Terrorist Attack; Tel-Aviv; Sarona Market; 6-8-2016
Somewhere in the middle of Brian Wilsons performance of The Beach Boys 1966 groundbreaking album, Pet Sounds, on Wednesday night under a starry sky at the Raanana Amphitheater, two terrorists were shooting up the Sarona Market a few miles away in Tel Aviv.
You could see some members of the middle-aged capacity crowd shift their cell phones from filming the 1960s legend singing the albums enduring standards like Wouldnt It Be Nice and G*d Only Knows to checking their messages or news updates. And then, as if their internal thought processes were on the surface, you could almost see them deliberating - whether to focus on the stark reality that is Israel today taking place outside the sloped, fenced-in grassy area or the majestic fantasy taking place within. Except for a few isolated cases, it looked like the latter won out in spades.
The gingerly-walking Wilson peppered the crowd with continuous Toda, Israel as he ensconced himself behind a black grand piano, seemingly like a fortressed shelter protecting him from the unknown and faceless crowd staring at him in a combination of wonderment and adoration.
Leading off with a rousing Heroes and Villains, Wilson and company offered a pleasing opening set of Beach Boys classic and nuggets, from Dance, Dance, Dance to Little Deuce Coupe. The huge band, more an orchestra, bolstered by co-founding Beach Boys guitarist and cheerleader Al Jardine and longtime family associate Billy Hinsche on keyboards, didnt miss a tympani, xylophone or castanet cue as they diligently sparked the Spectoresque studio sounds in Wilsons vision to life with energy and grace.
They compensated for their front mans sometimes unfocused or slightly off-key singing, glossing over the rocky parts with soaring Wilson-arranged harmonies and musical accompaniment. Wilson alternated lead vocals with Jardine and Jardines son, Matthew, who provided the falsettos on tunes like Dont Worry Baby that Wilson could no longer reach.
The only head-scratching moments in the crowd-pleasing set were the curious inclusion of the novelty 60s hit Monster Mash led by the bands semi-conductor and versatile wind instrumentalist Paul Von Mertens - and the funkified, extended version of the Beach Boys mid-60s stab at r&b, Wild Honey, led by longtime band associate Blondie Chaplain and his out-of-place overly long Princed-up guitar solo (he made up for it with a sterling rendition of Sail on Sailor which he was the original vocalist for in its 1973 recording).
Without ceremony, Wilson announced that the band was going to perform Pet Sounds and immediately launched into the bouncy Wouldnt It Be Nice? Like with any 50-year-old album some of it is going to stand the test of time, like the lush introspective ballads like You Still Believe in Me and I Just Wasnt Made for These Times, and some - like the instrumental title track (which Wilson introduced as having no voices) sound like they belonged in the 60s. However, performing like a tightly meshed unit, Wilson and the band faithfully recreated the album with its lows and with some amazing highs.
Back in the mid-1960s, Wilson told an interviewer that Pet Sounds aborted followup, Smile, was an attempt to create a teenage symphony for G*d.
Despite the lulls and occasional meandering path, his performance of Pet Sounds in Raanana, especially the sublime renditions of G*d Only Knows and Caroline, No, was ample proof those symphonies are just as relevant and goose-bump producing for adults as well.
At its conclusion and with the bands return for an encore, it felt like school was out of session and it was time for the fun to begin. And with the identifiable strains of Good Vibrations wafting across the sultry air, the band and the audience let go and danced through the songs that would keep them away from the news outside Help Me Rhonda, Surfin Safari, Fun Fun Fun.
Elated and exhausted, the crowd headed for the exits aware that their shared experience was at and end - but that even at times of despair and grief, they had just received a priceless gift. They could regain a semblance of serenity simply by closing their eyes and hearing those sounds come to life that Brian Wilson long ago once heard in his head. Thank you, Brian.
Source: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Terror-in-Tel-Aviv-pop-symphonies-in-Raanana-456338
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