The Beached Boys

GIG: The Beached Boys
DATE: Friday August 21st 2009
VENUE: Tropic at Ruislip, Ruislip Social Club, Grosvenor Vale, Ruislip, HA4 6JQ,
COST: £8 in advance / £10 on the door
RATING: Breakaway from the average covers band…..


In August’s Record Collector magazine, Kingsley Abbott (highly respected music historian) said that The Beached Boys are currently considered the best Beach Boy styled band on the circuit. Their show at Tropic at Ruislip validated that comment.

This was a popular event with a long, but orderly queue forming from 8.30pm to gain entrance to the hall. The band took to the stage an hour later, dressed in the blue Pendleton style shirts that were synonymous with The Beach Boys in the early 60’s. Straight away, they had the audience up and dancing with “I Get Around”, “California Girls”, “Surf City”, “Little Deuce Coupe” and “All Summer Long”, bringing a bit of California sunshine to Ruislip. Other highlights from the first half of the set were “Don’t Worry Baby” which included a brief bit of “Hushabye” during the instrumental part, and a superb version of “Breakaway”: a song that Brian Wilson and his band have had difficulty mastering for a live show. Tonight The Beached Boys nailed it.

Following a 30 minute break, the band, now clad in Hawaiian shirts, started the second half of their set wasting no time with a lively “Heroes & Villains” which ran straight into “Fun Fun Fun”. The party mood continued with a few songs from the Beach Boys’ “Party” album and a great version of the surf instrumental “Misserlou” and a couple of early surf classics, “Surfin’ Safari” and “Surfin’ USA”. The audience were dancing throughout, even when the band slowed things down a bit with “Til I Die” and “Sail On Sailor”. As the clock edged towards midnight, the band had been on stage for 2 hours in total, delivering loads of great Beach Boys songs and they closed the night off with “Good Vibrations”.
The audience called for more but unfortunately, curfew time at the club is midnight, so the plugs were pulled on what was a great night.

The performance tonight was excellent. The band were tight, the vocals and harmonies nailed, they really seemed to enjoy themselves on stage, and the audience loved them too, dancing and singing along throughout the show. If the band come to a town near you (check out their website below for details of their gigs) then make sure you go along. You are guaranteed a night of Fun, Fun, Fun, even if you are only a “light” Beach Boys fan. If you love The Beach Boys you won’t be disappointed either, especially as the band does perform some lesser known songs which go down very well when there a few Beach Boys fans in the room.

The last time we had seen a couple of members of the band was just last month, when they joined Anny Celsi and Nelson Bragg (Brian Wilson's percussionist) on stage at London's Luminaire Club, providing backing harmonies for a rendition of "In My Room".

The venue is a decent sized hall: a bit of a free for all to get a table and a seat, but the bar service was good (the bar man remembered our round, which is always a positive sign!), the loos clean (and no queues), and there is plenty of parking.

Friday night is Tropic at Ruislip’s club night, where live music is promoted and enjoyed. Check out their link below to see forthcoming events.


http://tropicatruislip.co.uk/

http://www.beachedboys.com/