\nAs he shuffles across the
\nstage to sit slumped in front of
\nhis keyboard, it’s clear from
\nthe outset that Wilson is not in
\ngood health. Kicking off with a
\nset culled from his recent
\nGershwin-as-Beach-Boys
\nalbum, he remained a
\nbackground figure as his band
\ndominated the show with some
\nastonishingly complex vocal
\nharmonies and crack
\nmusicianship. For the most
\npart, the covers worked well,
\nwith standards such as
\nSummertime complementing
\nhis sun-drenched stylings, but
\nWilson himself never seemed
\nentirely at ease with the
\nmaterial. Launching into
\nCalifornia Girls at the start of
\nthe second set, there was an
\nalmost audible sense of relief,
\nwhich grew over the next hour
\nand a half into a wave of
\neuphoria as the greatest hits
\nfollowed. Wilson, so much in
\nthe background in the first set,
\ncame to the fore with that
\nunmistakable voice bringing an
\nextra, vital dimension
\npreviously lacking. Introducing
\nGod Only Knows as “the best
\nsong I’ve ever written”, he
\ndelivered an ethereal version
\nthat mesmerised his adoring
\naudience. Finishing with a
\nriotous Fun Fun Fun, a
\nstanding ovation gave voice
\nto the collective euphoria of an
\nevening spent in the company
\nof a frail but incomparable
\ngenius.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As he shuffles across the
\nstage to sit slumped in front of
\nhis keyboard, it’s clear from
\nthe outset that Wilson is not in
\ngood health. Kicking off with a
\nset culled from his recent
\nGershwin-as-Beach-Boys
\nalbum, he remained a
\nbackground figure as his band
\ndominated the show with some
\nastonishingly complex vocal
\nharmonies and crack\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,16],"tags":[24],"issue":[9999],"class_list":["post-174086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live","category-reviews","tag-brian-wilson","issue-december-2011"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n