English
It was 1961. It was the beginning of a prodigious decade for music and arts. A band from California made up by three brothers, the virtuoso cousin and a high school friend became incredibly famous on the radio (back then, TV didn´t have the power that it has now and the Internet didn´t exist, of course) with a few catchy and happy tunes with neat vocals and wonderfully composed songs. These were the Beach Boys: the brothers Brian, Car and Dennis Wilson, the cousin Mike Love and Al Jardine, who wasn´t from the family. Happy and lively songs, magnificent vocal combinations, guitars and a lot of happiness (plenty of it) came out of the Beach Boys. Their albums soon reached the #1 spot on the charts; they sold like hot cakes and were played at all parties. It was the ´official´ music of the surfers from California, of the girls who dared to wear bikinis, a garment that was popularized by Brigitte Bardot a few years before on the Côte d´Azur. Anyhow, that was an authentic revolution, both in terms of music as in the way of understanding life.
Plenty has happened since 1961 and the band has been around the block a few times. The younger Wilson brothers didn´t survive time. To that, they added lawsuits related to royalties, image rights and a long legal etcetera but, incombustible to the dismay of the new sounds, the Beach Boys, now ´boys´ in their 70s, are back with a new world tour and a new album. It´s a studio album, just like they´ve always liked it, called That´s why God made the radio, of which here´s an advance on YouTube. Those who know the music of this band who competed against The Beatles themselves, will immediately recognize these chords that celebrate the joy of life, the summer and the bodies in the sun at the same time that it pays special attention to its execution with unique vocal and musical combinations in today´s world, but not back in the 60s.
Anyhow, they´re the same ones, but not exactly. Now, the new Beach Boys are Brian Wilson, MIke Love, Al Jardine (from the original band), Bruce Johnston and a recently incorporated David Marks for the tour. These five Beach Boys will be playing on the 23rd of July at the Poble Espanyol Barcelona, just after the International Salsa and Latin Jazz Festival. It needn´t be said that this is a unique chance to see this legendary American band. Music fans can also make the most of it by enjoying another classic, this time in terms of theme parks; the Poble Espanyol was conceived as a leisure place for families to have fun in back in the early 20th century. Today, it organizes activities, concerts, exhibitions and interesting tours. Here´s the link of the Beach Boys concert where they link you to the official ticket purchasing site and give more practical details:
The Catalan capital is a great summer destination. A cultural programme is a great added prospect to its excellent beaches. That´s why it´s a good idea to book apartments in Barcelona and stay there for at least a week.
