Here is my review of the Brian Wilson comeback concert – Live at the Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood CA (4/8/00). Recordings were culled from this date and from the night before for a CD release.

9:00pm- The Roxy only holds 400-500 people so you can imagine my excitement at seeing BW in this setting. Stars galore enter the Roxy… Lindsey Buckingham sits 10 feet away from me. I see Brian’s first wife Marilyn with their daughter Wendy. Bijou Phillips (maybe it was Chyna… I’m not sure) is with them. Carnie is not there. Nancy Sinatra is rumored to be in the house. I spot Jon Bon Jovi, too. The man I’m sitting with is named Russ Reagan. He named the Beach Boys before they went over to Capital Records. He claims the movie distorted the facts terribly, including cutting out his part of the story.

9:20pm- Brian goes onstage with 11-piece band (which includes Paul Mertens from Poi Dog Pondering on the sax and flute)

1. The Little Girl I Once Knew
2. This Whole World (from Sunflower)
3. Don’t Worry Baby (WOW!)
4. Kiss Me, Baby (Lindsey Buckingham shouts, “YES!”)
5. Do It Again (Wendy and Bijou start dancing in the aisle!)
6. California Girls
7. I Get Around
8. South American (written with Joe Thomas)
9. Surfin’ USA
10. Back Home (from 15 Big Ones 1976)
11. In My Room (HUGE ovation)
12. Surfer Girl (Brian recalls how he wrote this one in his convertible, obviously, with no piano)
13. First Time (never before recorded)
14. This Isn’t Love (took awhile to figure out what this song was… it’s an instrumental that Brian put out a few years ago, but this time he sung it with lyrics by Tony Asher from their brief collaboration in 1997.)
15. Add Some Music (from Sunflower – Brian believes these are the greatest lyrics he ever wrote)
16. Please Let Me Wonder (AWESOME album track – a definite surprise/favorite for me!)

10:10pm- INTERMISSION (15 minutes)

17. Brian Wilson (YES, BW covers the Barenaked Ladies hit… at the chorus all 10 members of the band point at Brian, singing “lyin’ in bed just like Brian Wilson did”. Hilarious!)
18. ‘Til I Die (from Surf’s Up 1971)
19. Wouldn’t It Be Nice (words can’t describe hearing this song live with crack musicians performing it! Strangely enough, it’s during the middle eight of this song that I notice Brian actually sounds more like Mike Love nowadays. He’s not nasal… just that his register is lower now. He sings all Mike’s parts in BB songs and it works very well. The guitarist, Jeff Foskett, is handling all the old sixties BW falsettos. He is uncanny!)
20. Sloop John B
21. Darlin’ (Wow! Another somewhat rare gem… r & b tinged album track from Wild Honey, I think)
22. Let’s Go Away For Awhile
23. Pet Sounds (during these two instrumentals from Pet Sounds, BW tells the audience not to fall asleep. Yeah Right! These musicians did real justice to these tracks… top notch! I noticed BW stopped playing piano for a few minutes and just sat there with his eyes closed, taking in the music… just as I was doing!)
24. God Only Knows
25. Lay Down Burden (great BW solo track from Imagination… before he sang it, BW dedicated this song to Carl Wilson)
26. Your Imagination
27. Be My Baby (his homage to Phil Spector fit in nicely with this set)
28. Help Me Rhonda (Dancing ensues, Lindsey Buckingham rocks out, Wendy begins dancing again, Bon Jovi claps enthusiastically)
29. Good Vibrations (the band nailed this intricate song! Whoever played the theramin was a great improvement over Mike Love, who hated having to learn it. This song was a great experience.)
30. Caroline No (BW comments that they will start rockin’ later on, but for now a sad song… Lindsey Buckingham slips out the back door at the end of this one. I was leaning against the door at the time… I just waved at him… I hate to bug celebrities.)
31. All Summer Long
32. Barbara Ann (with 8 people singing at once… tremendous! BW comments after the song, “wasn’t that great!”)
33. Fun, Fun, Fun
34. Love and Mercy (from Brian Wilson, 1988)

11:40pm- show ends.

BW sounded fine… better than I expected, but not outstanding. A few slips off-key, but nothing disastrous. I noticed that he went into his trademark falsetto only once (during Caroline No). It was wobbly, but just fine. I was surprised at the amount of songs they played. BW was much more animated and involved with the audience than I anticipated.

I will definitely get tix to see his Orchestra Summer tour… well worth the cash to see a rock and roll icon with an outstanding band. I’m quite certain the Beach Boys never sounded this good live. Also, the singers were outstanding… you’d swear it was off the BB records sometimes.