Thursday, September 21, 2017

In the Presence of Greatness- Brian Wilson presents Pet Sounds

Yesterday I was just checking and deleting random emails. I noticed one for discounted tickets for Brian Wilson at Foxwoods. The tickets which ranged from $40-55 were discounted to $26. How can you beat that? I called Laurie and asked if she would go.

I had never been to Foxwoods and I don't gamble. Laurie had to work, so our trip would just to see the concert. I really didn't explore the casinos and restaurants. I sure as hell didn't explore the shopping! One thing I was shocked at, there wasn't any traffic and finding a parking spot was a breeze.

We got to the Grand Theater with only five minutes to spare. The show started at exactly at 7:30. The tour celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Pet Sounds album. Pet Sounds is considered one of the greatest albums of  all time. It was to be played in its entirety.   This was the first time going to a concert at Foxwoods. Let me tell you, the theater is awesome. The seats were by far the most comfortable cushiest seats I have ever sat in. I could have fallen asleep if not for the music.

Brian plays with two other Beach Boys (Al Jardine and Blondie Chapman) and a back up band. Al's son is also part of the band. He sings the higher notes that Brian used to play along with playing guitar. The music sounded great.

The concert opens with Beach Boys anthems California Girls, Dance,Dance, Dance, and I Get Around. They play a few more songs then they play the entire Pet Sounds album. After Pet Sounds, Brian walks off stage. One of the band members comes back out and introduced the band.

After that Brian comes back and asks "Did you come here for bad vibrations? Did you come here for shitty vibrations? Of course, we all yell no both times. Then he says, did you come here for Good Vibrations? Then they play Good Vibrations, Help Me Rhonda, Surfin USA, Barbara Ann, Fun, Fun,Fun. If you find a better five song encore, by all means let me know. The last song was Love and Mercy. They played 30 songs in all.

The band was full of energy. It is amazing that Al Jardine sounds exactly the same as forty years ago. His son can really sing. The band members were all extremely talented. The songs certainly let them showcase their skills.

Brian is a musical genius that has been through a lot. He sits at the piano the whole night singing his parts and introducing the songs.You can clearly see he has a tough time singing the songs. Still, I am so happy to have seen his genius.  It is amazing to think he had a part in writing all of them. I don't know much about music, but even I can see the structure and layering of the instruments.

If interested in seeing Brian Wilson, he is playing the Orpheum in Boston Friday Sept 22. He is also playing Sept 29 at the Zeiterion in New Bedford Sept 29.

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