John Stamos has long been The Beach Boys’ biggest celebrity fan. The former Full House star’s surf rock CV dates back to his first performance with the Hawthorne, California legends in Washington, D.C. in 1985. Since then, the 61-year-old has gone on tour with them and even hosted the Grammys’ made-for-TV tribute to his favorite band in 2022.
On a crisp August Friday in Los Angeles, Stamos added yet again to his Beach Boys bona fides. While sitting in with Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, and their collection of supporting players, John quipped about the honor of being a proud Greek-American performing with an American treasure at the Greek Theatre, of all places.
It was the second-to-last of Stamos’ 16 dates on The Beach Boys’ Endless Summer Gold Tour, just before a concluding appearance at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula. But while he certainly stood out on stage—for his relative youth, semi-frequent costume changes, and support on guitar and drums—he hardly made the show about himself. Instead, he deservedly deferred to Mike, Bruce, and their musical bunch, while lending his own signature charm and humor to a two-set evening that was chock-full of both.
Over the course of 44 songs, this Stamos-infused edition of The Beach Boys touched seemingly every corner of the band’s iconic catalog, along with a handful of covers and some interesting stories.
The Beach Boys opened with a nearly continuous run of surfing songs, beginning with “Do It Again” and bleeding into “Surfin’ Safari”, “Catch a Wave”, and “Hawaii”. Of course, their repertoire of such tracks runs much deeper than that. Hence, it wasn’t long before “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and “Surfer Girl” entered the fray. Even so, The Beach Boys made room for ocean-oriented songs from other artists—namely The Ramones’ “Rockaway Beach”, which Love covered on his 12 Sides of Summer album in 2019.
But as much as The Beach Boys sing about, well, the beach, they still managed to rope in other recurring themes and organize their show accordingly. There was a spurt of romantic songs in the middle of the first set that included “You’re So Good to Me” and “Good to My Baby”, followed by ones about coming of age, like “Let Him Run Wild”, “When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)”, “Be True to Your School”—which featured a shoutout to Mike’s nephew, UCLA basketball star-turned-NBA champion Kevin Love, and a John Stamos drum solo—and “In My Room”. Just before intermission, The Beach Boys busted out a bunch of tunes about cars, among them “Little Deuce Coupe”, “409”, “Little Honda”, and “I Get Around”.
The second set brought several thematic pairs of songs. “California Girl” preceded a cover of The Mamas and The Papas’ “California Dreamin’”, in a nod to The Beach Boys’ home state. For the nautical crowd, “Sail On, Sailor” came just before “Sloop John B”. Those inclined to dance got all the permission they needed from a back-to-back sonic attack of “Dance, Dance, Dance” and Bobby Freeman’s “Do You Wanna Dance?”
The Beach Boys shouted out now-famous names of girls on “Help Me, Rhonda” and their version of The Regents’ “Barbara Ann”, the latter with a little help from the actor Josh Gad and comedian Jeff Ross. And the band’s 1980s hit “Kokomo” paired perfectly with the inimitable “Good Vibrations”.
Another theme that was apparent in places other than song titles was family. After all, The Beach Boys began in the early 1960s when Love started writing songs with his cousin, Brian Wilson.
Related: Brian Wilson’s Family Files For Conservatorship Citing Beach Boys Singer’s Dementia
Coming out of set break, Mike recounted the story of writing their first tune, “The Warmth of the Sun”, the night before President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and went on to dedicate that eerily timeless track to Brian. A couple songs later, he brought out his wife, Jacquelyne, and had the whole house sing her “Happy Birthday”.
He also did his part to pass The Beach Boys’ torch to the next generation. Throughout the show, he was joined on stage by his son Christian Love, who provided lead vocals on several songs, including “God Only Knows” and his own “Sum Sum Summer”. In the middle of the first set, he handed the microphone over to his daughter, Ambha Love, during “Kiss Me, Baby”.
In truth, The Beach Boys have long been a musical village of sorts. That has been particularly clear since the band’s 50th anniversary tour in 2011–12, when Brian, Al Jardine, and David Marks last toured with Mike and Bruce. With all of the above (except for David) now into their 80s, it’s only a matter of time until touring becomes a thing of the past for the entire core of The Beach Boys. When that day comes, the band will be in good hands, with Mike’s kids and John Stamos among those who could carry on the legacy together.
But that speculation must wait. More pressing are The Beach Boys’ 21 upcoming dates through March 2025, including three nights at The Venetian in Las Vegas to kick off the month of September. For more details and tickets, visit the band’s website.
The Beach Boys With John Stamos – “Good Vibrations’ – 8/30/24
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The Beach Boys With John Stamos – “California Girls’ – 8/30/24
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The Beach Boys With John Stamos – “409′ – 8/30/24
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The Beach Boys With John Stamos – “Rockaway Beach’ – 8/30/24
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