Brian Wilson at Newport Folk

I'm in Rhode Island for the first time in my life. We drove past the harbor where a magenta sun was dropping below the harbor and men in white pants were politely sipping strong drinks. The opening night of Newport was held in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, where a pristine grass court made me want to play tennis, even though Beach Boy Brian Wilson was about to take the stage.

Some of my first musical memories include singing along with my older brother's Beach Boys records as a very young kid. "Surfin' Safari," "Catch a Wave," "Little Deuce Coupe"—these were some of the earliest songs I ever loved. And for an hour and a half, Brian Wilson ran through a slew of them—or rather his crack band did while he struggled to keep up. There were at least a half dozen voices on every song, 10 other musicians carrying the load for a legend whose seen better days. His voice, when it was alone wandered off key. He introduced the songs with an almost autistic literalness: "Now we're going to play a slow song." "Now we're going to play a surf song." "Now we're going to speed things up."

But this is Brian Wilson we're talking about, and the very aged, formal and appreciative audience was more than willing to forgive. When he played "Do You Want To Dance," I was just as ready to forgive. So many great songs.

And in keeping with the New England spirit, I ate my first quahog—oyster mixed with saugage, bread crumbs, peppers and God knows what else. Yummy stuff. Tomorrow I get to see some combination of The Black Crowes, Cat Power, the brothers Marley, Richie Havens, Cowboy Junkies, Jim James, She & Him, Steve Earle & Allison Moorer, the Young @ Heart Chorus, Jakob Dylan and Willy Mason, all with the beautiful harbor in the background. I think I'm going to like Rhode Island.