While the skies rained over Brighton, there was one awe-inspiring ray of sunshine: The music of Brian Wilson.

Such is his standing, he was the first American to be invited to perform in the Jubilee celebrations and his fans include Paul McCartney who played with him as an equal on Monday and watched him as a fan last night.

The former leader of The Beach Boys received a deserved standing ovation as he walked onstage.

Watching Wilson is a poignant experience not least because it is almost a miracle he is alive today, let alone that he can perform in front of an audience with such meaning and relevance.

The word genius is over-used but it applies in Wilson's case. This is a man uniquely blessed with a gift for joyous harmony and yet ill-equipped to deal with quotidian life.

Pet Sounds, written when he was 23, marked the beginning of a terrible descent into mental illness which crippled this gentlest of souls for decades.

This tour is the first to include live performances of the seminal album, a feat which was once felt to be impossible. To help him, Wilson has assembled and fine-tuned an outstanding backing group.

The rhythm section of Jim Hines and Bob Lizik was surrounded by a collection of multi-instrumentalists in Darian Sahanjara, Nick Walusko and Probyn Gregory from The Wondermints (best known for their work on Austin Powers) with Scott Bennett, Paul Mertens and California Girl Taylor Mills on vocals.

Jeffery Foskett added his guitar and perfect vocals and collaborator Andy Paley completed the line-up.

Throughout the night, they switched from guitars, keyboards, harmonicas and saxophones to flute, piccolo, vibes and tannerin, instruments picked precisely for their texture to match the mood of the songs.

And what songs. The night took us through much of the Brian Wilson back catalogue and included a tribute to his late brother Dennis with Forever.

They matched the impossible playing of Pet Sounds with impossible renditions of Heroes And Villains and Good Vibrations.

Each song is brilliantly simple yet constructed with layers of sound from both instruments and vocals to convey a simple message which is pregnant with meaning: God Only Knows was almost unbearably moving.

The programme compares hearing Pet Sounds live with catching George Gershwin playing Rhapsody In Blue and, at the end, Sahanjara underlined the point with a few bars of that great Gershwin tune.

There is a naivety and innocence to Wilson's songs and a simple truth at their heart. For his second encore, Wilson performed another great tear-jerker, Love And Mercy, outlining his desire for peace in an age of continuing violence.

More than ever, Wilson's brilliance is that he captures happiness in music, which is like trying to catch a ray of sunshine.

Reader RJ Nabbs, of Valley Road, Portslade, writes: I had waited ALL my life to see and hear Brian Wilson sing live.

On Wednesday evening, we were treated to the most awe-inspiring, heart-tugging emotional performance I have seen by anyone!

In all my 47 years, seeing groups like Queen, Pink Floyd etc, I'd never have expected to be totally blown away by this fragile, childlike maestro.

It's all been said or written before about Brian's terrible times, and it is truly amazing he can perform on a stage in any way at all.

From my own personal perspective, I was just happy to hear the songs, which Brian wrote from his heart being replicated with all the brilliance and emotion you could hope for.

Pet Sounds is the soundtrack of our lives (well us 40-somethings anyway).

I've owned it on vinyl and later on CD and would take it with me as the only choice for my "Desert Island Disc".

Not everyone might be aware that the beautiful sounds heard on this gem of an album were made by someone deaf in one ear. To create such an aural landscape and only be hearing it in mono is truly amazing.

A few reviews have made mention of Brian's stilted performance on stage. Don't forget, the guy is lucky to be alive today. And we were more than lucky to get the once in a lifetime opportunity to witness a really loving, warm, sweet concert.

Thank you Brian for making my dreams come true....