Post by Dawn on Oct 12, 2004 12:31:15 GMT -5
This past Sunday evening, Mark and I saw Brian Wilson and his band perform in concert at the Warner Theatre in Washington DC. The concert was absolutely phenomenal, truly a night I will never forget!
It was a packed house - every seat was filled. We were seated in the orchestra section, about halfway back and to the right, and had a pretty good view of everything. The concert started at approximately 8:10, with Brian and the group at the front right part of the stage in a semi-circle for the acoustic portion of the show. They performed And Your Dream Comes True, Surfer Girl, Wendy and several others, and then took their places on stage for the full-band portion of the show. The crowd went wild after Sloop John B, and after a thunderous round of applause for God Only Knows, Brian thanked the audience and said that it was a pretty song, and he could understand why we all liked it so much. He dedicated two songs to his brothers - a beautiful rendition of Dennis' song Forever, which left me teary-eyed, and a great version of Soul Searchin' from his album Gettin' in Over My Head, which had featured vocals from Carl before his death. Sail On Sailor was incredible - I love that song so much, and hearing it live was absolutely sublime.
After a 20-minute intermission, during which the lobby was literally elbow-to-elbow with people buying tour merchandise and having drinks at the bar, the Smile portion of the show began. It was absolutely awesome. There were some very cool lighting and graphics effects accompanying the music, and the entire Smile set from the opening Our Prayer to Good Vibrations was magnificent, absolutely riveting.
The last portion of the show got all of us on our feet, dancing and clapping to Beach Boys favorites like Do It Again, I Get Around, Help Me Rhonda, Barbara Ann, Surfin' USA, and Fun Fun Fun. Before Surfin' USA, Brian announced that some special guests would be joining them onstage, and introduced Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt, who sang background vocals, Gary Tallent from Bruce Springsteen's band on bass, and former Beach Boy Ricky Fataar on drums!
Brian closed with a great performance of Love and Mercy from his first solo album. It was about 10:45 when the show ended. We waited outside the theatre for awhile, hoping to get Brian's autograph on our tour program, but unfortunately had to leave before any of the band came out, in order to catch the Metro back to Vienna/Fairfax where our car was parked.
It was a truly amazing night. Brian's voice was very strong during the numbers, and he was animated and smiling throughout, even dancing onstage during one of the encore numbers. It was wonderful to see him so happy - he looks fantastic!
It was a packed house - every seat was filled. We were seated in the orchestra section, about halfway back and to the right, and had a pretty good view of everything. The concert started at approximately 8:10, with Brian and the group at the front right part of the stage in a semi-circle for the acoustic portion of the show. They performed And Your Dream Comes True, Surfer Girl, Wendy and several others, and then took their places on stage for the full-band portion of the show. The crowd went wild after Sloop John B, and after a thunderous round of applause for God Only Knows, Brian thanked the audience and said that it was a pretty song, and he could understand why we all liked it so much. He dedicated two songs to his brothers - a beautiful rendition of Dennis' song Forever, which left me teary-eyed, and a great version of Soul Searchin' from his album Gettin' in Over My Head, which had featured vocals from Carl before his death. Sail On Sailor was incredible - I love that song so much, and hearing it live was absolutely sublime.
After a 20-minute intermission, during which the lobby was literally elbow-to-elbow with people buying tour merchandise and having drinks at the bar, the Smile portion of the show began. It was absolutely awesome. There were some very cool lighting and graphics effects accompanying the music, and the entire Smile set from the opening Our Prayer to Good Vibrations was magnificent, absolutely riveting.
The last portion of the show got all of us on our feet, dancing and clapping to Beach Boys favorites like Do It Again, I Get Around, Help Me Rhonda, Barbara Ann, Surfin' USA, and Fun Fun Fun. Before Surfin' USA, Brian announced that some special guests would be joining them onstage, and introduced Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt, who sang background vocals, Gary Tallent from Bruce Springsteen's band on bass, and former Beach Boy Ricky Fataar on drums!
Brian closed with a great performance of Love and Mercy from his first solo album. It was about 10:45 when the show ended. We waited outside the theatre for awhile, hoping to get Brian's autograph on our tour program, but unfortunately had to leave before any of the band came out, in order to catch the Metro back to Vienna/Fairfax where our car was parked.
It was a truly amazing night. Brian's voice was very strong during the numbers, and he was animated and smiling throughout, even dancing onstage during one of the encore numbers. It was wonderful to see him so happy - he looks fantastic!
