The band started us up with the opening tune "God Blessed Video" which was from Graham's favorite album "Disturbing The Peace". Good speed, vibes, and feelings. The audience seemed to know the lyrics, and my friend Sean and I also sang along with Graham "don't you know the Goooooooood blessed videoooooo!" Graham hit all the high notes, and the band kicked ass too with Kevin's "smooth bangin'", John's incredible multi-playing, and Tim's tight bass and great BV.
The vocal chorus shined again in the next song "Island In The Sun". I just thought that this tune was totally a chorus-oriented song. There would have never been this song if Graham were not a Beach Boys fan. Again the audience sang along with Graham and it was great addition to the BV team.
The next song was "Don't Look Down" from TDIWM album. It is a middle tempo rocking tune written by Mick Ronson, and again, it was the chorus time! "Don't wanna faaaall, remember don't look dooooown". The great vocal chorus continued into the next song "S.O.S."
After the fast tune "Spiked" written by John Thomas, Graham introduced "Will You Be Home Tonight" as a song about James Dean who died in a car crash in 1955. Some fans might remember this story from the "Power Live" video. I guess this is one of Graham's favorite tunes from the DTP album as he has picked this up for many concerts...
The gig turned to a surprise section. The first one was the Rainbow tune "Love's No Friend", which excited the whole audience! Graham's voice shined like in the Monsters of Rock moment, and the band played the bluesy feel very well. And the next one was "Killer" from TDIWM. It was actually a request from the Japanese fan Kaz who flew in that night, and he seemed to be so touched to hear this one. As you know, this song includes some killer high notes and I wondered if Graham could hit them all at live. No need to worry....uuumm, yes, he struggled a bit but mostly it was OK. His screaming was much wilder than on the CD :)
Finally, the good old hit section came: ANL, Dancer and SYBG. I began to feel a bit sad because ANL meant that the show was close to the end. I wished I could continue to listen to all those GB songs live for ever, but, anyway, Graham and the band ROCKED in all three song. What must be mentioned here was the introduction to SYBG. John played, with the guitar and keyboard, the melody part of "if you will come back maybe you know you'll never be wrong...." from this tune as an introduction, which lead to the famous riffing of "dadada dada dadada dada....." It was very impressive arrangement!
After SYBG, the band went back stage and took a little rest. Yes, everyone in the audience was expecting the "Hollywood", and the band answered to that by Kevin's roll drumming to his snare. Everyone in the audience again shouted along with Graham "Lost In Hollywood!" Yeah, we were actually lost in Hollywood, knocked down by your fabulous voice!
Among the audience were a number of GB fanatics flying in all the way from Tokyo, London, New York and other cities of the States. They all had a chance to chat with Graham at the outside patio after the show, which I thought was what they had been dreaming of for years. It meant a lot to Graham, too.
Moreover, I could get together with several
members from the unofficial mailing list "Lolita Crush" before and after the
show, and I really enjoyed seeing them too.
Overall, it was a fantastic night for both the audience and the band. I just hope
it will happen again not only in LA or Tokyo but also in other cities on earth!
Here is the setlist.
1. God Blessed Video
2. Island In The Sun
3. Don't Look Down
4. S.O.S.
5. Spiked!
6. Will You Be Home Tonight
7. Love's No Friend
8. Killer
9. All Night Long
10. Dancer
11. Since You've Been Gone
12. Lost In Hollywood
John Thomas
Kevin Valentine
Tim Luce
(C) All these photos by Masaya
