The Unchristmas-ey Christmas show

We spun on the ol' proverbial dime for this one. At approximately 1 p.m. Saturday, John Stamos Facebooked/Tweeted that he was going to be performing with the Beach Boys at the State Theater in New Brunswick -- we call it the "down the block" venue. At 8 p.m., we were in our seats waiting for the show to start.

It was billed as a Christmas show, but there was actually very little holiday music, which was appreciated by Mark, who has been under a constant barrage of white-bread holiday tunes at the Depot. Lots of sun, fun and traditional Beach Boys music. In fact, I think it might have just been one long song, I'm not quite sure.



Now a very good friend of mine is a huuuuuge fan of the Stamos, but she was off performing in her own Christmas concert in another state. Her nickname's Georgia, so when the person seated next to me shrieked continuously for John, I felt like Georgia was there vicariously. I will call said person "Oregon," and Oregon would get bent out of shape when John left the stage for one song.

There was a lot of humor expressed between John and Beach Boys frontman Mike Love. Before "Be True to Your School," Mike reminded John of a short drum roll that he was to take before a verse. John reeled off a full-force solo instead. Mike took some ribbing for the dramatic way he started that song, but zinged John right back with some pointed comments about Uncle Jesse's mullet. The latter joke did not sit well with Oregon.



Mike got in a joke about knowing John's mom "real well," after which John chided him for doing a "Your Mama" joke in Jersey but called him "Daddy" affectionately later. And before delivering "Forever," John admitted he had had a "If you had told me moment," namely if he had been told years ago that he would be on stage singing harmony with Mike Love, he would never have believed it. Let alone the fact that Mike took him to task for not having his shoes polished.

John switched off between drums and guitar throughout the show, not a bad idea considering "other" drummer, John Cowsill, had it going on. Which reminds me, I've come to the conclusion that The Beach Boys were the harbingers of "Glee." The way they sing together and with different people taking the lead at different times really reminded me of the way that show unfolds. Which, of course, is a series that Mr. Stamos has been on several times, so full circle. Not "Full House," full circle.

The setlist included a lot of songs from the era that weren't Beach Boys hits, but can be found on their greatest hits album -- "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," "California Dreaming" and "Do You Wanna Dance" -- amidst the classic surfing and beach song contingent.



One of the highlights was when Bruce Johnston, who as it was pointed out is the only member of the group with a songwriting Grammy (for Barry Manilow's "I Write the Songs"), delivered a lovely rendition of a song from the group's back catalog called "Disney Girls."

I wouldn't consider myself a particularly big fan of The Beach Boys, but one of the albums my mom owned back in the day was theirs. My two favorite hits were on the setlist -- "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (which might have been the most popular song of the night by crowd reaction save eventual closer "Fun Fun Fun") and "God Only Knows."

"Good Vibrations" surprisingly didn't really deliver all that great a vibe, and the fact that the crowd stayed seated for it sort of backs up that supposition. But everyone but me (and the four people who filed out at that point) sure seemed to appreciate the encore "Kokomo."

The sole nod to "The Beach Boys Christmas" billing was "Little Saint Nick," and the snow falling in the background drew oohs and aahs from the audience, who probably won't have quite the same reaction when they have to start shoveling the white stuff. But with Jack Frost nipping at our noses outside, it was nice to kick off the holiday season with some warmth, sunshine and Stamos.