A Ding Dang Good Time with Al Jardine & The Pet Sounds Band
You might not realize it, but Camden County may be the best place to catch a free concert. On July 4th, the county celebrated Independence day with one of Philly’s best bands, The Tisburys, as well as The Commodores right on the Delaware River, overlooking Philadelphia. The same stage they’ve had Brian McKnight, Kid ‘N Play, and others play on. On a stage in Haddon Heights, they’ve had some great national touring acts like Devon Gilfillian, Work Drugs, and Augustana. They’ve also got The Verve Pipe on the schedule for August 26th. On the Cooper River, they kicked things off with a 2000’s pop tour with Chris Kirkpatrick, O-Town & LFO, and the legendary E-Street drummer Max Weinberg played the week after.
On July 16th, Beach Boys co-founder Al Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band were scheduled to take the stage, but due to poor air quality from the Canadian wildfires, the show was postponed until August 4th. Earlier in the year, Jardine took the band to nearby Collingswood, and put on a great show at the Scottish Rite Auditorium, celebrating the 49th Anniversary (to the day) of the release of The Beach Boys Love You. An album that’s been heavily featured in Jardine’s recent live shows. He and his band played it in its entirety, though a bit out of order that night.
But for a free show on the river, Jardine may have been a bit cautious of playing deep cuts from one of the Beach Boys’ more underappreciated records. The early energy of the set matched that sentiment. It kicked off as the sun set with the band playing “California Girls”, “Do It Again”, “Surfin’ Safari” and a ton of early Beach Boys hits. And the Pet Sounds band were fantastic behind Jardine. That’s expected, they’re all Brian Wilson’s crew, collaborators, session musicians, touring members, all with a direct connection to Wilson. And alongside Al was his son Matt, who nailed Wilson’s falsetto with precision.
There’s Darian Sahanaja, keyboardist, vocalist, musical director, Pet Sounds band member for over two decades, who worked on Wilson’s revived Smile project in the 2000’s. Guitarist Ron Bonfiglio, a touring member with Brian Wilson musical director for Wilson’s daughters’ band Wilson Phillips. Keyboardist Gary Griffin, a former member of the Beach Boys with an incredible resume. The multi-talented Debbie Shair, who has been a member of the Pet Sounds Band for over a decade, and was also a long-time touring member of Heart. Saxophonist Paul Von Mertens, who also had a tenure as Brian Wilson’s musical director, and much like Sahanaja, worked on many of Wilson’s 2000’s projects. Bassist Bob Lizik, another long-time Wilson collaborator, and someone who’s worked with a who’s-who of the industry, Billy Joel, Mavis Staples, Barbara Streisand just to name a few. Percussionist Jim Laspesa, Drummer Mike D’Amico, saxophonist Brendan Carniaus, all members of Wilson’s band. Plus newcomer, the super creative guitarist and singer, Emeen Zarookian. So yeah, these are legit guys who have a love for Wilson’s music and know it intimately.
It’s obvious the care these guys have for these songs, and their drive to do them justice is on full display. Their harmonies are incredible. Their ability to change tempo on the fly during “Heroes And Villains”. The slow beautiful moments like “In My Room” and “Surfer Girl”, truly stunning to hear live. And when Al knows something is out of his wheelhouse, he’s happy to pass lead vocal duties to someone else, with Bonfiglio and Sahanaja singing on a good share of the songs.
Then, about halfway through the show, Jardine talked about The Beach Boys Love You, and to his surprise, there were a ton of cheers from the Pennsauken crowd. They launched into what was intended to be a brief collection of songs on the record. “Let Us Go On This Way”, “Roller Skating Child”, “Johnny Carson”, “Honkin’ Down the Highway” – but then something weird started happening. Screams for “Solar System!”, “Ding Dang!”, “Mona!”, “Airplane!” cut through the air. Jardine even made a comment about it being a Loves You crowd. So, Jardine and his band entertained some of the requests, a beautiful performance of “Solar System” jumped right into an energetic “Ding Dang”, with Jardine adding a new verse. They then wrapped up the Loves You section of the show with “Airplane”, stating they have to catch a flight the next day and have to move on.
The impromptu playing of the requests were legitimate, on the band’s setlists, those three songs were nowhere to be found. Three songs were cut, but Jardine’s ability to read the room (Football field next to a river?) and adjust on the fly made the show even more special.
They then played three tracks from Pet Sounds, “God Only Knows”, “Sloop John B”, and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”, with “Sloop John B” getting one hell of a reaction, and maybe the 2nd most enthusiastic sing-along behind “Ding Dang”. The set came to a close with “Good Vibrations”
After the ‘ol encore break, Jardine and The Pet Sounds Band came out for three more Beach Boys classics, “Help Me Rhonda”, “Surfin U.S.A.”, and “Fun, Fun, Fun”
It was such a fun night of music, all for free down on the banks of the Cooper River. Jardine and Wilson’s band are the definitive way to see the music of the Beach Boys in a live environment. As I was walking back to my car I thought of the other version of the band out there and couldn’t imagine them doing anything like this. Seeing Jardine put his heart onto every moment of that performance, adjusting the setlist on the fly. Coming back weeks later after a delay. Playing for 2 hours, 30 songs, for an audience that didn’t pay anything to be there. A show where there was no band merch for sale. Jardine is still a genuine, humble dude, who’s out there celebrating the life and music of his close friend.
In April, in Collingswood, for the final song in the encore, Jardine started to play Wilson’s beautiful ballad, “Still I Dream of It”. Jardine could not make it through the song, and his son had to finish the song on lead vocals. That’s the kind of performer and man Al Jardine is. We’re so lucky he’s still touring, he has a band of people who care so deeply about these songs, and a crew that has the opportunity to continue the legacy of Wilson’s music far into the future.
Connect with Al Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band: site
Al Jardine: insta / x
Matt Jardine: insta
Darian Sahanaja: fb
Rob Bonfiglio: insta
Gary Griffin: profile
Debbie Shair: insta
Paul Von Mertens: fb
Jim Laspesa: insta
Mike D’Amico: insta
Bob Lizik: insta
Emeen Zarookian: insta