Page 80 of Where the Dark Knelt
From my vantage point, I looked out and was stunned at how massive the audience was. All I could see was a multi-colored sea of people, thousands of them, stretching far into the distance. Their heads swayed as they moved around. There was a general buzz of conversation with the occasional loud laugh or cheer as the fans got in the mood for the bands.
Thelights lowered and the emcee’s voice boomed outintroducing the hot new band CraktSoundzz, and I realized I knew nothing about them and hadn’t even asked their name.
Thetension of the crowd added to the atmosphere. There was a lot of whistling, and they seemed to heave and swell forward together, erupting in a roar of anticipation as the lighting in the auditorium went black.
Chapter Thirty-Two
GETTING STRONGER
Alfie was just a few feet away from me in the darkness. I couldn’t see him, but I felt his presence.I instinctively knew he was there, and I held my breath. The crowd fell silent… waiting.
I heard the drumsticks ticking,and knew the drummer was counting them in, then suddenly, vibrations from the bass pulsed and the sound of the guitars reverberated loudly. The same vibrations rumbled across the floor and ran from my toes up and throughout my body as the noise boomed loudly from the huge amplifiers to the side of me.
Simultaneously,Alfie screamed out, “Hello Orlando! We’re so gonna rock the roof off tonight.” The crowd screamed and roared again, their noise swelling louder in appreciation. High pitched whistles and catcalls followed in unison as the band’s music blared from the massive speakers along the stage.
Alfie had so much energy, bouncing around playing the intro to their firstsong, and when he began to sing, the females in the crowd went wild with excitement.
The cacophony of the crowdwas deafening between eachsong, but when they played and sang, the audience was right there with them. The lighting on stage was blinding and heat radiated down on the guys as they performed.
My feetcontinued to buzz under me with the vibrations of the bass’s rumble, and the music continued to boom. The relentless heat of the lights on stage made all of the guys glisten with sweat, and they were half naked in no time.
Icertainly wasn’t one to complain, especially having a ringside seat to watch these guys. Alfie sang a mixture of fast-paced heavy rock and slower ballads. I was completely transfixed when he sang. His voice was just so incredible. Even though I was hearing them for the first time, I could tell instantly thatCraktSoundzzhad something very special, and they would definitely be going places.
Alfiesang one particular ballad, the music slow and haunting. He stood completely still, hugging the mic. His fingers flexed and re-gripped it every now and again. His eyes were closed as he lost himself in the words of the song. It was as if he were singing it to one person.
I looked away, breaking eye contact a couple of times, because it felt like I was intruding on intimate words to someone, especially when his face looked pained during some of the verses.
The complicated little riffs Drew played to accompany the song were pure inspiration and made the song sound more original and haunting. Near the end of the song, Alfie’s eyes opened, and his head tilted to the side in my direction.
They were sad and dull eyes, deliberately seeking me out as I stood in the wings.His gaze locked into mine as he sang the words, “If I can’t let myself love you, I need to let you go.”
Biting my lip in concentration as I listened, he broke the stare as he finished the line, his eyes flicking away toward the direction of the crowd before closing them again.
The crowd went berserk with emotion when he was done,and the band launched straight into a song about a guy fucking a girl to the beat of a rock song. I felt pretty sad after that, and if I hadn’t known better, it seemed a clear message to me to get the fuck away from him.
It frustrated me that Alfie couldn’t make a commitment to anyone, and I wondered if, like me, he was blocking himself from relationships because he had a bigger plan. I had stopped myself from getting involved with anyone back home because I didn’t want to leave someone behind. If I had fallen for someone, I might not have come here.
Seeing how he and hisband played tonight made me think there might be something in that. I wonder if he had an inkling of how big his band might become and didn’t want the complication of leaving someone behind.If that’s the problem, what about the blonde girl?
There was no doubt about it though, these guys were mega-talented, natural rock stars, and their performance was flawless. I couldn’t believe that I knew this incredibly sexy and amazingly talented man personally.
Impressed, not just by just his looks, but his talent and charisma too, the crowd went wild. Alfie was grinning and every now and then would wink and point at a female in the crowd. I couldn’t help but feel kind of hurt by that, but I knew that was just his stage persona.
He was also drawing in new fans by introducing them to his music. Alfie didn’t owe me anything, I reminded myself. We were just friends. Technically, his pitch was perfect and the band’s music had substance.They would definitely be going places, especially with a front man like him.
Every number they played had a catchy hook, and the crowd seemed to know some of their stuff. It was contagious. This made me think they were more renowned than I’d assumed.
Suddenly, I felt that my music was very rudimentary incomparison to his genius. To call Alfie a musician wouldn’t define him, although, that was what he was striving for. He was much more than a musician. Very much an artiste, performing with originality of thought and his acting skills were as adept as his musical ability.
When they came off stage, Alfie was buzzing—bouncing up and down on his toes with excitement. Someone threw him a towel and he wrapped it around his neck. He was drenched in sweat after giving the crowd everything he had out there. Grabbing my hand tightly, he smiled. “Let’s go.” He led me down a long dark corridor and eventually, into an area with lots of people milling around.
There were some couches, big mirrors, a makeup chair with a dressing table in the corner, and a large buffet and drinks on a table that ran the length of the room. There were two young girls in black and white uniforms keeping it looking tidy and replenishing stuff.
Alfieturned to me, holding both my hands. “So… did you have a good time?”
I nodded. “You were all fabulous.” He smirked and looked bashful for a second.
“High praise indeed,” he teased. “I’mgonnahave a couple of beers here with the band first, then we can go out front and watch the main band. Is that okay with you?”
