It had been a while since Jaz had done an evening gig, but to her surprise, the Blue Lounge had filled up fast in the hour before she and Jack were due to go on. Mostly with the people they'd been sharing open mic nights with over the past months, people who came faithfully to every afternoon and easy listening gig she and Jack had done in the last year - people they knew and trusted to be honest and appreciative with them. Somewhere in the crowd were Tommy and Lena, as well, but as promised, they'd found somewhere to sit where Jack couldn't see them, just in case their presence stamped on his confidence a little.
It wasn't so much that Tommy and Lena's presence might stamp on his confidence, but that their presence would make him nervous. It was hard enough performing in front of a bunch of strangers, but to perform in front of people he knew had proved even harder, for some reason. He wasn't sure why, but it was likely the fear of making a fool of himself in front of people he had to face every day. Strangers were likely to forgive and forget, but friends and family never forgot a thing.
Thankfully, Jack wasn't hyperventilating before every performance or making himself sick anymore, but he always got a case of nerves just before they went on just the same. "Are you sure I'm ready for this?" he asked Jasmin, doubting his own abilities.
She smiled, adjusting the strap of her guitar. "I'm absolutely sure," she promised him, glad the microphones weren't on yet. "And if it gets too much, we have a plan to make it easier. You can do this, Jack, I promise you. You're gonna be fantastic, like you always are." She leaned up to kiss him affectionately, careful to keep their guitars from bumping against one another.
"I thought it would get easier, but it doesn't," he said with a small frown. "Did you know George Harrison threw up right before the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan?" he asked, chattering nervously to try and calm his own nerves. He'd seen that particular performance live on television back in 1964, though he didn't look a day over twenty-five. His father hadn't been too fond of the Beatles, and Jack had been forced to hide his records under his mattress, like some boy hid porn magazines. Until his father found them anyway.
"No throwing up," Jasmin told him fondly, stroking her thumb over his cheek. "It's just like any other gig we've done. The only difference is that you're the lead on the vocals for a few songs, that's all." She glanced at the clock on the wall, flicking her gaze back to him. "You ready?"
"Guess I'm gonna have to be," he replied, taking a deep breath. "Just, um ....Promise me you won't leave me hanging if I screw up," he said with that uncertain, worried frown of his. He had this; he just didn't know he had this.
"I never would," she promised him. "Two mics, remember" I can always take over the lead line if you need me to." She pressed a kiss to his cheek once again, gentle and supportive, and turned away, flicking her mic on to introduce themselves to their startlingly attentive audience.
As always, Jack let Jasmin take the lead, introducing them to the audience, though most of them seemed like regulars tonight. That was a comfort, at least. He knew Tommy and Lena were out there somewhere, but thankfully, they weren't where he could see them.
The set they'd drawn together was filled with the songs they excelled at - gentle, easy-listening tunes that no one really needed to listen to, in order to enjoy them. They'd practiced and polished until the performance couldn't get any smoother, their guitars as harmonious as their mingled voices. Every song was greeted with a warm round of applause; there were even a couple of shy requests made between songs.
Some of the people in the audience were obviously there for them, while for others, they were only a pleasant sort of background noise while they went about the business of drinking and chatting with friends. Jack had chosen a few songs with Jasmin in mind, while others were picked just because he loved playing them. There was one song though that was picked because it held meaning for Tommy and Lena and it required Jack to give the song a rare introduction.
"The next song is dedicated to some friends of ours without whom we wouldn't be here. Or at least, I wouldn't be here. You know who you are. We love you." Jack turned his attention to his guitar, fingers deftly moving over the fretboard, while he sang in a soft, mellow voice the words to Wildflower. It was a song he and Tommy had sung to Lena on the beach before the night before they'd left California, and as far as Jack was concerned, the song belonged to her.
As the gentle melody rose, Jaz spied her cousin and Tommy, curled up in the shadows on one of the couches along the far wall. Her eyes met Lena's as she joined her voice to Jack's, offering up the harmony they had sweated blood over to wring every last beautiful note from a song that said more about Helena King than most people ever considered might be true. And Lena, for all her growing confidence, cuddled tighter in under Tommy's arm, trying her best to hide the sudden wetness in her eyes, deeply touched by the fact that their friends even remembered that song, much less had chosen to make it a part of their set.
Thankfully, Jack didn't spy their friends in the audience or he might have teared up, too, and had trouble finishing the song. Tommy smiled, touched by the gesture, and touching a kiss to Lena's temple as their friends sung a tribute to the woman he loved. They'd come a long way in the last year and a half or so, from being almost bankrupt on a beach in California to being married with children on the way. He couldn't help but smile, not only happy for himself and for Lena, but for the two friends who were making their own dreams come true up there on the makeshift stage.
It was quite the turnaround, and a wonderful one, at that. Wildflower got the loudest round of applause of the evening thus far, the perfect end to the first half of their set. Jasmin drew back from the mic to offer her own applause, incredibly proud of Jack for making it through that first hour. They had fifteen minutes for him to calm down again before they took to the mics for the second time, but she had every confidence that the second half would be even better.
Jack knew that song had been played to death on the radio back in his own time, but here in Rhy'Din in 2015, it was as if it was new all over again with a new generation of young people to discover and appreciate it. Jack exhaled a sigh of relief as the first set came to an end. With any luck, the second half would go even better than the first. As much as he loved playing, it was being so much in the limelight that made him nervous. "That went better than I thought," he told Jasmin as he drew the guitar strap over his head.
"You're doing brilliantly," she promised him, setting her own guitar securely on one of the stands at the back of the stage. "Seriously, baby, everyone's enjoying it. I'm so proud of you." She smiled, reaching up to kiss him affectionately. "C'mon, let's get a drink before we run out of time."
It wasn't so much that Tommy and Lena's presence might stamp on his confidence, but that their presence would make him nervous. It was hard enough performing in front of a bunch of strangers, but to perform in front of people he knew had proved even harder, for some reason. He wasn't sure why, but it was likely the fear of making a fool of himself in front of people he had to face every day. Strangers were likely to forgive and forget, but friends and family never forgot a thing.
Thankfully, Jack wasn't hyperventilating before every performance or making himself sick anymore, but he always got a case of nerves just before they went on just the same. "Are you sure I'm ready for this?" he asked Jasmin, doubting his own abilities.
She smiled, adjusting the strap of her guitar. "I'm absolutely sure," she promised him, glad the microphones weren't on yet. "And if it gets too much, we have a plan to make it easier. You can do this, Jack, I promise you. You're gonna be fantastic, like you always are." She leaned up to kiss him affectionately, careful to keep their guitars from bumping against one another.
"I thought it would get easier, but it doesn't," he said with a small frown. "Did you know George Harrison threw up right before the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan?" he asked, chattering nervously to try and calm his own nerves. He'd seen that particular performance live on television back in 1964, though he didn't look a day over twenty-five. His father hadn't been too fond of the Beatles, and Jack had been forced to hide his records under his mattress, like some boy hid porn magazines. Until his father found them anyway.
"No throwing up," Jasmin told him fondly, stroking her thumb over his cheek. "It's just like any other gig we've done. The only difference is that you're the lead on the vocals for a few songs, that's all." She glanced at the clock on the wall, flicking her gaze back to him. "You ready?"
"Guess I'm gonna have to be," he replied, taking a deep breath. "Just, um ....Promise me you won't leave me hanging if I screw up," he said with that uncertain, worried frown of his. He had this; he just didn't know he had this.
"I never would," she promised him. "Two mics, remember" I can always take over the lead line if you need me to." She pressed a kiss to his cheek once again, gentle and supportive, and turned away, flicking her mic on to introduce themselves to their startlingly attentive audience.
As always, Jack let Jasmin take the lead, introducing them to the audience, though most of them seemed like regulars tonight. That was a comfort, at least. He knew Tommy and Lena were out there somewhere, but thankfully, they weren't where he could see them.
The set they'd drawn together was filled with the songs they excelled at - gentle, easy-listening tunes that no one really needed to listen to, in order to enjoy them. They'd practiced and polished until the performance couldn't get any smoother, their guitars as harmonious as their mingled voices. Every song was greeted with a warm round of applause; there were even a couple of shy requests made between songs.
Some of the people in the audience were obviously there for them, while for others, they were only a pleasant sort of background noise while they went about the business of drinking and chatting with friends. Jack had chosen a few songs with Jasmin in mind, while others were picked just because he loved playing them. There was one song though that was picked because it held meaning for Tommy and Lena and it required Jack to give the song a rare introduction.
"The next song is dedicated to some friends of ours without whom we wouldn't be here. Or at least, I wouldn't be here. You know who you are. We love you." Jack turned his attention to his guitar, fingers deftly moving over the fretboard, while he sang in a soft, mellow voice the words to Wildflower. It was a song he and Tommy had sung to Lena on the beach before the night before they'd left California, and as far as Jack was concerned, the song belonged to her.
As the gentle melody rose, Jaz spied her cousin and Tommy, curled up in the shadows on one of the couches along the far wall. Her eyes met Lena's as she joined her voice to Jack's, offering up the harmony they had sweated blood over to wring every last beautiful note from a song that said more about Helena King than most people ever considered might be true. And Lena, for all her growing confidence, cuddled tighter in under Tommy's arm, trying her best to hide the sudden wetness in her eyes, deeply touched by the fact that their friends even remembered that song, much less had chosen to make it a part of their set.
Thankfully, Jack didn't spy their friends in the audience or he might have teared up, too, and had trouble finishing the song. Tommy smiled, touched by the gesture, and touching a kiss to Lena's temple as their friends sung a tribute to the woman he loved. They'd come a long way in the last year and a half or so, from being almost bankrupt on a beach in California to being married with children on the way. He couldn't help but smile, not only happy for himself and for Lena, but for the two friends who were making their own dreams come true up there on the makeshift stage.
It was quite the turnaround, and a wonderful one, at that. Wildflower got the loudest round of applause of the evening thus far, the perfect end to the first half of their set. Jasmin drew back from the mic to offer her own applause, incredibly proud of Jack for making it through that first hour. They had fifteen minutes for him to calm down again before they took to the mics for the second time, but she had every confidence that the second half would be even better.
Jack knew that song had been played to death on the radio back in his own time, but here in Rhy'Din in 2015, it was as if it was new all over again with a new generation of young people to discover and appreciate it. Jack exhaled a sigh of relief as the first set came to an end. With any luck, the second half would go even better than the first. As much as he loved playing, it was being so much in the limelight that made him nervous. "That went better than I thought," he told Jasmin as he drew the guitar strap over his head.
"You're doing brilliantly," she promised him, setting her own guitar securely on one of the stands at the back of the stage. "Seriously, baby, everyone's enjoying it. I'm so proud of you." She smiled, reaching up to kiss him affectionately. "C'mon, let's get a drink before we run out of time."