You’d be hard pressed to find a bigger American act in the history of rock and roll than The Beach Boys.
Known for signature harmonies, a cheery disposition and good vibrations, The Beach Boys have won countless awards, produced innumerable hits and have had a career that most musicians can only dream of.
While the lineup has changed quite a bit since the band’s heyday, Mike Love and company brought their talent to the Vilar Performing Arts Center on Friday and Saturday in a show called “Then & Now.”
“See the show will be divided into two parts,” said Love, an original member of the band. “There’ll be the first part, and then the second part.”
While said in jest, Love’s description wasn’t far off—the first half of the show focused on the band’s early days, while the latter half zoomed in on the laters hits the group created.
The show kicked off with “Do It Again,” which was originally released in July of 1968; one of the group’s earliest hits.
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The first half of the show also contained songs such as “Surfin’ USA,” “Wendy,” Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” “I Get Around” and more. The set also included what Love called “an audience cell phone participation song” (meaning that the sudeince was encouraged to wave their cell phone flashlights in the air), “Surfer Girl.” The band now has several more musicians than it did before, but the harmonies on this particular song can only be described as angelic.
The second half of the show kicked of with the band’s rendition of “California Dreamin'” and launched right into several of the biggest songs produced by the group. “Wouldn’t it be Nice,” “California Girls” and “God Only Knows” were played before mega-hits “Barbara Ann,” “Kokomo” and “Good Vibrations” closed out the set.
Throughout the show, songs from Love’s latest solo album, “Unleash the Love” were played, including the title track and “All the Love in Paris.”
An encore allowed the crew to perform two songs from Love’s holiday album “Reason for the Season,” and to close out the show with “Fun Fun Fun.”
While it largely seemed more like a Mike Love and Friends concert than a Beach Boys one, there was no shortage of talent or passion on the stage, ensuring that their musical legacy lives on.