Brian Wilson at Hard Rock on Friday night. Photo by Andrew Nathanson.

In the late 1970s, for my 16th or 17th birthday, I talked my parents into buying me a ticket to see the Beach Boys. In a scene straight out of Almost Famous, my mother dropped me off at the concert hall and I went in alone, taking up with some longhairs and a soldier who were clearly fellow fanatics. The band was touring in support of its last excellent studio album, The Beach Boys Love You. Brian Wilson had returned in a massive publicity splash, but he looked uncomfortable on stage, sitting in the corner and noodling absently on his piano. It was a great concert, though. They started with California Girls and ended with Fun, Fun, Fun. They played my favorite song, Sail On Sailor. Everybody danced and sang along. We all walked out with goofy smiles on our faces.

Some three-and-a-half decades later, I drove myself to see Brian Wilson and his band Friday night at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood. He was no longer hiding in the corner, he was front and center. He still looks uncomfortable on stage. But some things never change. It was a great concert. He started with California Girls and ended with Fun, Fun, Fun. He played my favorite song, Sail On Sailor. Everybody danced and sang along. And we all walked out again with goofy smiles on our faces.

A Brian Wilson concert can be a surreal experience: all that blissful music coming from a man who looks like he’d rather be elsewhere. He sits mostly blank-faced behind his keyboard, reads lyrics and patter from a Teleprompter and never seems to notice the applause, as he charges right into the next song or segue. Sometimes, you wonder if he’s having fun, fun, fun. He appears to be studying his moves with a frightened focus, in order to keep from losing his place. Is this awkward public exposure the best thing for a fragile artist whose years of mental struggle are part of rock and roll legend?

Photos: Brian Wilson at the Hard Rock

I’ve pondered that when I’ve seen his two previous solo tours, but there was one difference on Friday night. He seems to have finally become as comfortable as possible with what is expected of him on stage. His patter, while scripted, was looser and more energetic. His vocals were stronger. When he sang God Only Knows, he grabbed the mike and crooned with a surprisingly sweet intensity, as though he wanted the audience to truly feel the good vibrations.

And we did. Read the full story

Event Listing: Directions, buy tickets, more

Trace Adkins needs your help.

When he takes the stage at Cruzan Amphitheatre on Saturday, the crowd response is critical.

“When I go out on the stage if the crowd isn’t energetic and into it and responsive, it’s going to be one of those forgettable shows,” he said by phone last week.

“Sometimes it’s just an off night. It’s hard to explain. Sometimes you can feel the energy and some nights you can’t. But this is a team effort. It depends on the crowd.”

Crowds so far have done their part to make Toby Keith’s American Ride tour a success.
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More: Directions, nearby dining | Check out the live blog tonight from the show
See Matthews’ guitarist, Tim Reynolds, Thursday and Friday

They are like clockwork. Every year, right around the middle of summer, the Dave Matthews Band comes to South Florida to play a couple of shows.

Except, next year, that’s not going to happen.

The band has decided that 2011 will be its year off. It’s really the first time Matthews and his bandmates will have taken any sort of extended time away from either touring or recording in their 19-year existence.

So DMB’s two shows at Cruzan Amphitheatre this weekend are going to be the last down here for a little while.
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BY AMY REYES

The summer may be a slow time to find classical music performances, but this week there are two stand outs.

Summerfest 2010

Summerfest is an annual event presented by the Symphony of the Americas featuring an acclaimed foreign orchestra in residence joined by members of the Symphony of the Americas under the baton of the Symphony’s Maestro James Brooks-Bruzzese. This year’s event features France’s highly acclaimed Mont Blanc Chamber Orchestra. Performances include the classical music of Vivaldi, Paganini, Telemann, Sarasate, Brahms, Copland, the American composer Arthur Foote, and Lorenzo Turchi-Floris, Artistic Director of the Mont Blanc Orchestra. Performances are highlighted by Hungarian violinist Laszlo Pap, and American flutist, Marilyn Maingart.

Wednesday, July 21 at 7 p.m., The Broward Center for Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-462-0222. Tickets $20-$55.

Thursday, July 22, Susan B. Katz Theater, River of Grass Artspark, 17189 Sheridan St., Pembroke Pines; 954-986-6067. FREE.

Monaco Boys Choir

The award-winning boys choir, founded in 1973 under the patronage of H.S.H. Prince Rainier III, brings together over 30 children’s voices and is composed of talented children as young as eight years old who have passed rigorous examinations to be admitted into the prestigious group. Directed by Pierre Debat, the repertoire will include works by Charpentier, Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Fauré and Franck; French and Monégasque folk songs; English-language songs.

Saturday, July 24 at 7 p.m. Wertheim Performing Arts Center, Florida International University,  11200 SW Eighth St., Miami; 305-348-2896. FREE.

A bout of food poisoning has caused the postponement of Elton John’s scheduled concert at Tucson Arena.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that Wednesday night’s show was nearly sold out with about 8,800 tickets purchased. Organizers say the British rocker will perform Thursday night instead.

A spokeswoman for the Tucson concert venue says John apologizes for the inconvenience caused by his illness, but doctors say he will be fine to take the stage Thursday.

He was at Woodstock, man. And on Saturday, he will be again.

Carlos Santana returns to the site of the fabled 1969 festival this weekend for a concert at a new arts pavilion just yards from the original stage where his band performed “Soul Sacrifice” during the “three days of peace and music” that helped define the end of the 1960s.

According to promoters, it’s the 62-year-old Grammy winner’s first time playing there since that unforgettable performance.

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Authorities say Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry was rear-ended by a car when he was riding a motorcycle, and he has been treated for minor injuries at a Massachusetts hospital.

Middleborough police say Perry was on his 2009 Ducati Monster 696 early Thursday afternoon when he was struck from behind by a car driven by 62-year-old Linda O’Brien. Both vehicles were traveling at a low speed.

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Police say the Atlanta-based rapper Too Short was arrested after he was allegedly involved in a fight when security told him he couldn’t bring underage girls backstage at a Boise venue.

The 44-year-old performer, whose real name is Todd Shaw, faces three counts of misdemeanor battery. Police were called after reports of a fight.

Three employees at the concert venue Knitting Factory told police they were punched and kicked by Shaw and another man, 38-year-old Michael Walton, who appeared to be Shaw’s associate.

Police say Walton, of Modesto, Calif., faces two counts of misdemeanor battery.

Ada County Jail records show Shaw and Walton were arrested early Thursday and have since been released on bond.

Concert promotion giant Live Nation Entertainment says ticket sales for the Top 100 bands are down 12 percent in the first half of the year. It expects sales to fall further in the second half.

Chief Executive Michael Rapino told investors in New York that the weak economy has taken its toll on the concert industry.

The company says a further 15 percent drop for the Top 100 tours could occur in the second half.

Adjusted operating income for 2010 is seen at $405 million, down from $445 million last year, despite the benefits of its merger this year with Ticketmaster Entertainment.

A rash of cancellations from bands has also hurt sales. U2′s postponement of its tour until next year will cost the company $6 million this year.