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YourHub.com \\ Oxnard \\ Stories \\ Posting is no longer available. \\ Music

Beach Boys rule over Bonds

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Contributed by: Rich Romine on 8/9/2007

Barry Bonds or the Beach Boys?
That's the question.
Answer was simple.
Beach Boys.
Sooner or later Bonds would be the home run king.
The Beach Boys were on making a rare Ventura County Fair appearance.
Tuesday was just another day, I kept saying leave the office early, but just when I turned my computer off, Sports Editor Jon Catalini said Al Tarazon, the Oxnard High baseball coach, had called to report the Yellowjackets were headed to Yountville.
They were playing in the American Legion 17-and-under state championship, an event they won three years ago and were favorites this year because the Yellowjackers were 23-1, winning the Area 6 playoffs at Grant High in Van Nuys (some call it Valley Glen, next door to L.A. Valley College).
So anyway, the Oxnard stuff is filed and by the time I'm home and have dinner, it's about 6:35 when I walk to collect the mile and decide it's time to drive to Ventura to see the Beach Boys.
Ventura High was the destination because it's free to park and ride the bus to the fairgrounds.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Tuesday night was the place to be at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Speedway motorcycles were a weekly attraction and in the early days, jumpin' Larry Huffman was the announcer and Harry Oxley was the promoter. There were plenty of big name riders who drove bikes without brakes and had breathtaking races on the tiny dirt oval.
Now it's the exciting sprint cars on Saturday night with promoter Jimmy Naylor and once the first two nights of the demolition derby and racing at the fair is over, it's entertainment and rodeo.
The demolition derby on the two fair racing nights is standing room only with 6,000 watching cars get destroyed and see which driver can still be running when its done. Oxnard's Kody Harper was the guy on back-to-back nights in this Shark wagon this summer.
Now the Beach Boys were on stage where Greg Taylor, the Ventura Racing Association sprint car points leader and a host of others, like to drive high between Turns 3 and 4 hitting the straightaway at 85 mph.
Now back to the bus, the first bus comes at 7:05 and it's small and one more person can jump on the bus. Several people said get on the bus because people in front were groups of three and four. The bus driver told me I cut in line and to go back so she could allow a lady with cane and her son to take the last seat on the bus. That's OK, I should be a nice guy.
The next bus arrived in about five minutes and every one in line got on the bus. The teen-age boys sitting by me were all cheering for the Red Sox on the radio because they were playing the Angels in Los Angeles (Anaheim).
When the bus pulls into the fairgrounds, it's 7:30 and there's a long line of folks waiting to walk through the gates for the free concert, it was about 7:55 when I made it inside and there was a mob of people I would estimate 5,000 to 6,000 people on the track. I've never seen 12,000 people at Ventura Raceway, hey Jimmy how about you? The Eddie Mulder flat track motorcycle show this summer attracted some 4,000 and some nights you can count how many people watch the sprint cars.
Now the Beach Boys are Southern California's band and who replaced Glenn Campbell in 1965 in the studio and on tour, were joined on stage by John Stamos (who played uncle Jesse Katsopolis on TV's "Full House" ) and six others round out the band from the 1960s. Stamos turns 44 this month.
It was a "Fun, Fun, Fun" night, counting 36 songs and several nice plugs for the Surfrider Foundation.
"Let's Do It Again."
Faces in the crowd: Nora Reyes, a star volleyball player on Hueneme High's 1986 Division I state championship team. Conejo Valley Little Leaguer James Brady, a member of the 2004 Williamsport, Pa., national championship team, attended the concert with his parents Frank and Kathleen and younger brother. Frank was the stats guy in youth baseball and never missed a beat turning in results.

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Rich Romine

Camarillo , CA

Rich Romine has posted 36 stories and 0 comments since joining on 10/26/2006. Rich Romine 's average story rating is 4.17.

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