Hard Freak

Yay, one person glad I’d turned up. Then I looked around.

“Where’s Fiona?” I asked.

Damo shrugged. “She and Matt are around somewhere. He’ll turn up to play on time, and that’s the main thing.”

I hadn’t seen either of them all day, but they kind of faded into the background. Fiona had enough of the spotlight in this life.

The sun had just started to set as we walked up to the main stage. The band onstage were finishing their set. They were even worse this close up. How had they even gotten on the festival bill?

The guys set up on the second stage.

I waited at the side of the stage, finally able to relax. From here, it looked like the crowd stretched out forever. It made me want to play a festival like this one day. Not just play, but headline like the Freaks.

While we waited, a lot of the other musos joined us. Faces I recognized, stars I’d listened to for years, stood beside me. That was pretty cool too.

“Where’s Matty?” I asked Rose. “Shouldn’t he be onstage by now?”

He hadn’t turned up yet. I hoped nothing was wrong. They could play without him—he’d only joined them at the beginning of this tour, and they’d been a three-piece group for years—but it would really put them off their game.

Crow sat behind his drum kit. His hands trembled a little, but no one would notice that but me. As soon as they started, he’d be fine. I wished I could do something to help, but I knew I never could. At that moment, just before the lights shone on the band and the music started, you could be with tens of thousands of people, you could be with your bandmates, and you could be with the one you loved. But for those few minutes, you were always alone.

Chapter 12

MATTY RAN IN AT THE last moment. Damo really didn’t look happy, but as the cheers for the last band died down, he turned to face the crowd, all business.

Then the lights hit them, and the massive crowd all screamed as one. We’d played to some decent crowds, but that was like an endless sea of people. I couldn’t even conceive of how many people were in that crowd.

“Well, hello,” Elijah said, cupping his microphone in his hand.

The screams got louder.

“Are you ready?” he yelled. “Are. You. Ready?”

I thought the screams would never stop. That energy—you could feel it, even standing here. It came off the crowd in waves.

I looked at Crow. He grinned. He was fine now.

Then they started playing. Those bozos really knew how to put it on. Even Elijah was no longer the big dork he normally was, but a shining god instead. He had all the sex appeal onstage. Damo was more the romantic dream. He had his own appeal, but it wasn’t raw sex like Elijah. I wondered how Rose felt about that. A good number of the women in the crowd would be thinking about sex with him. He’d be screwing them like crazy in their fantasies.

Crow got a lot less attention sitting at the back, but there’d be enough people who noticed him. Especially a few songs in, when he stripped off his shirt. That got way too many cheers for my liking. Those chicks could keep their eyes off him and look at Elijah.

Their show on this stage had a whole extra dimension to it than on the tour. It all became larger than life. They sizzled, and the energy from the crowd became stronger. I watched them, all moving in time like one solid mass. A few beach balls were floating over them. I could only pick out faces in the front few rows. Sweaty, sunburnt people, singing along with all their hearts.

Then I turned back to Crow. With his arms bare, you could really see the muscles ripple as he bashed the drums. One of the camera guys squatted beside him, projecting that up onto the big screens. The real thing up this close was so much better. He had amazing arms. If Elijah had arms like that, he’d never wear sleeves, but Crow didn’t flaunt it.

I wanted them to go on forever. The music floated around me, seemed to pick me up. I could stand this close to Crow and look at him all I liked. He really loved playing, and that passion made me care for him all the more. I could never feel anything for a guy who wasn’t passionate about things. I’d spent enough of my life around slackers.

They finished up their set with crowd going frantic. The Freaks did an encore song, and that got them even more worked up. I was pretty worked up myself. Their show was over, and it’d been so great. The silence they left behind had me feeling empty.