Brian Wilson brought his legacy to a fine point at the Fox Theatre Friday night

• Erik Meadows
• Brian Wilson lead an ensemble that included as many as 12 musicians at the Fox Theatre June 26.

Like a thief in the night, 2015 is the year of Brian Wilson. The guiding light behind the Beach Boys’ greatest hits and the group’s deepest cuts from throughout the ’60s and ’70s is on the road supporting a new album, No Pier Pressure, in the shadow of director by Bill Pohlad’s recently released biopic, Love and Mercy. The show at the Fox Theatre on June 26 was a winding run through more than 30 songs spanning Beach Boys classics including “California Girls,” “Fun Fun Fun,” “Sloop John B,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” as well as No Pier Pressure cuts “The Right Time” and the semi-schmaltzy “Runaway Dancer.” Nothing from the Beach Boys' 2012 album That's Why God Made the Radio appeared on the setlist, but that’s ok. To invoke the group’s ill-fated reunion could potential throw a speed bump in the midst of the strongest show Wilson has brought to Atlanta in recent memory. Nothing but “Good Vibrations” here.

Sixto Rodriguez opened the show with a set of mostly covers, donning a pair of leather pants and his signature Panama hat. After being escorted to a stool under the spotlight, the frail, Detroit, Mich. native and star of the 2012 documentary film Searching for Sugar Man was greeted by a standing ovation before he could even pluck the strings of his guitar.

Rodriguez’s voice still flows with a smooth and natural quality that is unaffected by the decades he’s spent performing and languishing in obscurity after releasing 1970’s Cold Fact and ’71’s Coming from Reality.

Like Spanish/America’s answer to Bob Dylan songs such as “Crucify Your Mind,” “This Is Not a Song, It's an Outburst: Or, the Establishment Blues,” and, of course, “Sugar Man” told tales of urban strife from eras gone by. When the latter number was through, and the applause subsided, he offered: “That’s a song about descriptions, not prescriptions.”

• Erik Meadows
• Rodriguez opened the show with a set of mostly covers.

Sultry renditions of Nina Simone’s “Love Me or Leave Me,” the Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes for You,” and Little Willie John’s “Fever” were sprinkled throughout his set as well. And yes, at just shy of 73 years old, “sultry” is the right word for the mood Rodriguez brought to the stage.

His solitary presence was a humble contrast to the sprawling cast of instruments and players surrounding Wilson on the Fox stage. The addition of long-standing Beach Boys singer and guitarist Al Jardine and latter-era singer and guitarist Blondie Chaplin brought undeniable gravitas to the room.

Jardine and Chaplin performed alongside Darian Sahanaja (keys), Matt Jardine (guitar and voice), Probyn Gregory (multiple instruments), Scott Bennett (keys), Bob Lizik (bass), Nick Wonder (guitar), Nelson Bragg (percussion), Mike D’Amico (drums), and Paul Mertens (sax) — all were ecstatic while plowing through Wilson’s repertoire of songs. Naturally, the orchestra that Wilson has built around him does most of the heavy lifting while serving the songs’ arrangements and high vocal harmonies.

Matt Jardine’s voice is nearly a spot-on match for his father, who still hits those high notes impeccably.
Of course bearing witness to Chaplin singing his guts out on “Sail Away, “Wild Honey,” and “Sail On, Sailor” was profound. And a deeply avant-garde run through "Surf's Up" was an absolute showstopper. But Wilson taking lead to sing “Busy Doin’ Nothing” was one of those truly great and fun moments that illustrate the power of his particular brand of musical genius. And then there was “God Only Knows,” which Wilson himself proclaimed to be “the best song I have ever written.”

At less than a week after his 73rd birthday, Wilson was in fine, enthusiastic form, stoked on a high in the midst of so much activity this deep into his career. Next year marks the 50th anniversary of what will forever be considered his proper magnum opus: Pet Sounds (bested only by the 2011 completion of SMiLE).

Whether Wilson is ramping up for something much bigger next year, or making the most of the here and now, his legacy has suddenly come to a fine point. Few artists have witnessed, or even survived the extreme highs and lows of such a life in music. On Friday night at the Fox Theatre, everybody knew it and relished every moment of the show.

• Erik Meadows
• Brian Wilson

• Erik Meadows
• Longtime Brian Wilson cohort Darian Sahanaja took lead for a rendition of "Darlin'" from the Beach Boys' 1967 LP, Wild Honey.

• Erik Meadows
• The Beach Boys singer and guitarist Al Jardine shared the stage with Brian Wilson.

• Erik Meadows