Brian Wilson performs at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg

It's apparently a lot of fun to be Brian Wilson these days.

He's had some serious and very well-known emotional and physical problems in the past. More recently, he sometimes sounded a bit befuddled in broadcast interviews. But now Wilson seems fresh, friendly and very happy with his life.

"Yeah, it's been an amazing trip," he says in a phone interview from a stop on the tour. He says he's somewhere in West Virginia, but then someone corrects him and he says he's in Richmond, Va.

He could be talking about his life, but the amazing trip he's talking about is his current solo tour, which brings him to the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg on Tuesday.

Although it's billed as a Brian Wilson concert, it actually features three Beach Boys. Al Jardine, who spent nearly 40 years as a Beach Boy, and Blondie Chaplin, who was a member in the early '70s, are playing alongside Wilson on the tour. (He's probably most recognizable as the lead singer of the Beach Boys' song "Sail On, Sailor.")

"He's a fantastic singer," Wilson said of Chaplin. "Al, Blondie and I are up at the front of the stage, and behind us there's a 10- or 12-piece band. We're doing mostly classic Beach Boys material, plus some stuff from my latest solo album."

Meanwhile, there's another concert scheduled for Sarasota's Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in February that also promises a lot of classic Beach Boys songs. In fact, that concert features a seven-piece band that's billed as the Beach Boys, although it features fewer actual Beach Boys than Wilson's "solo" show.

The band currently called the Beach Boys is headed by founding member Mike Love, who wrote lyrics for a lot of the band's most popular songs. The only other Beach Boy in that lineup is Bruce Johnston, who initially took Brian Wilson's place on the road and eventually became a full-fledged member.

You might think that Wilson would be a bit miffed that his "solo" show with three Beach Boys is competing on the road against a "Beach Boys" show with only two Beach Boys. Apparently not.

"Mike has licensed the Beach Boys name and he's doing concerts with Bruce," Wilson said. "That's great. He does a great show."

All the positivity coming has to be heartening to any Beach Boys fan. Wilson's emotional issues that caused him to take long hiatus from touring have been the stuff of pop culture legend for decades. Barenaked Ladies even had a hit song called "Brian Wilson," with a refrain that went "Lyin' in bed, just like Brain Wilson did."

More recently, his struggles have been portrayed on screen in the film "Love & Mercy," named after a song from his first solo album. Wilson is portrayed in the film by two actors, Paul Dano and John Cusack. Dano is the younger Wilson, in the '60s, and Cusack plays him a couple of decades later, while he was under the questionable care a psychiatrist Eugene Landy.

It was a little uncomfortable to watch his life unfold on screen Wilson, said. But he has no complaints.

"I loved it," he said. "I think it was really, really well done, really accurate. And I think the two actors who played me both did a fantastic job."

The film focuses largely on Wilson's recovery thanks to the devotion of his wife Melinda. His recovery would seem to be complete. The man who for a long time could not leave his bedroom now loves nothing better than performing in front of thousands of people.

"It's easier than it ever has been for me," he said "It's an amazing adventure to do concerts. I get to make the audience happy, and then they make me happy."

Details: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17, Mahaffey Theater, 401 First St. S., St. Petersburg. Tickets: $49.50-$59.50. Information: 727-892-5767, themahaffey.com.

Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919.

Follow twitter.com/martinclear.

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Brian Wilson performs at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg ."