For students and teachers in the Capitol Region, this week marked the end of the school year, so an Albany concert by The Beach Boys at The Palace on Friday, June 27, was the perfect way to kick off vacation season without actually having to fly anywhere.

There’s no beach in Albany, and there isn’t a band member that could pass as a “boy” anymore, but the transportive and timeless sounds of sand, surf, deuce coupes, and California Girls were pure singalong nostalgia. The aptly named “Sounds of Summer” tour delivered what it promised.

Only lead singer (and founding member) Mike Love and Bruce Johnston (who joined in ‘65) can trace their membership back to the days when The Beach Boys topped the charts, but the nine piece touring band did a commendable job recreating the band’s trademark sound. Regrettably, this Albany date lacked the charismatic participation of actor/musician John Stamos who will only join the band for select dates on the tour.

For Stamos, this summer marks 40 years of on-again, off-again touring membership in the band. Stamos is no Brian Wilson, but for thousands of Milennials his Uncle Jesse character on Full House was an introduction to the music of The Beach Boys — the band guest starred on the ubiquitously syndicated program three times.

The group is really the Mike Love band with Bruce Johnston playing the loyal second banana (the only other surviving original member, Al Jardine, no longer tours with The Beach Boys and now fronts Brian Wilson’s old solo touring outfit).

The show started with a video that included both archival images and clips of everyone from Adam Sandler to Jackie Chan to Homer Simpson espousing love for The Beach Boys, who in the wake of Brian Wilson’s passing earlier this month feel more relevant than they have in a long time — maybe that’s why the theatre was mostly full (and refreshingly multigenerational).

“Do it Again” was a fitting opener for Love, who has called himself a Beach Boy for 64 years. A number of surf classics (“Surfin’ Safari”, “Catch a Wave”, and “Rockaway Beach”) followed. First impressions: the vocal blend was excellent, Love was showing his age a little, and rhythm guitarist Brian Eichenberger shined as the Brian Wilson stand-in with a high harmony falsetto that was the highlight of the show for me.

“Surfin’ USA” and its accompanying video with images of iconic American landmarks like Mount Rushmore and The Statue of Liberty were reminders that The Beach Boys could stake a legitimate claim to being America’s band. Love even wore a red, white, and blue Hawaiian shirt to complete the image, to the delight of many American flag-wearing veterans that I spotted in the crowd.

It was impossible to miss drummer John Bolton, who was discovered on social media in 2023 by Stamos. A true pounder, Bolton is a talented drummer who is every bit the energetic live drummer that Dennis Wilson was on the TAMI show. That said, Bolton’s incessant stick twirling and posturing was in stark contrast to Dennis Wilson’s effortless James Dean-cool.

But the aging Love and Johnston needed some of Bolton’s energy, even if his Animal-the-Muppet antics are the stuff that only a first-time rock concert-goer could love (I have a number of friends who tell me a Beach Boys show with their parents was the first concert they ever attended). Still, Bolton’s caffeinated vocal lead on “Darlin’”, off the hugely underrated Wild Honey record, was a shot of adrenaline when the band needed it.

Love sounded a little tired on “Be True To Your School” and it was more than a little weird how the band mentioned that the song was written in the year John Stamos was born, since Stamos wasn’t in the house — it’s clear they have a shtick that doesn’t quite play when John isn’t guest starring.

But Eichenberg, who took a gorgeous lead vocal on “Surfer Girl”, was frequently up to the task when it was clear that Love needed to sit down and take a breather. Just when I thought Love might not have it in him, he proved me wrong with an incredible medley of hot rod rock to close the set. Reeling the two-minute tracks off one after the other, these surf-influenced tunes traded the beach for the pavement and allowed lead guitarist John Wedemeyer to flex his Fender. “Little Deuce Coupe” and “Little Honda” were standouts, but the entire crowd was on its feet for the first set closer “I Get Around”.

In the wake of Brian Wilson’s passing earlier this month, The Sounds of Summer Tour carries a weightiness that might otherwise have been pigeonholed as an oldies tribute. Instead, the tribute on this tour is to Brian Wilson, Love’s cousin and longtime songwriting partner. A music video for “Brian’s Back” was an emotional way to start a second set that leaned heavily on not only Brian’s Pet Sounds genius, but also tracks that recalled brothers Carl and Dennis.

Love returned to the stage alone to introduce the harmonious early track “Warmth of the Sun” which he mentioned was written on the eve of the Kennedy assasination.

I’m hardly alone in saying that “God Only Knows” is my favorite Beach Boys song and the Pet Sounds numbers in the second set provided ample opportunities for music director Tim Bonhomme to showcase album-perfect instrumental arrangements. Flexible crowd-favorite, Randy Leago, also made valuable contributions on saxophone, flute, and piccolo.

But when it came to the vocals on “God Only Knows” Christian Love’s odd phrasing fell far short of Carl Wilson’s trademark performance. Christian did a yeoman’s job spelling his dad at times and is just better suited for a singing style that matches his father. “Sloop John B”, led by Eichenberger’s high harmony was more like it — that reorchestrated traditional folk song remains my favorite Wilson arrangement. An excellent “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” received one of the strongest reactions from the emotional audience — I saw one woman tear up.

Johnston took a lead vocal turn on “Do You Wanna Dance” in homage of Dennis Wilson and afterwards, Love revealed that it was Johnston’s eighth-third birthday. The crowd delighted in singing “Happy Birthday” to Bruce.

“Good Vibrations” was another reminder of Wilson’s prowess as an arranger and it was followed by “Kokomo”, the adult contemporary staple that I’ve loved to hate for years. Even a music snob like me was clapping along and cheering on Randy Leago’s raggedy sax solo, which was one of the best moments of the night. Call it Stockholm Syndrome (or being a dad over 40), but for one moment in time, I have to admit I enjoyed every second of sappy steel drum schlock.

Love closed out the night with two of his signature frontman tunes. “Barbara Ann” and “Fun, Fun, Fun” were pure energy and a reminder that even if Brian never contributed all that genius production during the Pet Sounds and Smile era, the Beach Boys still would have basically been The Ventures of “vocal surf”, which is an accomplishment in its own right.

For record collectors like me who spend a lot of time alone in a room dissecting LPs, we cheer for the introverted Brian Wilson; for extroverts who like easily consumable surf pop, there’s Mike Love. The yin and yang of Wilson and Love is what made The Beach Boys special — there was magic in that family friction. You can prefer the cerebral Wilson and still admit that Love’s lead vocals on so many tracks really are “Fun, Fun, Fun”, and that’s probably the simplest and best way to describe this current touring incarnation of The Beach Boys.

The Beach Boys – The Palace Theater, Albany, NY – 6/27/25

Set I: Do it Again, Surfin’ Safari, Catch a Wave, Don’t Back Down, Rockaway Beach, Surfin’ USA, Surfer Girl, Getcha Back, You’re So Good to Me, Good To My Baby, When I Grow Up (To Be a Man), Darlin’, Be True to Your School, In My Room, Don’t Worry Baby, Little Deuce Coupe, 409, Shut Down, Little Honda, I Get Around

Set II: The Warmth of the Sun, God Only Knows, California Girls, Then I Kissed Her, California Dreamin’, Sloop John B, Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Help Me Rhonda, Do You Wanna Dance, Happy Birthday (to Bruce Johnston!), Good Vibrations , Kokomo , Barbara Ann, Fun, Fun, Fun

Mike Love – Lead Vocals

Bruce Johnston – Keyboard, Vocals

Christian Love – Rhythm Guitar, Vocals

Brian Eichenberger – Rhythm Guitar, Vocals

Tim Bonhomme – Keyboards, Music director

Jon Bolton – Drums

Randy Leago – Saxophone, Flute, Piccolo, Percussion

John Wedemeyer – Lead Guitar

Keith Hubacher – Bass