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A Diamond in the Rough and A Beautiful Day at the Pier Thursday Night

By Jorge Casuso

August 4 -- Don your hippie beads and tie-died shirts and groove to the 60s vibes of It’s a Beautiful Day and Neil Diamond at the free Twilight Dance series concert on the pier Thursday night.

Although Neil himself won’t be there and only two of the original members of the “2nd wave” band are still part of It’s a Beautiful Day, the night promises to bring back the more laid-back, folksy rock of the turbulent decade.

Part of the San Francisco scene that spawned Santana, It's A Beautiful Day also headlined at the Fillmore West prior to recording an album. The band’s sound effortlessly moves from an almost folksie sound to ethereal to psychedelic to straight on rock & roll.

Their debut 1968 LP, the self titled It's A Beautiful Day became a staple of hippie pads and college dorms with its iconic cover featuring a bonneted girl perched on a hilltop under a cloudy blue sky.

The album was laced with classic cuts such as “White Bird” -- which quickly became part of the FM play lists – “Bombay Calling,” “Wasted Union Blues" and "Time Is."

The band recently hit the road again with David LaFlamme on violin and vocals, Linda Baker LaFlamme sharing the singing duties, Val Fuentes on drums, Toby Gray on bass guitar, Rob Espinosa on guitar and Gary Thomas on keyboards.

Thursday night’s bill will also feature Super Diamond, which for a decade has been spreading the music of the 60s rockin’ troubadour. Lead singer Surreal Neil says he discovered early on “an astonishing ability to sing Neil Diamond songs in a very Neil-like way.”

After assembling a band of kindred spirits, Surreal Neil and Super Diamond began to perform regularly before growing crowds in San Francisco and then all over the U.S.

The free concerts -- which start at 7:30 p.m. -- are held for ten consecutive Thursday nights on the historic pier.

For information visit www.santamonicapier.org or www.twilightdance.org or (310) 458-8900.

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