Beach Boys Kick Out The Jams
LOS ANGELES — The Whiskey A-Go-Go can be the biggest pain in the ass this side of hell, as loud music has seen people resort to the use of ear-plugs. Once in a while, however, loud music is replaced by exceptionally good music and a fine time is had by all.
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Beach Boys Kick Out The Jams
LOS ANGELES — The Whiskey A-Go-Go can be the biggest pain in the ass this side of hell, as loud music has seen people resort to the use of ear-plugs. Once in a while, however, loud music is replaced by exceptionally good music and a fine time is had by all. These times are usually when rock ‘n’ roll replaces shlock rock.
Well, the Beach Boys played the Whiskey for four nights recently, and the club will never be the same. They were so fucking good that people were literally hanging on to the walls and swinging from the balcony. It was totally unreal, the Beach Boys playing their old songs at the Whiskey.
Carl Wilson has grown a beard and has long hair, Mike Love’s beard is at least a foot long and he wears a hat, A1 Jardine looks the same as he did 10 years ago, Dennis Wilson got back from making a movie with James Taylor, and Brian Wilson — he was there too after not performing with the group for about four years.
They had a flock of musicians on brass, more drums and keyborads. The audience was going crazy as the group played oldie upon oldie, breaking it up with songs from their latest album Sunflower and saying how great it was to be back in Los Angeles where they hadn’t played for too many years.
Thoughts of old boy friends and girl friends, surfboards, hot cars and erasin’ and burgers ran rampant through the audience who were singin’ along, clappin’ their hands and dancing in their seats. The Beach Boys proved they’re still one of the greatest acts in the world of rock music.
“I Get Around”, “Surfer Girl”, “Barbara Ann’’, California Girls”, “Good Vibrations”, “Sloope John B.”, “God Only Knows” and many more blasts from yesterday kept the Whiskey on a high for hours upon hours.
Until the Beatles came around late in ’63, the Beach Boys were the biggest group in the world. They sing about what everybody was doing, or possibly it was the other way around. No matter, the Beach Boys have something about them that is hard not to like.
From the part of the club where the press and industry people were sitting on opening night, continual screams of “Be True To Your School” could be heard, but Mike Love finally responded with “that’s too heavy.”
It was too much to take. Hearing the old songs, originally sung by five clean looking surfer-hot rodders, now being sung by the same five guys who look like a lot of other musicians.
It was an evening that the Whiskey will long remember.
Jeff Sherwood
