Multimedia Editor
Cars, surfing and girls pretty much sums up almost every Beach Boys song. Their music has “feel good” lyrics as well as sound. The Beach Boys music takes you back to a time when music wasn’t centered around sex, drugs, sexual orientation, and political agendas.
On Wednesday, September 23rd, The Beach Boys gave “Good Vibrations” to a crowd of more than 2,250 people at The Kern County Fair, in Bakersfield, Calif., fair officials say. The Bud Pavilion outdoor concert arena was packed, with herds of people standing outside the concert gates, cheering and singing for the entire concert. Of course when you go to a Beach Boys concert you’ll see plenty of Baby Boomers in Hawaiian shirts, but fans of all ages were crowding in at the Bud Pavilion Wednesday Night to see the Beach Boys and hear their greatest hits. The crowd was treated to all The Beach Boys’ major hits, including, “Surfin’ Safari”, “Surfin’ USA”, “Barbara Ann”, “California Girls”, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”, Good Vibrations” and “Kokomo”.
Dutch neuroscientist, Dr. Jacob Jolij from the University of Groningen, found through research that the Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” is number three on the top feel good songs of all time , and that “Good Vibrations” is the top feel good song of the 1960s.
Beach Boys fan, Tania Jimenez, 30, stood outside the gate watching the Beach Boys with her two daughters,Lacie,11, and Angelica, 9. Jimenez has been a fan of The Beach Boys as long as she can remember, thanks to her Dad raising her with them, and now Jimenez wants to bring this uplifting music to the next generation.
“I think their music is very enthusiastic, it’s very positive, it’s very upbeat”, Jimenez said.
The seven member band includes only one original member, lead singer Mike Love and keyboardist/back up vocalist Bruce Johnston who replaced Glen Campbell in 1965 and has been off and on with The Beach Boys ever since (tallahassee.com). Love and Johnston not only still have the pipes, but they also kept the moves and the charm. “Because I don’t smoke and never did drugs, my voice is in pretty good shape”, Johnston said (tallahassee.com). Mike Love flirted with every woman in at least the first ten rows, tapping his chest with his hand as if to say “You move my heart” and then pointing to a particular woman or blowing a kiss to a particular woman. For the song “Barbara Ann” about six blonde women VIPs (varying in age) were brought out to the stage to dance with The Beach Boys and sing along. The Beach Boys seem to be as popular as ever, with a devoted fanbase.
Most teenagers and young adults today think of Katy Perry when they hear the term, “California Girls”, but the older generations will tell you that, that phrase was first coined by The Beach Boys long before Katy Perry was even born.
As concert goer Eddie Baker, 53, was buying a Beach Boys tour program he said the Beach Boys music is timeless. “It’s young, it makes you feel young”, Bakers said. “Some of the music today is just pounding or vulgar.” Baker remembers when he lived in Los Angeles back in the 1960s and he says The Beach Boys were big then.
Concert goer Scott Haidze, 53, says The Beach Boys music is different. “It’s nostalgic”, Haidze said. “It makes you feel good, and not too many bands today can do that.”
The Beach Boys make music that appears to connect with the masses. When the Beach Boys started singing,
“Be true to your school now
Let your colors fly“ (metrolyrics.com)
from “Be True To Your School”, I couldn’t help but turn to fellow Roadrunner/”The Runner” Senior Photographer, Brie Williams, and shout “Go Runners!”
Once you’re at a Beach Boys concert you realize pretty quickly how recognizable the songs are to you and most of the people around when you start to get hoarse from singing all of the lyrics. But then you think to yourself it’s worth it, because you don’t know how many more opportunities you will have to see the Beach Boys live in concert.
