GIG NUMBER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN
Who
We were impatient to get into the arena, figuring that they'd have a selection of food and drink, but in fact we'd have been better off with the cafe outside. The merchandise was quite nice but expensive and inessential. Also there was a mediocre choice of beer served in hard plastic bottles, although I couldn't resist two Fosters! One thing that had intrigued us was learning that we'd be seated in deckchairs, and we were guided to ours, which were further away from the stage than I'd hoped. We'd been quite slow in buying tickets yet the people next to us had purchased them the second they had come out and had done no better, so it probably could have been worse! The guys next to us were two Americans who were in the music business. They were friendly and very knowledgeable about Brian and what songs he was likely to play. The people in front were randomly moving the seats about and we laid back in reasonable comfort. However the idea of sitting back while the music "washes over us", which was obviously what the organisers had in mind, isn't the best when you're seeing someone as good as Brian. You want to sit up and enjoy the music, not sit back and ignore it! We'd undertook very little preparation for the show, occasionally reminding ourselves in disbelief that we'd be seeing Brian Wilson. But I hadn't played any Beach Boys music to get myself into the spirit and in fact was more interested in Dennis Wilson and the lovely Pacific Ocean Blue at the time. We'd been told that the event was supported by Jacques and had expected a French electro act in the vein of Jean Michel Jarre. However it turned out that Jacques were the sponsor, as a cheesy announcement over the loudspeakers confirmed.
Just as had happened the last time, "show starts at 7:30pm" meant literally what it said, and Brian came on to play California Girls! The fact that everybody was still taking their seats ruined what should have been a wonderful moment on a nice British summer's day. You'd had thought they'd had learned from previous mistakes and made it crystal clear that it would be Brian himself appearing at 7:30pm, as our enjoyment was interrupted by everyone pushing past us. And think how bad it must be for the people who missed some of the show, which would have been even more frustrating? It's a shame that the perfect Beach Boys opener had been undermined in this manner. Brian was sitting down wearing sunglasses and seemed to be in good voice. As before, the rest of the band provided a very strong backing for him, meaning that if Brian were to stop singing they could almost get away with it. The first surprises were Hawaii and Drive-In, which are two classics I'm very happy to have heard. Brian even asked us before Hawaii where we'd like to go on holiday, and without a seconds hesitation I guessed the song he'd be playing! Brian also briefly launched into Row Your Boat, trying to get everyone to sing along before getting bored by the lackluster crowd participation and quickly moving on! My opinion of the songs didn't change much however, as When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) was still mediocre and Salt Lake City was again fantastic. It was also nice to hear Don't Worry Baby live for the first time, even thought it's far from being my favourite. The sound quality was fine, if probably not as good as before, and the main positive of the set was the sheer volume of hits. That Lucky Old Sun may have been coming out a few months afterwards but Brian was not plugging it tonight. There were only a handful of tunes from after the 1960s and this was a pretty nostalgic setlist with no forwards-looking focus. Unless Brian were to do a special tour focusing on a specific album, I can see little being added by another repeat viewing.
Do You Wanna Dance? went down much better than it deserved to and we finally rose to our feet for I Get Around and Do It Again. After building up this momentum, Brian then left the stage for a break, resetting the atmosphere back to zero. We reasoned that he may split the show into three forty-minute portions and decided to wait for a second interval before getting more drinks. We also were surprised to see Brian himself sitting on the stage during the pause! He resumed with All Summer Long and Catch A Wave, which were two very welcome additions. Shame on the people who'd got tickets who were playing football in the next field instead of watching the show, and praise the four guys wearing Hawaiian shirts who got up and randomly started to dance in coordination, before sitting down to a round of applause! Breakaway was another one he hadn't played before and it was quite nice, but still remains one of my least favourite Beach Boys hits. However, we were on our feet again for a definitive take on Heroes And Villains before sitting down as he followed it with Add Some Music To Your Day! We then rose again for the double-whammy of Sloop John B and God Only Knows, which provoked very strong reactions for two quiet tunes due to their loveliness, before tutting as people sat down for Sail On, Sailor and Marcella! It had become clear that Brian had no intention of having another break, which was a shame as I'd hoped to buy a bottle of wine, and now the sun started to go down as Good Vibrations was greeted with the reverence and enthusiasm it deserved.
There's very little new to say about the finale as it was so similar to last time, with Brian teasing us by playing almost the best five songs ever written one after another! Help Me Rhonda and Barbara Ann were probably even more energised than they had been the last time and Brian again stood up for the wonderful Surfin' U.S.A. and Fun, Fun, Fun. On paper this set was much better than the famous Beach Boys At Knebworth 1980 show, but the deckchairs had stopped it from being as energetic as it should have been. Brian had played every single old tune he'd played last time, except for his cover of She's Leaving Home by The Beatles. He'd also thrown in a lot of choice classics from the rest of his rich back catalogue, the only disappointment being over-reliance on the tunes of the 1960s. A bit of Honkin' Down The Highway would not go amiss Brian! The introducing the band section was slightly quicker than before, even featuring a bit of Smoke On The Water, yet the love for Brian didn't seem as intense as it had done at the Royal Festival Hall. His finale was an offering from the new album and was the newest song played by a scary 34 years! We applauded him offstage and made our way towards the exit, feeling very clever as we made for the quietest bus stop. Disappointingly, there was no bus for far too long, but we eventually got back OK. Maybe in retrospect I do wish I'd seen him at the Royal Albert Hall as I'd imagine it would be a lovely venue and perfect surroundings for such a legendary artist. This set was a bit too sedate and nostalgic for its own good and was only a fraction as memorable as seeing Macca for the first time had been, but the sheer relentless quality of the tunes had made it a winner!
Mark: 9.0/10
Brian Wilson
Where
London Kenwood House
When
28th June 2008
Price
£33.00
Who with
Matt
Position
Seated, in the middle
Comments
I thought I wouldn't see Brian Wilson again. The first time was so perfect that I figured "why bother?" However, at £33 a ticket how could anyone resist? I chose this over the show at the Royal Albert Hall because it was at the weekend and I quite liked the idea of seeing him outdoors. It was billed as an "English Heritage Picnic Concert" too, which certainly sounded very pleasant! Brian came towards the end of a largely successful weekend, featuring a trip to Kensington Palace, a revisit to the Natural History Museum and also a return to The British Museum, where I saw the Crystal Skull, which had been unceremoniously placed in a dark corner. I also enjoyed a free Argentinean steak meal plus a barbeque on the day of the show. Indeed the only disappointment was an attempted trip to Wimbledon. Last year I went there on a Saturday, with great tennis and hot weather. This time I attempted to go on a Friday with a risk of showers and nobody particularly good was playing. We were therefore shocked and baffled to encounter a six-hour queue, as opposed to five minutes last time, which scuppered our plans for that day considerably. Nevertheless on Saturday we were having plenty of fun and found it difficult to tear ourselves away from the barbeque to travel to the show. I was particularly pleased that I'd drunk quite a lot yet it had had very little effect on me. The tube was running smoothly and we travelled to Golders Green, making this the first time I'd ever been outdoors on the Northern Line! We then caught a normal bus to Kenwood House as the shuttle buses weren't signposted properly, but as buses in London are effectively free anyway this wasn't much of a problem. We arrived at Kenwood House and followed the crowds into the grounds, observing that it was a small building with some nice open space around it. A lot of people were sitting around outside the arena and I guess that they were hoping to overhear some Brian for free, even though the stage and barriers had been spitefully positioned so they wouldn't be able to see anything of note!
Setlist
California Girls
Then I Kissed Her
Dance, Dance, Dance
Surfer Girl
Hawaii
Drive-In
You're So Good To Me
When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)
Salt Lake City
Do You Wanna Dance?
Don't Worry Baby
I Get Around
Do It Again
All Summer Long
Catch A Wave
Girl Don't Tell Me
In My Room
Please Let Me Wonder
I'd Love Just Once To See You
The Little Girl I Once Knew
Breakaway
Heroes And Villains
Add Some Music To Your Day
Sloop John B
God Only Knows
Sail On, Sailor
Marcella
Good Vibrations
Johnny B Goode
Help Me Rhonda
Barbara Ann
Surfin' U.S.A.
Fun, Fun, Fun
Southern California
