Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The Spin The Spin: Brian Wilson at The Ryman
Posted by The Spin on Tue, Nov 11, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Photo by Steve Cross.
For more photos, check out the slideshow.
We went into Monday night's Brian Wilson show at The Ryman with a pretty good idea of what to expect: a living legend sitting at the front of the stage making hand gestures and crooning away while his band of consummate professionals flawlessly executed his new record, That Lucky Old Sun in its entirety, plus a set of Beach Boys classics.
As proceedings got underway promptly at 8 p.m., the band came out and the man of the hour was announced, appropriately, as the "Mozart of rock." Off the bat he surprised us with his extreme enthusiasm as he talked to the crowd and did his best to seem like a performer—which he really is not. This was reassuring, as it wiped away our fears that he would just go through the motions or seem generally unaware that he was even onstage, as has been the case at other Wilson shows in the past.
Opening with "California Girls," he and the band proceeded through a repertoire of classics including "Surfer Girl," "Don't Worry Baby," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "God Only Knows" and "I Get Around," among others, each retaining the resplendent beauty they had upon conception. This was made possible by the 11 aces up Wilson's sleeve that are the Wondermints—a Beach Boys cover band par excellence with authenticity provided by Brian Wilson himself, who lends them both his name and iconic voice. With almost every member of the band singing impeccable harmonies while utilizing a music store's worth of equipment to re-create the Beach Boys recordings to a T, they are what makes the price of admission worth it. Pop symphonies played this perfectly simply can't be heard anywhere else.
With Wilson sitting behind a keyboard that he never actually plays, there really is no other performance aspect to hang onto aside from the shock and awe of hearing such familiar auditory bliss come live off the stage. The best way to enjoy it is to sit back, close your eyes, and let it wash over you. Luckily, the mix at The Ryman was near perfect for this show, as it would have been a travesty had it not been.
After a brief intermission we headed back in for the predictably anti-climactic performance of That Lucky Old Sun. As in the previous set, the recording was impressively replicated—string section and all. While the TLOS material pales in comparison to indelible classics of the first set, it is worth noting that it was performed with a greater sense of purpose by both the band and Wilson—who really did seem to revel in the midst of his own creation. That being said, The Van Dyke Parks narrative sections and the short videos that accompanied them were a little awkward.
Nevertheless, the overall display did warm the cockles of our cold, cold heart, and we weren't alone, as overall this was about as warm an audience reception as you'll ever see, at least in this town. After the conclusion of the record the band played a sock-hoppin' victory lap of classics including "Barbara Ann," "Surfin' Safari USA" and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." This got the crowd—white people of all ages and fashion inclinations—up, dancing and ready for the holiday season that is soon upon us.
Comments (16)
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Didn't mention that he played bass during the 2nd encore and finished with a beautiful version of "Love and Mercy."
That Lucky Old Sun is not better than Smile, but it's actually very good... besides the spoken-word interludes. As an album, though, TLOS is very cohesive and very enjoyable.
i was prepared for disaster but i too was pleasantly surprised. the music and harmonies were amazing even though i had to close my eyes a few times to keep brian's hand gestures from tainting the memory. very glad i went. i'd say the ryman was less than half full btw.
Is that video monitor in front of his keyboard so he can read the right lyrics, do you think? Not trying to be snarky, asking seriously.
I watched the first half of the show from the main floor and second half from the balcony, on the mf it felt like it was at half capacity but the balcony was packed. The auditorium was about 2/3 filled.
I too was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the show. I expected Brian to be a statue and hardly participate. He sang lead on songs that Carl and Mike recorded (ex. God Only Knows, Fun Fun Fun) and was involved in most every song. After the first 3-4 numbers, my wife and I looked at each other and commented how much better he sounded than we anticipated. He hit a few notes I was surprised he even attempted.
TLOS is amazingly good in my opinion. I wouldn't say it's better than Smile but it may be an easier listen. If you are a fan at all I would reccomend it. I picked up the special edition that also has an interesting DVD about the recording of the album.
One note, they did not play "Surfin Safari" as teh review states. They played "Fun, Fun Fun" as one of the last numbers.
Actually, they did not play "Surfin Safari" as the article states. Near the end, they played "Surfin USA" and "Fun, Fun, Fun". The "Wondermints" are one of the most amazing collection of voices and musicians I have ever seen on a stage. Much better musically than the Beach Boys. But there still is something missing when you hear Beach Boys songs live without Carl Wilson's lovely voice.
I was blown away by the Wondermints. I simply couldn't believe how true to the recordings they were. They deserve all the credit performance-wise. And yes the monitor behind his keyboard was undoubtedly to remind him of the lyrics. But after what he's been through, you can't blame him.
i literally fell asleep in my pew towards the end of that lucky old sun. i think brian played the album in its entirety to weed out the fans from the real fans. real fans would have definitely taken the day off work so that they wouldnt be tempted to lay down in the middle of the show, and real fans would have definitely paced themselves with the rum & diets.
about the Wondermints-
only four members of Brian Wilson's band are The Wondermints. The others are musicians that Brian hired- in fact all but three were hired in 1999 (including the four Wondermints)
This is the way Brian's music is meant to be heard live- with all the instrumentation and vocal harmonies it entails. I loved the Beach Boys. They were my first concert in Sept. of 1964, but Brian is the genius behind the music. The Beach Boys could never capture the full measure of the music live. This was the full measure and it was awe inspiring and magical to hear.
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