Al Jardine in the foreground

The only remaining family member is in the "Beach Boys" but his high school buddy Al Jardine is there beside him and as the vocalist on "Little Deuce Coupe",  "Shut You Down", "Help me Rhonda" and others, I was pretty happy about that!

Big band though.  It seems like he's dug up virtually everyone who's ever been involved with the Beach Boys and included them in the current touring party for they filled the stage.  But for 2 hours plus, it was magical.

Here's the setlist:

Our Prayer
Heroes and Villains
California Girls
Shut Down (Al Jardine vocals)
Little Deuce Coupe (Al Jardine vocals)
You're So Good to Me
I Get Around
This Whole World
Then I Kissed Her
California Saga: California
In My Room
Surfer Girl
Don't Worry Baby
One Kind of Love
Sail Away
Wild Honey
Sail On, Sailor
Darlin'
Wake the World
Busy Doin' Nothin'
Surf's Up
The Right Time
Wouldn't It Be Nice
Sloop John B
God Only Knows
Good Vibrations
Encore:
All Summer Long
Help Me, Rhonda
Barbara Ann
Surfin' U.S.A.
Fun, Fun, Fun
Love and Mercy

Our vantage

Here's a video of them playing "All Summer Long", a favourite of mine.

What a night!!