Peter Noone Reviews & Such

Beach Boys Family Has A Blast

By Mark Bialczak

Noone and The Turtles also bring plenty of nostalgia to the Grandstand crowd.

The faction of the famous and now-splintered group that opened this year’s state fair Grandstand lineup Thursday night was called Beach Boys Family and Friends.

Beach Boys Family and Friends *** (out of four)

It didn’t take long to decide that the family is inarguably the Jardines. Patriarch Al Jardine is the lone founder of the California legends in this version. (Since the death of Carl Wilson from cancer in February 1988, Wilson cousin Mike Love is bringing his version of The Beach Boys to the nation, too.)

Papa Jardine stood in the center of the 11-piece band, playing guitar and singing as if it were the good old days.

At each end of the five-singer front row were his sons, Matt and Adam Jardine. And next to them was a Wilson, Wendy, the daughter of founder Brian Wilson, and Owen Elliot, daughter of Beach Boys’ friend "Mama "Cass Elliot.

Together, they combined on some soaring harmony on a couple dozen of the songs that made The Beach Boys a permanent part of Americana.

From the opener, "Dance, Dance, Dance," to the finale encore, "Fun, Fun, Fun," all the singers appeared to have a blast. They traded off leads and backup vocals, making some tough transitions look easier than they are.

The true vocal star was Matt Jardine. He was with The Beach Boys for their final decade, and he took the star vocal turn with style and substance.

Sure, every oldies or classic-rock band thinks it can do a good job on The Beach Boys. This group was the real deal. Two woman singers? Well, the original versions had enough falsetto parts to keep the high range sounding like it belonged.

They all concentrated on the music. And this time around, it was satisfying to hear The Beach Boys’ hits without wallowing through cheerleaders and other stage accoutrements.

Peter Noone had that oh-so-great stable of songs he made famous during the 1960s’ British Invasion with his band from Britain, Herman’s Hermits.

"I’m Into Something Good," "Wonderful World," "Dandy" and "Silhouettes" still get packed with singer Noone’s pop power, just like the good old days.

But just like when he came to Syracuse last year as part of the Cole Muffler Court Teen Idols Tour, Noone enchanted the crowd as much with his personality as he did with his fine voice.

He’s the guy you always want to come to your party. OK, sometimes his antics are a bit silly, but usually in a good way. When he pulled a pair of panties some woman had thrown on the stage over his trousers, people laughed. And when he yanked on a pair of boxer shorts some guy had thrown onstage over those, they guffawed.

Noone kept the spirits high with a dead-on vocal impression of Johnny Cash singing "Ring of Fire."

Then he pranced and minced about like Mick Jagger. "I look like Mick, don’t I? After Thanksgiving dinner," he said, pointing to his rounded belly.

He even got the crowd to join in for the big hit "Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter" and somehow coerced everybody to scream out the wacky "H-E-N-R-Y" of "I’m Henry the Eighth, I Am."

A pleasant treat was the keyboard work of one of the new Hermits - a chap by the name of Julian Lennon.

They came to open the show as The Turtles. But whatever you call the vocal duo of Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, they sure can still sing.

On Thursday night, backed by a pumped-up four-piece band, Kaylan and Volman lovingly sang the great songs that made The Turtles popular in the late 1960s. They positively hit all the right silky notes on old hits "Elenore," "She’d Rather Be With Me" and "Happy Together."

The sound was so big and full of grace it made a fortysomething regret that he’d originally heard these songs through a tinny transistor radio muffled by a pillow, the better to hide late-night listening from parents.

The pair have been singing together for 39 years.

The two poked fun at themselves right from the start, announcing their appearance as "two new Spice Girls." The somewhat portly Volman was "Chubby Spice." And the very-much gray Kaylan was "Old Spice."

Don’t think they weren’t hip, though. They still hate war and sang passionately on Barry Maguire’s hit "Eve of Destruction" to prove it. They also gave a splendid reggae performance of their own song "I’m in a Dancing Mood," from an album they said they recorded in Bob Marley’s home studio.

"But none of you bought the record," Volman deadpanned.

Peter Noone Reviews & Such

Beach Boys Family Has A Blast

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