The Beach Boys LIVE! at STNJ
By Spotlight Central. Photos by Love Imagery
Fans of classic rock get ready for “Fun, Fun, Fun” at the State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick, NJ this Saturday, July 29, 2023 evening as they prepare themselves for a concert by “America’s Band” — The Beach Boys.
Declares Bob from Springfield, NJ, “The Beach Boys are my favorite group! I’ve been a fan since the 1960s, and I’ve been to about 100 Beach Boys concerts,” acknowledging, “My first one was at age 16 when The Beach Boys and Chicago played Madison Square Garden. I sat in the 300 level seats and my ticket cost exactly $8.50.”
Patty from South River reveals, “The last time we saw The Beach Boys was at Great Adventure when John Stamos was playing drums. Our kids grew to love them and now they know all The Beach Boys’ songs.”
Tom from Piscataway exclaims, “I’m a big fan! I’ve been following The Beach Boys since 1965 and I’ve seen them in concert six times. They have great songs and I just love their vocal harmonies. I can’t wait to hear them perform again tonight!”
Inside the historic STNJ auditorium, the house lights dim and the screen behind the stage comes alive with video highlights of The Beach Boys throughout the decades.
Music lovers stand and cheer as the current members of The Beach Boys — lead guitarist John Wedemeyer, woodwind player Randy Leago, bassist Keith Hubacher, keyboardist Tim Bonhomme, drummer Jon Bolton, and rhythm guitarists Christian Love and Brian Eichenberger— take the stage along with long-time member Bruce Johnston on keyboards and Beach Boys founding member Mike Love on lead vocals and launch into “Do It Again.”
As Love, 82, sings, “Well, I’ve been thinking/‘Bout all the places we’ve surfed and danced/And all the faces we’ve missed/So, let’s get back together and do it again,” heads bop and feet tap to the tune’s infectious rhythm while surfing images appear on the screen behind him.
Bright lights illuminate the audience as the lyrics to “Surfin’ Safari” appear on the screen and the audience happily joins Love in singing, “Let’s go surfin’ now/Everybody’s learning how/Come on and safari with me.”
The crowd cheers, and the band performs another pair of surfing songs including “Catch a Wave” and “Hawaii” before sailing into “It’s OK,” where drummer Jon Bolton smiles, shakes his head, and twirls his sticks as he plays.
Six-part vocal harmonies and a bari sax played by Randy Leago are featured on The Ramone’s “Rockaway Beach.” Then, the band dives into “Surfin’ USA” where the crowd claps and sings along as Love leads them in singing the song’s iconic “Everybody’s goin’ surfin’/Surfin’ USA” refrain.
The audience hoots and hollers, and Love welcomes the crowd to the historic STNJ auditorium exclaiming, “Thank you for showing up!” and acknowledging, “We’re gonna do two hours of music for you tonight!”
Brian Eichenberger handles the lead on the lovely Brian Wilson/Mike Love-composed ballad, “The Warmth of The Sun.” Following large applause, The Beach Boys perform “Kiss Me Baby” along with an upbeat rendition of “Getcha Back” which features Jon Bolton’s drums rolling and filling in between the vocal harmonies to flashing colored lights.
Bruce Johnston sings lead on “Wendy,” and Mike Love and Brian Eichenberger’s voices contrast nicely on “When I Grow Up to Be a Man.”
On “Be True to Your School” Love asks the instrumentalists to help him find his starting note and once he finds it proceeds to hold it on the song’s first word, “When…”
Continuing with “…some loud braggart tries to put me down,” Love gets the crowd cheering as images of cheerleaders appear on the screen behind him prior to concluding with a photo of NJ’s own Rutgers Scarlet Knight.
Drummer Jon Bolton sings with style on the rockin’ “Darlin” while energetically twirling his sticks. Then, Love uses his phone flashlight to lead the audience in swaying their phone flashlights back and forth as Bruce Johnston is featured on “Surfer Girl” while images of girls surfing fill the screen.
A highlight of the evening is Brian Eichenberger’s top-notch rendition of “Don’t Worry, Baby” where he impresses with his expressive falsetto voice. Audience members stand following his performance and the band shifts into a medley of Beach Boys’ car songs including “Little Deuce Coupe,” “409,” “Shut Down,” and “Little Honda,” before Love and Co. have everyone on their feet singing, clapping, and dancing to the group’s 1964 chart topper, “I Get Around.”
Following a short intermission, the band provides a tribute to original Beach Boy Carl Wilson, who passed away in 1998, as they perform Carl’s signature song, “God Only Knows.” Christian Love artfully handles the lead before he is joined by Mike Love and Bruce Johnston on the song’s exquisite concluding musical canon.
Music lovers sing along with The Beach Boys on “Sloop John B” and smile as Eichenberger’s smooth falsetto fills the State Theatre auditorium on his contemplative interpretation of “Wouldn’t it Be Nice.”
Mike Love is featured on an upbeat rendition of “California Girls” which ends with an on-screen appearance by the Rutgers University cheerleaders. Then, Love introduces Bruce Johnston, 81, the Grammy-winning composer of Barry Manilow’s “I Write the Songs.” Johnston’s live rendition of his Beach Boys’ composition, “Disney Girls” has audience members standing and cheering.
As a tribute to The Beatles’ George Harrison, Mike Love and the band perform the Love original, “Pisces Brothers.” They follow up with The Beach Boys’ arrangement of the The Mamas and The Papas 1965 hit, “California Dreamin’.”
Randy Leago, Keith Hubacher, and John Wedemeyer make their way downstage to solo together on bari sax, electric bass, and electric guitar on “Good to My Baby” and tight vocal harmonies elicit applause from the crowd on “And Then I Kissed Her.”
Concertgoers dance at their seats to the infectious rhythm of “Dance, Dance, Dance,” and the band segues into a tribute to original Beach Boy Dennis Wilson, who passed away in 1983, with “Do You Want to Dance” where John Wedemeyer impresses with a spirited electric guitar solo.
A final tribute goes out to Chuck Berry as The Beach Boys perform “Rock and Roll Music” where Love sings lead and Bolton and his rhythm section colleagues handle the countermelody.
On “Help Me Rhonda,” Christian Love leads the crowd in singing the “Help me Rhonda/Help, help me Rhonda” refrain on an arrangement which features six band members on stage swaying in line while Randy Leago plays a baritone sax solo. Likewise, on the band’s all time best-selling single, 1988’s “Kokomo,” Mike Love continues to encourage the audience to sing, leading his microphone around as the audience joins in singing and swinging to the tropical lilt of the music.
Finally, Bruce, Mike, and the Boys rock the State Theater with another highlight of the show — a stunning live performance of The Beach Boys’ 1966 musical masterpiece, “Good Vibrations,” leaving audience members standing on their feet before wrapping up with dynamic encores of “Barbara Ann” and “Fun, Fun, Fun.”
As music lovers react to tonight’s performance by The Beach Boys, Jessica from New Brunswick exclaims, “This music is perfect for summer! It makes you feel like hopping in your car and cruisin’ down to the beach.”
Rhonda from Milltown agrees, declaring, “This show was great! It was my first time seeing The Beach Boys and they exceeded my expectations with favorites like ‘Surfin’ Safari’ — and, of course, I was hoping to hear ‘Help Me Rhonda,’ too!”
Jolene from Monroe Township asserts, “This was such a fun concert — there were so many great songs, I’m so glad I came! I’m a season ticket holder at State Theatre and they always have such fabulous shows.” Her husband, Denis, confesses, “This was an emotional experience for me — the music brought back so many memories and made me reminisce about high school but, also, about close friends who are no longer with us.”
Jack from Colorado reveals, “I’ve seen The Beach Boys 10 times and they put on a great show tonight,” prior to insisting, “They’ve still got it!”
Frank from Basking Ridge exclaims, “The Beach Boys sounded really good tonight — it’s unbelievable they can still do what they do!” His wife, Teri, recalls, “The first concert Frank and I ever went to when we were dating was The Beach Boys at Giants Stadium, and they still sound amazing!” before adding, “We even brought our daughter with us tonight!” Notes their daughter, Danielle, “My mom played me The Beach Boys’ music starting when I was very young and they’re still one of my favorite bands,” acknowledging, “When I put the radio on in my car, they are who I listen to!”
Lastly, Ron from Edison contends, “The Beach Boys are amazing — just incredible!” prior to concluding, “God bless The Beach Boys!”
To learn more about The Beach Boys, please go to thebeachboys.com. For info on upcoming great performances at State Theatre New Jersey — including Yes: Classic Tales of Yes on September 30 and the Rock ‘N Roll Doo Wop Spectacular starring Chubby Checker, The Duprees, and more on October 14 — please go to stnj.org.
