Huge Crowd For The Beach Boys!
It was a beautiful summer evening on July 25, 2009. A massive crowd of nearly 65,000 people flocked to Boston's Esplanade to hear the famous Beach Boys. The Hatch Shell lawn was full, the island was full, and many people just listened from Storrow Drive. It's truly a public service that Oldies 103.3 can bring such notable bands to this free venue for so many people.
The Beach Boys show was great, with their classic harmony and California surfer sound. The band has so many hits that the concert was essentially a Best Of Beach Boys compilation. Songs were often grouped together, with "car" songs Ballad Of Old Betsy, 409, and Little Deuce Coupe performed in sequence. There was a string of smash hit surfer songs like Surfer Girl and Surfin Safari. Many love songs were performed such as Don't Worry Baby and Wouldn't It Be Nice. And pop-hits California Girls (1968) and Kokomo (1988) drew big applause.
The crowd was split between college age people and baby boomers. There were countless students with picnic blankets surrounding the shell, and standing-room only baby boomers brimming the Hatch Shell lawn and oval areas. It was intriguing to see 20-year olds enjoying the music with friends or a date, standing next to baby-boom generation couples dancing vigorously to Dance, Dance, Dance. Everyone enjoyed the show, with the usual spattering of listeners in kayaks along the Charles River, and even from the intimate Venetian Gondola boat attraction which operates there.
The Beach Boys were formed in 1961. The band created a unique sound based on tight harmony, distinctive guitar riffs, and lyrics exemplifying the southern California youth culture of the 1960s. Jan and Dean had consummated an earlier sound similar to the Beach Boys, Frankie Valle and the Four Seasons delivered some big hits in similar form during the same time period, and one-hit wonders like Henry Gross (Shannon) had completely imitated the Beach Boys.
Of special note, John Stamos, the famous actor best known from the popular TV show Full House, performed with the Beach Boys. He plays drums, guitar, and sings. The wooden single-family houses along San Francisco's steep hills from the TV show's opening minute appeared in the mind's eye when he was introduced. Full House was a very popular family-oriented show, with Stamos' character maturing over the years from an impetuous uncle to a super positive role model. Stamos is also a native Californian and popular icon, and it's great to see him with the Beach Boys.
A list of Beach Boys hits that were performed is too long to mention. The concert was a family-friendly festival with tens of thousands of people enjoying the music and Summer season (which finally arrived after weeks of rain). CelebrateBoston would like to thank some of the sponsors for this very popular summer concert series:
Contact Information & Address:
Hatch Shell (Mass Department of Conservation & Recreation)
Storrow Drive & Mugar Way, Boston, MA
mass.gov/dcr
