(editor’s note – Billy Joel was advertised as the opener, but there is considerable uncertainty as to whether that actually happened.)
Beach Boy fans arrived early and loved it all
by Donald E. Wilcock, The Times Record, August 31, 1976
They’re the only rock ‘n’ roll group in America that can sing all their own hits for an hour and 40 minutes without running out of material. From the first song to the last, Beach Boy fans are stimulated by seeing the originators recreate songs that for some of us trigger memories going back 15 years. Multiply that experience by a factor of 32,000 screaming humans, and you have some idea of the pandemonium created by the venerable Beach baldies at SPAC last Thursday night.
At 6:45 p.m., all parking lots were full, the roadsides lined with parked cars, the SPAC lawn one continuous patchwork quilt of blankets. By 8 there was only room to stand. The seats were roped off and guarded. Those lucky enough to have seat tickets were hardcore: the Yonkers fan club with beach balls hand-lettered with their паmes, the teenage girls with a 15-foot-long “Happy 15th Birthday” banner (a reference to the longevity of the group), the cheerleaders who led the clapping choruses to encourage early entrance of the group, the girls with Brownies and extra flash cubes, and an unusually large representation of fashionably dressed suburbanites.
An enormous sailboat covered the stage, its jib and mainsail a string of flashing lights. Four palm trees held up two rows of stage lights, and stage center was dotted with instruments and monitors. Frisbees sailed, balls bounced, and lightning flashed as the group ran on stage. Fifteen years ago, the level of applause would have totally drowned out the best amps then available, but four tractor-trailer trucks of equipment delivered vegetarian Mike Love’s message above the roar: “That crowd last year was so wasted I didn’t think anyone had recovered yet.”
With that, they launched into “California Girls” and “Palisades Park,” a Freddy Cannon oldie off their new “15 Big Ones” album. The music was slow, the sound big – two keyboards, two drums, five “Hornettes,” four Beach Boys, Billy Hinsche (Remember Dino, Desi, and Billy?) and no Brian Wilson.
Brian was the author of most of the Beach Boys’ big hits. He dropped out of sight for all practical purposes after “Good Vibrations” in 1966 and the group hadn’t had another top-10 hit since, although they kept on trying until 1973. This spring, Brian was showcased as a crazy man in a two-part Crawdaddy magazine interview. He turned up as writer or co-writer of five new songs for the new album and told a nationwide TV audience about spending three years in bed looking at his chest and smelling his cologne.
The new songs are not having impact. Only Brian’s “Back Home” and Al Jardine’s “Susie Cincinnati” made it into the concert repertoire. Their first single hit in years is a remake of Chuck Berry’s “Rock’n’ Roll Music.” And Brian’s only made it on stage twice during this tour.
But still the fans remember. Enough to come within a hair of SPAC’s all-time attendance record. By the fourth number, large groups from the rained-on lawn crowd broke through the roped barriers and rushed for the stage like ants after spoiled meat. But they were much better behaved, and the security forces better trained, than at the record 33,000 crowd for the Who in 1971. The aisles were filled, but no real disturbances broke out.
As the concert progressed. the pace quickened, the songs came faster, the mob got louder. “Little Deuce Coupe,” “Catch A Wave,” “Darlin’,” “Sall On Sallor,” “Surfer Girl,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Be True to Your School,” “Sloop John B,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “I Get Around.” The crowd was swept up in the frenzy of much-loved pop memorabilia. When “Good Vibrations” played, everyone sang along. I couldn’t help remembering the months of overdubbing it took to produce that innovative song in a 1966 studio. And now they recreate it on stage remarkably like the original.
“Surfin’ USA” ended the set and brought a 10-minute roar for an encore. Drummer and group sex symbol Dennis Wilson came out and did one verse of Joe Cocker’s “You’re So Beautiful.” Then the group tried to satisfy the mob with “Barbara Ann,” “Rock’n’Roll Music,” and “Fun Fun Fun.” They finally left the stage at 10:00. The mob was spent but ready for more.
America performs at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center Tuesday at 7 p.m. David Crosby and Graham Nash are there Wednesday, Chicago on Friday, and the Electric Light Orchestra closes the season Saturday.
The Post-Star, August 26, 1976
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