Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I had wanted to see The Beach Boys at the Alabama Theater earlier this year, but could not get it together. In the event, I believe the date may have been rescheduled for later this year. Had it taken place, it would likely have been my last time to see two Beach Boys together, as long-time member Bruce Johnston announced his retirement from touring last month. With Bruce spending his nights in his own bed, Mike Love & Al Jardine are the only two official Beach Boys still active, though they don't get along well enough to tour together.

Anyway, when I mentioned I was going to the Beach, my sister pointed me to a news article mentioning that Mike's Beach Boys would be at the OneFlight Myrtle Beach Classic golf tournament at the Grand Dunes resort, so I picked up a ticket (a really odd and frustrating process, ending up with something you can't just print out), and headed out Friday afternoon.

It turned out that the shuttle parking lot was the old Myrtle Square Mall site (which is still completely vacant after all these years), so i parked and got on a bus which took us a mile or so north. I had never been back in Grand Dunes, which is gated, but it is quite nice with golf, houses and a country club all right on the ocean. The concert site was backed up against the shore, and you could see boats passing by behind the stage. It was quite a chilly evening for May, and I had my sweater buttoned up.

The opening act was an Italian singer I had not heard of, Benedetta Caretta. She sang to backing tracks, without a band (aside from one song where she brought out a guitarist). From where I was standing, I could barely hear her, but she seemed to have quite a nice voice.

After she finished her set, which was probably about five songs, the roadies starting setting up for the main show, and Mike & co opened with a 1968 top-20 hit, "Do It Again", moving directly after that into the more well-known "Surfin' Safari".

John Stamos mentioned Mike's recent 85th birthday, and yes, I have to admit, Mike was not having a great voice night. He was certainly game, and the audience was appreciative, but the numbers which were originally sung by another Beach Boy back in the day came off better as the band was quite good, both vocally and instrumentally. I'm not quite sure why Stamos was there, whether it was a one-off, or if he is on the tour, but he has been associated with the band since the 1980s so it's never a real surprise to see him turn up. I thought he did a very nice version of Dennis Wilson's classic song, "Forever".

I didn't capture any of the first songs on video because from where I was standing, the sound was trash. I thought it was down to the wind and the sound system, but when I walked just a few feet closer a bit later on, I was suddenly in the focus zone, and the sound was excellent, and I did record several numbers (fumbling the start a few times) and the traditional closing duo: "Barbara Ann" & "Fun, Fun, Fun".

The setlist was something like this, though I won't vouch for the order except for the first two & last two numbers:

Do It Again
Surfin Safari
Catch A Wave
Surfin' USA
Surfer Girl
409
Little Deuce Coupe
Shutdown
Don't Worry Baby
I Get Around
Darlin'
Help Me Rhonda
Be True To Your School
Sloop John B
God Only Knows
Wouldn't It Be Nice
Good Vibrations
Forever
California Girls
California Dreaming
Rockaway Beach
Kokomo
Barbara Ann
Fun, Fun, Fun

Given the venue and time limit, there weren't a lot of deep cuts, but probably "Rockaway Beach" surprised some folks.