Beach Boys return in Cincinnati as Mike Love performs seated after illness

The Beach Boys played their first public show since July on 10 October at PNC Pavilion in Cincinnati, with frontman Mike Love seated in a chair for the entire set.

Actor John Stamos spoke to the crowd before the music began. He said Love had been going through health issues and had to cancel shows, then walked the 85-year-old singer onstage and helped seat him, according to Rolling Stone.

The band opened with “Do It Again.” Guitarist Brian Eichenberger sang lead instead of Love. Love’s son Christian Love sang lead on “Surfin’ Safari” in place of his father. Love joined in on background vocals at times and thanked the crowd after the first song. “Thank you for showing up,” he said.

For fans in the room, the adjustment was clear but the format stayed familiar. Songs carried on with other voices out front while Love remained centre stage in his chair.

Love later told the audience what had kept him away. He said losing his sister Maureen on the first anniversary of his cousin Brian’s death, followed by bronchitis and then COVID, had taken an emotional and physical toll.

The Cincinnati date followed a stop-start two months. The group pulled its remaining shows through September after a three-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. It then played a private show on 3 October at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach in Dana Point, California, with Love also performing in a chair.

A scheduled 9 October concert at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington, Illinois, was cancelled three days beforehand because of unforeseen circumstances. An 19 October concert in Calgary was also cancelled. On 6 October, Rolling Stone had reported that Love was taking time to “recharge” after an unspecified health ailment.

The Cincinnati show had been rescheduled from an original date of 12 August, according to the PNC Pavilion listing. Doors were listed for 6:00 p.m. with a 7:30 p.m. start. Stamos joining the band that weekend had been reported on 7 October by the Cincinnati Enquirer, which billed it as a mini “Full House” reunion.

After Cincinnati, the band was scheduled to play the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, then Disney World in Orlando on 13 November and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Bristol, Virginia, two days later.