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LENOX - The Berkshires' classical music mecca played host to some classic rock 'n' roll Tuesday evening, as the Beach Boys brought their patented pet sounds of surfing and endless summer to Tanglewood's Koussevitzky Music Shed.
Founding Beach Boy Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, who joined the group when Brian Wilson quit touring in 1964, led the lineup on a virtually non-stop safari through the band's venerable history.
Supporting musicians in this incarnation of the Beach Boys include John Cowsill on keyboard (and lead vocal on "Help Me, Rhonda" which fired up the crowd late in the show), Scott Totten on lead guitar (and Carl Wilson falsetto vocal parts), Tim Bonhomme (keyboards), Chris Farmer and Randell Kirsch (guitar and bass, respectively) and drummer Mike Kowalski.
Kicking off with the 1961 hit "Surfin'" with which the three Wilson brothers, cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine first defined that signature vocal blend, laced with twanging Stratocasters, the band rolled on through "Surfin' Safari," "Catch A Wave," "Hawaii," "Do It Again" "Surf City," "Dance Dance Dance," "Do You Wanna Dance" and more without a break.
Sadly a muddy, synthesized-bass-heavy mix clouded the vocals throughout this marathon opening set, except for Love's baritone lead, a little huskier after all those years of "cruisin'" but far better in tune than Ian Anderson was when Jethro Tull visited Tanglewood last summer. Still, a number of concert-goers close to the stage abandoned ship, evidently impatient with high volume and lack of definition.
After some brief stage patter in which Love thanked "the kids for bringing your grandparents to the show," the band turned a corner and hit its stride with "Surfer Girl," title track of the Beach Boys' third LP. At last the slick, calculated vocal harmonies that etched the band's place in rock history rose to the forefront of the instruments. A bouquet of sentimental songs followed, winding up with a deftly harmonized rendition of "When I Grow Up to Be a Man," and "Getcha Back" from 1985's "The Beach Boys" album.
A rewind to the 1950s encourage much of the crowd to dance and sing along with "Duke of Earl," "Come Go With Me," and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers' 1955 No. 1 R&B hit "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" complete with Brian Wilson's tight, sweet, five-part a cappella intro.
"I'd like to see 'Justin Timberwolf' and his buddies in 'In Stink'" do THAT," Love quipped.
"Be True To Your School" rocked on with a hot Totten solo, into "Still Cruisin'" and a quintet of car songs from "Little Deuce Coupe" and "409" to "I Get Around."
Perhaps the evening's finest musical moment was achieved in Bobby Troup's "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring," a Four Freshmen number that Brian Wilson taught the Boys, and they later sang at President Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in 1985. Its poignant lyrics tapped into a time of innocence, hope and positive outlook, and it was all about singing, pure and from the heart (even after nearly half a century).
Johnston dedicated "God Only Knows" to deceased Wilson brothers Dennis and Carl, and then moved on to a string of favorites including "Good Vibrations," "Sloop John B.," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "Help Me Rhonda," "Barbara Ann" and "Surfin' U.S.A." Encores commenced with "Kokomo" and "California Girls." Clearly the Beach Boys, however fragmented, are still having "Fun, Fun, Fun" and so are their fans. And T-Birds are coming back in style.
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