Brian Wilson

Lupo’s

The two or three times I've caught Brian Wilson since he got his act together with his acclaimed SMiLE project have been joyous affairs indeed. Onstage, the Beach Boys kingpin has a by-the-numbers performance demeanor, but with material that's as glorious as Wilson's, merely hitting the marks is impressive enough. His backup team is populated by acolyte craftsmen who make sure the voluptuous idiosyncrasies of their boss's music are intact when they roll through such glory moments as "The Little Girl I Once Knew," "Let's Go Away For Awhile," and "Good Vibrations." All of this means a great time for zealots, which is the only way to characterize the aging fans who show up to see the great man do his thing. But rest assured: If a few novices do come sniffing around, and they can get over Wilson's crazed formality, they're likely to swoon, too. His canon is as engaging an array of tunes as any American songwriter has generated. Even the oddities of last year's Lucky Old Sun (Capital) have a way of throwing their woolly charms around you. He'll be at Lupo's, 79 Washington Street, Providence, at 8:30 pm | $85-$40 | 401.331.5876 | lupos.com

Filed under: MUSIC