What Happens When Beach Boys Grow Old?

The Beach Boys now ...

... And the Beach Boys then.

It was about 20 minutes into The Beach Boys concert at the Merriweather Post Pavilion tonight. The young 20-something sitting on the blanket next to us had a revelation. "God, they're old," he blurted out. "I mean really old."

And he's right. The Beach Boys, who began their career 50 years ago, are old. In fact, by the end of this summer's 50th Anniversary tour all 3 of the original remaining 5 members - Brian Wilson, Mike Love, and Al Jardine - will have turned 70. Their blond surfer hair has gone grey or missing. Their hands, now covered with age spots, shake as they strum their guitars or strike the keyboard. Brian Wilson, the main composer of the group's massive hits catalog whose mental and emotional struggles have been well-documented, sits at his piano away from the rest of his group in a near catatonic state. Sometimes he simply sits and stares, as if unaware of what is happening on the stage around him. Other times, when he sings, he mumbles, coughs, or is painfully out of tune. Obviously, none of the members of the group can hit all those high harmonies which were so much a part of the California surf and sun style they introduced with their 1st records in the early 60s. That task is left to some of the 10 backing musicians who are accompanying the Boys on this tour.

But despite all the physical limitations imposed by age on the singers, you can't dispute the brilliance of The Beach Boys songs. The term genius is overused, but I believe Brian Wilson qualifies. He, Love, Jardine, and his deceased brothers Dennis and Carl provided the American soundtrack for the years between Elvis Presley and the 1st rock and rollers and the arrival of The Beatles. During their career they have produced 93 records which have appeared on the Billboard charts. They first graced the top 10 with "Surfin' U.S.A." the week of June 15, 1963. Their new reunion release "That's Why God Made the Radio" (their first album of all-new material since 1992) showed up at Number 3 last week, allowing the Beach Boys to break a record by expanding their span of Billboard 200 top 10s to 49 years and one week.

It was the hits that the Merriweather Post crowd wanted to hear. And, in that respect, the Beach Boys did not disappoint, performing a 26-song 1st set, a 19-song 2nd set, and a 3-song encore. (You can check out the complete set list for the 3-hour show by clicking here).

The 1st set was definitely the weaker of the two. It was plagued by song choices that seemed to start and then abruptly stop the crowd. The 2nd set began on the same tone, falling to the night's nadir with a cringe-producing  attempt by Brian on  "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times."  But immediately the tenor of the night changed.  The band performed back to back strong renditions of "Sail On, Sailor" and "In My Room." After 2 newer tunes, the band paid tribute to the deceased Wilson brothers. On the giant screens, Dennis sang "Forever" and Carl provided posthumous vocals for one of the group's most beautiful love songs "God Only Knows." After that, as if filled with the spirit of their former bandmates, the group forced the crowd to its feet with a phenomenal version of "Good Vibrations." They stayed there  as "California Girls" segued into "All Summer Long," followed by "Help Me, Rhonda," "Rock and Roll Music," "Do You Wanna Dance?" and "Surfin' USA".

By the time the last notes of "Kokomo," "Barbara Ann" and "Fun, Fun, Fun" rang out, it was 1962 again. The surf was up and all the girls were the prettiest in the world. Forget age spots. Forget a few more pounds. Forget grey hair or shaky hands. It was summer. The sounds were right. The Beach Boys let you believe. Summer is eternal and, in our memories at least, we really can stay forever young.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
Rock and roll was supposed to be young people's music. "Hope I die before I get old," the singers sang. "Don't trust anyone over 30," their listeners responded. But life ages all. Rockers are no exceptions. The night after the Beach Boys played, Little Richard, who this summer will turn 80, performed at the newly restored Howard Theater in DC. He had to be carried to the stage and spends his off-stage time confined to a wheel chair. Reportedly, the Rolling Stones are planning their own 50th anniversary celebration sometime later this year. When they take the stage, Mick Jagger will be 69 and his younger sidekick Keith Richards will be 68. Keith addressed the issue of rock and age a few years ago. Nobody seems concerned about bluesmen in their 80s and 90s performing; why should rock n' roll be any different, he asked.  I hope Keith is right. There  may be more missed notes and wrong chords than there were 50 or 60 years ago. But it will still be the same rock of our youth. And we can all still like it as long as our hearing holds out.