Chancing a possible labor in the middle of Lynden, Washington, we decided to go to the Lynden fair anyway, with Brendon and Maralise, in a quick decision to go see The Beach Boys yesterday. The Fair was pretty much what it was, just "fair", but we had a great time at the concert with the Beach Boys. Forking out 26 bucks each was a little painful for all of us, but overall it was such a great experience that it was definitely worth it.

For one thing, this was my wife's second concert ever, and she had such a ball. She was dancing along, clapping to the songs, and singing along without a care in the world. Whereas the first concert (Gorillaz) was spent with her hands over her ears, this one she was doing some version of the hand vibe with one hand, and holding her tummy with the other hand. After a while of dancing, her stomach was all hard (which means contractions galore) but she said that it wasn't really a big deal - as long as it didn't hurt it was quite alright.

So that was also Alex's first concert, and he seemed to be kicking quite a bit. It was just such a fun time, dancing with my wife, enjoying the Beach Boys. I later did some research, and this rejiggered Beach Boys had only lead singer Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, and a bunch of very decent singers to fill in the gaps left by the original members. Essentially the Beach Boys were broken up, with Brian Wilson doing something else, Al Jardine doing something else, and two Wilson brothers who are no longer with us. It seemed really tragic that this band that produced carefree songs about summer was now, pretty much, disintegrated, but Mike Love definitely made it work. I think the thing that I enjoyed the most about the concert was how much it bonded everyone together. Everyone was singing along, clapping along, a crowd of teens and boomers, all just having a great time. It was almost an emotional affair when so many people come together to pay tribute to a band, who despite its frequent reincarnations, represent a sense of happiness and carefree that we need from time to time.