BRIAN PET SOUNDS TOUR

Brian review from July 13, 2000 show

Brian Wilson's good and new vibrations By Ken McIntyre, THE WASHINGTON TIMES. Printed with kind permission

Less than two years ago fans of Brian Wilson, the troubled musical genius behind the Beach Boys, could scarcely imagine his return to the stage _ much less that he could confidently sing his way through a full-length concert. But starting with a smattering of dates in small halls in spring 1999 to promote his underappreciated ``Imagination'' album, Mr. Wilson did just that. And this summer, he upped the ante by taking the same formidable, 10-member band on the road for a still-expanding tour designed to showcase the 13 songs that made up his 1966 pop masterpiece, the Beach Boys' ``Pet Sounds'' album. Thursday night in Baltimore, Mr. Wilson faced down his demons and faced his fans, front and center behind an electric piano, to sing three dozen of his most beloved compositions to a rapturous audience at the Pier Six Concert Pavilion. Though he no longer can propel his voice into the angelic falsetto that distinguished so many Beach Boys classics, for the most part he found a comfortable range and put the lyrics across with clarity, strength and conviction. Delighted fans, many of whom doubtless had arrived with lowered expectations, repeatedly jumped to their feet to dance, shout encouragement or give their idol another standing ovation. ``Gee, you must really like these songs,'' he teased at one point. ``OK, onward and upward!'' No one who knows the story of his emotional breakdown and descent into drug abuse, mental illness and obesity in the late '60s _ not to mention short-lived ``comebacks'' with or without the Beach Boys every few years _ could have dared hope that this summer would see Brian Wilson so powerfully reclaiming his beloved songs. Under a bright spotlight and his head turned just so, Mr. Wilson, who turned 58 last month, at times even looked and sounded like the young man of 24 whose sense of melody and harmony and mastery of the recording studio inspired the Beatles and countless others. Mr. Wilson, endearingly childlike in his stage patter and movements, divided the evening into two sets. The first was a smorgasbord of Beach Boys hits and signature tunes, ``California Girls,'' ``I Get Around'' and ``Don't Worry, Baby'' among them. A quick, winking cover of the Barenaked Ladies' tribute ``Brian Wilson'' segued neatly into a haunting ``{nl}'Til I Die.'' As on his wonderful ``Live at the Roxy Theatre,'' a new, two-CD set available from his Web site, Mr. Wilson also pleased discerning fans by performing some lesser known nonhits. He opened with the stop-and-start time signatures of ``Little Girl I Once Knew'' and later offered the heartbreaking ballad ``Please Let Me Wonder,'' the rowdy rocker ``Back Home'' and a tour de force tribute to his life's work, ``Add Some Music To Your Day.'' The second set featured a 40- minute, jaw-dropping performance of the melancholy coming-of- age chronicle ``Pet Sounds'' in its entirety. Highlights included exquisite reproductions of ``God Only Knows,'' ``Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder),'' ``I Just Wasn't Made for These Times'' and ``Caroline No.'' Mr. Wilson's band strutted its considerable stuff for two instrumentals, especially in a percussive jazz workout on ``Pet Sounds'' itself. The star attraction capped the second half with a pulse-pounding rendition of ``Good Vibrations,'' then rode a wave of party favorites like ``Fun, Fun, Fun'' and ``Help Me, Rhonda'' with more credibility and energy than anything the latest Mike Love-led version of the Beach Boys can muster. The faithful musicality of his backing musicians and singers ultimately put Mr. Wilson across. Led by guitarist Jeffrey Foskett _ who ably mimicked his boss' falsettos of 35 years ago _ this band is a collective safety net of soaring harmonies, impeccable playing and obvious devotion to the Wilson songbook. ``It feels so good when you do that,'' Mr. Wilson told the cheering crowd just before launching into ``Wouldn't It Be Nice.'' Long before he closed the show with a plaintive ``Love & Mercy,'' many of them were happy to say the same about the power of his performance.

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