Last night, I went to the Hollywood Bowl to see The Beach Boys, who played a three night sold-out stand there, billed as their Fourth of July Spectacular. I took the subway from North Hollywood (only 35 cents for a senior fare!), and getting there was a piece of cake due to minimal holiday traffic. The line at the Bowl was long, however. It took about a half hour to get inside, but when I did, I joined my sister and her friend Mark at our seats, high up in the Promenade section, nosebleed but dead center. We'd brought beer and wine, and set about imbibing just prior to the start of the concert, which began with a 40 minute set of all-American music from The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by Thomas Wilkins. They played standards by George M.Cohan and Irving Berlin, some soundtrack pieces, and a medley of the songs of the Armed Forces, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Conductor Wilkins had asked service veterans to stand when the song from their branch was played; Vickie and I stood in honor of Dad during "Wild Blue Yonder."
After a 20 minute intermission, during which the Sun went down, The Beach Boys came on to thunderous applause. Of course, the lone original member is Mike Love (Bruce Johnston, who joined in 1965, is also in the current lineup), but he's about as legendary a rock and roll singer as there's ever been. Like fellow octogenarians Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger, he's still doing it, and he's still "got it", though it must be said that his voice is only about 60 to 70% compared to what it was. But hey, the guy's 82! He mentioned it had been 60 years since The Beach Boys first played the Bowl in 1963, an astounding statistic. Besides Love and Johnston, the band is made up of ensemble musicians, who recreate the Beach Boy sound to a T. One of the singer/guitarists is Christian Love, Mike's son, who took the lead vocal on a couple songs, including "God Only Knows," originally sung by Carl Wilson, who died in 1998. There were video tributes to him and brother Dennis, who drowned in 1984. The orchestra backed the band on several songs, adding a heavenly dimension that sounded great on songs like "Sloop John B." and "Disney Girls". Also, John Stamos, the star of TV's "Full House" was on hand for most of the night. He's played drums and guitar for The Beach Boys, on and off, for decades, and while many fans (including me) didn't in the past take his participation seriously (because of his TV image), he turned out to be as professional a musician as anyone on stage, even turning in a mini-drum solo. It being the 4th of July, he also gave a brief but heartfelt speech about how we, as Americans, need to focus on what unites us, like music, family and love, rather than what divides us, like news and politics. It was decidedly anti-political, and got a nice round of applause including from Yours Truly.
The Beach Boys long ago were given due credit for their body of work, including their early-70s albums like "Sunflower", when Carl Wilson took over and they moved away from their "cars and girls" sound. To me, at their best they're as great as The Beatles, if not quite as prolific, and when you hear these songs in concert, one incredible hit after another, culminating in "Good Vibrations", it really settles in how great they are. For me, they are one of the first rock groups I can remember hearing, along with The Beatles and The Supremes, all three of whom were played by my two older sisters when I was a tyke. I always loved their songs, but didn't become a Beach Boys fanatic until about five years ago, when I started listening to their later work like "Surf's Up", "Holland", "Carl and the Passions/So Tough" and the aforementioned "Sunflower", great albums all, though much maligned upon their releases because The Boys had broken from the formula. Of course, the story of Brian Wilson is well known, as are his legal battles with Mike Love which resulted in the split between the two, and led to two different performing units. Brian Wilson's live band is said to be equally great (I haven't seen them) but this touring version of The Beach Boys is incredible also, and it's nice to see Mike Love finally getting credit, long overdue, for writing the hooks to a lot of those early songs, and all of the words. The man's been around for 60 years, went to India with The Beatles, and influenced Paul to write "Back in the USSR" in addition to his legendary career with The Beach Boys. It was great to have a chance to see him in concert, which ended with an awesome fireworks show, backed once again by the orchestra, and then a Beach Boys encore of "Fun, Fun, Fun" (an apt word to describe the entire evening). My subway ride and drive home was quick and easy. I got back at 11:45. All in all, a total blast and a great 4th of July. If you are a fan and they come your way, I highly recommend seeing The Beach Boys. ////
The previous night, we watched a movie called "The Judge"(1949), in which a hotshot defense attorney named "Martin Strang" (Milburn Stone) has a perfect record of getting murderers acquitted. Even when they're dead to rights, he finds a technicality to set them free. The police can't stand him; his wife hates his guts. But, he's just discovered she's having an affair with the court-appointed psychiatrist who testifies in all his cases. Knowing what she's up to, he formulates a plan to kill her and frame the shrink in the bargain. Their story is told by The Judge of the title, in voiceover.
Strang's most recent client is so evil, he killed a little crippled boy and his dog. Strang uses the guy's psychiatric exam as an opportunity to steal the shrink's gun and ammo, which he plans to use in the frame-up. But another opportunity presents itself when, walking through a park, he witnesses the shooting of a policeman by a con man. Offering to defend him, even though he's indigent, Strang lays out the deal: "Look, there's a one in a million chance I can get you off, but if I do, you have to do something for me in return. Will you do it?" "Sure, boss. Ill do anything not to go to jail." "Okay, good. I'll tell you what it is if and when the time comes."
As The Judge keeps us current on the plot, we see Strang emptying the shrink's bullets of gunpowder. He's pretty good at taking bullets apart and putting them back together again, and at the con man's trial, the inept DA has missed a filing deadline regarding the now-deceased police officer. It's a glaring mistake, another technicality allowing a Strang defendant to go free, even though this guy should've been unanimously guilty as there were multiple witnesses to the shooting. But the DA charged him under an incorrect statute, so The Judge is forced to clear him.
Then, over a celebratory post-acquittal drink at Strang's swanky apartment, the chess game begins, and it's kind of like in the movie "Sleuth", with one man trying to outsmart the other. Strang says, "Okay, now I've got you acquitted, now you have to do something for me." He pulls out a straitjacket. "I want you to put this on". The cop-killer is scared, but has no choice. Strang plays mind games. Does he still want the guy to kill his wife? If so, why the straitjacket? Or is it gonna be Russian Roulette? Or, does Strang now want the man to kill him? That could well be, because he's ashamed of his life's work, helping murderers go free. You can't quite tell what he intends to do, or what he wants, as he harangues the con man, who's trapped in the straitjacket. There are two "dream sequence" fluctuations in this scene, causing you to wonder if it's all been a flashback. Then Strang's wife returns home and his sense of guilt disappears, as he blames his troubles on her materialism and treachery, as the straitjacketed con man looks on. This is a weird one, with The Judge providing play-by-play. Two Big Thumbs Up, the picture is slightly soft. ////
And that's all for tonight. I hope you had a nice 4th of July. My blogging music tonight has been all Beach Boys, including their albums "The Beach Boys Today!" and "Smile". My late night is Handel's Esther Oratorio. I send you Tons of Love, as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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