Worlds Apart, chapter 12
I clutched my drumsticks, the ones Tre gave me in Newcastle. Rob calls them my lucky sticks cause I got lucky that night. I looked out at the packed out room. I couldn’t believe Ben and I knew so many people between us, it was awesome. I could see practically everyone I knew. Most of my friends were down in the front by the stage, but I could see some lined up along the balcony looking down onto the stage area, some standing at the bar. I could see my parents standing at the back with a few of their friends and I was glad they were there. I could see Tom too. He was standing right down in the front, waiting for us to start. I caught his eye and he smiled at me and mouthed “Good luck�. I grinned back.
I needn’t have been nervous. We kicked ass, even if I say so myself. The crowd got really into it and we even got a circle pit going at one point, which I suspect was started my Tom and his friends. When we came off stage we congratulated each other and I gave a sweaty Rob a big hug.
“You did great� he said, “I think we’ll keep you.�
“Cool� I laughed, “You were great too. We all were, we didn’t mess up once!�
“I knew we wouldn’t� he said, “We rock. God, I think I might die if I don’t get a beer now. Let’s go to the bar�
It took me about ten minutes to get there because I stopped to talk to so many people on the way, and everyone said they’d loved it. Especially Dad, who seemed a bit pissed to be perfectly honest. In fact, most people were quite pissed already so I didn’t have high hopes for how long the party would last.
After I got a drink I went backstage again to visit the guys. I wanted to check they were ok seeing as they were cooped up back there and didn’t really know anyone. But they were fine. They were sitting in the back room with a few members of mine and Ben’s bands, drinking their free beer and seemingly enjoying themselves. Everybody greeted me as I walked in.
“Good gig� said Ben, raising his glass to me.
“Yeah, you played really well, Soph� agreed Tre.
I grinned. Praise from Tre meant more to me than praise from anyone.
“I sat down on the couch between Ben and Robin, their bass player. Billie Joe sat directly opposite me. I looked over at him and he winked, a smile playing on his lips. I love it when he does that. Even though its only friendly, I love that it’s a kind of communication that no one else sees. I smiled and tried to wink back at him, but I can’t wink very well and it made him laugh.
“Aargh� moaned Mike, “I wanna go out to the party�
“I think you should� said Tre, scratching his back with a drum stick “Just to see what happens�
“There are a lot of Green Day fans out there� said Ben, pointing towards the door, “It would be total carnage�
“I like carnage� said Tre, brightly.
“I’m going to have to go back out there� I said, “I can’t stay backstage at my own party. Ben, you guys need to set up, “
“Ok� he said, taking a deep breath. I knew he was nervous too.
“Will you guys be alright?� I asked the guys
“You don’t have to baby-sit us� smiled Jason, “We aren’t gonna do anything stupid�
I raised my eyebrows.
Billie Joe smiled and crossed his heart
“I promise we’ll be good� he smirked.
Ben’s band was really good, considering all they ever do at their practices is drink tea and get stoned.
When they came off stage, Billie Joe and Mike were standing at the side looking adgy.
“I’m going to pull the curtain now so you can set up� I told them,
“Hey, we brought this,� said Tre, appearing next to us holding a massive piece if material. “Have you got any thumb tacks or anything?�
He held it up and it unfolded into a huge green version of the American flag, similar to the one they have behind them in their American Idiot video.
“Awesome� I smiled, as it met approval from the others. “Sure, we’ll find something to stick it up with.�
I went back onto the stage and started to pull the curtain across. As I neared the edge of the stage Rachel, one of my friends who had come down from Newcastle shouted to me.
“Why are you doing that?� she asked, “The other bands just set up in front of us?�
“Ummm…this ones shy� I replied, pulling the curtain closed and leaving her looking confused
Jason and Ben tacked the flag onto the back wall. It looked great. Billie Joe strummed a loud, distorted chord on his guitar.
“We’re good to go,� he said,
I noticed he looked a little nervous. I had never seen him look like that before, and I asked him about it.
“This is worse than playing arenas� he said “Its so much more intimate. I mean, if it goes badly, we go down in flames. It all hangs on how the crowd reacts.�
“But that’s what a gig should be like� added Mike,
“And everyone’s going to go crazy� I promised them.
“That’s why I’m on standby�
It was Allan, one of the guys that works at the stage door. He was big and scary. You’d be a complete fool to try and mess with him. His friend Roger was even bigger and even scarier. We’d put him on the door outside to scare away gatecrashers.
Stan, the lighting guy, plunged the stage into complete darkness as I pulled the curtain back again, Everyone cheered even though they couldn’t see a damn thing. Lots of people were drunk by then and were cheering at pretty much anything that moved. When they played the opening chords to American Idiot, the cheering got even louder, but it wasn’t until Billie Joe started singing and Stan turned the spotlights on that they realized it was actually Green Day playing it. The people down at the front just stared. The people at the back looked like they were trying to work out if the band were an alcohol induced hallucination or not. I saw Mike and Billie Joe dart a nervous glance at each other while Tre grinned like an idiot. Then everyone went crazy. There was a huge rush towards the stage, making me glad I was on the upper level looking down. I stood next to Kirsty singing along. When Billie Joe went right to the front of the stage and leaned over for his bit of solo, my friend Joe leapt onto the stage and threw his arms round him, grinning like a maniac. Within seconds he had been forcibly removed by Allan and Billie was laughing so much he couldn’t sing. At the end of the song, Billie Joe raised his guitar in the air to the most deafening roar the Stage Door had ever seen. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so happy.
I needn’t have been nervous. We kicked ass, even if I say so myself. The crowd got really into it and we even got a circle pit going at one point, which I suspect was started my Tom and his friends. When we came off stage we congratulated each other and I gave a sweaty Rob a big hug.
“You did great� he said, “I think we’ll keep you.�
“Cool� I laughed, “You were great too. We all were, we didn’t mess up once!�
“I knew we wouldn’t� he said, “We rock. God, I think I might die if I don’t get a beer now. Let’s go to the bar�
It took me about ten minutes to get there because I stopped to talk to so many people on the way, and everyone said they’d loved it. Especially Dad, who seemed a bit pissed to be perfectly honest. In fact, most people were quite pissed already so I didn’t have high hopes for how long the party would last.
After I got a drink I went backstage again to visit the guys. I wanted to check they were ok seeing as they were cooped up back there and didn’t really know anyone. But they were fine. They were sitting in the back room with a few members of mine and Ben’s bands, drinking their free beer and seemingly enjoying themselves. Everybody greeted me as I walked in.
“Good gig� said Ben, raising his glass to me.
“Yeah, you played really well, Soph� agreed Tre.
I grinned. Praise from Tre meant more to me than praise from anyone.
“I sat down on the couch between Ben and Robin, their bass player. Billie Joe sat directly opposite me. I looked over at him and he winked, a smile playing on his lips. I love it when he does that. Even though its only friendly, I love that it’s a kind of communication that no one else sees. I smiled and tried to wink back at him, but I can’t wink very well and it made him laugh.
“Aargh� moaned Mike, “I wanna go out to the party�
“I think you should� said Tre, scratching his back with a drum stick “Just to see what happens�
“There are a lot of Green Day fans out there� said Ben, pointing towards the door, “It would be total carnage�
“I like carnage� said Tre, brightly.
“I’m going to have to go back out there� I said, “I can’t stay backstage at my own party. Ben, you guys need to set up, “
“Ok� he said, taking a deep breath. I knew he was nervous too.
“Will you guys be alright?� I asked the guys
“You don’t have to baby-sit us� smiled Jason, “We aren’t gonna do anything stupid�
I raised my eyebrows.
Billie Joe smiled and crossed his heart
“I promise we’ll be good� he smirked.
Ben’s band was really good, considering all they ever do at their practices is drink tea and get stoned.
When they came off stage, Billie Joe and Mike were standing at the side looking adgy.
“I’m going to pull the curtain now so you can set up� I told them,
“Hey, we brought this,� said Tre, appearing next to us holding a massive piece if material. “Have you got any thumb tacks or anything?�
He held it up and it unfolded into a huge green version of the American flag, similar to the one they have behind them in their American Idiot video.
“Awesome� I smiled, as it met approval from the others. “Sure, we’ll find something to stick it up with.�
I went back onto the stage and started to pull the curtain across. As I neared the edge of the stage Rachel, one of my friends who had come down from Newcastle shouted to me.
“Why are you doing that?� she asked, “The other bands just set up in front of us?�
“Ummm…this ones shy� I replied, pulling the curtain closed and leaving her looking confused
Jason and Ben tacked the flag onto the back wall. It looked great. Billie Joe strummed a loud, distorted chord on his guitar.
“We’re good to go,� he said,
I noticed he looked a little nervous. I had never seen him look like that before, and I asked him about it.
“This is worse than playing arenas� he said “Its so much more intimate. I mean, if it goes badly, we go down in flames. It all hangs on how the crowd reacts.�
“But that’s what a gig should be like� added Mike,
“And everyone’s going to go crazy� I promised them.
“That’s why I’m on standby�
It was Allan, one of the guys that works at the stage door. He was big and scary. You’d be a complete fool to try and mess with him. His friend Roger was even bigger and even scarier. We’d put him on the door outside to scare away gatecrashers.
Stan, the lighting guy, plunged the stage into complete darkness as I pulled the curtain back again, Everyone cheered even though they couldn’t see a damn thing. Lots of people were drunk by then and were cheering at pretty much anything that moved. When they played the opening chords to American Idiot, the cheering got even louder, but it wasn’t until Billie Joe started singing and Stan turned the spotlights on that they realized it was actually Green Day playing it. The people down at the front just stared. The people at the back looked like they were trying to work out if the band were an alcohol induced hallucination or not. I saw Mike and Billie Joe dart a nervous glance at each other while Tre grinned like an idiot. Then everyone went crazy. There was a huge rush towards the stage, making me glad I was on the upper level looking down. I stood next to Kirsty singing along. When Billie Joe went right to the front of the stage and leaned over for his bit of solo, my friend Joe leapt onto the stage and threw his arms round him, grinning like a maniac. Within seconds he had been forcibly removed by Allan and Billie was laughing so much he couldn’t sing. At the end of the song, Billie Joe raised his guitar in the air to the most deafening roar the Stage Door had ever seen. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so happy.
