By Ron Vaccaro
“RON, what did you (really) think of The Beach Boys?” asked the e-mail subject line from Ticketmaster.
They were F’ING GREAT, I said, out loud and to no one in particular, and something in me wasn’t quite ready to move down to the next item in the inbox before thinking back, and smiling on the two shows I had seen on opposite ends of Florida in the last 10 days – a sold-out March 2nd matinee in Naples, FL, and a rollicking Saturday night soiree at the Amp in St. Augustine, FL, on March 8th.
My friend (and former boss, first show, Academy of Music, 1965) had suitably warned me that the audience in Naples would be the most formal Beach Boys crowd I’d ever see, and I knew from the second I walked into the fine art museum in the lobby of Artis Naples Hall and saw the sea of silver threads decked out in their Sunday finest what he meant. As the first of two shows that day, it was 90 minutes straight through of hit after hit after hit, and at the end, the genuine, enthusiastic appreciation from the audience was as if they’d just savored a glass or two of fine wine and known it.
In contrast, the vibe among the decades-younger crowd in St. Augustine was much more, any wine will do, pop the cork, keep the bottles coming and let’s rock. This 42-year-old was happily not anywhere near the youngest in the audience!
And the band … Mike Love and Bruce Johnston’s touring Beach Boys, met both moments, distinct as they were.
Overheard during and after the show from those in neighboring seats in St. Augustine, in no particular order:
“Wow! When was the last time you saw one band do two full sets with an intermission?” – Indeed, if the show had ended after a spirited “I Get Around” you could have satisfied many, but in fact, you were just at halfway.
“Wow! That drummer is really something else!” – Indeed, Jon Bolton is ‘something else’ and when he takes the lead on “Darlin”, “California Dreamin” and “Wild Honey”, the house is brought down.
“Wow! Christian really has the DNA!” – Indeed, Christian Love evokes that sound, particularly during “God Only Knows”
“Wow! That second guy in, doing those high parts, he must be related somehow, we’ll have to look that up!” – That’s Brian Eichenberger, musical director, not related, but indeed, take one listen and it’s easy to understand why the thought would exist.
The setlists and overall experience were simultaneously familiar and fresh. “Don’t Back Down” is a welcome, relatively recent addition to the string of upbeat surf songs at the beginning of the set. The phone as flashlight during Surfer Girl makes one wish their neck had a 360-degree range of motion, especially in an outdoor amphitheater like St. Augustine. “Don’t Worry Baby” soars to the top of the night’s highlights and leads into a Hot Rod medley that drives home just how much Mike Love still has “it”. The Warmth of the Sun has become an emotional high point of the show, with a sincere introduction from Mike about its origin story and dedication to Brian Wilson, who is most certainly at the show in spirit when Eichenberger leads a soulful rendition of this melancholy song.
The entire band threads the needle of being tight musically but loose in a performance sense, which is to say, fun is clearly prioritized, and it pays off.
Tim Bonhomme’s keys shine on “Catch a Wave,” lead guitarist John Wedemeyer nails the intro to “California Girls” and bassist Keith Hubacher crushes it. And Randy Leago’s sax solo on “Kokomo” sounds just a little sweeter when you’re actually not that far from the Florida Keys.
Are there things one can nitpick, compare and contrast to their own previous shows? Sure, and as long as there are live performances, that will always be the case.
But in writing this, I’m inspired by a passage from a book I’m reading on the history of the slam dunk (alas, neither Stan nor Kevin Love is included). In Magic in the Air, author Mike Sielski writes “in an age when … following basketball or any major sport can feel like a never-ending battle to keep your mental hard drive from crashing due to information overload, the sport could use more fun … This wasn’t always the case. Joy used to be the rule, not a secondary consideration.”
For 90 minutes to two hours whenever and wherever they are playing across the country, joy is indeed the rule when The Beach Boys take to the stage.
So there, Ticketmaster. That’s what I really think about The Beach Boys’ performance.
©2025 Ron Vaccaro/Endless Summer Quarterly/All Rights Reserved