A Night Out

I was ridiculously excited all day Saturday at the thought of Oliver getting to see his favorite band perform. And I wasn't disappointed.

The Hackensaw Boys are incredible performers, their music is so alive and funny and just makes you want to dance. (Go here to listen to an NPR piece about them) They tour constantly it seems, both in the US and Europe, so I was pretty amazed to find them performing at this very small fair. But it was perfect. We got front row seats (in the grass/dirt) right in front of the stage. During the first few songs Oliver's eyes were about as big as I've ever seen them. He immediately started to clap right along with the music and later played along on a little wooden xylophone that Sami had insisted on bringing. I leaned in once or twice and whispered in his ear that he could get up and dance if he wanted to. But mostly he sat very still on my lap and didn't take his eyes off the stage. Then, more then half-way through the performance, Oliver jumped up and started to dance. Someone observing him might think his rhythmic style looks a bit like calisthenics but to me it is the most beautiful sight. In fact his joy in the music brought tears to my eyes.

After the music concluded we went up to the stage to introduce ourselves. Oliver got to look at all the instruments and shook a few hands. I think I gushed a little bit.

Following the music we rode the merry-go-round, the scrambler and the mini roller-coaster about three times each. Oliver didn't seem troubled in the least by all the people, nor was he phased by the lights and the sounds.

A very good time was had by all.