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I was lucky enough to be at the show, which was a fund raising event for the Hospital Infantil De Las Californias, a free hospital located in Tijuana, Baja California.
This is an annual charity auction fundraiser event (last year's performer was Kenny Loggins), set in a positively gorgeous gated community resort setting in the Northern portion of San Diego County. This may be the beginning of the golf resort tour, a logical extension of their old MLB shows
The participants (not Mike Love) ante'd up a million plus in auction payments & donations to the hospital.
It was a very upscale, older crowd (avg. age probably 60) of boomers who generally didn't know that this was a different band than the 50th anniversary grouping.
Having seen the 50th tour in San Diego a few months previously (and the original group in the 60's), I must agree that this ain't the Beach Boys!
That being said they generated some fun and pleasant moments once the crowd became engaged, but....
The band sounded ragged at best, with bare-bones arrangements and vocals that sometimes made the beer-besotted boomers singing along sound like vocal doubling.
The band's vocals ebbed and flowed like the tide during the nearly two hour set, coming together for some out-of-the-ordinary tunes such as Getcha Back and Still Cruisin', but generally sounding like a bunch of guys that had not been performing or singing together for months.
Mike's vocals were sometimes weak and buried in the mix, but other times seemed to rise up in the mix, but he definitely has a softer timbre these days (though he seemed stronger just a couple of months ago with Brian, Al, & David).
Some odds n' ends thoughts...
The event participants were each given a commemorative blanket with the Beach Boys and Hospital logos embroidered together. I happened to be sitting in the upper courtyard bar are when Mike and Bruce arrived, dutifully carrying their new blankets. That made me giggle.
Bruce came out before the show to visit with local (septuagenarian) friends at the table next to ours in the bar courtyard. Very down to earth
Mike's daughter, Ahmba Love, a local high school student (Mike lives in nearby Fairbanks Ranch, close to the Santaluz estates) is a competent vocalist in the Wendy Wilson mode, and did a creditable job on Darlin' and Sail On Sailor. I do wish they had let John Cowsill sing the former - he really nails that one.
Christian Love did a journeyman's job as usual.
John Stamos is a predictable feature of the Mike and Bruce shows. I don't resent him - He's like Mike's car songs patter...part of the show.
Bruce is a semi-audible presence most of the time, but I still get a kick out of hearing him perform a signature vocal part like the tag of God Only Knows or California Girls.
A final thought - The other couple that we joined for this charity event started out disappointed that it was not the true 50th anniversary group with Brian, Al, and Mike, but as we sat under a full moon listening to Cal Girls, Sloop John B, & Then I Kissed Her, the music had won them over.
I could relate - I've felt the same way since 1962.
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