Al Jardine and the Endless Summer Band in Long Island!!!

[BJL]

Just got back from seeing Al at a free concert on Long Island, and I can't resist posting my thoughts/reviews.  Basically, I was totally blown away! I didn't really know what to expect, but one thing I didn't expect was to go away feeling like I'd just seen The Beach Boys.  Unlike many of the people on this board, seeing the Beach Boys is (desperate 50th reunion hopes aside) something I never thought would happen to me.  I've seen Brian a couple of times, and it was wonderful and great, I havn't seen Mike and Bruce yet (although I'm going to see them next week at their free concert in Brooklyn!), but I never really considered them the Beach Boys. Half way through Al Jardine and the Endless Summer Band, I knew that I was seeing The Beach Boys!!  I could feel it, and the name on the program was completely irrelevant!

You know what else I didn't expect...meeting David Marks at the end of the show, shaking his hand and telling him how much I loved the music!!  I think he could tell how utterly stunned and ecstatic I was because he looked like he sort of laughed a little and he asked me my name!!  I told him I didn't want him to sign anything, just to shake his hand because he was a Beach Boys...and then I kind of trailed off in awe.  When I got home, I picked up my copy of Surfer Girl, one of my favorite albums EVER, and there he was, David Marks.  The Cute one!  I feel like I won the lotto! 

I also met Al, who came out and signed people's CDs, and joked about Mike Love (This is a complete paraphrase from a scene of great confusion, but what it sounded like to me was: fan: "your better than Mike Love!"  Al:  "Don't say that...something something...Mike always wanted to be the most popular Beach Boy...I guess he hasn't really succeeded...most greedy, maybe...") 

The Band was Al and David Marks, Bobby Figueroa (who provided an amazing highlight of the show when he sang Sail on Sailor), Ed Carter, Billy Hinsche, Matt and Adam Jardine (Matt Jardine was definitely channeling Carl Wilson...what a beautiful voice!), and a few people I didn't recognize.  The weather was beautiful...the crowd started out a bit lame...everyone in lawn chairs, but they definitely got into it by the second half!

I'm going to try and give a setlist/who sang what from memory, with some comments:

California Girls - Al
Do It Again (not quite sure on the order here)
Dance Dance Dance - Al
Do You Wanna Dance - Matt I think...
Catch a Wave
Hawaii
Surfin - Dave
Surfin Safari - Dave
I Can Hear Music - Matt
Don't Worry Baby - Matt (before this Al introduced a Doowop song, which I imagine was going to be Come Go With Me, then they decided to Don't Worry Baby because it looked like it might rain soon...luckily it didn't, the weather was beautiful!!)
409
Shut Down
Little Deuce Coupe - Dave
I Get Around - Matt
Post Card from California - Al forgot the words to the first verse, then he sang what I can only assume was the second verse...then he sang the second verse again!!  It was pretty funny, although I'm sure it didn't do much to promote the new record!
Runaway - Al 
God Only Knows - Matt (absolutely gorgeous)
Sail on Sailor - Bobby (A major highlight for me...the crowd seemed to like it too!)
California Saga: California (another HUGE highlight, the acapella breakdown was sublime!!)
California Dreamin - not my favorite song ever, but Al's voice really sounded great on this one!
Sloop John B
Wouldn't It Be Nice
Good Vibrations
Kokomo
Help Me Ronda
Surfin USA

encore: (I danced right up to the stage!! It was a blast...I was surrounded by little kids too, who were all dancing...and middle aged ladies...still, nothing could take away from how awesome it felt to be there for me!)
Barbara Ann
Fun Fun Fun

Moral of story: I don't know if an amazing Beach Boys concert with spectacular, passionate, and precise harmonies, Matt Jardine really rising to the occasion and shining on songs once sung by Carl Wilson, and basically an awesomely good time is what I should have expected from any old Al Jardine show, but I didn't expect it, and I was absolutely floored.  It was the most fun I've had in ages (and as happy as it makes me to see Brian Wilson active and playing with a great band, this blew the Brian Wilson hits tour I saw last year out of the WATER!!)  The sound was great, the music was great, it really felt...right...geniune, like how a Beach Boys show should sound!  and I MET DAVID MARKS AND AL JARDINE!!!

[SurfRiderHawaii]

Thread should be Al Jardine, David Marks, and the Endless Summer Band (though they aren't billed that way). 

Thanks for the review.

I think I'd like see this show more than Brian's or Mike's.

[Paulos]

Did Al mention that he has an album out during the show? It seems strange that he barely did any material from his brand new release.

[Don't Back Down]

Sounds like a great time! I still really want to see Al, he just hasn't performed close enough (yet anyway). I REALLY
want to see this band, especially since it's the same members from the 90s touring group. Was Richie Cannata there with Al
playing sax/flute?

[Tony S]

My wife and I had the great pleasure to see Al and the Band a couple of years ago at Great Adventure in Jackson NJ. Stadium was pretty empty which was fine by me......we stood up front about 10 feet from the stage. Al and all the guys, including Richie, were great. Their show is so much better than the Mike Love show......vocally there's no contest, and musically with so many of the original backing band too. Al's shows are really first class; see them if you get the chance.

[Awesoman]

Thread should be Al Jardine, David Marks, and the Endless Summer Band (though they aren't billed that way). 

Thanks for the review.

I think I'd like see this show more than Brian's or Mike's.

Poor David Marks...

[BJL]

David Marks wasn't mentioned anywhere...I didn't know he was playing until he walked on stage!  They introduced him, of course.

I was surprised to only hear one new song too, although the lack of even remotely knowing the words to the title song of his new album sort of demonstrated something about Al...that may explain why there was only one new song!  But to his credit, every time he played a song from the record, he talked about who guested on it, so before California Saga, he said "this new song is on my record and we got neil young and the rest of CNN to play...I mean CSNY..." for example.  Richie Cannata was there, and the sax sounded really great too!!

Also I must say that I thought it was really first class that Al Jardine came out after the show and signed autographs and talked to the fans, and he seemed happy to do it too!  Al Jardine doesn't need to sign autographs to build an audience, he doesn't need to do anything for the fans really, we'll show up anyway :-) but he did, and that was really cool!  As for meeting Dave...that was much more luck on my part, he swung by on his way off stage when someone called his name, and I managed to reach my hand out and say hi, just at the right place at the right time.  But he was also really nice and smiling and just...good vibes the whole evening! 

[Carrie Marks]

Thread should be Al Jardine, David Marks, and the Endless Summer Band (though they aren't billed that way). 

When David and Al are on the same bill, they go out with the Surf City All Stars (sometimes w/ Dean Torrence) as the Legends of Surf Music.  In addition to that band, Al and David both have  their own bands - Al's is the Endless Summer Band and David's is the Summertime Blues Band.  The show on Long Island was an Al Jardine & the Endless Summer Band show so David wouldn't be part of the billing.  However, they played together (as the Legends) a couple of weeks ago and Al invited David to join him on the date since it was local. His participation was purely social!

By the way, the release date for David's CD is Sept 1st...I'll start posting some audio clips in the next couple of weeks.

BJL:  I'm glad you had a good time at the show...it was so nice that the weather held out!

[SurfRiderHawaii]

Thread should be Al Jardine, David Marks, and the Endless Summer Band (though they aren't billed that way). 

When David and Al are on the same bill, they go out with the Surf City All Stars (sometimes w/ Dean Torrence) as the Legends of Surf Music.  In addition to that band, Al and David both have  their own bands - Al's is the Endless Summer Band and David's is the Summertime Blues Band.  The show on Long Island was an Al Jardine & the Endless Summer Band show so David wouldn't be part of the billing.  However, they played together (as the Legends) a couple of weeks ago and Al invited David to join him on the date since it was local. His participation was purely social!

By the way, the release date for David's CD is Sept 1st...I'll start posting some audio clips in the next couple of weeks.

BJL:  I'm glad you had a good time at the show...it was so nice that the weather held out!

Thanks Carrie - I just thought the thread headline should mention David too.  Seems he too often gets the short stick.  The more I hear and see from David the more impressed I am.