Chapter 2 #2
The place was already dark, and night hadn’t even fallen yet.
It was typical, looking pretty trashy, but would attract a fun crowd.
A few pool tables on the far side would keep people busy if they weren’t interested in who was playing on the stage.
And it wasn’t much of a stage. One step up and barely big enough for drums and a few guitars.
We played around with where to set up, knowing we wouldn’t be able to move a lot.
Tank would stand to the right, closer to Gonzo on drums, which were tucked back as far as we could get them and still have room for his big-ass body to play.
Finn would knock out his riffs from the left side, and I’d bounce around in the middle, right up front.
I had a bit more room in front of Tank, but not fucking much.
Well, the stage at Black Ace was about the same, so we were used to it.
But compared to the giant mother fucking beast we were on in Chicago, it was a postage stamp.
Finn bumped into me, knocking me out of my musings. “It’ll be fine. But damn. Chicago left a better taste in my mouth.”
“Feel you, bro.” We bumped knuckles and finished up. We still had a few hours until show time, so we headed to the bar.
We started with beer and just chatting with each other, comparing our current gig to what we might be playing this time next year.
When it was almost time to go on, Finn ordered us a round of vodka shots.
We held them up, and I made the toast. “To all these gigs we do now that will get us to where we’re going. Next year.”
The guys repeated, “Next year!” and touched glasses before shooting down the clear alcohol.
“Ah! That hit the spot.” Finn grasped my shoulders hard. “Ready to fucking rock these people?”
The room was already starting to fill up, which was a great sign for a Thursday night. “Fuck yeah. Let’s go.”
We took the stage. Having changed our lineup a bit, we didn’t start with the chaos we normally did. Instead, I grabbed the mic. “This one’s for me. Cuz I’m just that kind of mother fucker.” My voice was deep and rough when we jumped into The Frontman.
I was surprised that some of the crowd were singing along and wondered if we had actually developed a following. How fucking cool was that? At the bridge, I growled out. “You fuckers know this one?”
The crowd reacted, screaming back. Finn ripped through his solo, and right before the chorus picked up, I added. “Sing with me then.”
And they did. They got so loud that I turned the mic toward the audience, and they loved it. This was just the tiny tip of the fucking iceberg. We were going to fucking be stars.
When the song ended, I put the mic in the stand and clapped my hands. “That was fun. Wish I could play that again. But we got another one for you.”
Gonzo pounded out the intro for our next song, Blood and Pain.
Bloodletter, leach, you have no shame
I'll drink from your skull
Fuck it all
I'm done with pain
The crowd didn’t scream along with me, but it was a harder song to pull off.
They did bang their fucking heads, though, and at one point, I feared a mosh pit was breaking out, but bouncers put a stop to that quickly.
Haha…fuckers! It was not hard to see what we could be with Midnight Hunt behind us.
And maybe some of our bookings weren’t simply because the word was getting around that they were.
Maybe some of it was merely because we were good.
After the first set, Finn and Tank hit the bar. I stuck to water, not wanting to fuck up my voice when we had two more sets to go. The second went off much like the first. We played a cover from Midnight Hunt, The One About Fighting. That was a big hit.
There were more drinks between the second and final set. I noticed Finn’s technique slipping. I was pretty sure the audience wouldn’t pick up on it. I’d bet most of them were drunk or well on their way to it. But I noticed.
After the final song, we packed up the equipment and moved it to the back. We couldn’t afford anyone fucking with our shit. I helped Gonzo load the drums in his van and pack up the sound equipment and mics before heading back inside.
At the bar, Finn was doing shots with a short redheaded girl and an average-looking dude with brown hair who appeared to be her boyfriend.
Finn was known to go both ways and to swing, so I wasn’t surprised.
He’d moved on to tequila, but I put up fingers for another vodka for me and Gonzo.
Before I drank mine, I elbowed Finn’s shoulder. “Where’s Tank?”
“Left.”
“What?”
“With some dude he said he knew. Told him we’d get his bass home safely.
” Finn winked and shot back another drink.
“Woo! That’s good.” The girl at his side giggled.
“Another?” She nodded and Finn ordered another round for the three of them.
At this rate, he was going to burn through his pay, which was generally what these places hoped for. Not me.
I slammed back my shot. “Gotta head out. Gonzo?”
He looked torn between going with me and staying with Finn. “I, uh, better stick around.” He nodded at our bandmate who was flirting with the guy while his arm was around the girl. And they were ordering another round.
“Yeah.” I patted Gonzo’s arm. “He needs a caretaker tonight.”
Gonzo only grunted and handed me his keys. But I needed to get the fuck out of there. I made my way to the back of the club and drove the van back to my place. It was safe enough for the night, and I’d deliver it to the warehouse where we practiced in the morning.
Upstairs in the dim light of my tiny apartment, I smelled the light and breezy cologne that Matty favored. It was slightly floral but leaned more into a fresh citrus. He was probably still at work, but I wanted to call him. Wanted him here. Wanted him too fucking much.
Damn, he deserved so much better. I had no clue why he’d set his sights on me.
I was never happy or satisfied with anything.
Partying it up to try and fill a void, but it never worked, and probably because I didn’t know what was missing.
I should cut him loose. But damned if every time I thought about letting him go, I only wanted to hold on tighter. That made me the asshole.