PHOTOS: RICHIE DOWNS | As a kid there were 2 camps—you were either a Marvel Comics kid or a DC Comics kid, and never both at once. Ever. New Jersey is tough.
Likewise, in my neighborhood you were a Beatles guy or a Beach Boys guy. Some cross-pollination was allowed, but you REALLY had to choose and I was a Beatles guy. I mean, at the time what did I know or care about surfing or cars or California for that matter. And as I got older I’d still shrug when beset upon by some music geek. “C’mon, the harmonies, the HARMONIES…” Yea, yea.
On Saturday night, Brian Wilson with tour compatriot Jeff Beck visited the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC and me in my aisle seat got taught a little lesson. It’s not just enough to boast one of the most beloved catalogs in the annals of all music, of all time…but the harmonies, the HARMONIES.
The evening was divided into 3 segments, the first half Brian as figurehead and bandleader, marched his pitch perfect 10-piece troupe through a historical reverie of classics—”Help Me Rhonda,” Sufin’ USA,” “Good Vibrations,” “God Only Knows” (dedicated to brother Carl), “Little Deuce Coupe” and a host of others for a crowd who, while lacking a youthful glow, made up for it with often overt enthusiasm.
Brian and company departed the stage at intermission and after a brief stage swap, Jeff Beck revved things back up with a shit-hot band, the likes of which I haven’t seen in some time.
“[Jeff’s] guitar playing is so damn good you wouldn’t believe it,” Brian Wilson told us last week. “He can play anything on that guitar. He can play ANYTHING on that guitar!”
And yea, that’s pretty true. “Little Wing” was flown anew, “A Day in the Life” was reanimated with Beck relaying the vocal melody atop his backing band’s roar. It was guitar slingin’ pyrotechnics for sure, but knowing that Beck and Wilson would soon duet, I had to wonder how the pair would mesh. My newly minted appreciation for the B Boys notwithstanding, those songs don’t lend themselves to much extended jamming.
As Beck’s solo set wound down, Brian and band bounded back on stage amidst glowing introductions for what I’ll call an extended encore. Wisely, the best part of what both men do so well was brought to the fore. Beck slid back into Jeff Beck-mode and those harmonies rose like an evangelical Beach Boys reunion among the stars. If the man upstairs needs a backing band, it was on full display Saturday night as the show wound down.
It was literally heavenly, and precisely unforgettable—says this newly minted Beach Boys guy.
“…the harmonies, the HARMONIES…”
