The Beach Boys return to The Rady Shell for Endless Summer Gold tour

Shawna Sarnowski / Backstage360.com

Summer is eternal whenever The Beach Boys play, and just like the biggest coastal waves, the band is sweeping across the nation for their Endless Summer Gold tour. One of their recent stops was Southern California. The Rady Shell, at Jacob’s Park, remains the greatest venue to see beloved artists perform in San Diego. Its spacious beauty is unmatched, and the Rady personnel couldn’t be more accommodating.

For many who arrived to watch the show, they were treated to a perfect summer evening, paired with an ocean view, deliciously cooked meals, and free-flowing drinks. Mike Love, and Bruce Johnston, performed beside Brian Eichenberger, John Wedemeyer, Christian Love, Jon Bolton, Tim Bonhomme, Keith Hubacher, and Randy Leago. Their guest performer that night was the American actor and musician, John Stamos.

Shotgun Tom Kelly, radio and television personality, appeared onstage before the show started to praise the venue, and share that Club Kokomo Spirits, which is distilled in San Diego, is the official rum partner of The Rady Shell. He invited the audience to enjoy their drink of the night, called the “Kokomo Collins.” Kelly also made mention of his newest book, which is available on Amazon, titled “All I Wanna Do Is Play The Hits.” The book features a few words from the doctor of love himself, Mike Love, on the back.

“Are you ready to enjoy the beach? Are you ready for some good vibrations?” asked Kelly, “coming up very soon, America’s Band!” A compilation of The Beach Boys’ relevance in pop culture was played to build up the hype, featuring clips across television and film that included their songs. Photographs that captured moments in their career, be it singing on talk shows, or traveling, showed in rapid succession.

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“Ladies and gentleman, will you please welcome, from Southern California, America’s Beach Boys!” As lights shined down upon these ten musicians, the show dived in with “Do It Again,” and “Surfin’ Safari.” The lyrics for these songs, and many others, were projected behind them so the audience could sing along. If not lyrics, then vintage photos, and paintings of beach-goers. Such was the case during “Catch a Wave.” The band went from “Hawaii,” into “Don’t Back Down,” then “It’s O.K.” The setlist contained some of their best songs from past albums, and other beachy-based tunes like The Ramones’ “Rockaway Beach.”

“Thank you so much for showing up, and thank you Rady Shell for having us back. This next one is an audience participation song,” Love said. “What I’m hoping that you’ll do is find the flashlight on your cell phone and join us.” According to Love, The Beach Boys have known Stamos since his time playing as Blackie Parrish on “General Hospital.” Back in 1984, they met at the Jack Murphy Stadium, which has since been renamed the San Diego Stadium. Stamos dedicated “Surfer Girl” to “the lovely ladies here.”

Love introduced his son, Christian Love, to the audience afterwards. The talented singer-songwriter released an album called “Only Alibis” last summer, which included the track “Sum Sum Summer.” It was a treat to hear live, sung by Christian himself. Each of the band members had the chance to show their talents. Be it rotating through different instruments, or providing lead vocals, they were a perfect bunch. Saxophone solos were woven into musical breaks, and percussion acted as the heartbeat. As if catching a wave, they glided into “Getcha Back,” “You’re So Good to Me,” and “Good To My Baby.”

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“When I Grow Up” was paired with black and white photos, and records from the past. For “Darlin,” the cover-art for the album “Wild Honey” came alive with bees on honeycombs, and little dazzling flowers.

“Getting ready to do a song that came out in 1963,” Love said. “John told me that was the year he was born, and I told him ‘you don’t have to remind me of the year of your birth. Your mom and I had some great times in the sixties.’ So maybe it’s not true, but it is funny.” The audience erupted into laughter. Wedemever provided the opening note, and they began to play “Be True to Your School.” Intermission was approaching after “Don’t Worry Baby,” and Love promised about five more songs before the break.

These five pieces were written around cars, including “Little Deuce Coupe,” “409,” and “Shut Down.” For “Little Honda,” some of the band members raced for Bonhomme’s keyboard, playing together with elated expressions. Their high spirits persisted through “I Get Around,” the final song of their first half. After the break, a trailer for “The Beach Boys” documentary played, which is available on Disney Plus. Love said it’s inclusive, shows origins, and reveals how everyone in the band contributed to its success.

“I wanted to tell a little story about the writing of this next song. It was written in November of 1963,” Love said. He recalled when his cousin, Brian, rented a place nearby his family home. The two had a writing session, which began at eleven o’clock at night. They spent a couple hours finishing a song that was named “The Warmth of the Sun.” Brian came up with “this haunting melody,” and Love worked on the lyrics. They worked on harmonies together. The next morning, they awoke to the news of President Kennedy being hospitalized in Dallas. “I would like to dedicate this song to my cousin,” Love shared.

Bolton, who played on drums, provided levity by singing the sugary-sweet piece “I Can Hear Music.” Stamos was next to step forward and sing a song. Waving hello, and bidding the crowd a good evening, Stamos reflected on how dramatically his life changed forty years ago, but “in the most beautiful way.” He got the chance to perform with the Beach Boys at the previously-mentioned Jack Murphy Stadium. “I am just so grateful to be here under the stars with all of you, next to the water. It feels like everything is right in the world tonight.” He gave a special shoutout to Love, “who gives it his all every single night.”

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Appreciation was shared in abundance toward his fellow band members, and the crew aiding them. He dedicated the song to the people he was missing in life, while encouraging the audience to do the same. His words were made more poignant after revealing he was playing Jeffery Foskett’s guitar. Foskett had toured with the Beach Boys from the eighties, until his passing this year. “This song is called ‘Forever’ and that’s how long life should be.” He gave one last shout out to the newlyweds, his uncle and wife.

“The next song, there’s very few perfect songs out there. I think this song is perfect,” Stamos said. He was speaking about “God Only Knows.” Sung by Carl Wilson, from the seminal album “Pet Sounds,” Stamos called him one of the most wonderful men to walk this earth. “He was angelic, he was ethereal.” Christian Love returned to the microphone to sing it, and projected behind him were photos of the band’s families.

Next, “California Girls,” featured footage of many lovely ladies known in film and life. It was a tasteful tribute, one that beckoned every woman in the crowd to get up and dance. Falling in line with this theme of California, their next song was “California Dreamin’” from The Mamas & The Papas. Every song was surpassing the last, from “Sail On Sailor,” to “Sloop John B,” until hype reached explosive heights with “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” People were lunging from their chairs, rushing to get their cameras out to record. From “Do You Wanna Dance?” to “Help Me Rhonda,” into “Kokomo,” and “Good Vibrations,” they kept surprising the audience with classic upon classic. Even “Summertime Blues” was sublime, and exquisite.

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“Thank you so much for coming out to see The Beach Boys!” Love cheered. “Especially thank you John Stamos. I’d say we had a lot of fun fun fun!” A sweet-scented breeze wafted through the venue, the crowd was dancing without a care, and the performance concluded with “Fun Fun Fun.” For the finale, Stamos and Bolton played incredible drum solos. During the excitement of the finale, Mike Love doused water over the drummers, and their kits. It was a celebratory moment for everyone onstage, and not one beat was missed. There’s no one better than The Beach Boys. Visit their website at https://thebeachboys.com/.