Page 83 of Feuds and Interludes
“Are you ready for Butler Collins?”
Shannon Gunz from SiriusXM announced us and the crowd went wild, sounding much louder than the approximately twenty or thirty thousand people who’d gathered at the second stage for the opening day of Rocktoberfest. All afternoon, I’d been wandering around the grounds trying to get an idea of what the crowds would be like, but it was tough to tell. Shane said first day numbers might not be as big, but there were people as far as the eye could see, so that didn’t tell me anything.
“You’re going to be great, babe,” he assured me that morning when I woke up covered in sweat from a nightmare that we’d been performing in front of five people who kept yelling “you suck” at us. “We gotta do something about these dreams. They can’t be helping your fasting sugars.”
“I know. I wake up in a panic at least a few times a week. I’m not even drinking alcohol or caffeine, so it’s not that.”
“Let’s see if we can get you into a nice relaxed state,” he’d whispered, and when he went down on me with his talentedmouth, I nearly bit through my thumb trying to keep from screaming at the strength of the orgasm he brought on. At least I’d been quiet.
“You promised no orgy bus, Boone!” Annie shouted.
Shane snorted from under the covers and cracked up.
“You’re getting me in trouble,” I whispered. I climbed on top of him and tried to take care of him, but he was laughing too hard. Then Bran started rocking the RV, and someone banged on the door.
“Did someone say orgy bus?” Rowan and Martin, our techs for the festival, must have heard Annie, because then they were making porn-shoot noises outside the door while Annie howled with laughter.
Rowan and Martin had worked for Wicked Soul for years. Shane had already hired them to come on this trip, which was fine with me. Our roadies were off doing other gigs at the moment. I was glad he had someone from his team, and though they were being assholes at the moment, they were damn good at their job. Sound check had gone off without a hitch and now that we were standing backstage, ready to face the screaming desert hordes, I was grateful they’d had experience with this venue, since I was totally out of my element.
“On three,” Shane shouted, putting his hand out. We all followed suit, he counted us down, and as I shouted “asslicker,” the three of them shouted, “orgy bus!”
It was enough to get me out of my head.
Bran climbed up the back of his riser and started with a kick drum beat that Annie picked up as she sauntered out onstage to feral screams from the women in the audience.
Shane and I walked out together playing the opening riff of California’s “Entertain You,” which was their opening number for most of their career. Papa and Bruce harmonized on the guitar, then with their voices. It was one of my favorites that weadded to the set. We came to the front of the stage together, and Shane waved to the crowd.
“Friends, Fans, and Nonbinary Stans,” he said. “Thanks for giving us such a warm welcome. I’m Shane Butler, and this is the incomparable Boone Collins!”
He held his hand out for me, and I played a little variation on the riff.
“We are the grandsons of the legendary John Boone and Bruce Duncan of California—” He was cut off by loud shouts from the side of the stage, where we looked to see a whole contingent of our musical peers who, apparently, were just as excited to see what we’d come up with as we were to play.
“Thank you,” Shane continued, shaking his head. “We’re going to play the classics, a few songs from my band, Wicked Soul,” there was another loud shout from the fans, “and a few songs from Stellar, which features Boone and our rhythm section, Annie and Bran Thompson.”
There was applause, but it was a little less feral, a little more reserved.
“We thank you for being here. Now, get ready…”
He turned to me, and I approached him at the mic. His smile was almost lecherous as we both took a deep breath, put our mouths close to his mic, and we belted out,“Weeeeee are here to entertain you.”
The noise from the crowd almost overwhelmed my in-ear monitor as I backed away from Shane. We played a complicated set of notes before I turned to the mic and sang the first part.
When you’re down and life gets mean
turn your back on the in between
Join us in the California scene
Grab a honey and smoke that green
Shane laughed every time I sang that line, and he was still smiling when he came in on the chorus.
We are here to entertain you
Got nothing but love and joy
to wrap around you
