When you think of Branson in the summer, surfing probably isn’t one of the first activities that comes to mind. But when the Beach Boys took the stage of the RFD-TV Theatre in July, you couldn’t help but to have thoughts of fast cars, pretty girls on the beach, and finding that perfect wave. For over two hours without an intermission they treated a packed house to almost 40 songs that are as timeless as they are fun.
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| Mike Love and Bruce Johnston have been performing together for over 40 years. |
Front man Mike Love is the only remaining original band member and Bruce Johnston while not an original member has been with the band since the mid-sixties. Although the remaining band members are more recent additions, they did not disappoint. They sounded great and looked like they were having as much fun on stage as we were in the audience.
As the show started the emcee invited the children in the audience to sit right up in front of the stage. This really added to the "fun factor" as it was neat to see the kids dancing and enjoying the music just the way it was meant to be enjoyed.
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| Lead singer Mike Love still knows how to entertain. |
They opened with favorites like California Girls, Do You Wanna Dance and When I Grow Up. Part way into the show they got people dancing and doing a cell phone wave to the sounds of Wouldn’t It Be Nice.
Another nice highlight was the performance of Be True To Your School. Lead singer Mike Love started the song by bending down low and holding that first opening note for as long as he could after which he commented go the crowds delight, "That was a lot easier 30 years ago."
Another crowd favorite was the segment paying tribute to fast cars. We could feel the speed with classics like Little Deuce Coupe, 409, and Shut Down. During the songs the audience had a great time dancing to the music a knocking a big beach ball around. Little touches like the beach ball just added to the summer fun feel of the concert.
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| The kids get to joind the Beach Boys on stage. |
They concluded their set bringing the kids up on stage to dance and have fun while they played Barbara Ann and finished out the surfing theme with Surfin’ Safari and Surfin’ USA. They returned to the stage for an encore where they played Kokomo while local entertainer Tina Renee performing a hula dance throughout the number. The finished the night with Summertime Blues and Fun, Fun, Fun.
That was a perfect song to end the show. Years have passed and they move a little slower than they did 40 years ago, but their music and performance still took us on a journey back to a time where fast cars, fun in the sun, and surfing ruled the day. What can I say? We all had Fun, Fun, Fun!
Photos by Basil Groman
Complete Photo Gallery: Beach Boys 2007 Photos