Brian Wilson
Rosemont Theatre, Chicago (March 10, 1999)
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Brian Wilson
Rosemont Theatre, Chicago
March 10, 1999 |
For a crowd mostly familiar with Brian's work, the 30-minute film gave context to the night's performance by reaffirming the impact his music with the Beach Boys had on its and subsequent generations. It reminded the audience it was about to witness one of rock and roll's certified geniuses enjoying a creative renaissance, and doing something he hadn't done in decades: comfortably and happily perform his music for a large audience.
And he definitely showed up to play. Brian took to his keys with a 13-piece band backing him up: 2 guitars, bass, extra keyboards, 2 drum sets, ample percussion, a theremin and numerous vocals chimed in to recreate the Beach Boys' trademark elaborate harmonies.
Throughout his sporadic career, Brian has shown an almost unnatural sense of composition, preconceiving perfect pop songs with a full range of instrumentation. He's been compared to Beethoven as often as the Four Freshmen. But he's also been stigmatized by a perception of simplicity. Since the Beach Boys' music exists in the pop music arena, rather than say classical or jazz, the general public has been slow to realize the intelligence and depth contained within.
But the spectre of Brian's best music has once again resurfaced in the late '90s. In the wake of 1997's The Pet Sounds Sessions, a three-disc overview of the 1966 Beach Boys masterwork, and 1998's "Brian-is-back" Imagination, a host of today's musicians have begun to wear Wilson influences with pride. The likes of Olivia Tremor Control, The High Llamas, R.E.M. and Thurston Moore have no doubt instilled a greater awareness of Brian's music in their younger audiences. Hell, we saw Billy Corgan in the balcony's lobby during intermission. The two-hour show made up for lost time by bringing early Beach Boys hits, Wilson instrumentals and new material together to satisfy the younger and older crowds.
Under Brian's guiding hand, the players did a wonderful job of transporting the packed theatre to the sunny-day bliss of the early-'60s by way of classic hits like "Surfin' USA" and "California Girls," but they also deftly navigated the subtle changes of studio orchestra compositions like "Let's Go Away For A While" and "Pet Sounds."
The night's newest tunes, from Imagination, fit perfectly into the set list, lending credibility to the video's assertion that Brian is undergoing a creative rebirth. The album's title track, with its cathartic chorus hook, sounded nearly as good as anything he's released in the thirty-year interim since leaving the Beach Boys - including Brian's own earlier solo material.
Through two sets and a four-song encore, the crowd witnessed the heart and soul of one of the truly essential rock-and-roll bands. While an entity calling itself "The Beach Boys" (read: Mike Love and five friends) was scheduled to play 10 days later at Chicago's Star Plaza, the Rosemont's audience was privy to the musical mind that sparked life and eternal summer into that name.
The final song of the encore, "Fun Fun Fun," summed up the evening. The performance served to illustrate the basic truth of Brian's music: it's meant to put a smile on your face. When the band reached the final chord progression and the entire audience broke into the familiar "Woo-woo-ooo-eee-ooo," all scholarly takes on how intelligent the Beach Boys' music is got stripped away to reveal the pure enjoyment of music.
As Brian Wilson looked out on one of his first large audiences in years, there couldn't have been a frowning face in the house. His music resonated through the concert hall and proved its beauty, healing power and smile-inducing qualities are still viable and strong as ever
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.