I LOVE THESE GUYS!!! One of the greatest events of my life was attended The
Beach Boys concert at the Saenger Theatre in downtown Pensacola, Florida on
October 13th, 2021. Wow!!! This was the best $110 I ever spent! It was a
blessing to personally get to see and hear Mike Love perform. What a
beautiful voice and great sense of humor! Also, Bruce Johnston was there,
one of the original band members of The Beach Boys. What a great voice!
Something that made the concert special for me was seeing Justyn Wilson, the son of Carl Wilson perform with the band. What a cool guy! I was amazed how much Justyn sounds just like his father. I felt a heart connection for some reason with Justyn when I learned that his Dad had died in 1998 from cancer. God has a way of knitting people's hearts together, as friends. I felt compelled to pray for Justyn since the concert, like a made a new friend. Justyn has my respect and admiration as a member of The Beach Boys. That is so cool.
I say up in the balcony, seat H1. Believe it or not, this was the first concert that I ever attended in my life. I am age 54! Good night, where has I been? As a boy, I grew up in a strict religious home and my father wouldn't allow me to listen to rock music, let alone attend a rock concert as a teenager. I remember once hearing and seeing The Beatles perform on TV. I was about 7 or 8 years old. I blurted out in much excitement, “I like that kind of music!” And I sure did. My mother went and told my father what I said and he scolded me for 15 minutes, preaching to me the evils of rock music. Well, when I grew up I never stopped loving rock music (and all kinds of music for that matter). I love and honor my parents, but I am my own person and I am perfectly okay as a born-again Christian with listening to The Beach Boys. In 1992 I started to learn to play pedal steel guitar, which is still the passion of my life today in 2021. I can't get enough of the instrument! I love Hawaiian steel guitar. I also play banjo (Dave Hum style), guitar, ukulele and the radio...lol.
I have loved The Beach Boys ever since I heard them. Believe it or not, there was a time as a teenager when I smashed all my Beach Boys cassettes, because I had been indoctrinated by Baptist preachers to believe that The Beach Boys were evil. Although the band themselves will be the first to admit that they are sinners, I don't think their music about fast cars, California girls, be true to your school and Sloop John B are evil. Good night in the morning! Today, I am a die hard Beach Boys fan and I only wish I could attend some more concerts. God willing, if they ever come back to Pensacola, I WILL BE THERE!!! I love these guys! Thanks to all The Beach Boys, you guys mean so much to me!!!
I was very impressed how zealous these guys were about their performance last night, despite the fact that they play these concerts day in and day out. I looked at their upcoming tour schedule today, all booked up until December of 2022. I'd love to hear them again! You'd think they'd burn out and loose their fire over time. Nope! All nine members gave it their very best. John Cowsill really pours his heart into those drums! What a great drummer! Ringo Starr would be proud! I had never seen The Beach Boys publicly before.
I thought Justyn was a younger fella, about 30 years old. I was surprised when I learned that he is about my age, 50. I am 54, born in 1967. I am a pieces, just like Mike Love and George Harrison of The Beatles. That is so cool!!! I loved the new song Mike wrote called, “Pieces Brothers.” That was really nice and a tremendous tribute to George Harrison. The Beach Boys made us all cry back in the 1970's. I wasn't born until 1967, so I came along later. But I still remember the bigger than life feeling in my soul as a child when I heard The Beach Boys, The Beatles and other favorite bands. I only wish I could have lived a musical life as a career musician, as do millions of other Americans. Many people do choose to live that type of life, but it's not all glamour and fun. You sacrifice a lot, things that many people take for granted. So there's a trade off, pros and cons, but if you choose a job that you love, you'll never have to work another day in your life. Hey, Mike Love said that, and I fully agree!!!
For his age, at 80 in 2021, Mike Love is amazing! I loved it when he bent over in the concert and then tried to stand up straight, while John Cowsill made some percussion sounds like Mike's back was creaking in pain! That was so cool. Great fun and humor! And then before singing their hit song “Surfer Girl,” Mike said the band had thought about changing it to “Surfer Them” or “Surfer It” to satisfy the transgender culture today, but it didn't sound right, so they left it as “Surfer Girl.” I couldn't have said it any better myself. What a great sense of humor Mike has!!! I love you Mike, and all you guys, sincerely.
As a Christian I love God, and hearing the happy music of The Beach Boys cheers my heart. I guess when you know that you're redeemed and going to Heaven, and have God's unconditional love for everyone in your heart, it just makes the beautiful harmony and skilled musicianship of a group like The Beach Boys all that much more precious and powerful to rejoice people's hearts. The Beach Boys sure cheer my heart with their happy music!!! Thanks guys! I was wearing my “John 3:16” cap, which says “JESUS” on the back (I wear my hat backwards, so people see “JESUS” on the front). A married couple next to me told me that they loved my hat. I told them that I like to let people know that I am a Christian. They said they are Christians too! It was great meeting and sitting next to them throughout the 2 1/2 hour concert. The auditorium was full. I'm guessing over 1,500 people (the building's official total capacity is 1,641 people). The place was packed full! The usher's were mostly older gentlemen and ladies, very friendly and professional.
I bought two small buckets of popcorn and two small bottles of Coca-Cola. That's all they sold, except for some Doritos in small bags or candy (e.g., Skittles). I was really hoping they'd sell hotdogs at the Saenger Theater, but they didn't.
Also, I LOVE loud music! As a musician I don't just want to hear music, I want to FEEL IT!!! But the music was WAY TOO LOUD in my humble opinion last night. The friendly couple next to me agreed. My ears were literally hurting today. There's enjoyable LOUD, and then there's annoying LOUD! The first few songs were over-the-top in volume, but then it got better. Perhaps my ears became adjusted, or they turned it down a bit. Overall I greatly enjoyed the concert and not all of the songs were ear shattering. When music is so loud that you are having difficulty enjoying the music itself, that is way too loud. Either my ears got adjusted or they reduced the volume a bit, because I enjoyed the music and forgot about how loud it was after they played for about 30 minutes.
Scott Totten is a gift from God to The beach Boys! Wow! What a cool dude! Scott can jam on the guitar beyond words to describe how beautiful it sounds! He really got down on his Stratocaster last night, nailing original Beach Boys licks and creating his own awesome runs on the guitar. I love the melodies and harmonizing of The beach Boys. That is the heart of their music, the harmony and pretty melodies. It is happy music!!!
Brian Eichenberger sounds so much like Brian Wilson, it is amazing! I thought it was Brian when he sang “Wouldn't It Be Nice,” my favorite song by The Beach Boys. I'm not mentioning all the names of the nine present band members, but they are all incredible musicians and singers. I enjoyed watching the bass player and drummer feed off each others. Jimmy Page and John Bonham used to do the same thing in Led Zeppelin, which drove the band's powerful iconic rhythm. I had a great time last night. I have this memorable event in my soul for a lifetime. I think it is cool that The Beach Boys are still touring after the band recorded their first song in 1961. That's 60 years folks!!!
Anyway, I just wanted to write this brief review of The Beach Boys performance in Pensacola, Florida in 2021. THANK YOU guys for coming to Pensacola, so real people like me (just a nobody who loves music) can see in person and enjoy The Beach Boys. It has always amazed me what four or five men can do with a bass, guitars, drums and a singer. The Beatles forever changed the world, and so did The Beach Boys. God is so good to all of us!!! Kindest regards and thank you to all for reading. Catch a wave!
My Hawaiian Album 2008
Adventures in Paradise | Farewell My Tani | Hawaiian Paradise | Little Brown Gal | Moon of Manakoora | My Yellow Ginger Lei | The Hukilau Song | Sweet Leilani | Bali Hai | Beautiful Kahana | Mapuana | Paradise Isle | Rainbows Over Paradise | Sand | Beyond the Reef | Lovely Hula Hands | Sophisticated Hula | I'll Weave a Lei of Stars | In the Garden | Song of Old Hawaii | Song of the Islands | Beyond the Reef
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