Page 64 of The Masks We Wear

Anger arises as I learn I’ll never be coming back

The Devil sends temptation as a form of attack

They told you I’m the serpent in disguise

But you know you’re not in danger when you look in my eyes

Brody loses herself in her song, her friends getting lost with her. She hits the drums with her whole body, and sings the words she wrote with everything in her. She then sings the chorus;

The masks we wear

The masks we wear

The masks we wear

She has the audience completely wrapped around her finger, myself included. Everyone’s jaws are wide open with shock, with anticipation. They repeat the same melodies, riffs, all of it while Brody sings the second verse and the chorus.

Another curtain closes and the drugs funnel in

The darkness is our only sign it’s time to begin

I see him, temptation of his own watching me, is he real?

Just one look from him and I know I’ve lost

The masks we wear

The masks we wear

The masks we wear

The melodies slow, the sound of Brody’s drums fading out as she stops playing completely. The stage goes black and everyone goes silent. A chill runs up my spine in anticipation of whatshe’ll do next. A second later, Aria starts playing a gentle chord on her guitar. A dim, red light appears on the stage, revealing Brody standing there with her mic in hand. Fog wraps around the entire stage, hiding Aria and Ivory from sight along with Brody’s drum set. A piano is pushed onto the stage before Brody, all while Aria still plays her same chord.

Ivory’s hand reaches out to Brody through the fog with a bottle of whiskey. My stomach drops as she grabs it in acceptance. Is she going to drink it? Did she start drinking again? Brody grins as she marches over to the piano. She pours the bottle of whiskey out in a circle around the piano, dumping the last of the amber liquid on the piano’s lid. Aria’s guitar chord grows darker, the sound heavier, building up to whatever it is Brody’s about to do. Ivory reaches out another hand, something small in it and Brody grabs it, smiling. A second later, a spark appears at the tips of her fingers and I know Ivory gave her a match book.

Brody steps into the circle of whiskey she made and drops the lit match right on the liquid, setting the piano and the whole stage ablaze. I worry for a second that she may burn herself but based on the devilish smile on her face, I know she planned to keep the liquid and the flames far enough away from her from the start so that she wouldn’t get burned. I grin as I watch the flames grow. It wasn’t just a special effect to get the fans going, while it did get them excited. No, it was a message. It was Brody’s way of telling the world she doesn’t need alcohol to be a good musician, to beherself.

She seats herself at the bench as Aria’s chord dies. Brody places her fingers on the piano keys and starts playing a melancholy tune, the one she played in the studio the night she and I were alone in Nashville. She plays the repetitive notes a few times before she brings her other hand into it, hitting all the deeper keys, making the sound dangerous and threatening. Itpairs nicely with the lighthearted notes she’s making.

While Brody plays her notes, Ivory hits a note on her guitar, and suddenly she plays a guitar solo of her own as Brody’s piano keys fade. Brody rises, still lightly pressing the keys as the audience falls captive to Ivory’s playing. Brody removes herself from the piano, stepping through the flames, highlighting her features in golden light just as the stage crew quietly puts the fire out and removes the piano. The blue light shines on Aria who plays a low melody while Ivory loses herself in her solo. Ivory is swathed completely in pink light and Brody walks to her drum set as the guitar sound speeds up, hitting its crescendo.

Brody sits in her stool, picking up her sticks. She grins wickedly as she twirls the sticks in her hands before slamming them down on the cymbals. The three lose themselves in the song, Aria playing a guitar solo of her own before the entire song seems to start all over again. It’s what I imagine Alice must’ve felt like when she fell down the rabbit hole and found herself in Wonderland. The audience goes crazy for it, loving the song as much as I knew they would.

Brody sings the third verse and then the chorus;

The mask is removed, leaving me bare to your eyes

You’ve seen all that I am and I don’t want to say goodbyes

Just one last kiss to remember you this way

No sounds come when I open my mouth to beg you to stay

You’re the only one who’s seen me without the mask my love, my darling

I mean it when I tell you, in love, I am with you

The masks we wear

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