Peter Frampton Aug. 10 concert at the Cape Cod Melody Tent kind of reminded me of hanging out in a van when I was in high school. There were some people I knew, some people who looked kind of familiar and some people I’d never seen before. Most of the guys were playing air guitar. There was the smell of pot in the air, at least until some guy wearing way too much cheap cologne sat next to me.

But high school was a long time ago. How long ago was that? I was in high school biology class when my best friend told me about this great new album – a double album! – his older brother had bought, something called “Frampton Comes Alive!”

And how long ago was that? Frampton’s bass player, John Regan, has played with him for 31 years, but still joined Frampton’s band too late for the glory years.

Not that there haven’t been some high points along the way. Frampton’s 2006 CD, “Fingerprints,” won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Frampton played four songs off that CD, including a cover of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” that was one of the night’s highlights.

Frampton drew from the start and most recent parts of his career. The show began with a Humble Pie song (“Four Day Creep”) and ended with another (“I Don’t Need No Doctor”). Along with the songs from “Fingerprints,” Frampton played two from “Thank You, Mr. Churchill,” a new CD released in April. “Restraint,” he says, is a song about “greedy pigs,” and it’s a little heavier sonically lyrically than anything on “Frampton Comes Alive!” while “Vaudeville Nanna and the Banjolele,” is a sweet memoir about his youth.

But of course, what people came to hear were the songs from his monstrously successful 1976 double album, and he delivered, playing eight of its 14 songs during two hour-long sets. Frampton seemed a little sluggish during some early songs, and it wasn’t until the fifth song, “Lines on My Face,” that (to borrow a phrase) Frampton came alive.

As talented as he is, Frampton’s not a show-off. His keyboard player, Rob Arthur, who played a third guitar on some songs, offered more dramatics than his boss. Frampton also let backup guitarist Adam Lester play the lead parts at times. Drummer Dan Wojciechowski also deserves a nod for his sometime frenetic playing.

While Frampton engaged in some amusing chatter, he seemed happiest when he was letting his guitar do the talking; the extended shredding on “(I’ll Give You) Money” was another of the show’s highlight. The audience went nuts when he used the Framptone talkbox on “Show Me the Way,” “Black Hole Sun” and “Do You Feel Like We Do.”

Frampton doesn’t go for visual flash. He wore blue jeans and a black T-shirt with a large grey peace sign on it. His hairline is receding and what remains is closely cropped and white. He looks like any other semi-gracefully aging Baby Boomer.

But all you had to do was close your eyes and it was 1976 all over again.

- Bill O’Neill, freelance writer

The Beach Boys are still happily riding the nostalgia wave

Who ever would have imagined that a band that sang catchy, danceable songs about cars, surfing and girls would still be performing those same songs 49 years later? But there’s something still fresh-sounding and appealing about the upbeat, good-time music of the iconic Southern California band created by musical genius Brian Wilson in 1961.

The perennial boys of summer (long minus Wilson) performed a double-header at the Cape Cod Melody Tent Saturday. The turnout for the first show proved that they’re one of the few bands that can draw a multi-generational audience. Everybody was out from kids, teens and 20-somethings to boomers and seniors who grew up with their music. Some folks looked ready for a beach party in their Hawaiian shirts and colorful leis.

At 69 the flamboyant original member Mike Love still acts as the emcee, waving to the audience and emphasizing song lyrics like “two girls for every boy,” with little hand gestures. The other veteran is Bruce Johnston who took Brian Wilson’s place in 1965. They’re flanked by five younger musician/singers who make up the touring band including Love’s son Christian, and handle most of the lead vocals.

The current Beach Boys nail the layered, close vocal harmonies, the band’s trademark sound. The only problem is that the sound mix often drowned out the vocals making the lyrics hard to understand. But that didn’t seem to faze the fans who knew all the words by heart and sang along.

The band rocked the house with their early songs including “Surfin’ Safari” and “Surf City” then they revved things up with their hard-driving car songs: “Little Deuce Coupe,” “Shut Down,” “409,” “Little Old Lady from Pasadena,” and the best of the batch, “I Get Around.” Their “The Ballad of Old Betsy” may be the prettiest song every written for a car.

They slowed things down with the pretty ballad “Surfer Girl” and the doo-wop style song that started them harmonizing “So Young” and the 1957 classic “Why Do Fools Fall in Love.”

The Beach Boys served up their fun songs but also squeezed in a few of their melodic ballads including “Don’t Worry Baby” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and put their own spin on “California Dreamin’.” Johnston paid tribute to the “great Brian Wilson” with Wilson’s rarely performed but beautiful ballad “God Only Knows.” No Beach Boys concert would be complete without “Be True to Your School” and “California Girls.”

The second half of the concert was more like a beach party with the audience on their feet most of the time dancing at their seats and tossing a beach ball around the theater. The band rolled out their big hits at a nonstop pace including the psychedelic-tinged “Good Vibrations,” the Caribbean-flavored pop ditty “Kokomo,” “Help Me “Rhonda,” “Barbara Ann,” and “Surfin’ U.S.A.”

Love mentioned meeting Paul McCartney in India and listening to his debut of a new Beatles song. The band launched into the rocking “Back in the U.S.S.R.” The Beach Boys wrapped up the show with what could be their theme song, “Fun, Fun, Fun.” And for the boys and their fans it was.

- Johanna Crosby, freelance writer