Beach Boys sing hits before varied crowd

After belting out about 15 songs, original Beach Boy Mike Love took a break from singing, wiped his brow and asked the audience, "Did anyone know there was a time where there were no Beach Boys songs on the radio?"\nFrom the crowd's reaction Saturday night at the IU Auditorium, the answer was no.\nPop hits like "Barbara Ann," "Good Vibrations" and "God Only Knows" made for a calm and carefree atmosphere that left audience members clapping, tapping and singing along. Some students and older members of the crowd even wore flowered shirts and leis. \nAfter 2003 IU alumnus Ryan Ahlwardt and his band, The Ryan Ahlwardt Trio, opened the show, the legends stepped out on stage, guided by dim lights, and those in the crowd went wild with shrieks. Dressed in their signature Hawaiian shirts, the Beach Boys opened the concert with a slew of seven back-to-back hit songs like "Surfin' Safari," "Do You Wanna Dance?" and "Catch a Wave."\nLove, co-author with Brian Wilson of "I Get Around" and "California Girls," took lead vocals, while Bruce Johnston jammed on the keyboard. Drummer Mike Kowalski, Love and Johnston are three members that have toured with the band since the '60s. The other five current members joined the band after the deaths of Carl and Dennis Wilson and the departures of Glenn Campbell and Brian Wilson.\nThe original lineup might have changed, but the Beach Boys' core sound has not. The same signature harmonies of the original Beach Boys, though sounding a little different, are still there. During the concert, the Beach Boys would take a break from regular songs and sing a cappella versions of "Their Hearts Are Full of Spring" and a cover of Frankie Lymon's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?"\nThe Beach Boys did not forget it was homecoming weekend at IU. After about 10 songs, the crowd was riled up when IU football coach Terry Hoeppner and the IU cheerleading squad rushed on stage to the tune of Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman." They began dancing a high-energy routine to the Beach Boys' smash hit "Be True to Your School." Audience members jumped to their feet and clapped along with the surprise performers.\nAn American flag, which descended from the rafters, set the tone for the song "Surfin' USA." During "California Girls," the Boys changed the chorus to "Indiana Girls" at the end of the song. \nHaving played more than 30 songs, the Boys came out with the IU cheerleaders to a standing ovation for an encore of "Kokomo" and "Fun, Fun, Fun." The Beach Boys also dedicated the slow-tempo single "Surfer Girl" to all the ladies in the crowd, at which point audience members raised their cell phones like lighters.\nShowing his sense of humor, Love did a doo-wop impersonation of "N'Stink," which he described as being "closer to hip replacement than hip-hop." Love also explained what a "45" was to the younger audience members who have never listened to records.\nIU Auditorium Director Doug Booher said only about 25 percent of the about 2,300 audience members were students, while the rest were faculty, parents, Bloomington residents and baby boomers. \nIU senior Emma Smith and sophomore Katie Crichfield both agreed that seeing legends like the Beach Boys live made it worth coming out on a Saturday night.\n"I'm a Beach Boys fan and have been for a while," said Bloomington resident Phillip Etheridge, whose mobile phone rang with a Beach Boys ringtone mid-interview. "I first saw them back in 1978 at the Kentucky State Fair. The songs just bring back memories"