Nov. 22, 1975 review: The Beach Boys return to the Niagara Falls Convention Center
A friend
asked me the other night if I did any rewriting when I made these
transcriptions from photos of Buffalo News microfilm. Almost never, I said, but
I do correct spelling and typographical errors (plus in those days, there was
an extra chance for a misstep in the production process – the linotype
operators who keyed the articles into the machines that made the lead type). Here
there’s a mistake and I left it in. I mention that the previous Beach Boys
appearance in
Nov. 22, 1975
Beach Boys Transcend
Nostalgia, Remain Fresh
In the chill wind outside the
It’s a jam-packed sell-out, even though once one clears the
police frisking at the gate it all promises to be a carbon copy of the last
such visit 13 months ago, right down to the warmup group.
This time, instead of the Raspberries singing “Go All the
Way,” it’s supposed to be Raspberries prime mover Eric Carmen as a solo.
Except Carmen’s been ailing and he’s too sick to make it.
His absence turns it into a Beach Boys bonus night. They do two sets.
* * *
THERE’S INSTANT
recognition of the very first chords Carl Wilson strikes for 1965’s “Sloop John
B” as the 10-man aggregation takes positions among the flowers and ferns
festooned under fake palm trunks that mask the supports for the lighting.
The renewed passion for their hits of a decade ago still
locks the group into a unique time warp. Though they’re easing past the age of
30, their fans and their music remain somewhere in their teens.
Mike Love, balding beneath his cavalier hat with the long
feather, perfectly preserves the sarcasm and reedy nasality of a high school
junior. “This place,” he remarks, “is what I call a beautiful echotorium.”
Nor has their music become dated. Endless-summer rockers
like “Help Me Rhonda,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Little Deuce Coupe” and “Fun Fun Fun”
still sound fresh and vital. So do the Four Freshmen-style ballads like “In My
Room,” “Surfer Girl” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”
* * *
BUT A second
year of touring without any new Beach Boys material finds them favoring the pop
hits and the distant past, slighting the rich inventiveness of the “Heroes and
Villains” period and virtually ignoring their most recent material.
Instead, they dig out Brian Wilson’s old “Be True to Your
School,” a heavy crowd pleaser that gets most everyone standing up for the rest
of the show.
They also do
Dennis Wilson sings it to open the encore, which comes
after a half-hour second set that flies by much too fast. The kids stomp and
clap and burn out disposable lighters for three minutes to bring them back.
It’s a rousing finale with a little chorus line across the
front of the stage for “Barbara Ann.” When they leave for good, it’s like
summer ending. You’re left wishing it would shine on just a little longer.
* * * * *
IN THE PHOTO:
Beach Boys 1975 concert program.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTE:
Essentially the same band that played the Falls in 1974 – Mike Love, Wilson
brothers Carl and Dennis (Brian would return in 1976); Al Jardine; vocalist and
keyboardist Billy Hinsche; percussionist and keyboardist Carli Munoz; vocalist and
percussionist Bobby Figueroa; bassist and rhythm guitarist Ed Carter. Perhaps
no longer touring with them would be bassist James Guercio, former producer of
Unmentioned in the band’s touring lineups is keyboardist Ron Altbach from nearby Olcott, a Transcendental Meditation teacher who formerly was with King Harvest and had been recruited into the band at the last minute in 1974. For a whole lot more about him, see the footnote on the review of the 1974 show, which I posted in December.
Here’s the setlist from setlist.fm:
Sloop John B
Do It Again
Help Me Rhonda
Surfer Girl
In My Room
(Unknown)
Wouldn’t It Be Nice
Wishing You Were Here
You Are So Beautiful
Little Deuce Coupe
Catch a Wave
Surfin’
(Unknown)
Encore
Darlin’
Barbara Ann
Fun, Fun, Fun
The
Beach Boys shuffled their setlists a little as they moved from town to town on
this tour. At the
On
the other hand, the night after
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