Everyone was at the venue early. There were going to more radio stations at the show to ask whomever they could get their hands on whatever questions they had in their minds. Every musician there needed to be ready and on their A game.
The backstage area had already been stocked with breakfast for all of the bands. Whatever anyone could have wanted, if it was a typical breakfast food, it was on the spread and piping hot when the bands arrived.
“I cannot believe the spread we have here”, Jordan said as she sat down after getting a plate for herself and her son. “This is impressive.”
“Like our father and uncles are going to do something this huge half- assed”, Jake said as he cut a pancake for Ira. His wife was dealing with Miri. “You should know better than that by now, Jordan. Dad is very thorough when it comes to making sure that things are taken care of.”
“Gotta love Dad being anal retentive”, Meagan whispered as she sat down next to her niece.
David and Brie walked in and made their own plates. James, who had just joined his brothers and sisters, looked down at his parents feet. “Is Dad wearing sneakers?”
“Yeah, I think he is”, Marc said. “It’s possible that they came her without showering after getting a workout. You know how Mom is about her physical fitness. She and Dad keep each other motivated.”
“But, Dad actually showed up in sneakers. Not something I’m used to seeing?”
“What? Me wearing sneakers in public?” David asked when he sat down at the table with his family.
“Yeah”, James responded.
“Get over it, James Matthew.”
“I’m over it. I was just pointing it out.”
Rei and Melvin sat next to Jordan. “Hey Jordan”, the young woman said.
“Hey Rei Rei. Excited about today?”
“Oh yeah. We’re stoked to open this thing. I’m glad you invited us to do that.”
“Make me proud. That’s all I ask.” She looked over at the star struck Melvin. “You ok over there, buddy?”
“I can’t believe I’m eating breakfast with David Draiman. I’m about to open for Disturbed. This is a dream come true”, Melvin said. He was in shock.
“Dude. Breathe”, David said with a chuckle.
“David Draiman just called me ‘dude’.”
David looked at Jordan. “Is he always like this?”
“No. He’s actually hard to shock. This is really strange”, Jordan laughed.
“What’s his name, Jordan?” Brie asked with a smile.
“Melvin.”
David sighed. “Melvin. Look at me, son.” Melvin looked at him. “It’s not that big a deal. I’m just a normal guy. No need to freak out. I understand that this is a big deal for your career, but you don’t need to trip balls because you’re about to open this show. You actually need to chill and focus on the task at hand. You’re about to perform. Never mind that this is Disturbed’s last show. You’re about to go onstage. Get your head on straight, take a few deep breaths, eat your food, and focus. If you were going to freak out, you should have done so over the two weeks you’ve been here. Now is not the time to act like a star struck fan. Now is the time to bring you’re a- game, and show the world what Bloody Rose is about. Freak out later.”
Melvin blinked a few times and nodded. “Yes sir. I’m sorry. I woke up this morning in utter disbelief that this day is actually happening.”
“How do you think I feel? This is my last show. After today, I’m retired. I’m singing the songs I’ve been singing for forty years for the last time today. You wanna talk about disbelief?”
Melvin laughed. “I’m sorry. I know this has to be surreal for you.”
“You have no idea.” David said as he cut into his steak. “I doubt it will have sank in even after I get off of the stage tonight. I’m going to be riding the same high I’ve been ridden after every show I’ve ever done for the last forty years. I won’t set in until my beautiful wife and I have moved into our house in Israel.”
----------------
The show started and Bloody Rose showed the world that Jordan’s belief in them wasn’t misguided. All of the bands that followed did the same. David had no doubt in his mind that Halestorm and Five Finger Death Punch would do just that. He had no doubt that Crosshairs would do the same.
Finally, Reckless Disregard took the stage. They started things off with a bang by opening with their smash mosh anthem ‘Riot’. Jordan was the same monster onstage that she’d been for the last fifteen years. For a full hour, she made the crowd pay attention and get up out of their seats. At the midpoint in the show, she sat back down at her piano and put her mic in its stand. “Chicago, Illinois, are you psycho bastards still with me?” The crowd roared. “That’s what I thought. And guess what. I fucking believe you! This is the best crowd I’ve seen in a while. Now, joining us onstage this evening are two men that really don’t need an introduction. They are two of the musical mastermind’s behind such hits as ‘Almost Easy’, ‘So Far Away’, and ‘Beast and the Harlot’. They crafted songs that we could only imitate, such as ‘Nightmare’, ‘Scream’, ‘Girl I Know’, and ‘Critical Acclaim’, a couple of those you’ve heard here already tonight. Please, help me give a strong Chicago welcome to M. Shadows and Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold!” She started playing a small keyboard that sat on top of the baby grand piano she was going to play for a short period of time as Matt and Syn came onstage. Syn hooked into the system as Jordan played.
There was a sudden explosion of noise as Jordan switched to the piano and the men all came in. They all played through the intro together and Matt came in screaming, “Nightmare!”
Underneath, Jordan sang, “Now your nightmare comes to life!” and spun on the bench as the music transitioned to the verse.
Matt kept singing. “Dragged you down below, down to the Devil’s show to be his guest forever!”
“Piece of mind is less than never!” Jordan screamed under him.
“I hate to twist your mind, but God ain’t on your side, an old acquaintance severed!”
“Burn the world, your last endeavor!”
Then they sang together, “Flesh is burning; you can smell it in the air cause men like you have such an easy soul to steal (steal), so stand in line while they ink numbers in your head, you’re now a slave until the end of time here”, then Matt took over with, “Nothing stops the madness churning, haunting, yearning, pull the trigger!”
“You should have known the price of evil, and it hurts to know that you belong here, yeah. Ooh, it’s your fucking nightmare!”
They continued the same pattern in reverse with the next verse. Matt sang the lead in then Jordan took the lead. “While your nightmare comes to life!”
“Can’t wake up in sweat cause it ain’t over yet, still dancing with your demons!”
“Victim of your own creation!”
“Beyond the will to fight, where all that’s wrong is right, where hate don’t need a reason!”
“Loathing self- assassination!”
“You’ve been lied to just to rape you of your sight and now they have the nerve to tell you have to feel (feel). So sedated as they medicate your brain and while you slowly go insane they tell ya,”
“’Given with the best intentions, help you with your complications!’”
“You should have known the price of evil, and it hurts to know that you belong here, yeah. No one to call, Everybody to fear, your tragic fate is looking so clear, yeah, Ooh, it’s your fucking nightmare! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Syn and Malachai took over with the duet- Syn on lead. In the middle of duet, Matt gave a diabolical laugh. He and Jordan started singing as they walked down the catwalk with Malachai and Syn on their heels. Matt sang the lead as Jordan took the echo. “Fight (fight), not to fail (fail), not to fall (fall), or you’ll end up like the others, Die (die), die again (die), drenched in sin (sin), with no respect for another!” Syn and Malachai took over again with their duet. Matt and Jordan got the crowd amped like lead vocalists should. They roared and sang along with every word as Matt and Jordan got them going.
When the vocals came back in, Jordan took the lead with Matt on the echo. “Down (down), Feel the fire (fire), feel the hate (hate), your pain is what we desire, Lost (lost), hit the wall (wall), watch you crawl (crawl), Such a replicable liar”, and out of nowhere, they flip flopped and Jordan fell back to stand with Malachai and Syn so that she could share her mic. “And I know you hear their voices (calling from above), And I know they may seem real (these signals of love), But our life’s made up of choices (some without appeal)”, Jordan took the harmony as she sang with Matt again. “They took for granted your soul, and it’s ours now to steal! (While your nightmare comes to LIFE!)”
“You should have known the price of evil, and it hurts to know that you belong here, yeah”, Jordan took the upper harmony, letting Matt keep the melody. “No one to call, everybody to fear, your tragic fate is looking so clear, Ooh”, Jordan dropped out, “It’s your fuckin nightmare!”
And the crowd went wild. Jordan hugged Matt and Syn, giving them each a kiss on the cheek. “Again, M. Shadows and Synyster Gates!” she shrieked into the mic as the crowd screamed.
---------------
David was with the rest of the guys warming up. They were each going about their individual warm up routine. David did his usual vocal warm up. The nerves were building up. The same way they had every time he got ready to do go onstage. He had the same butterflies every time. He knew that this performance was going to have to be their big finale. They weren’t going to get another chance at a final show. The pressure was really on to make end it with a bang. This was what he thrived on. He knew he could do it.
Brie saw the nerves that he was trying to hide. “Nervous, baby?”
He sighed. “Yeah. Nervous is an understatement. Absolutely on edge is more like it, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. I’ve done this a million times before. I’ll get over it once I’m out on stage. It’s starting to sink in, I guess, that this is actually the end. It’s almost over. In three and a half ass this crazy ride will be over.”
She laid a hand against his cheek. “Don’t think of it as the end. Think of it as the beginning of a new chapter. Remember that autobiography you wrote?” He nodded. “This is just another chapter that’s going to start. The end has yet to really come. It’s not really over until our children lay us to rest.”
He smiled. “How is it you know what to say?”
“I know you, love. Just take the energy and throw it out at that crowd so that they can throw it right back at you. And keep in mind that the crowd here is just the vessel for the energy of MILLIONS of people watching this around the world.”
“No pressure”, he said with hint of sarcasm.
She laughed. “David. Chill out. I’m just saying that there is going to be a ton of energy coming at you from every which. I know that you can channel it. Take it and throw it back at them tenfold. You can do it. I know you can. And tomorrow, we’ll all gather at Danny’s place and get stoned.”
He chuckled. “That sounds like a plan to me.”
“Now, get dressed for the show and finish warming up. And, remember that no matter what, I love you and I always will.”
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It was finally time for their ceremonial shot of Jaeger before the show. They passed around the Styrofoam cups with enough Jaeger for a shot and the stage manager did exactly what he always did. “Alright, boys. Chicago. Our hometown. Let’s kick these bastards in the nuts.” They toasted and dropped the shot.
Mike cried out, “WHOO!”, as they were herded to the stage. Everything they would need was set up. The lights, the screen, the pyro. Brie was standing by ready to help him into the straight jacket when he was ready for it. All of the other wives were standing there with her ready to rock.
Each of the men gave their wives a kiss and wished their man. The women told them to have fun and break a leg. David and Brie were no exception. “Go have fun, David. Kick ass, take names, and leave your heart and soul on that stage.”
He smiled at her. “Planned on it.”
“Good. I’ll see you when you’re ready for the straight jacket.”
“Sounds good.”
They kissed. “Break a leg, baby. Now go. Talking isn’t giving the fans what they deserve.”
He smiled once more and went to his mark so that he could run out on the stage and start the end of the show.
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