The Beach Boys, Mermaid Theatre, London, review The Beach Boys, like their British rivals The Beatles, began their careers creating effortlessly perfect pop before veering off on chemical-fuelled musical adventures. This tour, which marks their 50th anniversary, showcases both sides of the band: the bubblegum and the barbiturates. This was a 90-minute teaser for their full-length shows later this week - on their current world tour the band have been playing for more than three and a half hours and performing upwards of 50 songs. The show was book-ended by anthems to sun and surfing. It began with 'Do It Again," 'Catch a Wave," 'Surfin" Safari" and 'Surfer Girl" and ended with 'Fun, Fun" Fun." Mike Love in his baseball cap, glittering gold rings and a shirt that looked like it had recently survived a paintballing competition, resembled a retired hedge fund manager on a golfing holiday. He pointed knowingly at random members of the audience, smiling and winking like a seasoned politician, while Al Jardine threw out surfer guitar lines and took lead vocals on 'And Then I Kissed Her" and 'Cottonfields." What was so exhilarating was the quality of the musicianship - a credit to a superb backing group of nine musicians including long time Beach Boys alumni Bruce Johnston and David Marks. Jeff Foskett took on the falsetto leads of "Don't Worry Baby" and "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," but to be frank it wasn't always easy to tell who was taking the lead vocals, and to be franker it didn't really matter: far better to close your eyes and enjoy the gorgeous harmonies of 'I Get Around," 'Surfin" USA" and 'Help Me Rhonda." If all The Beach Boys had recorded were these hymns to the endless summer of youth they would have been a good band, but it was Brian Wilson's tortured genius which made them great. This tour is the first time since 1965 that Wilson has performed on a full tour with the band. He spent the show hunkered behind a grand piano, his face variously blank, haunted and beaming. It was impossible to take your eyes off him. His voice was flat on 'Please Let Me Wonder" but just when you suspected Wilson may not know which decade never mind which city he was in, his face would light up as if suddenly reminded of the beauty of 'God Only Knows," 'Sloop John B" and 'Heroes and Villains." There was a moment during 'Good Vibrations" when the Mermaid Theatre was filled with the sound of the audience singing "Gotta keep those loving good vibrations..." It is my abiding memory of an unforgettable show where the clouds of time and discord parted to reveal heart-stopping glimpses of blue-skied, sun-soaked genius. Albert Hall (020 7589 8212) tomorrow; Wembley Arena (08444 999 999) Fri