Brian Wilson @ the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach on 1/27/07
I’d never been to the Terrace. It’s kind of a stuffy auditorium that was probably a beautiful place to see a show back in the 1970s. It’s the kind of place that doesn’t let you take food or drinks to your seats. I saw Brian Wilson twice on the Smile tour and both shows were fantastic. Given the fact that Pet Sounds is one of my favorite albums ever, my expectations were high (perhaps too high). As usual the band came out and played a set before launching into the full album. When I saw him at the Disney Hall doing Smile, the opening set was fantastic. He even performed “Forever” and dedicated it to his brother Dennis - very moving and emotional. The opening set at the Hollywood Bowl also had some great moments. The opening set tonight was not quite as interesting as the other two.
Let’s take a look at it:
“Surfer Girl” – Good pick. Very solid early Beach Boys song.
“Hawaii” – From the same album as “Surfer Girl” but not nearly as good
“Add Some Music To Your Day” – Great choice. I love the album Sunflower.
“Please Let Me Wonder” – Ok – While not one of my favorite tracks, it’s represents a nice transition song when the Beach Boys started to get more interesting.
“Drive-In” – Eh – I’d much rather hear “Wendy” or “Little Honda”
“Then I Kissed Her” – Yeah, I know Spector was very influential on Brian, but this isn’t high on my list of favorite Beach Boys songs. It was great to see Al Jardine perform and sing with Brian again. Jardine looked and sounded exactly the same.
“Break Away” – This is decent selection; especially since it was written with his dad.
“Dance, Dance, Dance” – It was a hit for them, but it doesn’t hold up like a lot of their stuff.
“The Little Girl I Once Knew” – This is a good choice, and one that Brian always seems to play.
“Do It Again” – This was one of the Beach Boys comeback tracks after they’d lost a lot of their popularity. It’s decent, but not high on my list of favorites.
“In My Room” – This is a great song. It’s one of Brian’s early explorations of his melancholy side and his feeling that he didn’t quite fit in with the world. I’ll never get sick of it.
“California Saga” – Eh. I guess for Al?
“Do You Wanna Dance?” – Not really.
“When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)” – This is another one of Brian’s more interesting early songs. I’ve always liked it.
“I Get Around” – It was their first number one song, but nothing I really need to hear again. It was a crowd pleaser, so I really shouldn’t complain.
“California Girls” – I guess they kind of have to play it. I don’t really mind.
“Sail On, Sailor” – I’ve always liked this one. Blondie Chaplin sang it on the record, but I’m happy to hear Brian do it.
“Marcella”- Wasn’t this named after one of Brian’s favorite prostitutes? Very odd choice.
“Good Vibrations” – I love it and I can’t imagine any band in the world playing it better than Brian’s backing band. It was a great transition song to get me re-invigorated about seeing them do Pet Sounds.
After a 20 minute intermission the band came out and played Pet Sounds in its entirety. Brian’s band, led by Darian Sahanaja, is amazing. I mean, the fact that Darian got Brian to finally finish/re-do Smile still surprises me. The venue sounded fantastic. The guys who talked to each other during the whole opening set, restrained themselves during the quiet songs. The only problem with the performance was a result of the nature of some of the Pet Sounds songs. The songs (like “You Still Believe in Me”) are so fragile and many of them hinge on Brian’s voice. Unfortunately, Brian’s just not able to pull some of them off. The symphonic nature of Smile was able to mask some of the limitations. That said, there were five songs in a row that were stunning and brought the house to their feet – “Sloop John B,” “God Only Knows,” “I Know There’s an Answer,” “Here Today” and “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times.” That stretch pounded home Brian’s genius as a songwriter. I wasn’t brought to tears (like many of us were during Smile) but it was very powerful and transcendent. And I’ll keep seeing Brian with these guys every chance I get.
The encore was pretty anti-climactic. He played the crowd pleasers for the people who probably go see Mike Love when he’s in town. “Johnny B. Goode,” “Help Me Rhonda,” “Barbara Ann,” “Surfin' USA,” and “Fun Fun Fun” Then they came back and did a second encore with “Love and Mercy” – which was a nice touch.
All in all, not as good as the two Smile shows I saw, but still better than 95% of the bands I see. It's easy to be overly critical and pick apart the setlist, but the reality is that Wilson's a living legend and one of the greatest songwriters ever. I'll happily see him again.
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