Friday September 16, 2016 was the day. I had been anticipating this concert for what seemed like an age: it was the night I was going to see musical genius Brian Wilson perform. This concert will forever be one of my fondest memories. He and his band were performing at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee which is a history rich music venue. The setlist would be the entirety of the iconic Pet Sounds album, released 50 years ago. To celebrate the album's 50th anniversary, Wilson decided to have a world tour dedicated solely to the album.
Wilson performed with a group of hired musicians that were spectacularly talented and extremely precise in the way they played. This group of musicians had obviously been very meticulous in their rehearsals (most likely because of Brian Wilson's tunnel vision when it comes to the idiosyncracies and complexities of Pet Sounds). In addition to hired musicians, he played with Blondie Chaplin and Al Jardine (both previous members of The Beach Boys).
The setlist did not just consist of the Pet Sounds tracklist, it featured other works by The Beach Boys, as well. The show started with the band casually strolling onto the stage and easing into performances of various works, such as the popular "California Girls" and the nostalgic "In My Room". Blondie Chaplin ended the first part of the show with exhilarating guitar work on the performance of "Sail On, Sailor". The group left, Brian Wilson walking off stage before the song was even over, and took a break of approximately twenty minutes. When they returned to the stage Brian Wilson introduced the set, telling the audience it would consist entirely of the Pet Sounds tracklist before the wistful "Wouldn't It Be Nice" filled the auditorium.
The band left the stage again after the last track of Pet Sounds, "Caroline No." and the auditorium exploded with applause and cheering for an encore. When the band came back on the stage they all introduced themselves and started playing the bigger hits The Beach Boys had, such as "Good Vibrations" and "Help Me, Rhonda".
This concert is, hands down, the best show I have ever been to. The sheer talent of the musicians on stage was awe inspiring and seeing the musical legend that is Brian Wilson is something that I will never forget. If Brian Wilson is stopping by your city on this 50th Anniversary tour I highly recommend that you get yourself a ticket and prepare to see a jaw dropping performance by some of music's best.
