Brian Wilson

From September 2007

Ken Dodd, Julian Clary, Sigue Sigue Sputnik & a magician who managed who burn down the entire building ..... Just some of the famous names to grace the stage of Edinburgh's Festival Theatre (sadly, not on the same night). Last Saturday was the turn of Brian Wilson, ex-Beach Boy, who, with his 18-piece band, turned in a 5 star performance.

Just as I can never remember the name of goal scorers (as a Hearts supporter, currently not a great problem) I have always found it difficult to recall the name of any songs played even minutes after a concert ends. This could be a medical condition or simply a complete lack of interest. In any case, pretty much all of Brian Wilson's songs sound the same with the exception of Sail On, Sailor. Actually that one sounds the same as all the others too but it is a favourite of mine partly because of the sheer strangeness of its recording: the majority of the Beach Boys in Amsterdam, Brian Wilson holed up in Los Angeles going bonkers. Nice work if you can get it. A good review (or one which actually mentions more than one of the songs played) was published in The Scotsman.

Of far more interest was the stage presence of Brian Wilson and the goonish behaviour of the majority of the audience. Brian Wilson has an excuse viz well documented mental problems brought about by the pressure to top Pet Sounds. Anyone else who played a concert dressed as model for Cotton Traders and introduced Sloop John B as "a song about a ship ... A SHIP" would be ridiculed. The audience had no such excuse. There was the halfwit behind me who took advantage of every lull to shout "We love you, Brian", the bloke in front of me who spent the bulk of the show fiddling with his digital camera (as far as I could see he had only managed to take a photo of the pavement outside the theatre), an office Christmas party bouncing about at the front of the stage waving pints of beer at Brian Wilson (that's not going to help) and countless sad sacks wearing Hawaiian shirts (Cotton Traders next time, lads).

Brian Wilson's new song cycle That Lucky Old Sun is not his best but he can't be faulted for ambition and the lyric that said all that he ever wanted to do was to sing songs with his brothers, a moving testament to a troubled genius.

WE LOVE YOU, BRIAN!!!!!