SHORT TAKES : Wilson Plays a Few ‘Pet Sounds’

Beach Boys’ reclusive founder Brian Wilson made a private concert appearance before a group that included political cartoonist Garry Trudeau as the two joined in an AIDS fund-raising effort.

Looking uncomfortable in a dark suit and tie, a nervous Wilson played piano and sang Wednesday at the private reception. A few dozen patrons paid at least $125 each for the 15-minute performance.

“I enjoyed it,” Wilson said after the performance. “I had to close my eyes. That’s the only way I can really feel my music, closing my eyes.”

Among other tunes, Wilson played selections from the Beach Boys’ 1966 “Pet Sounds” album, which recently came out on compact disc. “Andy Lippincott,” a character in “Doonesbury” who died from AIDS, had looked forward to the disc’s release.

Before the reception, Wilson and Trudeau attended the opening of an art galley with 59 original drawings of editions of the comic strip that dealt with Lippincott’s death.

The drawings are being sold to raise money for the NAMES Project, which is coordinating the construction of a huge memorial quilt dedicated to AIDS victims.