Something Great From ‘68
Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys (left) and Rod Argent of The Zombies (right).
What is considered “good music”? Is it music that has a bangin’ bass? Is it the classical music that soothes your brain? But the most influential music is music that has been around for generations. For over fifty years, two legendary bands, The Beach Boys and The Zombies, have brought incredible music to their fans throughout the world. And now, fifty years later, they’re doing it again during their new tour, “Something Great from ‘68”! Two legendary bands coming together for one legendary tour.
The show on September 23rd, 2019 opened at the Taft Theatre, in the heart of Cincinnati, Ohio. Average ticket prices went from 70-90 dollars, which isn’t asking a lot for a good seat to see two of the greatest bands of all time. When arriving, the crowd bustled into the theatre as quickly as they could, making sure they didn’t miss a beat from these phenomenal bands.
Opening with The Zombies, the band performed Odessey and Oracle, one of their biggest hits from the 1960s. They were very friendly and warming towards the audience and made us feel welcomed in the booming city of Cincinnati. Between songs they told stories of how they formed the band and wrote their legendary pieces of music. They ended their act with their timeless hit “Time of the Season.”
As the Zombies exited the stage, the theatre took an intermission, leaving the audience with butterflies in their stomachs. Good vibes surrounded the place, as this was a Beach Boys concert after all. The audience was squirming with excitement, as they couldn’t wait for the seemingly never-ending thirty minute intermission to be over. But finally, the time came, and Brian Wilson, AKA God, entered the stage.
Screams echoed, people jumped, and the show continued. The legendary musicians, including Alan Jardine, Brian Wilson, and Blondie Chaplin, made the stage with smiles larger than the Grand Canyon. Critics say this tour is Brian Wilson’s best, and boy were they right. Once the audience settled back into their seats and had calmed down a little, (which was hard to do considering they were in the presence of three legends), the band began to play some of their most legendary hits.
The band first began the show with some of their mid ‘60s hits such as “California Girls” and “I Get Around”. These classics proved their worth in their original time period, and only furthered proved their worth today. The band then began playing some of their hits from their arguably best album Pet Sounds, before they settled into their 1968 album, Friends.
Compared to their early hits, the Friends album had a more laid back, melancholy feel. The band started this album off with the title track, “Friends”, and continued with the smooth vocals of Alan Jardine on, “Wake the World”. Digging deeper into the album, Brian performed a touching tribute to his deceased brother Dennis Wilson, on the already tear-jerking song, “Little Bird”. If one was dry eyed during that performance, said one had no heart.
As an encore, the band performed more of their early ‘60s hits such as, “Good Vibrations” and “Surfin’ USA”. Although the crowd seemed to be filled with elderly people, thankfully, no one broke a hip. But when the encore was over, the band ended the show with a touching performance of “Love and Mercy”, one of Brian’s hit solo songs, as a reminder to give love and peace to everyone throughout the world. And so ended one of the most legendary concerts of two influential bands of all time.