Review: The Summer Cats – Surfing the Soundwaves of the Beach Boys’ Legacy at His Majesty’s Theatre

The Summer Cats – Surfing the Soundwaves of the Beach Boys’ Legacy at ACES Downstairs at The Maj at His Majesty’s Theatre Saturday, February 3, 2024

Five musicians attempting to recreate The Beach Boys’ lush, complex arrangements is a daunting thought, maybe, but not unappealing judging by the tables filled in the basement of His Majesty’s.

A muffled call of ‘a ba ba ba ba Babara Ann’ sang out with growing presence as The Summer Cats strolled out and sang out in confident a cappella. As the band members took turns giving a brief statement explaining the group being celebrated, keyboardist Pete Townshend crept in with the ethereal intro to California Girls, and bassist James Vinciullo eased in with its iconic bassline.

A medley of Surfin’ USA and Fun, Fun Fun had singer and head beach girl Zalia Joi in a state of the latter song’s title, having to end her joyful bopping with a dramatic leap, reaching the microphone just in time for the first verse, ending the second song by recreating the falsetto ‘woo’ of Brian Wilson with glee.

The harmonised chorus of Wouldn’t It Be Nice surfed smoothly through to the back row. Drummer Ryan Daunt provided the backbeats, incorporating the detailed percussion arrangements on this and other Pet Sounds-era songs.

I Get Around was the first tune that got people up and dancing off to the room’s rear and sides, clear of the tables. Immediately after, the history lesson, intermittently running between songs, went to some of the lower points of The Beach Boys’ career, prompting a quick return to seats. At one point, the lesson turned into a rapid-fire Q&A session amongst the musicians on car terminology as an introduction to Little Deuce Coupe.

Zalia Joi often made quick jumps to higher registers during harmony sections, making up for being one singer down on the original group. Her delivery of the originally falsetto parts had added warmth and depth. Guitarist Dave Cooper snarled, reminiscent of Mike Love or Al Jardine, when stepping up to the mic.

The show then turned to another dark moment in The Beach Boys’ history with Kokomo, although this was greeted by further dancing. Along with being a fairly generic song, Kokomo, as it turns out, is also a fairly common city name, with one audience member from near the one in Indiana. Wild Honey would’ve been a better alternative.

Dancers continued to occupy the areas free of tables through to the show’s end, as a series of up-tempo classics culminated in the masterful Good Vibrations. While not quite as extravagant as the recording, the passion from the performers was evident, and it topped some live versions The Beach Boys themselves have done of the song.

While the group’s outfits of Hawaiian-printed clothing had a little boat party cover band vibe, this is a tribute show for the informed music fan. Along with their trivia, the full harmonies formed by the four vocalists of The Summer Cats further proved insight into the band. The layers added by their vocals more than compensated for the absence of the full Wrecking Crew of musicians.

AJ MAHAR