Baby’s first concert

Last week Nick and I went to the Atoms for Peace concert at the Fox Theatre in Oakland. This was the first time either of us has been to the Fox, and viewing the inside was worth the price of admission alone! I wish the pictures on my phone turned out better. Everything was ornate and beautiful, and there were two giant buddha’s framing each side of the stage with eyes that glowed, which looked really cool.

I must admit that I was a little nervous about attending a concert as a pregnant lady (face it: no one wants to be “that guy”) and spent some time Googling things like “is it ok for pregnant women to go to concerts?” Most websites said it was fine, as long as you avoided inhaling smoke and drinking, and didn’t stand in front of a speaker. Since it’s illegal in California to smoke indoors, I didn’t have to worry about that, and while we found a spot close to the stage, I was able to lean against a wall toward the side, where the vibrations from the bass were less intense. One rule I’ve adopted when browsing pregnancy websites is to avoid listening to advice from people who misspell at least three words, or who do not know how to properly complete a sentence. This weeds out a lot, surprisingly (or perhaps not-so-surprisingly).

I love Radiohead so I figured I would enjoy Thom Yorke’s new band, which I did. I was particularly impressed with his energy, as well as the energy of Flea (of Red Hot Chili Pepper fame). My own energy started to dwindle toward the end of the show, and I found a chair and sat next to all of the people I usually made fun of at concerts (who sits down at a concert? Lame.) As I was sitting there, Nick nudged me and pointed out a woman who looked as though she was ready to give birth, jumping up and down and dancing like a fool. This made me feel less guilty about dragging my unborn baby to a rock show. I figure that, twenty years from now, baby will appreciate our good musical taste anyway, the same way I appreciated discovering my dad had a “Queen” record which had “Bohemian Rhapsody” on it, so I didn’t have to worry about buying the “Wayne’s World” soundtrack. Party on.

Of course, I was exhausted the next day and spent my Friday night sleeping. I have to admit, though, after months of staying in and going to bed early, it felt good to get out and mingle among complete strangers, all gathered for a common purpose: to rock!