#'the singer would walk off stage and i needed some solid tunes' | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

calpalirwin · 4 years

Text

Difficult and Stubborn

Summary: When country difficult meets rock stubborn there’s bound to be a clash. And there’s bound to be more than one side to the same story.

A/N: So, in case y’all didn’t know, I’m a country music ho! And Morgan Wallen’s Chasin’ You gave me angsty Ash fic vibes so I paired it up with 5SOS’s Want You Back. And I think it worked?

Content: Swearing. Angst. Some fluff because I can’t write bad endings? I dunno. Same shit, different fic.

Word Count: 5,200-ish.

And, (like always) away, and away we go! (Have y’all caught on to this joke yet?)

~~~

March 2019

Y/N’s POV

“You know you gotta perform this song with me, right?” Morgan asked me.

“What?” I asked, my eyes going wide. I was a song writer, not a song-singer. Why did the people I wrote songs for keep rewarding me like this?

“C’mon, we sing it so much better together,” he winked.

I rolled my eyes, patting the man’s shoulder. “I’ll sing with you,” I relented. “But that’s it!”

“Great!” he grinned, hugging me tightly.

I rolled my eyes again and gave out a small laugh.

“Y/N?” a familiar- too familiar really- voice sounded and I ducked behind Morgan, eyes taking in the man strolling down the hall towards me. The brown curls I had spent many a night running my fingers through were now bright red. More tattoos decorated the arms that used to hold me tight. And Ashton Irwin was the last person I wanted to see before I was about to perform the song I had written about him.

~~~

March 2019

Ashton’s POV

“Ash, c’mon, mate,” Calum’s hand pulled on my arm.

“Yeah, right behind ya,” I said, following him down the hallway, before my eyes took her in. I stopped, blinking. It couldn’t be, could it? Despite being in the music business, we had managed to run in different circles. But it was. I would recognize her anywhere. “Y/N?” I called out, before I could think about it. She froze, recognizing my voice the same way I would recognize hers. But, instead of turning, she ducked behind the man she was standing with.

I was about to call out to her again, but Calum gave me a sharp tug, pulling me along. “C’mon, mate. Don’t do this,” he told me, his voice low.

~~~

March 2017

Y/N’s POV

“You know you gotta perform this song with me, right?” Kelsea asked me.

“Kels, I just write the songs. I don’t perform them,” I said, holding up my hands, declining her offer.

“Oh, c’mon Y/N,” the pretty blonde pleaded. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your songwriting.”

“Just thank me in your speech, and we’ll call it even,” I assured her.

“Kelsea, you’re on in five,” a stagehand directed.

“Get her mic for me, would ya?” she winked at the stagehand, who shrugged and pushed a microphone in my hand.

“No, I do-” I protested, handing it back to him.

He looked at Kelsea, wondering what to do as I tried to get him to take the microphone back. “She’s doing this,” Kelsea smiled brightly at him. “Make sure they announce us both. That’s songwriter Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said, rushing off.

I narrowed my eyes, “I could kill you right now.”

She just turned her bright smile to me, “You could, but then you’d have to perform solo.”

~~~

March 2017

Ashton’s POV

I sunk low in my chair, bored out of my skull. Being at an award show just to show face was the dumbest idea my management had come up with thus far.

“Drink after this?” Calum whispered to me.

“Fuck yeah,” I agreed. “What about Luke, though?”

“It’s an after-party, not a bar.”

“Performing Miss Me More, country music artist Kelsea Ballerini, and songwriter Y/N Y/L/N!” the host announced and our conversation got cut as we clapped politely as two women came out on stage, the blonde perky, the other shooting daggers with her eyes.

“Who’s that?” I nudged Calum.

He just shrugged, “But if looks could kill, yeah?”

I nodded, keeping my eyes on the woman who looked like she would rather be anywhere else in the world than on stage as the music started.

Kelsea sang her way through the first verse of a rather upbeat, ballsy fuck-you country tune, before the other woman joined her on the chorus. Then, when that second verse hit, it was just the other woman alone singing “I put on my old records that I hid in the back of the closet. And I turned them up to ten. And then I played them all again.” She got into it at that point, giving a little sway of her hips as she continued, “I found my independence, can’t believe I ever lost it. What you wanted, ain’t it? It’s what you wanted.” She gave a smug smirk and a wink at Kelsea before they both continued with the rest of the song.

“Thanks, y’all!” Kelsea grinned, taking a small bow to the applause. “Let’s give it up for my talent friend, Y/N!”

I don’t know what compelled me to do it, but I was on my feet, whistling through my fingers, suddenly feeling way better about being here.

~~~

March 2019

Y/N’s POV

“Please welcome to the stage, Morgan Wallen and Y/N Y/L/N and their new hit Chasin’ You!” the host announced and Morgan’s hand took mine as we walked out.

Morgan sang the first verse by himself, and I swayed quietly on my stool, my eyes closed, enjoying the music before I opened my eyes and joined him for the chorus.

“Chasin’ you-ooo-ooo like a shot of whiskey. Burnin’ goin’ down, burnin’ goin’ down. Chasin’ you-ooo-ooo like those goodbye headlights, headin’ west to anywhere out of this nowhere town. Chasin’ that freedom, chasin’ that feeling, that got gone too soon. Chasin’ that you and me, I only see in my rearview. Yeah, I’m layin’ here tonight holdin’ someone new, still chasin’ you. Still chasin’ you.”

My eyes glanced across the crowd watching us and I found him easily, too easily.

~~~

March 2019

Ashton’s POV

Her eyes found mine as she started singing the second verse, a sad smile on her lips.

“You always used to talk about LA. I heard you got as far as Santa Fe. Oh, wait. You know I tried to track you down, but I only got as far as Guitar Town. Singin’ bout a boy I used to know, used to know. You should know that I haven’t given up, I’m just on your radio.”

I sucked in my breath as her eyes stayed locked on mine. I knew the song was about me. I just wondered how much of it was true.

I got up from my seat, Calum’s arm grabbing my arm in protest, but I yanked from his grasp and strode out, my mind racing.

God, how had her and I gone so wrong, so fast? How did we get back to the people we were when we met? How did anyone come back from a breakup in a relationship you were never sure you had in the first place?

~~~

March 2017

Y/N’s POV

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, clapping a hand over my mouth as the man jostled me.

“Oh, nah, that was my fault,” he apologized. His words were either accented or slightly slurred as he pushed his brown curls out off a set of honey-gold eyes. “Oh, hey! You’re that girl,” he smiled as those eyes took me in.

“It’s Y/N,” I said with a small laugh, offering him my hand.

“I’m Ashton,” he told me, his large hand enveloping mine. “That song rocked. And I don’t even like country all that much.”

“More of a rock band type?” I asked, my brain clicking through the names and faces I knew and not finding his, but recognizing his name anyway.

He tapped a finger to his nose knowingly. “Typical, I know. The drummer of a rock band likes rock music. Go fuckin’ figure.”

“Ah!” I said, my eyes lighting up in recognition. “You’re Ashton from 5 Seconds of Summer. What were you guys doing at the award show?”

“Showing the world that LA hasn’t swallowed us whole,” he shrugged, holding out his arms, the drink sloshing around the lip of the cup.

“Easy there,” I said, laughing and wondering if he felt the same jolt of electricity as I did when I touched his arm to bring it down. “The booze may seem free, but the cost is gonna be one wicked hangover.”

“Can’t be hungover if I never stop drinking,” he winked, taking a long sip.

I laughed again. The man had some solid logic, even if it was heavily flawed. “C’mon you, let’s see if we can’t sober you up a bit.”

~~~

March 2017

Ashton’s POV

I wasn’t drunk. I wasn’t even close to it. But I let her drag me outside anyway.

“Okay, maybe this was a bad idea,” she chuckled, rubbing furiously at her bare arms.

“Here,” I said, shrugging off my leather jacket and placing it around her shoulders.

“Won’t you be cold?” she asked, sliding her arms in, letting the warmth envelope her.

“Nah, I’ll be good in this,” I said, pulling at my long sleeves. The leather jacket, combined with the small buzz I was working on getting, and the way she looked was making me too hot, so I was glad to shed the layer I could, letting the early spring night air cool me down. “So, do you live in LA?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Nashville with all the other country folk.”

I nodded. “So you write, but you don’t sing?”

She laughed. I liked it. “I could ask you the same thing, Ashton.”

“I’m a drummer, what’s your excuse?”

“I don’t need my name up in lights. I write music for me, not for anybody else.”

“Sounds a little hypocritical to sell those songs then, no?”

She shrugged. “Gotta make a living somehow. Might as well make money doing what I love. But I don’t need all the glory that goes with it.”

I nodded. “That’s almost a shame, really. Cuz you sound great.”

She smiled, “So do you.”

Maybe it was the alcohol in my system. Maybe it was the way she looked in the streetlight glow in my leather jacket. Maybe it was a combination of the two or something else entirely. But the next thing I knew my lips met hers and her hands were in my hair and mine were on her hips.

~~~

March 2019

Y/N’s POV

“Y/N!” Ashton’s voice called as I walked down the hallway headed for my seat in the theater.

I stopped and turned, trying not to lose my composure over how nearly two years had only made him more handsome. I’m not sure what I wanted him to look like. Maybe broken like I was? No. I didn’t want that. He didn’t deserve that pain I felt in my chest looking at him. God, it was pathetic. I was pathetic. We were barely a thing when we were a thing. And now we were back to being nothing. Two strangers in a hallway. God, if only that were true. “Ashton,” I answered, keeping my voice level, cold even.

“Ashton? Really Y/N? That’s how it’s gonna be?” He gave a shake of his head, a hand rubbing at his neck, a breath coming out in a slow, shaky huff.

“What do you want, Ashton?” I asked, the iciness from my tone giving way to weariness.

“To talk?”

I rolled my eyes. “What about?”

His eyes darkened. “Jesus, are you always this difficult?”

“Are you always this stubborn?” I shot back.

~~~

March 2019

Ashton’s POV

A low frustrated growl ripped through my throat. “I’m stubborn?! Jesus, woman, I’m just trying to talk to you!”

“I don’t have time for this,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “You don’t have time for this,” she added, her eyes locking on my fist that was clenched around the drumsticks.

“Later then, yeah?”

“Later. Break a leg, or whatever,” she muttered, before walking off.

I watched her, shaking my head. God, even when she was mad she was hot.

“Mate…” Calum’s voice said, his eyes following where I was looking. “I specifically told you not to do this.”

“I’m not doing anything, Cal. She’s the one doing it.”

~~~

June 2017

Y/N’s POV

“C’mon,” he said, his eyes wild as he shed his shirt.

“Ash, you’re crazy!” I laughed.

“Live a little, baby,” he whispered in my ear, placing a kiss on my lips that tasted like the whiskey he took a swig off. Then, he was running down the river bend in the moonlight.

I took a swig of my own, then ran after him. I would chase that boy anywhere.

“You ever gonna chase me to LA?” he asked when I caught him. Okay, I would chase him almost anywhere.

“We talked about this, Ash,” I said, my voice soft, not wanting to have the same fight we've been having for three months.

“You’ll chase me all around Nashville, but not LA? Baby…” his voice begged with a small chuckle of disbelief. “You can still write in LA.”

“You can write in Nashville,” I countered. Then, “Can we not do this? Can we just enjoy whatever this is?”

He pushed his hair back with a click of his tongue and a shake of his head. “Yeah, whatever.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re really going to be mad at me for having a life, Ash?”

“I’m not mad that you don’t have a life. I’m mad you only act like were a thing when I come here.”

“I was in LA last month, and you ignored me!” I shot back.

“I was busy!”

“So what? I have to change for you, but you won’t change for me? How is that fair, Ash?”

“I’m not asking you to change!”

“Then, why are you trying to ruin a good thing, Ash?” I asked. “C’mon, be here with me.”

“In Nashville?”

“No,” I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, taking his hands in mine. “Here. This moment. Me and you. Nobody else.”

A small smile crept across his lips and I knew we were done fighting. “You drive me crazy, you know that, baby?”

“Honestly, how you put up with me, I’ll never know,” I said, reaching up on tiptoe to kiss him deeply.

“Mmm, it’s cuz you kiss like that,” he told me, his eyes shining in the way that sent shivers down my spine.

“Like what?” I asked innocently, repeating the kiss. “Like this?”

“Just like that, baby.”

“Keep calling me ‘baby’ and there will be plenty of kisses just like that.”

“Baby,” he grinned, placing his lips on my neck to leave his own kisses and marks. “Baby, baby, baby.”

~~~

July 2017

Ashton’s POV

“You never change, do you?!” she screamed at me in the parking lot, the summer rain making it hard to tell if she was crying or not.

I kept my face neutral, deciding to say nothing. I had just asked if she wanted to join me on tour and she was acting like I set her on fire.

“Say something!” she yelled, her voice cracking- yep, she was crying- her hands pushing hard at my chest, enough to make me have to throw a foot back to catch myself.

I dropped my gaze, deciding to take this moment to memorize her before I never got another chance. Her hair was starting to frizz in the light drizzle. Her voice that could be so soft was loud and harsh, ringing out in the parking lot. Her thin shirt- my favorite one, the one with roses on it- clung to her skin. “All I asked was if you wanted to join me on tour,” I said simply. “Didn’t even have to be for the whole thing. Just thought maybe you were in the mood to travel. With me. Your boyfriend.”

“Oh, is that what you are?” she asked with a disgusted laugh.

I blinked, dumbly.

She let out a wild scream of frustration. “I broke up with my ex because I valued my independence. I thought you respected that. We never said what we were, Ashton. You just come around every now and then, shake up my world for a few days, and then leave.”

“I do respect that! But you can’t have it both ways! You can’t get mad at me for leaving, and then turn around and get mad when I ask you to come with me!” I shouted at her, losing my temper the way she had already lost hers.

“Because when I did come, you ignored me!”

“You’re really gonna keep using that argument?!”

“I make time for you every time you come to Nashville! But you couldn’t do the same?! And you think you’re my boyfriend?! God!” Her hands came to rest on her head and I knew what was coming next. “I do- I don’t know how we’ve been working for as long as we have. We don’t work. You and I will never work.”

“Message received,” I said shortly, grateful we each had met up so I didn’t have to endure a hard silent car ride that may or may not led to make-up/break-up sex. I could just leave, here and now. Before I shattered.

~~~

March 2019

Y/N’s POV

“And now, 5SOS with their new hit Want You Back!” the host announced and I clapped politely, but wished for the theater to open up and swallow me whole. I couldn’t hear this song. Not here in front of people.

“Can’t help but wondering if this is the last time that I’ll see your face. Is it tears or just the pourin’ rain? Wish I could say something. Something that doesn’t sound insane, but lately I don’t trust my brain. You tell me I won’t ever change, so I just say nothing,” Luke sang the clean acoustic version, but my eyes were on the man just beyond the blonde. God, how could he make something as simple as snapping look so damn sexy?

His eyes were closed, lost in the music, and I was glad for it. It meant he couldn’t tell that I was watching. It would have stayed that way if he had kept those damn honey colored eyes that I saw every time I closed my eyes shut. But, I wasn’t lucky when it came to Ashton Irwin. No, those eyes snapped open with his fingers and locked with mine. So much for pretending to move on.

~~~

March 2019

Ashton’s POV

I had kept my eyes closed, because I knew that if I looked I would find her and I really didn’t want to break down on stage. But the first verse ended and my eyes opened up, almost without my permission, and found her watching.

“No matter where I go, I’m always gonna want you back. No matter how long you’re gone, I’m always gonna want you back. I know you know I will never get over you. No matter where I go, I’m always gonna want you back, want you back,” I sang into my microphone along with the rest of my band, swallowing the lump in my throat, and the pain swirling in the pit of my stomach.

I wondered if she was sitting there thinking the same thing I had when it had been her up here instead of me. I wish I could tell her that every word of it was true. I would never not want her. But, that confession would have to wait.

~~~

September 2017

Y/N’ POV

I chucked my phone in anger. I needed to stop. God, it wasn’t even like we were a thing to begin with. So why did it hurt so bad? Why was I constantly scrolling through his band account to see whether he looked broken up or happy? Why was I still hung up on him?

I pulled my notebook closer, gave my pen a quick tap, and started writing.

“We used to taste that Chattanooga fray. Couple kids in a Chevrolet. Catch a little air when we hit the tracks. Sipping on something from a paper sack. You hang your shirt on a maple limb. Slippin’ through the moon to the river bend. Wasn’t very long I was jumpin’ in, jumpin’ in. I guess I’m still doin’ now what I was doin’ then,” I sang along, plucking out a melody, figuring maybe putting him in a song would get him out of my head once and for all.

~~~

November 2017

Ashton’s POV

My fingers itched as I clutched my phone tighter. “Don’t do it. Don’t you dare do it,” I whispered angrily to myself.

“Give it to me,” Calum said, his brown hand outstretched.

I sighed in defeat and handed it to him. “I don’t know what to do, Cal. She’d push, and I’d pull. So, I would push, and then she would pull. I never knew what she wanted me to do. Did she want her freedom? Did she want me? Did she want both, and I just didn’t know how to give her that? God, I can’t think straight!”

“Here,” he said, pushing a notebook and pen in my hand. “Get it out. Maybe getting it on paper will clear up your head.”

I offered him a small smile of gratitude. “Thanks, Cal.”

“I’m always here for ya, mate. Now turn this moping into a hit.”

I chuckled for the first time in what felt like a while, the sound strange to my ears. I opened the notebook and the words came easily- too easily.

“I remember the freckles on your back, and the way I used to make you laugh. ‘Cause you know every morning I wake up, yeah, I still reach for you. I remember the roses on your shirt when you told me this would never work. You know even when I say I’ve moved on, yeah, I still dream for you.”

~~~

March 2019

Y/N’s POV

I got up out of my seat. I couldn’t sit here and watch him up there anymore. It was my own damn fault. I hadn’t wanted a relationship, so I had kept him at arm’s length, and every time he tried to close the distance I pushed. But then I would get mad when he didn’t pull me close anyway. I had wanted him to fight for me and every time he did I balked, scared of risking losing myself like I had in my last relationship.

My wandering in my dazed state led me to the hallway backstage, and as fate would have it, I smacked right into the person I still wasn’t sure about.

~~~

March 2019

Ashton’s POV

“Whoa, easy there,” I said, grabbing her arms to hold her steady as she stumbled back. “You okay?” I asked when her eyes traveled up and I got a good look of her face- broken, struggling to keep her composure.

“I’m fine,” she all but snarled, her eyes hard despite the rest of her face being soft, jerking out of my grasp.

I held up my hands and took a small step back. “Just making sure you don’t fall on your ass, baby.”

“Don’t you dare call me that.”

“Baby, baby, baby,” I taunted, crossing my arms.

“Stubborn asshole.”

“Difficult baby.”

“You infuriate me.”

“Oh yeah? Is that why you wrote a song about how you haven’t given up? Because I infuriate you?”

“That song’s not about you. It’s Morgan’s song about his ex,” she lied.

“Bullshit it is,” I scoffed.

“Oh, like you didn’t just perform a song about me?” she challenged.

“I never said I didn’t.”

“So, I’m the fake betch who treated you really wrong?” she asked, accenting the words like Luke and I had, not realizing she had just admitted to keeping tabs on me.

I laughed harshly. “That’s the part you chose to focus on? The part where Luke and I were dicking around as he tried to make me laugh for the first time in months?”

“I’m not fake, Ashton. I wasn’t faking anything with you.”

“I never said you were.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t even know why I’m trying right now.”

“Trying what? You’re the one acting hostile. All I did was keep you from falling flat on face.”

“If you wanted to keep me from falling flat on my face you should- nevermind.”

I tilted my head. “I’m sorry? I should’ve what?”

“Nevermind.”

“You going to the after-party?”

“Yes…”

“Cool. We’ll talk there, yeah? Maybe without the hostilities?”

“That depends, are you going to be stubborn?”

“Are you going to be difficult?” I asked back.

Her eyes narrowed, but she fought the eye roll. God, all I wanted right now was to kiss that hard look off her face. “Just find me later, Ash,” she finally said, using the shortened version of my name as an act of good faith.

~~~

June 2018

Y/N’s POV

I wasn’t sure why I was watching the video. The last time I had watched a video of him I had cried for hours wondering if he really thought I was a fake bitch who broke his heart like it was nothing. Did he really think I was a monster? Was I a monster? Hell, maybe I was for pushing away a guy who only wanted to hold me together. God, I was so stupid!

I was expecting Ashton to go off on what the lyrics meant to him as I watched the video against my better judgement, but he surprised me by talking about the process of writing the song, rather than what it meant to him personally. Maybe he wasn’t drunk enough yet. Maybe he had written the song to move on, and it had worked for him. Good. At least it had worked for one of us.

~~~

July 2018

Ashton’s POV

“So, you actually wrote this song, Y/N, is that right?” the radio host asked her in the live stream of the video I was watching.

She nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I wrote the lyrics anyway. Morgan and his team wrote the music for it.”

“She’s being modest,” Morgan cut in with a laugh. “She had a guitar melody in mind when she showed us the song that we worked with.”

“And yet, you let him sing it?”

She laughed. “Yeah, or I try to anyway. I keep telling Morgan I’m just the song writer, not the song singer, but he can be very persuasive.”

The radio host leaned in, “Oh, so is Morgan the someone new you’re holding?”

She laughed again. “No, Morgan and I are just friends. There’s nobody new I’m holding. It was just a good fit lyrically.”

The radio host leaned back, clearly disappointed that there wasn’t an exclusive scoop for him to exploit. I sighed in relief, as that line had tore me up inside every time I heard it. “Rumor has it the song is about a certain rock drummer you were spotted getting friendly with last year. So, were you and Ashton Irwin of 5SOS dating, and is the song about your breakup?”

She shrugged, and I watched the small flash as her face fell before she kept it neutral. “It’s based on experience, like all my songs are. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s about a breakup, though. Ashton and I…” her voice trailed off as she struggled to find the words. “We had fun. We had potential. And, uh…”

“He’s just a feeling you’re trying to chase?” the radio host supplied.

She let out a breath that held the trace of a laugh. The sound of shoulda/woulda/coulda beens. “Ash was more than a feeling, but uh, yeah. I guess you could say that.”

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.

~~~

March 2019

Y/N’s POV

I took a swallow of my water, waving my hand dismissively at the harder drinks being offered my way. I needed to be stone-cold sober for this chat I was mentally hyping myself up to have with Ashton. If I could stop being so damn defensive that was. God, I was the one who had pushed him away. I had no right to play the victim. I forced a smile, that really didn’t feel all that forced, as I saw him shouldering his way through the crowd towards me.

“Found ya,” he said simply.

My smile widened. “You did. So, that talk?” I asked, deciding to jump right in.

“Outside?” he suggested.

I nodded, taking his hand and letting him lead me out to the balcony. I fought against the nostalgia washing over me at finding my hand in his again, instead shivering against the night breeze. I really needed to learn to bring a jacket. I felt his hand leave mine and then the enveloping warmth that was his leather jacket and scent on my shoulders. “Thanks,” I mumbled, thrusting my arms through the sleeves. “You didn’t have to do that.”

He shrugged, his hands going into the pockets of his black jeans. “Didn’t want you to be cold.”

I sighed, looking out over the city. “What are we doing?”

“It’s just a jacket, Y/N.”

“I don’t mean the damn jacket, Asht-” I started, feeling angry at all the emotions I’d kept bottled up for nearly two years. “I’m not talking about the jacket, Ash,” I tried again, keeping my voice calm and level.

“I know. But it’s a good metaphor all the same, don’t ya think? You fighting back against every nice thing I did like the difficult woman you are?”

His tone was teasing, so I didn’t feel too bad when I rolled my eyes and gave his shoulder a small shove. “You mean you fighting me like the stubborn man you are?”

He let out a small laugh and shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve been known to be stubborn, yes.”

“And I’ve been known to be difficult,” I relented.

“So, where does that leave us?” he asked, his honey eyes locking on mine.

“Right about here?” I suggested, reaching up on tiptoe to kiss the lips I had missed kissing more than I cared to admit out loud.

~~~

March 2019

Ashton’s POV

“Fuck, I’ve missed you,” I murmured against her lips, pulling her tight to me.

“I’m sorry,” she was whispering back as her hands snaked into my hair, her lips letting go of mine so she could look up at me. “I didn’t know how to keep you and my independence. But this freedom? It’s suffocating.”

“I never wanted to keep you. I just wanted you in any version you were willing to give me.”

“Keep me. Please.” Her voice was a heartbreaking plea.

“Anybody tell you that you’re difficult?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Anybody tell you that you’re stubborn?” she shot back, playfully. “Ash, I’m finally asking you to hold me close like you wanted. Are you really going to say this isn’t want you want anymore?”

I shook my head. “You drive me crazy, you know that, baby? But, I love it. And you.”

“You love me, huh?”

“I love difficult, what can I say?”

“Good thing I love stubborn, then.”

I tilted my head back, chuckling into the night. “Baby, your love is gonna be the end of me.”

“You love it when I kiss you like this?” she asked with a playful laugh, kissing me the way she knew I loved being kissed.

“Just like that, baby,” I nodded, my fingers dancing across her waist to hold her tight.

“Keep calling me ‘baby’ and there will be plenty of kisses just like that.”

“Baby,” I grinned, placing my lips on her neck to leave my own kisses and marks. “Baby, baby, baby.”

#difficult and stubborn #ashton irwin #ashton fic #5sos #galcal irwin

22 notes · View notes

artnerd1123 · 4 years

Text

A Familiar World

Spring Sirensong ——————————————

Outings in the seaside town were cold for Seraph’s first months of life. One can imagine her joy when it starts warming up. Of course, warmth isn’t the only thing awaiting her today...

The masterpost for AFW can be found here. The chapter post for AFW can be found here.

——————————————

I wrote this entirely in one day! Wild. I think this is the most productive I’ve been on a chapter since... ever slkjfd Anywho! It’s some fluff with ser, in which she makes some very important friends. Hope y’all enjoy ;3c

————

The past handful of months had been... interesting. For one thing, the shop was still in its beta stages. Turns out running a shop is hard for newbies. Evangel struggled to get stock to sell, much less show off her repair abilities. It wasn’t odd that her familiar stepped up. Seraph might not have had much experience in anything, but she was gonna do her darndest to help. While Evangel fretted with displays, Seraph got people to come in and look around. As the tailor worried over fulfilling orders, Seraph got customers to make them. Even while Evangel figured out an organization system for her creations and the shop, Seraph made sure their living space was put together. The kitchen was gonna look nice whether Evangel could cook or not! All in all, Seraph thought they were a good team. A great team! All they really needed was… more progress. More customers. More solid business plans, and less making things up as they went. Evangel was the one handling money. Seraph couldn’t help with the budget yet. She’d get there some day! She was working really hard to make it happen! But there was only so much she could do. After all, she was only five months old. Young even for a familiar. Made sense that she’d take breaks to play around.

Today, a break came in the form of a walk. Seraph was ecstatic to be heading out. Usually, she had to get all bundled up to go outdoors!!! But it was getting warmer. That meant she could slip outside in just a cute little sundress. Evangel might not be happy with warmer weather, but Seraph was loving it. She hummed happily as she skipped along, wings fluttering excitedly behind her. “Thanks for takin me with you, mama!” she chirped. Her eyes shone in the new spring light. Her first spring!!! She’d never seen so much green before. She couldn’t get enough of it. “It’s so pretty out today!!!” “O-oh… its alright, I guess…” Evangel sighed. “Hopefully there’ll be something good for spring designs…” The sorceress had a clipboard clutched tightly in her hand. One of her special design work ones, if Seraph was remembering right. She was already eager to see the final products. “Maybe there’ll be flowers!!!” Seraph gasped excitedly. She hadn’t seen those growing since October! “Flowers come with spring, right??? You could draw some of those!!! And use them for dresses!!!” “Mmm… maybe…” Evangel fidgeted with her hood, eyes on the sidewalk. “But will floral patterns even be in this year…?” Seraph paused. Seeing mama sad made her sad. Being sad wasn’t fun! She didn’t want any sad on this nice day!!! Time to work some of her newfound magic. She stopped her skipping to reach for Evangel’s hand. She gave her a smile, patting her hand gently. “They will if you like em!” the hybrid said simply. “I know they will, mama! You’re the best at everything when it comes to clothes!!!” “Oh… thats so sweet, ser,” Evangel smiled, waving a hand. “Thank you…” Seraph just beamed back. Yes! There was that smile. It made her happy. It meant she was doing a good job. “You’re welcome!!!” she giggled. “I can’t wait to see what you make!!!” “Well, I’ve got to sketch first!” Evangel chuckled softly. The two continued on in contented silence. Past the shops, past the apartments, past the taverns and restaurants… all the way to the edge of town. Near the end of the main road, Evangel stopped. Seraph stopped too, looking up curiously. “What’s wrong, mama?” she asked. Evangel glanced at her. Sighing, she held out a hand. “We’re going up to the sea cliffs, sweetie,” Evangel reminded her. “They can be very dangerous. Take my hand, alright? That means you stay with me until I say we can stop.” “Oh!!! Right!!!” Seraph nodded eagerly. Her little hoof fit snugly into Evangel’s hand. Hopping from foot to foot, her feathery tail wagged in time with her wings’ excited flapping. “I’m gonna be right here, mama! Don’t worry!” “That’s my little doll,” Evangel smiled. Together, they started off towards the cliffs. Originator and familiar, off to enjoy the view. What more could anyone want?

The sound of laughter and singing joined the crash of waves. Evangel was off in a patch of budding wildflowers, sketching to her heart’s content. She’d told Seraph to go play. As long as she could see her mama, Seraph knew she could go where she wanted. So! She was having fun! Singing nursery rhymes at the top of her lungs was amazing. They echoed all around!!! Tumbling down the incline was just as fun. Her sundress could wash- she wanted to feel the grass and dirt on her skin! The little hybrid giggled to herself as she flopped backwards. Her wings spread wide on the ground, she hummed happily in the sun. I wonder what other stuff I’ll see in spring, she wondered eagerly. Would she see more animals? More cool monsters? More neighbors? Or- or maybe she could start a garden! Evangel needed flowers to observe, right? And they were so pretty! I should bring some back for her!!! As she scrambled to her feet, though, something caught her attention. A sound. A low, melodic crooning. Like the breeze, or the sound a pan flute makes. But… different. It had this echo to it, swirling the sound into something she’d never heard before. As if the ocean itself were weaving through the air. It froze the little familiar in place. “Wh… what’s…? What’s that…?” she whispered. As she listened, it rose and fell in pitch. She could hear some sort of voice in there. Was this... singing? Her eyes widened in realization. It was singing. Absolutely beautiful singing. She knew immediately that she had to meet the person responsible. She had to. “Is… is someone there?” She called. Nobody answered. The song, however, kept going. Her ears flicked forwards as she looked for the source. It had to be close! How could she hear it so well otherwise? Sure enough, she determined it was coming from the cliffs behind her. So close!!! Her face lit up with joy, and she took a step towards them- -only to stop a moment later. … didn’t mama say the cliffs were dangerous….? Her mind twittered nervously. Seraph glanced over her shoulder. Evangel was still sitting in the patch of wildflowers. Sketching quietly. Back facing her familiar. She didn’t seem to hear the voice at all. Seraph took a peek at the cliff top again. It wasn’t too far away. She could get up there in minutes. And Evangel could still see her from there, right? So, technically… this wouldn’t break any rules. It would be fine to go up there, she thought, turning back to the cliffs. Just this once… Slowly, steadily, Seraph made her way to the cliff top. The song got louder as she approached. Sound and desire drew her forward. The grass went all the way up to the edge. It was a little weird to see it end so abruptly. She stopped before the very edge, of course. No need to stand somewhere so risky. Especially when she didn’t know how to fly. She settled on her hands and knees, figuring she could take a peek this way. The haunting melody caressed her ears as she leaned forward. Just one peek at the singer… that’s all she wanted… just… one… peek… Seraph gasped loudly. Eyes sparkling, she stared down at the waves below. Something was sitting on the rocks. Or rather, someone. Someone with beautifully shiny fins, and glistening scales. Someone in soft, pretty shades of green and blue. Someone with little spots of pink and yellow along her back, and lovely stripes down her tail. Somehow, seraph knew exactly what she was looking at. A siren. And she was singing. Seraph couldn’t move from the spot. A siren! A real, living, breathing siren! Right there! She’d only seen mention of them in books at the library. The mention of their singing had made her feel warm inside. Like finding someone else who dedicated themself to your passion. Yes, they were dangerous. But she still loved them. She loved them a lot. Evangel had only ever taken home books about clothes, but music- and sirens- had been on Seraph’s mind since she learned how to read. She’d read all she could about them while they were at the library. And now… there was a siren. Right in front of her. She was absolutely spellbound. Setting her head on her hands, Seraph made herself comfortable. She was gonna stay there for as long as she could. The siren, meanwhile, seemed to know she had an audience. She’d sat up straighter, sending her song rolling far along the waves. One can imagine seraph’s sheer delight when a few more sirens surfaced. There were two of them now! No, three- four- five! Five sirens! All of them clustered on the rocks below. A blissful hum drifted from the familiar as they all began to sing. Their sound mixed perfectly… her own private symphony… … were they looking at her? Seraph blinked. Hastily sitting up, she hid herself in her wings. Peeking through her feathers, stared back in shock. They were! The sirens were looking up at her! They were too far away for her to make out expressions, but their song had changed. It was less wandering, and more… inviting. Encouraging. Welcoming. …. Are they… singing to me…? Quiet surprise continued as the sirens gathered closer. They were all such pretty colors, but varying ones, too. Like a bouquet of musical flowers. She just watched as they wove a song together. In the midst of their enchanting tune, the first started singing something new. It took Seraph a minute to recognize. When she did, she jumped a bit. Her nursery rhymes! She was singing her nursery rhymes! That meant- that meant they’d heard her singing up here! A siren is singing my songs to me, she thought, awestruck. A siren and her friends… they’re… they’re singing my songs to me… If heaven could come early, Seraph believed she’d found it. She shut her eyes, smiling softly. Just letting the music and joy wash over her. When the sirens’ song turned inviting again, Seraph found herself drawn to sing. She was small. She hadn’t been around for long. She could only manage to carry a simple tune so far. There were sirens singing down there. But, nonetheless… she let her voice join theirs. Just a little familiar, singing songs with sirens. In the moment… there was nowhere she’d rather be.

But, of course, it could only last so long.

“SERAPH, GET DOWN FROM THERE!” a voice shouted. Seraph startled so badly, she nearly rolled off the cliff. Her wings slapped against the dirt as she scrambled to her feet. The sirens below her quit singing, hopping off their rock. The familiar let out a cry of dismay as they disappeared under the water. Her new friends! Oh no! Glancing around fearfully, her eyes fell on the source of the yelling. Evangel was running up towards her. From the look on her face, she wasn’t too happy about where her familiar had gone. Seraph’s ears drooped anxiously as she approached. Oh no- mama’s so mad at me, she thought guiltily. “Seraph!” Evangel called again, once she got close enough. “What were you thinking, coming up here?! I told you it was dangerous!” “I-I- um- I-I’m sorry mama- I’m sorry-” seraph stammered, looking anywhere but her originator. She cowered away as Evangel got closer. But Evangel just scooped her up into a hug. A very tight, very worried hug. “Don’t you do that again,” Evangel murmured. “I thought you’d left me. Or fallen over the side. Don’t do that to me.” “I-I won’t, mama,” seraph sniffled, hugging her back. She buried her face in Evangel’s shoulder. “‘M s-sorry…” “I forgive you, sweetie…” Evangel sighed. Turning away from the cliff, the sorceress started back towards the flower patch. “Why did you go up there, anyways? What made you want to do that?” “I… um… h-heard a pretty song…” seraph mumbled. She pulled back to look at Evangel. Guilt was clear on her face. “I w-wanted to see wh-who was singing…” Evangel’s distressed expression seemed to soften at Seraph’s face. Or at least shifted to one of discomfort. “... oh… you mean the… sirens…?” She asked haltingly. Seraph nodded. “... ah.” Evangel shifted Seraph to her hip as they reached the flowers. Crouching down to grab her clipboard, she continued. “Yes, there are sirens by the cliff. But you need not worry. The cliffs are enchanted to keep their strange songs from bewitching people.” Seraph felt her face grow a bit hot. Strange songs? She fidgeted with her paws timidly. “W-well... i thought they were nice…” she whispered. Evangel hesitated a moment. Yeah, that was clear discomfort on her face. Seraph vaguely recalled she made that face a lot. Especially whenever her familiar wasn’t happy. “... mmm… perhaps…” the sorceress admitted. She tucked her clipboard under her free arm. “... did you… really like them…?” She inquired.. Seraph just nodded again shyly. Evangel was silent for a moment. Considering something. “... you know… there’s no harm in coming down to listen, sometimes,” Evangel ventured uncertainly. “As long as you don’t… you know… move too close to the edge…” Seraph’s eyes widened. Was she hearing this right? “S-so… I can come back?” She asked softly. “Hmm… yes. You can,” Evangel nodded. “Just be careful, alright?” Seraph’s face positively lit up. Beaming, she hugged Evangel again. “Thank you so so so much mama!!!” she bleated. “I swear I’ll be careful!!! Really! Cross my heart and everything!!!” Evangel chuckled awkwardly, giving seraph a pat. “Y-yes, well, I’m glad to hear it, but it’ll be later. We have to go get lunch now.” “That’s ok!!! I’m plenty ready for food!” Seraph chirped. She felt like she was riding on a cloud. As long as she could come back to that beautiful singing sometime, she didn’t care what she had to do. She leaned on Evangel happily, humming shreds of sirensong.

The walk back from the cliffs was filled with quiet music. It may have been the first sirensong of spring, but it was certainly not the last.

9 notes · View notes

chille-tid-universe · 5 years

Text

Classic Search and Rescue

I found myself contemplating our encounter with the young ruffians as we made our way back to the River Shining Tavern. My thoughts were uneasy; the children had willingly broken the law, had likely endangered others before they came upon us, but they were victims of a system that left them no other choice. My ever-sturdy sense of right could not cut through the fog of uncertainty. I knew it was right to spare them, to allow them the opportunity to make something of themselves; after all, hadn’t my weaponmaster given me that same gift when he agreed to train me? As much as I had faith that the children could put their energies toward doing good, however, the staggering odds that faced them threw the surrounding city in a harsher light, each crumbling wall revealing where a poor family might have taken shelter, each haughty nobleman that passed flaunting more wealth than those children could ever hope to see in their lifetimes. I wracked my brains to try and remember my own childhood, to uncover some forgotten memory of similarly destitute individuals around the castle of Tarth, but I was unable to recall. Surely, there must have been; poverty is the shadow of civilization. Yet everything from my childhood home seemed brighter, more solid than these ramshackle alleyways of Daggerford.

I was still deep in reverie when the party returned to the River Shining Tavern. As we stepped into the familiar murmur of a midday crowd, the barkeep looked up from the mug she was polishing and waved for us, calling Melpomene’s name. “That lousy dwarven singer canceled on us. Would you be a love and play us a tune?” she asked. The aasimar shrugged at us and asked if we’d be alright the rest of the day without her.

Wun Way smiled ruefully and said, “Yes, we should be fine, though I’m loathe to miss another of your performances.” Melpomene grinned in return and winked over her shoulder as she sauntered over to the stage. As we ascended the steps to our room, I distinctly heard Wun Way sigh.

Back in our room, it appeared that Nissa was fully recovered from whatever had ailed her earlier in the day (though she seemed out of breath, and I could have swore her purse seemed to bulge more than it had the day before). After a quick retelling by Wun Way of the day’s events, we gathered our party member and headed back into the city.

It was a quick trek through the city to the clearing where Ondabarl’s tower stood. There was a large space with stables and stablehands tending horses, with two buildings capping either end. To our right, there was a modest temple that Wun Way recognized as belonging to Lathander, the Morninglord. Across the grassy yard stood the wizard’s tower.

We waited a minute after we knocked on the large doors, and were greeted by a frail woman with a broom. We introduced ourselves and explained we had been invited by Ondabarl, at which point she nodded and asked that we wait while she fetched him. Within minutes the old man swept down the stairs, and upon noticing us, chanted under his breath before smiling and welcoming us inside.

The room inside was cluttered but clean, and as we passed the door frame we sensed dimming glyphs in the wood. Instruments and tomes of various shapes and sizes were strewn across tables in seemingly random fashion, but the greater whole spoke to some deeper pattern, and I felt sure that Ondabarl could locate any item in the scattered piles within seconds.

Ondabarl ushered us up the stairs he had appeared from, beckoning us up into a welcoming room that was dominated by a larger-than-life portrait of someone who looked exactly like the wizard, but which was clearly an aged piece. As he waved us through the door on the other side of the room, I caught a glimpse of a handsome sheath at his belt, and the gilded hilt of a dagger.

My thoughts on the glinting dagger were pushed from my mind, however, as we entered into a wonder - a solarium whose dimensions surely did not match those of the surrounding tower. Sunlight glinted impossibly through glass ceilings, though there had been no such structure from the outside, and I was reminded of the quarters of my father’s court wizard, which I had always felt were a little too spacious for their location in the castle. This, however, was something else entirely, and I gaped with clear awe at the variety of thriving plants filling the wide space. In the midst of the verdant greenery, a luxurious fountain spewed crystal clear water, with nearby fronds waving gently as if to catch the stray droplets as they fell.

As I looked wide-eyed around, I caught the glances of Wun Way and Poc, both clearly as enchanted as I, and of Nissa, who seemed to be casting furtive glances at the intricate garden tools dispersed around the solarium. As she noticed me, she gave a wide, innocent grin. I pursed my lips and shook my head lightly, and was met with an easy shrug.

With a wry smile, as if he had gotten the exact reaction from us as he intended, Ondabarl lead us along the winding path through the plants to a wooden door. Through it, we entered a spacious study. As we entered, he asked us to be seated. I glanced at the single armchair in the room and the wizard waved a hand. An ottoman materialized behind each of us.

Ondabarl walked to his armchair as we sat, then waved at the sweeper, declaring, “Thank you, Eunice, that will be all.” I glanced back to see the woman standing in the doorway with the broom, an inscrutable expression on her face. At Ondabarl’s dismissal, she bowed her head and turned, shutting the door behind her.

We sat in silence for a moment, before I cleared my throat and Wun Way asked, “Was there something you wished to discuss?”

“Ah, yes, of course,” Ondabarl exclaimed, sitting up in his chair. “I would very much like to ask for your help with a certain… matter…” The wizard’s gaze seemed drawn to a spot above the door, and we waited another few moments, at which point Nissa began audibly drumming her fingers along the arm of her chair. “Ah, yes, I’d like to enlist your help in discovering the fate of my late-apprentice, Haesten.”

“When was the last time you saw him?” Poc asked.

“Oh, must be more than a year by now,” Ondabarl muttered, frowning as he spoke. “Headed out quite suddenly, and in possession of something quite personal.” He glanced between us and motioned conspiratorially to his sheath. With the flick of a hand, a shining dagger rose from the sheath, and floated above his desk. “He absconded with my dagger.” He reached out and passed his hand through the image. “Quite a good dagger, too, a relic from my… heh… journeys. Delphin Yellowknife, that’s what they used to call me, and they heard tell all down the coasts of - well, you wouldn’t quite know where it was.” With a sigh, Ondabarl motioned and the holographic knife blinked out of existence, reappearing in his empty sheath. “I fear something has happened to Haesten. If you should discover what has befallen him, be sure to recover my knife, and his spellbook, if you are able.”

“Have you tried, you know, scrying for him?” Nissa asked, diverting her attention from the baubles on the tables around her.

“Yes, of course I’ve tried that,” the wizard grumbled, “but it’s no use. Each time I’ve tried, there’s been this odd… mist… to the south that clouds my sight.”

“Are there any other people who might have known where Haesten might go? Friends, family?” I asked, trying to imagine what kind of dangers a rogue wizard could cause.

“No, Haesten was always a loner, never really seemed to fit in among the others. But… there is one other former apprentice who might have some idea. Vitalius, he might be able to point you in the right direction. I suspect you should find him in the Lady Luck Tavern, over in the Caravan Quarter.”

As I nodded, remembering a map from the River Shining Tavern, Wun Way leaned forward. “We would be happy to help you, of course, Ondabarl. And it sounds like this dagger and Haesten’s spellbook are quite highly valued by you.” She let her voice trail off in a question, and after a few blinks Ondabarl cleared his throat.

“Well, yes, of course I would be willing to pay you handsomely for completion of this task. I have gold, jewels, information…”

I sat forward in my chair. “Have you dealt with curses before?” Encouraged by the wizard’s raised eyebrow, I explained to him how we had discovered the set of cursed platemail in the lair of Explictica Defilus. As I finished my explanation, Ondabarl sat back and mused quietly for a moment before telling us that, during the wars long ago, dwarves used to give cursed items as gifts to their enemies, in order to more easily defeat them.

At Ondabarl’s suggestion, I removed the armor and he inspected it more closely, finding a small stamp on the inside that marked it as the work of the Iron-Eater Clan. Ondabarl recalled that there was a smith in town of the Iron-Eaters, and that he might know how the armor might have initially been cursed. The wizard warned us that we would need to replicate the curse’s initial method in order to remove the negative effects of the curse. He hinted he might have a scroll of destroy curse that could come in handy, and offered that he would consider it part of our reward upon our return, though we most likely would lack the skill to use it for quite some time.

As we left the tower, Ondabarl gave us a physical description of Haesten, from his rusty red mustache and long hair to the scar beneath his right eye and the way he dressed. We thanked him for his time and headed to the Lady Luck Tavern in search of Vitalius.

As we stepped into the Caravan Quarter, I was struck by how loud it was. There were fewer people during the fall season searching for caravans, and thus fewer caravans to offer their services, but the remaining inhabitants seemed to be making up for their disappearance. We quickly were pointed in the direction of the Lady Luck Tavern, a comfortable inn, but not quite as nice as the River Shining Tavern.

The common room was half full, with layabouts and early arrivals for the evening meal, but the defining feature of the room was a thick stone pillar, reaching from the middle of the floor to the ceiling, upon which were enumerable scribbles; signatures or declarations of existence, probably, some quiet statement against the unending forgetfulness of Time. Along one wall was a shrine to Tymora, the goddess of luck, patroness of the inn; coppers were scattered over the wide stone table upon which the goddess’s bust was kept (most likely not actually gilded, though the image was compelling).

The conversation lulled a moment as we entered, but picked back up again almost immediately; in the Caravan Quarter, you must tend to see all kinds, I suppose. We walked up to the bar and asked for a drink, and some information. The barkeep was familiar with Vitalius, and confirmed that he frequented the tavern every few days or so, but did not socialize much. He had been here the night before, though, so he was unlikely to be in attendance this night. The barkeep did tell us that Vitalius kept a hermitage on the banks of the Delimbiyr, though, hidden in the forest to the east.

After biting her lip a bit, the barkeep asked if we were also on a quest for Ondabarl. When I confirmed we were, she warned us that there had been a number of groups the old wizard had sent after his apprentice over the last year, and that none had been heard from again. To this, Wun Way finished her drink and stated airily, “Well, we’re not like most groups.” The barkeep agreed easily, though her response had been too quick, her approving glance too practiced. I suspect each of the other groups had been similarly appraised. We thanked the barkeep and took our leave. As the door swung shut behind us, I could hear a toast within: “To those who died before us.”

We made it back to the River Shining Tavern not long after, and were greeted by the luscious voice of Melpomene. Wun Way eagerly joined the crowd, calling for food as she settled in to enjoy the performance. Poc followed after her, calling for his own meal, as well, in a voice that barely rose above the surrounding noise. I looked for Nissa, but she had slipped away between the crush of bodies. I spared her a moment’s worry, but I reasoned that I could not prevent every bad idea she had; the world would survive Nissa. I sighed once and headed for the bar. There, I inquired after this Iron-Eater smith, and was pleased to hear that there was a dwarven smith named Dervin who was of Iron-Eater ancestry, and who owned a smithy in the River Quarter. I thanked her for the information and finished my dinner, only half listening to Melpomene’s songs. The next few days will be a challenge; I can feel it.

I made my way to our room early to jot down my thoughts, to try to make sense of the coming dangers. This wizard Haesten must have stolen quite the powerful weapon to force Ondabarl to send so many groups after him; it was clearly more significant than the court wizard let on. Time will tell, however, how this all ends up.

We left the tavern early in the morning, with Melpomene assuring us that she would follow after us if she was able, taking the vacated streets out of Daggerford by the Eastern Gate and crossing the bridge over the River Shining.

As we left the reach of the city, the whole party was struck with the uneasy feeling of being watched. Minutes later, Nissa casually motioned upwards, and we each saw a grouping of odd birds in the sky, several hundred feet up. The svirfneblin tilted her head in a question, and I jerked my head down in the affirmative. Over the next few minutes, Nissa slowly pulled out her crossbow and threaded a bolt into it. Suddenly, she aimed it skyward and fired. The bolt went wide, and the birds seemed to shrink as they rose higher, out of range, and headed north off the road. We shared concerned glances, but carried on.

As we headed into the forest that neighbored the city of Daggerford, Wun Way and Poc suddenly stopped. As I asked them if they had heard something, they shook their heads. “It was some powerful magic,” Poc said, turning back the way we had come. “That way, and getting closer.” Wun Way agreed, and suggested we prepare ourselves. I nodded and turned to Nissa, who had already begun trekking off the path to hide behind a nearby bush. I motioned the other two off the road to the other side, then slung my shield from my back and hefted my battleaxe.

We were not kept waiting for long. In less than a minute, a slight tremor began, which soon differentiated into distinct footsteps from nearby. Shortly afterward, there was a hellish roar, and an ugly fiend leapt from the trail behind us. As it noticed us, it bared pointy teeth and bellowed a challenge, waving its long pitchfork and spreading its leathery wings. I bellowed back and darted forward.

The fiend fought ferociously, its reach amplified by the wicked pitchfork, and its tail leaving a stinging wound as it rasped across my arm. It leapt across the road, flapping its wings, placing itself before Wun Way and Poc as Nissa fired at it. It poked with the sharp pitchfork at Wun Way, but I kept it busy with my battleaxe, distracting it and causing the attacks to go wide. With a screech, the fiend jumped skyward, flapping its wings desperately as its blood spattered the ground below. I grabbed a handaxe and hefted it, tossing with deadly aim as the fiend rose. The axe met its target, and with a great wooshing sound, the fiend immolated, and ashes rained down on us as the handaxe thudded into the earth between us.

After a moment collecting ourselves, we continued down the beaten path, and soon arrived at a daub and wattle hut. Assuming this must be the hermitage, I held out my arm, stopping the group. I called out that we had come in peace and were seeking Vitalius, and within a few minutes the front door creaked open, and a wizened form peered out into the sun. I introduced the group, and asked if we could pose a few questions regarding Haesten. The old man nearly turned us away, but relented as Wun Way pleaded with him. As we made to step closer, the old man shouted out that he would speak only with Wun Way. We conferred for a moment before allowing Wun Way to proceed. “We’ll be right out here if you need us. Just call,” I promised, nodding after her as she stepped into the hut.

The door slammed shut behind her on its own accord, and a brilliant light burst forth from the frame and windows, and I called out as my vision returned to me. “I’m alright!” Wun Way responded, and so we waited.

Several minutes later, there was another flash of white light, and the door creaked open once more. Wun Way strode back to us, and with her we turned back to Daggerford. Behind us, Vitalius pet a large raven on his shoulder.

As we walked, Wun Way explained what had happened. Vitalius, it turned out, was not a man at all, but a glamorous woman, seemingly younger than her many years, named Trista. She had alluded that she had not been Ondabarl’s apprentice, exactly, but had indeed conspired with Haesten to steal the old wizard’s dagger. She had assumed it was merely a practical joke, but afterwards the apprentice had scampered off with it, down to Dragonspear Castle to the south, where her raven familiar Thaddeus had followed him. When she heard Ondabarl was asking for the spellbook, as well as the dagger, she expressed an interest in it, as well, and Wun Way had been forced to gently offer that perhaps they could discuss prices once they returned.

We made our way back to Ondabarl to share the information Wun Way had gleaned, and inform him of the fiend that had accosted us. As we mentioned the horned beast, he stopped us, and asked to confirm that we had stopped a group of fiends only a few nights before at the Happy Cow Inn. Not only had we done so, we had faced a pair of beaded devils only a few days out from Daggerford, and we said as much. At this Ondabarl became concerned, and wondered aloud at what hellish happenings must be seething beneath the surface of this area.

The old man revealed that, around the time of Morwen’s rise to power, there had been a commotion about Dragonspear Castle, and it was rumored that a portal to the Nine Hells had been opened there. Perhaps this portal explains the amount of devils we’ve come up against recently?

After speaking with Ondabarl, there was still time left in the day, so we decided to track down the Iron-Eater dwarf in the River Quarter. We found his smithy easily; Dervin’s Brightblade was large and well frequented, and we were met with the sight (and smells) of several large forges all ablaze in the expansive yard in front of the shop. We flagged down the shopkeeper and were informed that Dervin was upstairs.

Within, there were exquisite pieces hung up along the walls, with a smaller spread of gems behind reinforced glass. Up the stairs and behind a handsome wooden door, a stout dwarf was measuring currency on a set of antique scales. As we were announced, the dwarf introduced himself jovially as Dervin, and inquired as to our business in his shop. It was with great interest that he inspected my armor after we had explained our purpose, and he positively leapt with joy as he was shown the stamp of his ancestors within the platemail. He unfortunately was not aware of the exact rituals that had been used in the wars of old, but told us of an elder from his clan that might know of the history behind such items, an old dwarf high up in the Spine to the north.

As we thanked him for the information, he made it clear that he would be quite interested in my armor, and made several offers that were, if not generous, definitely driven by more emotion than business sense. As I kindly thanked him for the offers, but stated the armor had been instrumental in keeping our party safe, he offered to pay for the platemail and replace it with some mail from his shop, and when I rebuffed that suggestion he said he might be able to track down another set of magical plate. I smiled gently at him and informed that, if he could find a replacement for the wondrous qualities of the armor, I would consider.

We headed back to the Tavern after that, and now I write up in our room again. I cannot deny that this armor has special meaning to the dwarf, and that he has some claim to it by birthright. However, I know the plate would sit enshrined in his shop if I parted with it, and it has been undeniably useful so far on our adventures, and will be even more so if we can ever get this blasted curse removed. For now, let Dervin search for an equal to this armor. I feel he will be hard-pressed to succeed.

The last two days have been largely uneventful. We set out from Daggerford without Melpomene, who continued to be called upon for her beautiful singing.

As we headed south from Daggerford, there were a few groups and individuals we passed along the road, but as we got further and further from the city, we encountered fewer and fewer people. Today, we haven’t run into anyone. Well, anyone except for those two…

A little past noon, we saw a crude wooden barricade across the road in the distance. As we approached, we made out a ramshackle hut to one side of the road, and two figures lounging against a poorly constructed gate. The two wore dark clothes and waved for us to stop as we approached.

“Toll to cross, fifteen gold a head,” the taller one grunted, and the smaller one piped up, “Yeah, fifteen gold!”

I looked to the others with a raised eyebrow. “For whom do you collect tolls?” I asked, lacing my voice with skepticism.

The shorter man darted his eyes to his partner, starting to visibly perspire, as the taller man smiled ingratiatingly and exclaimed, “Why, for Daggerford, of course!”

Wun Way stepped forward. “We are on official business for the Wizard of Daggerford.” I winced slightly. A half-lie, but I supposed it could do little harm.

The smaller man began wringing his hands. “Sorry, miss, toll’s the same for all who pass this way. Fifteen gold,” he squeaked, glancing at his partner.

“Got any badges? Something official?” Nissa asked, fingering the crossbow at her side.

The taller fellow’s smile faltered a second before he nodded fervently. “Yes, yes, course, got some badges in the hut, course we do.” He eyed his accomplice and walked into the hut. There were a few terse moments before the unmistakable click of a crossbow being loaded filled the stagnant air, and then Nissa drew her crossbow and fired before I could see what had happened.

Her first bolt imbedded itself in the window frame, but her second found its mark. There was a strangled cry from the wooden hut, and then a slump as a body hit the floor.

Nissa then turned her crossbows to the remaining brigand, and I made to interpose myself between the two. Nissa, however, merely began talking, berating the remaining bandit for how poorly this operation had been run. Between his friend’s untimely demise and the harsh words from this diminutive rogue, the man broke into tears, exclaiming, “Rory! You killed Rory!”

“Yeah, well Rory was a piece of shit, and he didn’t know how to run a simple highway bandit setup. You were both embarrassments.” My eyes narrowed at the pointedness of Nissa’s criticism.

“Listen,” I interrupted, cutting off the sobbing of the bandit, “we’ll be coming back this way in a couple of days. I want to see this barricade removed. Understand?” The bandit could only nod feebly.

As we passed through the gate, Nissa muttered under her breath, “Pathetic.”

As we settled down for the night, Wun Way brought out her granite “egg” again, but no matter what I said, it was like talking to a stone. Wun Way eventually tucked the oval back into her sling, disappointment clear in her eyes.

This has been a strange day. I sit atop the battlements of Dragonspear Castle, bodies of orcs and devils scattered below, and I cannot feel the rush of victory as I normally do. It’s as if the mist that covers this area blocks out more than the sun; in my heart, I cannot feel the righteousness that usually guides me. Let me begin at the beginning.

We started out the day walking south. Within an hour, a wall of mist rose from the distance, with the dark outline of a castle obscured beyond. There was a moment of discussion as we decided whether to continue or wait to plan. We ended up marching forward, the sounds of our footsteps muffled by the thick mist as we made our way.

Before too long, I could feel the oppressive weight of the surrounding moisture, pressing down as if to halt my passage. I kept wondering what kind of person could choose to remain in such an area, and the further we walked, the more I was certain something must be wrong with Haesten. He must be influenced by this portal to the Nine Hells, some unholy fiend corrupting the natural order with an individual with unidentified power. As we walked on, I set myself for what must be done. Even if we found Haesten among the living, he must be too far gone. We would need to destroy him. The survival of the surrounding area would demand it.

As I glanced around, it was clear that Wun Way was similarly affected by the strange mist, though Poc and Nissa continued on unencumbered, heads held high (as high as they could) peering through the thick atmosphere. As we continued walking, I found my hand on my battleaxe, sensing a grim anticipation in the eerily silent air.

All at once, the dark shape of a castle wall loomed over us, and we each glanced around, painfully aware of our surprise. As I called for us to be ready for anything, arrows rained down from the parapets.

The ensuing battle past in a blur, with bearded devils and orcs pouring out from the castle to challenge us, and orcs wielding longbows firing down upon us from the tops of the castle walls. As the devils struck at us, the strange birds from a few days ago swooped down from the misty skies, throwing wicked spines from their tails at us as they passed. Nissa took down several, but one managed to get away, flying north, back the way we had come. The remaining enemies on the ground were slaughtered, and I ran to the castle gate to find a way up to the archers.

As I passed through the gate, there was a crimson flash, and a glyph ignited, sending a wall of fire erupting from the ground. Smoldering, I pressed through, and as I shook my head to clear my vision, I saw a ladder up the wall. As I climbed, I heard the death-howls of the orcs on the walls, and emerged on the castle wall to see two still firing at the party below. I ran and struck down one, but as I raised my axe toward the final orc, a crossbow bolt soared through the air, and the form crumpled at my feet.

Now, I await the party to join me, and struggle to push down this despair that has only grown as the mists closed in. The goodness and righteousness that helped lay low the Snake God, has pushed me beyond my limits in defense of my friends, seems out of reach, and I can only feel disgust at the foul beings that have infiltrated this place. I can almost feel their taint, seeping like a wound deep in the castle, an affront to the laws of this land. Their wanton chaos will not be tolerated, and once this Haesten is dealt with, I will find the source of this lawlessness, and put an end to it, as well.

#dnd stories

1 note · View note

classic-rock-roller · 5 years

Text

1. You and Kevin and Bonham and Tom are helping Cassie move into her college dorm room. You’ve almost got her moved in when she says, “It smells like a gym mat in here, I’m going to light some candles.” Kevin hands her a bic lighter, and she pushes the red button. Nothing lights. “Why isn’t it working?” Bonham goes up to her and says, “You have to push the spark wheel and then the button, just the button won’t light it.” Tom looks over and says, “How is it that you don’t know how to light a lighter? I know I taught you.” “No dad, that was Chrissy.” How does Tom respond, and what do you, Kevin, and Bonham say?

Bons and I giggle a little.

Kevin: You’re getting old there, Tommy.

Tom: Shut up, DuBrow.

2. You, Bonham, Randy and Kevin are hanging out with Crue after they just got a record deal. In honor of it, someone ordered a lady-shaped cake, and the way it was frosted, she’s not wearing anything. Crue cheers when it comes out, and Bonham says to you, Kevin, and Randy, “Watch this.” She walks up to the cake and says, “This looks delicious.” She takes a big bite out of one of the boobs and says exaggeratedly, “Mmm, tasty.” It drives all of the boys nuts. How do you, Kevin, Randy, and Crue respond?

Crüe is howling like hyenas.

I cross my arms and shake my head.

Randy: ...uh...ok

Kevin: Hey! Let me get a slice of that cake!

3. You and Tom are meeting Bonham and Kevin at their house to have game night. You both have work, so you’re arriving in separate cars. You get there and let yourself in when you hear something coming from the kitchen. You hear, “Kevin! You got it on my face!” “It’s just cream, baby!” You step into the kitchen and see that Kevin sprayed Bonham in the face with whipped cream when they were making shot glass desserts. What do they say when they see you, and what do you say?

Me: I can see you two are busy.

Bons: Haha, very funny.

Kevin: Yes we are.

Before he dips her and kisses her.

Tom: Ok, ok. Save that for the bedroom, please.

4. You’re on your way back to your room at school when you hear an argument coming from inside. You’re due to meet that dude Tom from your psychology class later so you just walk in. As you do, you see Bonham sitting on her bed in tears. Kevin is there, and he says to her, “Why are you making such a big deal about it? I never said we were exclusive.” She screams at him in anguish, “Because, you were my first!” before sobbing pathetically into the pillow she’s holding. Just then, Kevin notices you standing in the doorway. How does he react to you, and what do you say?

Kevin: Oh...hi...BabyCarrot.

I square my shoulders and go, “Kevin, I think it’d be best if you left. Also, you're a fucking asshole.

I’d text Tom to see if we could make an appointment for another time and spend the night comforting Bons.

5. You and Tom are at Kevin and Bonham’s house one day, and they’re talking about their valentine’s day trip coming up. It’s mostly logistical details, but at one point Kevin says, and is not discreet about it, “The headboard of the bed at this resort is solid oak and we’re not leaving until you have a concussion.” How do you and Tom react to that, and what does Bonham say?

Bonham blushes.

Tom: ok, ok. I didn’t need to hear that.

Me: At least you’re not giving Me concussions anymore.

6. Bonham’s been trying to get a haircut for ages but no one will do it. They keep telling her that “It’s too pretty to cut!” At one point when that happens again, you see her fish her pocket knife out of her pants and slice off half her hair in one swipe. She turns to the hairdresser and says, “Fix it.” How does the hairdresser react, and what do you say?

Hairdresser (gasps): Ok, I can make this look better.

Me: Should have done that after like hairdresser number eight. Besides its hair, it’ll grow back.

7. You walk into the studio on recording day and no one is anywhere to be found. You finally find them out back, and you see Linus kneeling and kind of sobbing, Erik holding an old stage cape on a stick to function as a flag, Bonham standing at a salute and playing TAPS on a kazoo, and Sean standing on a box. You walk up and Sean is giving a speech, and you see them surrounding Linus’s favorite guitar, which has a snapped neck. It’s a makeshift funeral. How do you react, and what do they say when you walk up?

Me: Aww, Did Bertie finally kick the bucket?

Linus: BERTIE!!!!!

Erik: Way to start him wailing again.

Sean: It’s ok Linus.

Bons is still blowing taps on the kazoo.

8. You and Kevin and Randy are at a school basketball game, and Bonham’s in the stands with the band. They play mostly old rock tunes, but at halftime you hear her on the mic, “In traditional halftime performance, we will be playing Hey Baby. But tonight there will be a slight revision. Ricky, count us off!” The conductor counts the band off, and they start playing the song. When the words ccome in, the band sings, instead of the actual line, “Hey Randy, I want to know if you’ll be my man.” You look over and Bonham has found her way over to you guys. She asks into thi mic, “What do you say, Randy?” then offers him the mic. What does he say? How does she react? How do you and Kevin react? How does the crowd react?

Randy: um, yes

She jumps up and down excitedly.

The crowd cheers and Kevin and I watch like proud parents.

9. You and Tom and Bonham and Kevin are going to a black tie event one night. Kevin stopped off at your house to get ready, but since Bonham had work she got ready at her house by herself. You all go to pick her up so you can ride together, and when she comes out of her house you hear Kevin say, “Oh my God.” She looks nice, but not like, amazing. She gets in the car and says, “Sorry I’m late, let’s go. Hey Kevin, you look really nice.” He just stares at her. How does she react, and what do you and Tom say?

Bons: Stop staring at me like that.

Tom: ...Kevin, adjust your legs.

Me: Oh god, Kevin, gross man. I really don’t want to see that.

10. You and Kevin and Randy are walking back to your room at school one day to hang out. When you get there, Randy excuses himself to go to the bathroom, but he yells surprisedly when he gets there. He comes back out and says, “Your roommate is passed out in the shower.” How do you and Kevin react? Why is she in there?

Me: Not again.

I go grab Bons and wrap a towel around her and wake her up and take her to her room.

Kevin: Did you drink too much again?

She went to a huge party the night before and had a lot to drink.

11. You and Your band are setting up onstage. Everyone’s instruments are resting on their stands, but Erik’s bass tips very slightly. Without question, he fully vaults for his instrument, rather than just simply tipping it back the other way. Bonham says, “Jeez man, you were ready to die for your bass but it barely even tipped.” How does he respond and what do you, Linus, and Sean say?

Erik: I would take a bullet for my bass

Me: That’s a little much.

Linus: I get that.

Sean: Hey, you do you, man.

____________________

1) For one of your concerts, your singer thinks it would be a great idea to have her, you, Erik, and Linus attached to rigs that allow you to be flown out over the crowd. Your singer is the first to test it out and the roadies fly her out over the crowd area so fast she screams. She suddenly stops about 20 feet in the air and you hear the roadies screaming about how it jammed and they have to fix it. Your singer is just hanging there slightly spinning. What does she say and how do you, Linus, Erik, Sean, Tom, and Kevin respond?

2) The roadies have fixed the rig and during a concert one day, your singer is quickly flown out over the crowd while singing (she’s suppressed her screams). The rig is working brilliantly but all of a sudden, you hear her go silent and scream through the PA system. While she was flying over the crowd, the wire broke and she fell into the crowd. What do you, the band, and Tom do? Is she ok?

3) You are helping your singer put away the groceries and she goes downstairs to put something in the basement freezer. She soon comes back up with Kevin whos holding his eye. Your singer goes, “Can you give me a bag of peas?” "Sure why?” Your singer goes, “Because dummy over there, decided it would be a good idea to hide in the dark basement and scare me.” She gives Kevin the peas. How do you respond and what does Kevin say?

4) Your singer takes you and Tom home with her for a weekend. During the weekend she takes you to a place called Lehigh Lookout which is on a mountain and overlooks the city. While there, she goes to Tom, “Please be careful.” He smirks and at her and goes to the edge before faking losing his balance. You can see her tense up. Once Tom comes back, your singer grabs his sweatshirt and after a while when he tries to move again she won’t let go. He looks down at her and goes, “You can let go now.” How do you and your singer respond?

5) You, your singer, Tom, and their kids have gone on a hike and are overlooking a lookout. Your singer is on edge because the kids are still young. Cassie is 10, Sam is 6, and Chrissy is 4. Sam is getting closer and closer to the edge and your singer goes, “Sam, don’t you dare go too near the edge.” He doesn’t listen and he gets closer. He almost falls before Tom runs and grabs him. How do you and your singer respond and what does Tom say?

6) You’re at soundcheck for a concert in Galveston, Texas and while up onstage, your singer just starts screaming into the microphone. Kevin is holding his ears and goes, “BabyCarrot, what the fuck are you doing?” Your singer stops and goes, “Making sure you can hear me.” Tom screams to her, “Honey, you’re making our ears bleed.” How do you, Kevin, Linus, Erik, and Sean respond?

7) You are in the kitchen making dinner when all of a sudden, you hear your singer singing the sugar plum fairy song and you feel her smack your butt with a stick. She has this huge smirk on her face and she does the same thing to Kevin. How do the two of you respond?

8) You are getting ready for a concert on your joint tour with Crüe. Your singer has just put on her heels and you see her wince in pain. “I wish I was a man. Then I wouldn’t have to wear heels onstage.” Just as she says this, Nikki, Tommy, and Mick walk past the open dressing room door and says, “You realize we do that too right?” How do you, your singer, Tommy, and Mick respond?

9) You and your singer are at a party with her friend Jon. While there, a really drunk guy comes up and starts grinding on your singer and playing with her hair. She is very uncomfortable and Jon goes, “Stop touching her, man. Get off her.” The guy glares at Jon and goes, “What are you talking about? She loves it.” Drunk dude is about to kiss your singer when she clocks him right in the face and he's down. How do you and Jon respond and what does drunk guy say when he comes to?

10) Your singer is over at your house when you get a strange package in the mail. You open it to find a dark heart shaped box with a suit in it. Once your singer sees it her face goes white, and she backs away. You look at her, “What’s wrong?” “That’s a dead man's suit. His ghost is attached to it. I know someone who had it before you. Did Kevin buy it?” Just then Kevin comes into the room, “Oh cool, my suit arrived.” How do you and your singer respond?

11) You and your band are doing a joint tour with Crüe and at one point you have a meet and greet with fans. Tommy is just being a dick and after about ten minutes your singer smacks him lightly upside the head. Tommy rubs his head, “Oww, what was that for?” Your singer glares at him, “Stop being a dick.” How does Tommy respond and what do you, Nikki, Mick, Vince, Linus, Erik, and Sean say?

@osbournebemydaddy your move, Bons :)

#tag game #tag war

2 notes · View notes

asthora · 6 years

Text

The Last Dance, Pt. 3

The board is set and it’s time for the games to begin. Benny is back in Vegas but what exactly does that mean? Benny puts his boys in their place. Indy tugs the leash. The Mojave calls their names. Part three of my Benny x Courier saga. Parts one & two.

Two Weeks Later

Benny is a fucking king.

He sits at a poker table with a broad on either side. One’s a redhead, the other a blond. No brunettes but he ain’t one to complain about a pretty bird.

“Blow on the dice baby,” he says. “It’s for good luck.”

The blonde winks at him, pulls back her silky hair, and blows on the dice. He throws, not giving a shit whether his luck is good or bad. It’s his goddamn casino so whatever money he loses goes right back into his well lined pockets.

“Oh look at that,” he says, not even bothering to glance at the dice. “A perfect roll.”

He forgets about the game. He’s bored. He wants to mingle. Swank is in charge of the floor tonight so he’s got time to do a little snooping, make some connections, listen to the latest gossip on the strip. Word on the street is, the courier hasn’t been seen in two weeks. He certainly hasn’t seen her since their little soiree at the fort. Much as he misses her cute little face, he doesn’t mind. Given him the space he’s needed to figure out his next moves.

“Baby, why don’t you go get us all a drink?” He whispers to the redhead. “And you pussycat, go see about getting the music in here turned up. It’s so goddamn loud I can barely hear Frank’s crooning.”

His girls giggle and scatter. Good, he’s bored. Time to disappear. Benny dusts off his coat and heads over to where Swank and some of his boys are lounging at the edge of the casino floor. They straighten when they see him.

“Ben-man!” Swank says, clapping him on the back. “You know, having you back is still the highlight of my day.”

Benny raises his eyebrows. He’s so full of shit. Swank was eyeing his position the day he stepped foot out of The Tops. When Benny walked back through those doors Swank’s face fell so far he was afraid he might not get it back. He’s glad his second is enough of a coward not to challenge him. Sticking Swank would be a lot harder than sticking Bingo, not because Swank can best him, hell no, but because Swank ain’t bad. But he would kill him if he had to...right? Definitely, he thinks. Of course I would. For Vegas.

“How’s the ole’ girl running?” Benny asks, taking out a cigarette and placing it between his lips.

“Humming along like a dream,” he smiles. “Ever since that broad took the helm our profits have been aces. Never done better business, boss.”

Benny grunts and lights his cig. Indy had his old lighter delivered to his room with a lovely little note that reminded him he was nothing more than a mutt begging at her feet. Bitch literally drew a fucking dog after she signed her name.

“You leaving anytime soon, boss?” Katz asks. Benny slowly turns to the dumb, mousy lookin’ bouncer. He can barely fill out his suit. Benny is surprised he’s lasted this long. Katz was one of the Boot Riders, just a kid when they sauntered through those flashing Vegas gates.

“You know Katz, it’s rude to ask a man’s business. Anyone ever told you that?”

Katz goes red in the face. “I-I’m sorry boss. Just, just wanted to know.”

“Yeah, well keep your wonderings to yourself. Alright?”

Katz nods and Benny sucks on his cig. He surveys the casino floor. Swank hastily tells Kaz to go check on security by the door and the little runt runs off like he’s had a fire lit under his ass.

“He’s asked a good question you know,” Swank says after a few moments. “You’re sticking around this time, right?”

Benny closes his eyes slowly then opens them. “I’ll do as I please, Swank. But for now, I’m not leaving.”

“We just gotta know,” he says quietly. “You just left us, boss. If it weren’t for In- Benny spins and leans in close to his second. He fucking dares Swank to say her name. He’ll skin him alive right now if he even mentions the courier.

“Just because I’m not here to mop up everyone’s spilled milk doesn’t mean this place goes to shit, you hear me? We don’t need that bitch to settle our own affairs. Understand?”

Swank is stony. “Yeah, boss. Platinum.”

He stares at Swank for a good solid ten seconds before he turns around and walks away. Benny smokes his cig until he reaches the filter then throws it in an overflowing ashtray by the slot machines. Why does the courier have to pepper every single conversation, huh? Why is she the savior? This is his casino, his game. His boys. Fuck her, she doesn’t get to have a say in his kingdom.

“Calm down, Benny.” He mutters to himself, slicking back his hair and tugging at the lapels of his checkered coat. He’s getting worked up over nothing. He’s back. She can’t put her dirty fingers on The Tops ever again, not until the day his heart stops beating and the his lungs stop breathing air. And he’ll have Vegas again. One day. Maybe not tomorrow but she can’t keep hold of his baby forever.

Benny heads up to the stairs to the theater where the Rad Pack is singing an 18 karat cover of Dean Martin’s Sway. He heads to the bar hoping that a little drink will help calm his nerves. He’s been too jumpy lately, not himself.

“Whiskey neat,” he says to the bartender. He leans against the tabletop and watches the stage for a moment before he starts on another cigarette. The bartender, Charlie, slides him his drink and he takes a sip.

“You know, I almost missed you.”

Benny jumps. Goddamn. There she is, creeping up on him again. The courier stands before him, covered in Mojave from head to toe. Looks like she just stepped into town and decided to stop by and share a few neighborly hellos.

“You ever shower, baby?” He asks.

“What’s the point in showering when I’ve got to clean up everyone’s shit?” She asks, leaning against the bartop.

“Be careful then. Don’t want you ruining the upholstery.”

Indy rolls her clear eyes and turns to Charlie. “Gin and tonic.”

“Surprise, surprise. Thought you might be a white wine kinda girl.” He says.

She doesn’t even bother to look at him. Indy grabs her drink and kicks it back like it’s water.

“What have you been up to since I’ve been gone?” She asks. Straight to business, as always.

“Cleaning up the mess I left behind. Checking the books, stomping out cats who’ve been singing. You ain’t one of mine if you’ve been humming a tune about me. I don’t like rumors.”

That’s a lie. He loves rumors. Rumors are the sea upon which Vegas floats. See, rumors ain’t too bad. Somewhere in them, there’s some truth. It was once a rumor that House had a secret army. Then it was a fact that he could put some oomph in his securitrons and rule the desert with the flick of a button. So yeah, he loves a good rumor. He just doesn’t care for rumors about him.

“Good call,” Indy says. “And were any of the...cats you let go Boot Riders.”

He gives her a look. “Now why do you care?”

“Assessing how far your loyalties lie.” She says plainly.

He watches her. Indy stares back. Her brown hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail and her tanned skin is peppered with light freckles. She could be pretty. It’s just the Mojave on her reeks.

“I believe you’re asking questions that lie in my jurisdiction. I’ll run my casino the way I please.”

She smirks. “Yeah, well, at the end of the day hot shot, I get to ask whatever questions I want. Oh, and I get answers too. One way or another.”

Benny takes a drink and tears his eyes from Indy and back to the stage. The Rad Pack is finishing up and a dame in a sparkly red dress is taking the stage.

“So did you just stop by to ask questions or are you here for something else, pally? Or did you just wanna swing?” He asks.

Indy clears her throat. “I don’t know what that means. Whatever, I’m here to get your help. Pack your bags, pally. We’re going out to do a little reconnaissance in a few days.”

“What?”

“Do you not know what that means? Do I need to grab a dictionary for you?”

If only he could smack this broad ten ways till Sunday he fucking would! She’s got a chip on her shoulder the size of California. Benny blows smoke through his nose and grinds his teeth.

“I ain’t a Harv, pussycat. I know about reconnaissance. I just wanna know why you’re dragging me along.”

“You’ll find out when we get there.”

Benny turns back to Indy. She doesn’t look smug for once, she looks serious. Dead serious. Like she knows something bad. He straightens and puts out his cigarette.

“What am I supposed to tell my boys?” He asks lowly.

“Tell them that the courier has a business opportunity that can benefit The Tops. Tell them nothing more, nothing less.”

“Swank will ask questions.”

“I thought you didn’t need my help running your casino?”

“Watch your fucking mouth,” Benny grumbles. “I’ll handle it.”

Indy smiles. “I’ll send word when I know more. Dust off your Mojave gear, Ben-man. “

He feels his fucking blood go cold. It was one thing to tramp through that rad infested shithole when he was tracking the courier, it’s another to go out into with no other reason than he’s got to stay close to his handler’s heels. Benny watches her walk out the door of the Aces with his heart hammering. The Mojave doesn’t scare him, just reminds him of a time he thought he left behind.

The Mojave never fully lets you go.

The Singer told him that once. Benny winces. Another bad memory. One he’d rather pretend didn’t happen. He does that a lot, he pretends. Another reason he fucked up getting Vegas. He pretended the courier wasn’t a loose end, pretended that fucking her would solve all his problems, pretended that The Tops and Vegas were putty in his hands and he could have both and his cake.

“Stop crying in the rain, pally.” He mutters, taking one last swig and exiting the theater.

Benny stands, leaning against the railing, surveying his fragile kingdom. Swank is back at the desk and several Chairman make the rounds, watching for thieves and tricksters. But all is quiet on the homefront. Except for Benny. He feels like a swing band is going off in his head. Then there’s that feeling in his gut like things can never be fine again. Like he’s heading straight for nowhere a million miles a minute.

She sends the croaker to fetch him.

It’s 10AM on a Saturday when Arcade, that fucking doctor goon, walks through the door. He’s dressed like he’s ready to go scavenging through an abandoned junkyard. Benny’s heart drops to his well shined shoes. He knows what this means.

“You ready?” Arcade asks. Not even a hello.

“Where we meetin’ doc?”

“Lucky 38 lobby. You have ten minutes.”

He turns around and walks back out the door without a goodbye. Swank is behind the check-in desk and he looks utterly confused and a bit suspicious.

“What’s going, boss?” He asks.

Benny puts on his best reassuring smile. “Got a job in the Mojave. A business opportunity for The Tops. I’ll be back in a few days, don’t worry about it.”

Swank just nods, brows still furrowed and a frown on his face. Benny knows he’s trying to figure out whether to believe him or not. He doesn’t wait around for more questions. Benny heads up to his suite and changes into something more suited for the desert rather than his best suit. It’s been a hot minute since he’s wandered the Wastes. Last few times wasn’t really wandering, just passing through. He’s heard all the stories about the Courier. By the tall tales floating around, she should know every inch of that hellhole by now.

Benny sticks Maria into a holster and slings his bag over his shoulder. He takes one good last look at his suite before he heads out, using one of the stairwell exits as to not draw attention to himself. He really isn’t into some brainless Omerta reporting back to his boss that he saw the Benny stomping around dressed like a wastelander.

He crosses the street and hops up the stairs. When he reaches for the doors he almost doesn’t expect them to open. Not even House let him into his fortress. Anytime the asshole wanted to communicate he did it through a Securitron. Guess he thought real conversation would change his luck with the next protegee. Too bad it blew up in his face.

Benny opens the door and a lovely gust of AC cooled air blasts him in the face. The door shuts behind him and he’s alone, standing in a dark red and black lobby. It’s a lot grander than The Tops, a bit more preserved too. The carpet isn’t as bad off and the wallpaper is somehow not peeling off the ancient walls. Benny whistles lowly. It’s impressive, but its lonely. It would be one hell of a casino floor if there were singing slot machines, drunk broads laughing, and a nice crooner in the corner humming some sweet little tune. But the Courier has her wrapped up tight, and for right now the 38 is about as friendly as cactus flower.

By a bar off to the left he sees the doc and three other people. One of them is some redhead he doesn’t recognize and the other is that fucking NCR beret. Sitting on top of the bar, swinging her legs back and forth like a child, is the queen herself.

“Did I make it on time, your highness?” He calls. He approaches them with swagger but he’d rather be running in the opposite direction right now. There is no bone in his body that wants to walk outside these walls.

Indy pretends to look at a watch and bites her lip. “You’re twenty-two seconds late but I suppose I’ll let it slide.”

The redhead scowls at him and leans against Indy’s thigh. “Jesus fucking Christ I never thought this prick would ever set foot in my presence again. Yet here he fucking is.”

“Don’t be melodramatic, Cass.” Indy rolls her eyes. “You know why he’s still kicking.”

“Yeah I know,” she says. “Doesn’t make me wanna put some lead between his eyes any less.”

Benny grinds his teeth. “I’m getting real tired of everyone wanting me dead.”

“Then stop being such an ass.” Indy says, hopping off the bar. She’s clean for once though her t-shirt and jeans have seen better days. She’s already got a pistol strapped around her thigh and a hunting knife hanging from a holster on her belt.

“Before we go,” Benny says. “Tell me where we’re going. Give me some peace of mind, baby. I don’t like not knowing.”

She smiles sweetly, sickeningly. It makes his stomach turn flips.

“You don’t need to know where we’re going or what we’re doing just yet. It’s a precaution, you see. I wanna make sure your eyes and ears in the city can’t see or hear a thing.”

He throws his hands up in the air. “Baby, the only eyes and ears here are my own and they ain’t about to go off and tell tall tales.”

Indy shrugs she takes the rifle offered by the NCR prick. “I don’t care. These are the rules and if you want to fight them be my guest, but there are consequences.”

Benny falls silent. He’s not gonna get a damn thing out of this broad. One thing's for certain, she’s stubborn. When it comes to being in the dark, Benny has never felt so blind, but he respects her secrecy. She’s smart, he admires that too, he just wishes for his own sake she was a little more loose lipped.

“Before we go let me introduce you to my people,” Indy says, shouldering the rifle. “This is Boone. He is - or was - NCR.” She points to the man with the beret and sunglasses.

Benny smiles and claps the man on the back. “Oh I know this cat,” he says. “We spent some time together. It was aces, wasn’t it partner?”

Boone looks at Benny and shrugs off his hand. “Don’t touch me.”

Indy ignores the exchange. “You know Arcade. Everyone who’s ever visited the Mormon Fort knows Arcade. And this is Cass.” She nods to the redhead who is absolutely fuming. She looks at him like she’s five seconds away from shivving him with a dull kitchen knife.

“Pleasure,” he says.

“You’re fucking desert trash.” Cass spits.

“Alright,” Indy puts a hand between him and the redhead. “Let’s not bloody my casino. Just had the carpets cleaned.”

Cass takes a step back and pulls something out of her back pocket. It’s a bottle of whiskey. So the bitch is a drunk. He looks at them all. They’re all rejects, wasteland wanderers and castaways, people that not even the Mojave wanted. Where the fuck did she find these freaks? NCR kicked Boone to the curb and the Followers tolerate Arcade and this Cass seems like the drunk cousin you “forget” to invite over for Christmas.

Indy pushes past him and Cass. “We gotta go. We gotta meet our contact before sundown and we’ve got desert to cover.”

Boone slings a polished sniper rifle over his shoulder and Arcade adjusts the plasma rifle strapped to his back. Cass hangs back, nursing her whiskey and watching him with cold eyes as the four head towards the door.

“Hold down the fort Cass,” Indy calls over her shoulder. “Take good care of Rex for me!”

“Yeah yeah,” she calls. “I’ll take care of the mutt. Don’t let the asshole with bad fashion sense stick you in your sleep!”

Indy waves and Boone opens the door. This is it, his first act with the courier. He shields his eyes against the sun and they set off, through the gate that separates the strip from Freeside. They stroll past junkies and hungry kids and Kings who grin and shout “Hey there, sister!” when the see Indy walk by. Then it’s the end of the line. All that divides him from civilization and the desert is a bent steel gate and it’s sliding open a bit too quickly for him.

Indy waves them forward and he follows her out of heaven and into hell.

#fallout #fallout new vegas #benny gecko #benny x courier #courier x benny #the courier #new vegas #my ocs #fallout benny

26 notes · View notes

ramon-balaguer · 3 years

Photo

Fake Teaching

I used to hear the phrase “false prophet” and imagine a mean guy in a suit jacket, with intimidating eyebrows and maybe a snake-like, forked tongue. False prophets or fake teachers were a big deal and worse than Leftist Liberal Fake News. Manipulators. These fools are Tricksters. Surely, they were obvious—right?

A fake or false teacher is not always an impostor with an evil agenda commanding the stage and presenting a false gospel—there are unfortunately plenty of people in the pulpit today preaching a message they believe to be accurate and from God. There are men out there who believe they are Saved and preach a method of Salvation that’s sadly not in the Bible; like Eternal Salvation or Once Saved Always Saved so they can continue sinning without consequence of ever losing their “Salvation,” or Water Baptism a requirement to be Saved, Speaking in tongues as only evidence of salvation and Holy Spirit filled, wives and children in Heaven now and or later, and the one where everyone will be given an opportunity to be Saved when Jesus returns and no one will go to Hell except Satan and his demons, and even they might end up in Hell after all.. Sad bunch of folks Jesus will quickly reject and they’ll ask why… And there are many teachers claiming to know the Word who don’t know it at all. They’re blind, leading the blind, and they’ll be held accountable for it in the end. “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1).

With all the potential deception abounding, how can we know if we’ve been exposed to false teaching?

Here are five ways to know if you have been raised on false teaching:

1. Phrases you thought were Biblical, aren't. ~I saw an online quiz a few years ago that gave a list of statements, and the reader was supposed to determine if the phrase was Scripture or a common phrase. Quotes like “God helps those who help themselves” and “Cleanliness is next to godliness” and “God will never give you more than you can handle” were just some of the choices that people fell for as Scripture that are actually not in the Bible.I read somewhere that when US Treasury teaches their agents to recognize counterfeit money, they don’t have them study the fake bills—they study the real ones. When you’re familiar with the Truth, the Lies are easier to recognize by default. Christians would do well to enforce this same habit. Through the Holy Spirit study the Word of God and know The Word (Jesus), so when someone makes an inaccurate claim, you can immediately know the truth.“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11)“

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)

2. You put more trust in experiences than in the Word of God. ~This is a particularly sticky area, because different denominations tend to place more emphasis on charismatic elements than others, but that doesn’t automatically mean they don’t Believe in the inerrancy and authority of the Word and should be discarded. Be careful what you condemn and write off, just as you should be careful what you take in and believe. Experiencing God is a crucial element of our faith journey. There’s a connection and a relationship we have with God that assures our hearts of our salvation.“

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Romans 8:16-17)

Our walk with God isn’t information only. After all, the Word says that even the demons believe and tremble (James 2:19). They have head knowledge, and head knowledge clearly doesn’t Save one’s soul. We experience God every time we read His Word, every time we pray. And sometimes, God does miracles in our hearts and in the lives of others. Some of these miracles are tangible, some are internal. The act of Salvation itself in every depraved sinner’s heart is a miracle! We experience God!

However, when we start to trust someone’s experience over what the Word says, we get in trouble quick. If a pastor or teacher claims to have heard from the Lord, especially about you and your future, be careful what you believe. Test it. And if that pastor or teacher claims the Lord told them something that is contrary to the Bible, you can be certain it is false.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.” (1 John 4:1-3)

3. You don’t question anything. ~ In some denomination, this was a sign of a “good girl or boy” Good boys didn’t question the pastor or girls ask questions at all. They listened, took notes, and believed every word that was spoken from the pulpit as solid gold and infallible Truth. There was no need to go read the Bible and find out for yourself, because you were “a good boy and girl.”

One of the reasons I left the church I attended for several years as a (much younger) adult was because the pastor occasionally tried to present his opinion as scriptural. The topic in question was a controversial one among Believers, but instead of pointing that out and encouraging each Believer to seek the Lord in this area for themselves, he proclaimed his position and opinion as authoritatively Biblical. It broke my trust in his interpretation and exposition of the Word and ended up an atheist for most of my young adult life that eventually dibbled and dabbled into mysticism, spiritualism, magic, Mormonism, Islam, etc… before giving my life back to Jesus Christ. We should certainly have a measure of trust for our pastor and leaders in the church, but it’s also good and right to check their words against the Word of God. A solid pastor would encourage you to do so, and to correct him when in err.

4. Your church is too concerned with numbers and budgets. ~ Unlike military chapels, churches require income to keep the lights on and provides salaries for the staff and their families—there’s nothing wrong with that. But even in chapels, when budget meetings take priority over sharing the Gospel, and numbers in the pew take priority over disciplining souls, you can bet that's a Big red flag. Too many pastors today lead lavish lifestyles that place possessions and worldly gain over their flock.

1 Timothy lists the qualifications of an overseer, or a pastor, quite plainly:

"The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil." (1 Timothy 3:1-6)

This obviously does not mean that any pastor who lives in a nice house or drives a decent car is a false teacher. Far from it—the Bible allows enjoying the fruits of one’s labor. However, there is a discernible difference between the pastor whose heart is for giving, and the one whose heart is focused on his paycheck and wealth and notoriety building.

5. Your church tries really hard to "sell" the gospel. ~ When the emphasis on meeting quotas to provide financially is so high, it only serves to pressure the staff to create a “more appealing” gospel to bring people through the doors. Why do you think so many churches today rely on fog machines, light shows, Broadway-talented worship singers, and coffee bars to rival Starbucks? or an actual Starbucks in the church (talk about oxymoron). There’s nothing innately wrong with any of those things individually, but when the heart of the church is beating to the tune of a performance rather than having the Gospel speak for Itself, something is amiss.

When the church believes they have to pretty up, go "Hollywood" and “sell” Christ, rather than simply presenting the Word of God and making way for the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do, there’s something very wrong. Only God can Save. The role of a pastor is to exposit the Word of God, not imply that it isn’t sufficient.There are certainly more signs than just these on identifying false teachers and false gospels, but this is a start on learning to recognize the red flags of false doctrine. The more you stay in the Word of God, the easier it will be to see even the more subtle hints of false teachings that exist today.

Fake News is relatively new and harmless compared to fake or False prophets, pastors and teachers teaching False Doctrines and personal beliefs in the war between Good and Evil. #REBTD

0 notes

silverhands-etcetera · 5 years

Text

Get Back

Looking backwards more than a day can be a bit fuzzy sometimes, even when I’m at home in Seattle. Ever since Saturday night, this band has been on the run, waking up in different countries, condensing our days into bursts of local culture, most of which I haven’t experienced before this trip. So, keeping in mind how unequipped I am to produce an answer most days in Seattle when the barista asks me how my weekend was or what I’ve been up to, hopefully you’ll excuse any swiss cheese in the tale of this past weekend.

I remember it was warm and sunny as we loaded out of Lovenich. I left my trunk in Alwin & Petra’s front room, stuffing all I hoped I would need for the next two weeks into my laptop bag. I stashed my stocking cap in the glove compartment and my spare pair of pants into my guitar case. Good to go. Traveling light.

It’s a short drive to Koln, but I still managed a nap. When we rolled into town I was just coming up to have a look around. Only two wrong turns and we were passing by the front door of the Sonic Ballroom. A street fair had us blocked off from parking at the front door of the joint, which was a bit of a drag, but on the other hand -there’s a street fair.

We wedged the van into a space up the block from the club, and did the only thing we could -off to mingle among the Kolnians and figure out what this street fair business is all about. There’s a long, not square block all around the gig, right at the front door was a DJ spinning dance tunes to a packed street of people standing, walking or milling about, but none dancing. Elbowing through to the next gap in the crowd, we regrouped in band formation, and turned the street corner. The long side of the block had tables & kiosks selling random wares, used clothes & chilly beers. Aimee picked up a bottle of Kolsch, which sounded like a good idea, so I followed suit. About the time we cleared the block, and the beers, it was time to load in.

We had used the backline drumset & bass amp at Kultus, so this was the first time using our own drums, and getting a feel for the rental bass amp. The club is small, but Udo, our sound engineer, was putting mics on everything. The gig was going to be loud. We had a local band (well, from dusseldorf) opening the night, and a DJ ready to keep the volks dancing all night after our set. the greenroom was upstairs, and getting there was only achieved by going behind the bar and climbing a steep, odd staircase that had me tripping every time I went up. The dimensions of the rise & run changed at the first landing. The second set of stairs was slightly less trippy, but equally wrong to feet accustomed to standard american staircases.

Upstairs we had a full kitchen, with two pans full of rice & curry, about a dozen bunks, and two cases of beer. Most of our short-term needs were fully met. A comfortable sense of detachment sets in on nights like this, -no stresses about anything outside of what we’re gonna do on the stage. All we’re doing is what we came here to do.

—

Aimee & I took another stroll through the street fair, while the opening act was getting going. We returned our empty bottles from that afternoon, and staked out the parties we wanted to hit after the gig. When I got back to the club the opener was hitting their stride. -A pop-punk group that called themselves the Artiklees, five-piece, a stratocaster & a rickenbacker, backed up by a white-on-white P-bass. Clean and punchy tones, a heavy-hitting drummer and an animated lead-singer hopping out onto the mostly empty dance floor.

It was a pretty decent bill, stylistically, but as we took the stage I had a sense that we were probably going to take the room to another level. I ain’t bragging. I’m just saying. We tore into the set, hitting all the heavy Del Vox numbers and digging back into Sherri’s older catalog for all the hard hitting tunes we could cram into one set.

Like most times when I’m on stage, it was roughly halfway through the set before I opened my eyes & looked out in front of us. The floor was full. Longhaired leather jacket types, punks, heavy eyeliner, all kinds. We were firing on all eight cylinders, and when we got to the end of our set, the people were just getting started. We dug out a few more nuggets and dipped into the Jealous Dogs catalog for a couple more ladles full of sauce for the people. These are the gigs that pay the emotional bills for a career in this business.

This is what I do. I am more than ok with this.

—

The DJ was spinning some sloppy ‘60s rock & roll and we were still uncertain as to the nature of the street fair. Whether it was a city-wide event, a holiday, or just a chamber of commerce type of thing. Sherri even asked from the stage before we closed out the set, but we could get no straight answer. A young woman with heavy mascara, 2 or more barbed rings in her nose, and cute ginger bangs told us that she also had no idea what the street fair was about, but that we should go explore it with her. Her name was Jo, and she spoke english with a solid British accept, that she claimed she picked up by learning the language by watching untranslated re-runs of the Mighty Boosh. Her German seemed legit as well, but I’m no judge of German dialect or accent, so I still have to wonder if she was actually English, and trying out a new identity. I love these little mysteries. The best part is that I’ll never know.

Jo led Aimee & I down the block. We passed right out of the street fair and hit a main drag, where we took a right turn & headed for a bar that Jo was very intent on, but seemed less than certain about where it was. No less than 3 times she assured us that it was “just 5 minutes” ahead. I think Aimee & I silently concurred that it was a good idea that we see her to a friendly locale, if only to have a bit of a rest & reassure her bearing on the city.

When we finally arrived, we were yelled out of the place, for having casually carried in the beers we had walked there with. I apologized to the bartender, but she would hear none of it, claiming that it’s “universal” to not bring drinks into a bar. I wasn’t gonna argue, but I’ve done such a thing about a million times in Spain and never raised the ire of anybody. So we sat in front of the place & our conversation went back to accents & dialects, as Jo was listening to the three dudes talking behind us and had one of them pegged for an Aussie.

Both of my companions at the time are way more intrepid than I am. Aimee walked over & straight-up asked the dudes where they were from, and it turned out to be two Londoners & one Kiwi -all in town for a beer fest. They work for two different breweries, but they are all pals hanging out at the fest -and generously buying a round for the two americans & the mysterious ginger “German”.

Our party expanded & we talked beer, music, politics, etc. One of the fellas told us he’d be in Seattle at the end of next month, so we invited him to our gig at Tim’s Tavern. They invited us to the beer fest the next day, and we had a great spot of time out there on the patio in front of some random bar on the strip in Koln. I have no idea how long we were there, but soon the bartender stopped serving us beers, Jo said goodnight, & the brewers all retired to their beds at the hostel across the street.

Aimee & I retraced our steps back to the Sonic Ballroom, only realizing when we were about halfway home, that a lot of bars were closing up & we may be SOL in getting to our beds if the club had closed up while we were out. We turned the last corner & the whole street was dead and dark. But as we stepped closer & closer we began to hear the steady thump of motown beats inside the walls of the bar.

The place was still absolutely lit when we busted back in. Two bartenders still working, dance floor packed. I ordered two Jamesons and was still not allowed to pay a dime, even though I am certain we had exceeded our bar tab. We weren’t ready for the night to end & the DJ was hitting all the right places to push me out of my comfort zone. We danced until we were the last ones left on the floor. It was nearly 5 AM. The music serenaded us through the floor as we went upstairs for one last beer and the bunks.

So many details that can’t fit on a page, but I can’t imagine I’ll soon forget. This was only my second time in Koln, and only for about 12 hours, which we milked for all they were worth. All of the coolest things I’ve been a part of have been things I’ve walked into on my own two feet. I’m blessed with good companions.

0 notes

kaseyspeaks · 7 years

Text

New York Fashion Week 2017 – NYFW Fashion Designer Recap

Wow, wow, wow. My New York Fashion Week was quite the experience. I swear each Season I get busier and busier with more Shows, appointments, and meetings to attend, but I love and take in every second of it. This was my 5th NYFW, and this season was full of designer fittings, sitting front row for multiple Shows, collaborating with amazing and talented photographers, and reuniting with my best blogger friends.

Note:

I’m sorry I was so delayed in recapping, but I have a special reason for it. I’ve decided to go full-time “me” and left my full-time job right before NYFW. So, I am now a full-time blogger/model/singer/ME! It has been so crazy getting into the hang of things and adjusting, and with NYFW happening simultaneously, I’ve barely had time and the strength to hold myself together! But, don’t worry – I will explain the transition of this monumental period after I finish recapping all of NYFW, so stay tuned for the next few posts!

I am also working on making this beautiful Youtube recap of my entire New York Fashion Week, so definitely keep your eyes peeled for that!!

Anywhossss, I want to use this blog post to highlight some of my favorite designers of this Season:

Noon By Noor

Noon By Noor is always one of the more pleasant shows to see because of the soft lines and silhouettes, and light colors. This collection had plenty of white and pink, and a consistent, drape-y, night-gown-y feel. The first time I saw Noon by Noor, I remember saying to myself, “Wow, I can really see a lot of people wearing this without question!” This season, Noon by Noor more or less kept the same silhouettes that they’re famously known for, but they decided to add a bit more flare. Elements of masculinity with tailored cuts and bolder colors swept the runway. In addition to the usual pink and soft whites, there were bright reds, blacks and ladybug patterns! Designers Shaikha Noor Rashid Al Khalifa and Shaikha Haya Mohamed Al Khalifa sure gave me and the audience a nice surprise from the usual quiet and quaint tone of their line.

Photo Credit: Linda Gaunt Communications

Tadashi Shoji

Legit, Tadashi is ALWAYS the show I look forward to EVERY season. His dresses are always stupendous and beautifully crafted. His collection this year was filled with luxurious and bohemian vibes. Keeping true to his famous floral patterns and lacey intricacies, Tadashi crafted his pieces with bright, gemstone colors – ruby reds, emerald greens, yellows, and blues. With each model’s step, the audience was drawn in closer and closer to the wanderlust feels of the intimate world of artists, musicians, and Bohemians. The collection reminded me of a more sophisticated and elevated version of Coachella style vibes. It was as if the models consisted of most elite of the Southern Californians and were attending grand ballroom event right off the Runway.

Photo Credit: Linda Gaunt Communications

Bibhu Mohapatra

This Season was the first time I’ve ever been to Bibhu Mohapatra’s show. The line outside was extremely long and people were waiting for almost an hour to get in! I couldn’t wait to see what all the fuss was about. As I took my seat and the models started walking down the runway, I was in awe at how breathtaking the pieces were. Drawing a lot of inspiration from traditional Eastern Asia, the dresses and garments were made with both graceful and strong elements of lace, silk, geometric designs, and high-collars. This was definitely one of my favorite collections this Season to see.

Bibhu and the Team

Photo Credit: Vogue

Son Jung Wan

This is probably my 3rd time seeing Son Jung Wan after witnessing her first Show at NYFW. I am not exaggerating when I say this woman has TALENT – every Show I go to takes my breath away. This Season, there were a lot of vibrant and bright colors: bright pinks, blues, emerald greens, whites, and beiges. Every piece that walked down on each model was absolutely stunning – I want ALL of her clothes in my closet! Not to mention, I was sitting front row right across Kelly Rutherford so that was a nice surprise too. I think Kelly and Son Jung Wan are bffies because at the end, Kelly personally got up and gave her flowers to congratulate her. What a friend to have! *Gossip Girl fan over here fan-girling*

Photo Credit: Deborah Hughes

Phillip Plein

Wow, oh wow. What I have to say about this Show! THOUSANDS of people lined up outside the Hammerstein Ballroom to see Philipp Plein’s second American Show. Bouncers turned many anxious attendees away at the door because the entire multi-level ballroom was at capacity! It was nuts! It was definitely the Show of the Season to attend and everyone wanted to go because not only was it followed by an after-party, but there were a lot of celebrity appearances and performances. Before the Show started, Nicki Minaj was escorted with her bodyguards to her table off the stage. NBD. Then, the famous burlesque queen, Dita Von Teese, opened the event by dancing in a very large champagne glass, splashing anyone in her way (literally). Next came Teyana Taylor who came strutting ALL of her dancing little booty down the runway. It really seemed like Philipp had a huge chunk of change to throw around since he had famous models like Adriana Lima and Irina Shayk walk down the runway. Other notable models were Jasmine Sanders (@goldenbarbie). Then, while the models were walking, rapper Future performed and the whole crowd was having a blast and dancing in their seats.

Now, to talk about the actual fashion part. Well, hrm. Where do I start? Everything revolved around bondage and BDSM-inspired fashion. This was definitely an event not meant to be seen by kids. Occasionally, there were graphic tees with cartoon characters on it, but maybe it was because Philipp tried to subdue the “adult” factor in the show. That hardly worked though if that was his intention. Overall, this Show more seemed like one for a rebellious cry of attention and Press rather than the appreciation of fashion. It certainly wasn’t my taste, but I’m sure it touched the hearts of others outside my tasteful sphere.

#gallery-0-61 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-61 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 25%; } #gallery-0-61 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-61 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

BDSM-inspired

Jasmine Sanders

Teyana Taylor

Photo Credit: WWD

Dan Liu

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Not only was I able to sit front row, but I was also honored with being able to wear one of his pieces to the Show…AND I got to personally met Dan Liu backstage, shake his hand, and take a photo with him. (Here’s some Press proof for ya taken by a famous international photographer). In his collection, there were lots of pretty and pastel blues, whites, pinks, and gorgeous lacework that filled the runway. I remember when I first saw Dan Liu, I noticed a lot of his dresses were very simple in silhouettes, colors, and fabrics. Two seasons later, it seemed like he was beginning to step out of his comfort zone and really try to express more of his inner passion upon his pieces. This fact was accentuated by the last model, who wore a simple all-white dress, but carried a large dream catcher with Peacock feathers on it – almost symbolizing the natural serenity that his line brought. Bravo, Dan Liu!

Dan Liu

Photo Credit: Riviere Agency/Fashion Week Online

Photo Credit: Robbie Bulilan

Leanne Marshall

Obsessed! Can I please have all her gorgeous dresses? This was another Show that I was blessed with wearing the designer’s pieces and was invited to sit front row. I took my little spin on her otherwise feminine dresses, and I want to show you guys, so I’ll follow up with an outfit post soon! Anyways, Leanne took the runway with bright, statement colors such as teals, yellows, neon pinks, and bright oranges. I personally do not wear bright colors because my skin tone does not fare well with those hues, but Leanne Marshall now has me thinking otherwise! I also love the fact that there was representation of all shapes and sizes down the runway.

Photo Credit: Riviere Agency/Fashion Week Online

Jarel Zhang

“Whoa…” was my initial reaction when the first model walked during Jarel Zhang’s Show. As I was going to my seat in front row, I found myself needing to step around construction signs and traffic cones to clear the way. I was utterly confused, but intrigued. When the first models started walking, I was thinking to myself, “what the heck is going on with this construction worker-inspired clothing?” And “who in the world would wear this?” But, I am one to try to never be quick to judge, so I locked my thoughts away and silently watched the rest of the show. As the show went on, I noticed that the designer actually had something bold to say with his line. Every piece felt strong, fierce, and edgy. The oversized garments had a purposeful, androgynous figure to them and they were constructed with fabrics such as plastic, waterproof rain jacket material, and heavy-duty zippers. It’s almost as if the designer took silhouettes normally found in androgynous styles, and challenged them with rebellious material. Brilliant.

Photo Credit: Riviere Agency/Fashion Week Online

Addition Elle

It was so awesome to see the abundance of plus size models on the runways this Season. Addition Elle, being a leader in the Canadian plus size market, was one of the great Shows that celebrated the beauty of Plus size wear and models. The stunning Ashley Graham opened and closed the Show by wearing her gorgeous lingerie Iines, Purple Rain and Ritz, while social media star and model, Jordyn Wood, debuted her Love & Legend collection. The looks were very playful, sporty, and sexy. It was the Season to applaud all shapes and sizes, and Addition Elle demonstrated that beautifully with their Show. One shirt strongly stated, “Labels Are For Clothes Only,” and I completely agree.

Ashley Grahm

Photo Credit: FWO

Hakan Akkaya

What a show! Hakan Akkaya killed it again this season with their edgy appeal and daring looks. I invited my Turkish friend because she’s a huge fan of his work, and we both absolutely loved the show (and got gift bags)! I could see myself wearing a lot of the Hakan’s pieces since my style is very edgy but classy as well. Apparently there were some famous Turkish models walking down the runway too. The ending of the Show truly made a statement: the troop of models stormed the runway all at once as if they were a mob ready to take over the world.

Photo Credit: The Bite Mag, Fashion Fad, New York Style Guide, Entertainment World

Fashion Palette

Fashion Palette is always THE Show you want to make sure you see. Showcasing many amazing Australian designers, Fashion Palette has made their mark on U.S. soil for the 5th Season. I was so happy when I was invited to wear one of their pieces to the Show! I wore this beautiful Elliatt dress that I will you show you guys soon in an upcoming outfit post. All of the designers had such striking and wearable designs and accessories. The designers that showed were: Ashlee Lauren, Bronx & Banco, Elliatt, Flare Street, Haus of Song, MB The Label, Sabo Luxe, and Torrance. Ashlee Lauren gave the audience something different this season and killed it with her individual crown and head pieces – it kind of makes me wonder why I don’t have any of her pieces in my closet! In terms of ready-to-wear, I really could not pick my favorite designer because I honestly loved everything and could see myself wearing everything! I’m going to let photos speak louder than words, so I included my favorite pieces from each designer. I wish the best of luck to these Australian designers making their footprint in America because they deserve to be known!

Ashlee Lauren headpieces

Bronx and Banco

Elliatt

Flare Street

Haus of Song

Sabo Luxe

#gallery-0-73 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-73 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-73 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-73 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Torrance

Photo Credit: Riviere Agency

Zang Toi

Zang Toi left me in awe. It was my first time attending his Show, and I can definitely say I am attending every season that he allows me to sit! With Asian and Malaysian inspiration sewn into the fabrics, design, and color, it was certainly a striking collection. A lot of his pieces this year were for catered to high-fashion evening wear, gowns, and dresses. I’d love to wear his pieces to a gala or some sort of red carpet event. I enjoyed how he chose a consistent color palette throughout with baby blues, greens, whites, blacks, and grays – it really tied together the entire collection.

Photo Credit: WWD

Marcel Ostertag

I’m normally not a fan of bugs, but Marcel sure had a way to make them look cute! The insect prints brought yet another touch of differentiation on top of the disco era vibe I was getting from his collection. Never have I thought that the colors orange, green, and brown would ever go well together. Quite frankly, the color combo reminds me of a pumpkin, but somehow he pulled it off! Marcel brilliantly added shimmer, structure, and hippie accessories to complete each look – it was marvelous. I’m really curious to see what he has up his sleeve next season!

Photo Credit: Bromley Group

Jia Liu

I will never ever forget Jia Liu’s show. It was so unforgettable and adorable as there were kid models walking down the runway who were just so scrumptious! I almost missed the Show because I had to run to the bathroom right beforehand, and I barely got to my front row seat in time. And boy, was the hard work scrambling to my seat worth it! Everybody in the audience was smiling because both the adult and kid models looked like they were having such a great time. The fashion was very interesting, too. The designer took literal inspiration from The Emoji Movie and screen-printed the images onto tailored suits, sporty dresses, and streetwear. The collection overall was very fun, friendly, and whimsical. This was probably the perfect show to conclude NYFW as it was so memorable in fashion and performance.

Photographer Credit: Getty Images

Well, that’s a wrap! I have finally finished my NYFW September 2017 designer recap! Hope you all enjoyed my takeaways and stay tuned for an outfit recap coming your way.

Xoxo,

Kasey

New York Fashion Week Designer Recap Sept. ’17 New York Fashion Week 2017 - NYFW Fashion Designer Recap Wow, wow, wow. My New York Fashion Week was quite the experience.

2 notes · View notes

thephotopitmagazine · 4 years

Text

Every now and then you find an artist who has an album so sensational that you just can’t forget it. And when they can build upon that album to continue their legacy they become legendary. That’s exactly how I envision Queensrÿche. Their album Operation: Mindcrime from 1988 not only was a well written, story-driven phenomena, but it was also musically spectacular and become burned into every Queensrÿche fan. And that was only the beginning for the band. When I heard about their tour coming to The Plaza Live in Orlando, FL to continue support on their most recent album The Verdict, I had to be there. The buzz from friends clearly stated Queensrÿche was still a powerhouse band after all these years and a must-see live. My friends were absolutely correct.

Before we would get to our headliners, were had a different mix of two openers. First was the rock band Eve To Adam. Formed back in 1997 the band has been a solid rock force releasing 5 studio albums and 1 EP. They were no stranger to the Orlando crowd having played at multiple venues in town before and our one day festival Earthday Birthday. The band consisting of Taki Sassaris (vocals), Ilyn Nathaniel (bass), Jeff Raines (drums), and Ronny Gutierrez (guitar) came out to the stage hard and heavy with no stopping them. They played a short group of songs that included “No Easy Way Out” and “Immortal” and the crowd was loving them.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Before the band wrapped their set, they brought up two representatives from 2vetsoam “On A Mission”. The organization works with helping raise awareness for veteran suicide and PTSD they also work to help veterans suffering from PTSD and homelessness. The group brought up a veteran named James who they explained finally got his hair cut, came out to a concert, and is starting to live his actual life. It’s awesome to see Eve To Adam working with an organization like this to help our veterans in need. You can find music and merch for Eve to Adam on their official website HERE.

Next up was John 5 and The Creatures. John 5 is best known for his work as Rob Zombie’s guitarist but has a very active solo career touring and in songwriting. He’s also written for various artists such as Motley Crue, Steve Perry, and Ricky Martin as well as performing guitars for Marilyn Manson. His discography of 11 albums is quite impressive. His most recent album Invasion released on July 31, 2019 to rave reviews from the media. Singles such as “Zoinks!” and “I Am John 5” grabbed the epitome of this album and the musical genius of John 5 and The Creatures. The band consists of John 5 (guitar), Ian Ross (bass), and Logan Miles Nix (drums).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The turnaround between Eve To Adam and John 5 and The Creatures was probably one of the quickest set changes I’ve ever seen. With inflatables on stage giving it a very fun house type feel, John 5 and The Creatures hit the stage and immediately started “Crank It – Living With Ghosts”. The fans looked a little uncertain as to what they were hearing but those who knew John 5 were all into it as he ripped through these transcendental guitar riffs. It’s 6 plus minutes of guitar solo, bass and drum mixed in, and some almost EDM like catch-phrase (“Crank it!”) tracks. And this was just the start. Moving on to “Six Hundred and Sixty Six Pickers in Hell” from his 2014 album Careful With That Axe. The band delivered a high energy, fast-paced song, to the fans. I’m amazed on how John 5 moves so quickly through his notes sometimes while shaking his head throwing off makeup dust and other times drooling large strings of saliva on stage. Needless to say, those who never seen him before were probably very confused by the playful antics. They followed that up with “Zoinks!” from Invasion which has a great rhythm and blues feel. The video for the single has a little adult Scooby-Doo like story to it which is a must-see.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Half-way through their performance, John 5 finally spoke to the crowd asking if they were having a good time. And he swore he would get everyone that was in the balcony on their feet before the end of their set. Things really started getting fun as balloons were thrown out into the crowd like beach balls to bat around the venue. When one made it back to the stage, John 5 would pop it with his guitar, which raised a cheer from the crowd. Seeing the reaction, he kept popping them until they were all gone. John 5 brought out his light up mouthpiece during the performance and his gorgeous lit up guitar that has individual small bright light bulbs throughout the entire guitar. It is an amazing piece of craftsmanship. When they performed “I Am John 5” from Invasion, three crew members came out on stage. Two of them were wearing outfits making it appear they were held by aliens while the third was dressed like a robot. The robot hung around John 5 every time the vocal track said “I am John 5”. They were going to perform “Cactus Flower” but the guitar for the song wasn’t cooperating. But, the piece that really hooked crowd was the instrumental medley at the end. Ian and Logan started off the bass and drum pieces to Rush’s “Limelight” and I nearly cried. And when John 5 brought in the guitar it was instrumental perfection. The transitioned it into Rush’s “Fly By Night” and the medley kept going. Everything from Rob Zombie to Nirvana to Marilyn Manson to Soundgarden to Pantera to Motley Crue the music just kept going and going! By the time they wrapped up, the entire balcony was on their feet and the entire venue applauded, cheered, and screamed in approval. What an amazing performance from John 5 and The Creatures that night.

You can find their music and merch HERE. Their setlist that night was:

Crank It – Living With Ghosts

Six Hundred and Sixty Six Pickers in Hell

Zoinks!

Hell Haw I.G.R.

Howdy

Season of the Witch

First Victim

The Black Grass Plague

I Am John 5

Catcus Flower – not performed but was on the setlist

Limelight / Fly by Night / Thunder Kiss ’65 / The Beautiful People / Spoonman / Dr. Feelgood / Unchained / I’m Broken / Walk/and more

Finally, onto our headliners Queensrÿche. The band’s roots go all the way back to the late 1970s where a few members met in Washington state. After a few years of working with other bands, they had formed together originally known as The Mob. The band recorded a 4 song demo that started to get shopped around. They soon learned the name The Mob was not available so they ended up using Queensrÿche after their single “Queen of the Reich”. The band was signed with EMI and released The Warning in 1984 and Rage for Order in 1987. While both albums did well for the band, neither had commercial success. It wasn’t until 1988 with Operation: Mindcrime where the band truly became renowned. With a phenomenal story and genius musical writing, the album was certified Platinum and received numerous accolades from the media. The single “I Don’t Believe in Love” was nominated for a Grammy. Their follow up Empire from 1990 sold over 3 million albums and had a #1 single in “Silent Lucidity”. The single was also nominated for a Grammy. The band continued to produce albums until 2012 where the band fired the original lead singer and replaced him with current vocalist Todd La Torre. The band released three albums with Todd as their vocalist including their most current album The Verdict which was released on March 1, 2019 and peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200 to very good reviews. Queensrÿche is Todd La Torre (vocals), Michael Wilton (guitar), Eddie Jackson (bass), Parker Lundgren (guitar), and Casey Grillo (drums).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Queensrÿche decided to go way back in the discography to perform “Prophecy” off their 1983 self-titled EP. A fantastic kick-off to the show. The band was in sync and absolutely sounded amazing. And when they went into “Operation: Mindcrime” the title track from the 1988 album, I was taken back to the day when I saw them open for Def Leppard on the Hysteria tour. Todd was pitch-perfect, Eddie had the bass line down pat, Michael and Parker tore it up on guitar, and Casey thumped away on those drums. Just wow! Keeping the drive alive they went into “Walk in the Shadows” from Rage for Order. Queensrÿche was playing at such a high level I couldn’t wait to hear what the rest of the night was going to be like.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Todd talked to the crowd during the performance explaining to the crowd they were wrapping up in Orlando in support of their album The Verdict and the band would be going for some old catalog tunes and will get to the fan favorites as well. And did they ever pull out some of the older great songs including “Take Hold of the Flame” from The Warning, “Screaming in Digital” from Rage for Order, and “Queen of the Reich” from the 1983 self-titled EP. And when Todd hit those notes in “Queen of the Reich” it was chilling. I literally had goosebumps running up my arm. Todd also asked how many people had not seen or heard Queensrÿche live and there was a surprisingly good amount of new fans there that night.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Their performances of songs from The Verdict sounded stellar. I really enjoyed hearing “Bent”, which had an amazing harmony from Parker and Eddie on backing vocals, “Man the Machine” and “Dark Reverie”, such a beautifully haunting song, played live. And the band also included the favorites of “Silent Lucidity” and one of my personal favorites “Jet City Woman” from their 1990 album Empire. The band did perform an encore that included “No Sanctuary” from The Warning, “Light-years” from The Verdict, “Empire” the self-titled track from the 1990 album, and closed with “Eyes of a Stranger” from Operation: Mindcrime with “Anarchy-X” from the same album used as the outro. If you want to purchase music or merch from Queensrÿche you can find it at their website HERE. The band’s setlist that night was:

Prophecy

Operation: Mindcrime

Walk in the Shadows

Resistance

Man the Machine

Take Hold of the Flame

Bent

The Needle Lies

Dark Reverie

Breaking the Silence

Silent Lucidity

Jet City Woman

Screaming in Digital

Queen of the Reich

Encore:

No Sanctuary

Light-years

Empire

Eyes of a Stranger (with Anarchy-X as the outro)

Overall this was such an amazing concert by all three bands. But, Queensrÿche’s performance filled my heart with amazing music, filled my mind with wonderful memories, and provided some new songs to love. The performance was way beyond my expectations and hopes. I’m looking forward to the next time the come on tour. And, my wife and I are seriously looking at seeing them during their residency in Las Vegas over the summer! And if we make it out there, I absolutely know it will be worth every penny spent.

From The Pit To The Crowd: Queensrÿche with John 5 and The Creatures and Eve To Adam – The Plaza Live – Orlando, FL – February 27, 2020 Every now and then you find an artist who has an album so sensational that you just can't forget it.

0 notes

kylewritesaboutthings · 4 years

Text

Riot Fest 2016 - Day 2

Insanity, by Einstein’s definition, is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. While this may or may not be a true attribution, it is a fair statement and the most accurate to how I approach any music festival. For those of you keeping track of my writing (see: my review of the Shaky Knees festival in May), you will know that my experience is a predictable one as shittily illustrated by the graph below.

Day 1 is a fury of alcohol, high fives, and shenanigans that usually peaks around 1:30am when I’m taking shot after shot before the bar closes because god forbid I want to feel like a real human being the next morning or make the first batch of bands I want to see. And Riot Fest was no exception. Considering that I spent the previous day drinking crotch smuggled whiskey and drinking to easycore jams all night long, Saturday was set up to be a slow start. And that it was. Shooting well past the 12:30 and 1 o’clock start times of both Plague Vendor and Canadian darlings Fucked Up, we arrived to Douglas Park in time for two things: a press happy hour in which I could not bring myself to drink more than a single sip of beer and to lay in the grass and listen to hometown crooners, the Smoking Popes.

If you have never listed to the Popes picture the dadest punk band to ever happen. Like white, short sleeve button up shirts and cargo shorts. Wikipedia lists their influences as “crooners like Tony Bennett and Frank Sinantra”. They have been around since 1991 and while I am sure they were not actually dads back then, they have been dads the whole time. But please do not take this as any kind of slight on the band or their music…I’m merely setting the scene to say that they are the perfect band to listen to whilst sitting in a grassy field on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Always a solid live band, I highly recommend them for anyone looking to take a breather in between a full day of festival sets or, alternatively, those arriving late and hungover and looking to ease their way back into the real world.

After cleansing my musical palate on the smooth tunes of the Smoking Popes, I was ready for the bitter sweet taste of Motion City Soundtracks large format farewell show. While they were set to play their officially official farewell the next night at the world famous Metro, I was not one of the luckily 1100 to get a ticket to that sad boy/girl fest. For me and the thousands gathered around the roots stage, the hour would be our goodbye to a band that was our introduction to a lot of the music we listen to day in and day out. In the wake of their decision to call it quits, Noisey published an article articulating just that…that Motion City dug their niche as an often underappreciated gateway band that really did much more than they were ever recognized for at the time.

It was with this mindset that I watched the Twin Cities catchiest export work their way through 60 minutes of perfect hooks, witty lyrics, and constant crowd singalongs. I kick myself for the years of “oh, I’ll see them next time they’re in town” and “yeah, I’ll get around to listening to the new album”. They only took a few short pauses in between songs to thank the audience and collect themselves, as singer/guitarist Justine Pierre was never one for the extravagant…just an earnest band trying to play as best and as much as possible in their given time. Motion City was a truly special band and incredibly fun to watch live. I’ll especially miss the onstage energy and antics of keyboard player Jesse Johnson. RIP the days of keyboard stands.

The end of their set, appropriately closed with “The Future Freaks Me Out”, left me a little sadder than I expected to be. But reprieve was in sight as The Hives were slated to start shortly after on the nearby rock stage. If you have written the The Hives off as ‘one of those bands that was popular when it was super popular to call your band The Somethings’ you are foolish and have done yourself a disservice. Garage rock at its rockiest, these Sweedes know how to perform at a level last seen in the 1970’s heyday of rock itself. Lead singer Howlin’ Pele Almqvist (I KNOW RIGHT? HOWLIN?!) is the closest we’ll get to seeing Mick Jagger strutting his stuff across the stage without the assistance of a walker or other mobility device. The ultimate showman, he knows how to work a crowd. Bouncing around all over the stage, climbing the side trusses, inciting cheers from “ladies, gentlemen, and everyone else” there was never a dull moment. Introducing the band at the start of the set, he let the crowd know that The Hives are here and we all had two wishes left.

As a band, their stage presence can only be matched by the likes of Gwar…though obviously in a more subtle fashion than giant, mutoid, murderous space demons. The Hives take the black and white motif to an extreme that would make a 50’s diner jealous. Each member of the band donning a split black and white suit, playing black and white instruments (to include drumming with one black and one white stick), and having their stage techs dressed as one black and one white ninja while handing off freshly tuned guitars and adjusting drum kits before, during, and after the show. They are a monochromatic whirlwind of rock and roll fury and an absolute blast to watch live. As they do not play the states very often, with their last US performance coming in 2013, you should take every opportunity to see their show. Learn the lessons taught by Motion City Soundtrack.

With some time to kill before Brand New was set to make everyone sad again, our little band of hungover heroes sauntered over to the food vendor row in hopes of snacks and salvation. While browsing the selection of fried and un-fried items alike, I began to notice a sign posted to each vendor booth. These sheets were announcements that there was to be no meat cooked, served, or sold during Morrissey’s 2 hour set that evening. He has famously bared venues from even having meat in the building during his solo performance, so I’m not terribly surprised by this move. However, I do think that it is a complete and utter crock of shit. These are the same forced down the throat, boarder line fascist mentality of the fringe religious groups and other general nut jobs that hold a ‘holier than thou’ ideal to their beliefs. This move hurts every small business that spent massive amounts of money on vending space at the fest, for the will of one moody performer. While I agree that there needs to be more vegan friendly options at events like Riot Fest, this was not the way to go about it. But Morrissey has never been known for being a reasonable person, que sera sera.

Luckily it was about this time that I stumbled upon a stand serving plates of pierogis complete with sour cream and apple sauce. If anything can put out the fires of indignation in my soul, it is a belly full of doughy Polish delight. Making our way back towards Brand New I could feel life coming back to my liver. Knowing full well that press happy hour started just after the beginning of their set, we camped out on the right side of the riot stage in anticipation of the metaphorical dinner bell for all of us writers. If there is anything that can bring together a group of literary minded people: it is the promise of free booze. Of course we immediately found our other friends from For the Love of Punk and Punktastic waiting around for the same thing.

Brand New kicked off their set with a jolt, heading right into the familiar bass into to fan favorite “Sic Transit Gloria”. Hot damn! Jesse Lacy and company are known for their temperamental nature, especially in festival settings. Maybe this is growing up? As they rolled through the next two songs, also from Deja Entendu, were in shock. What is this? Where are the Daisy songs scattered in the set to break up the rhythm? Following up this run of hits with the acoustic “Mix Tape”, Jesse actually broke out a smile when getting to the line “and I’m sick of your tattoos and the way you always criticize the Smiths, and Morrissey”. I’m sure playing on the same stage that Morrissey would walk onto just an hour later (note: it would be two hours later because Morrissey is a fucking dick and was late to his headlining set) made his sad heart warm for just a moment. But the moment was fleeting as the set closed out with tracks from The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me and Daisy. During this time I sang my way back and forth from the press tent, shuttling free tallboys to my general admission friends and getting ready for the rest of the evening, which was to be the annual Pop Punk Pizza Party for my business, Soothsayer Hot Sauce.

After Brand New closed out, we started our stroll to the car as I wound through my mental checklist for the evening. Last year, in a fit of nerves, I threw up in a Walgreens parking lot before getting to the venue. This year I was doing much better, some jitters were called down through my Chief Sauce Operator/Right Hand Woman Rachel and the help of my good buddies Steph, Jim, and Travis. But I believe someone else has covered that show, so I’ll let you get the juicy details from them. To preview: amazing sets from Turnspit, Nervous Passenger, Devon Kay and the Solutions, and our secret guest…Bad Cop/Bad Cop! We ate close to 50 pizzas, drank enough malort to kill a small village, and named a dog. Ya know, usual punk shit.

0 notes

musicallyrich · 7 years

Text

Last Day of Summerfest Is Overrun By Outlaws...

7/9/2017 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest

For the last day of fest, I purchased a ticket for the Amphitheater inside the festival grounds. It is the day the Outlaw Country Music Festival shows up to Summerfest. Starting at 2 p.m. and running until 11 p.m., 7 different artists performed for various sized crowds headlined by Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson.

I just walked into the main part of the amphitheater at 2 p.m., just in time to hear Lukas Nelson & The Promise Of The Real (it is Willie's son) welcome everybody to the show and start their set. This is my first time hearing them in any setting, and in the 35 minutes they had they focused on giving the fans a great opener to the show. The band consisted of drums, percussion, bass, and Nelson on guitar and vocals, and showed why they have not only been winning over fans and critics, but also noted rockers as they have been the backing band for Neil Young for the past few years. Nelson proved himself a very good guitarist and songwriter, as the songs were excellent vehicles for the band in a live setting. He mentioned he had written a song to help get over a breakup to a girl named Georgia, which he needed to write to counteract all the times he had to play the standard 'Georgia On My Mind' with his dad. He then played (Forget About) Georgia, a bluesy ballad, placed perfectly in the middle of the 5 song set. The other 4 songs were also extremely well played and had space to show off his guitar soloing skills as well. I'm looking forward to hopefully finding some of his albums (he has a new one coming in the fall, I forget the exact date they mentioned), and seeing him live when he has more time to play.

About 15 minutes after Lukas Nelson & POTR got off stage, Margo Price was in place with her band of country outlaws and started her show with a ripping version of 'Tennesee Song' off of her debut album. She and her band played a great show with a lot more fire and energy than I expected, a few mid-tempo tunes from her first album were kicked up and given a bit more rockin' treatment. She sprinkled in new songs (from an upcoming album, I'd imagine) in with songs from "Midwest Farmer's Wife" (the debut album in question). She also had Lukas Nelson come out and join her on a cover of Neil Young's "Human Highway," which gave him another chance to show off his guitar chops with a nice big solo. Margo Price and her tight band are definitely a big welcome to the new Outlaw Country movement.

I continue to be amazed that these early bands are turning over so quickly, and the mix is still holding up, big congrats to stage crew and sound men at this show. I say that , because it was only another 15 minutes before Nataniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats took the stage. Seemingly a tad out of place at a country music festival, when you have musicians up and down the line-up as strong and with as many varied influences as all of these artists have, their Southern R&B sound fit right in, and had the crowd that was there at this time on their feet dancing. This is another band that I have heard very little of. A large band consisting of excellent muscians from the rhythm section to the horn section, whether comping behind the lead singer or being the lead instrument everyone more than held their own. I also knew that they would be someone that I would want to look into further as their set continued. This, roughly hour, set only validated all that I had heard about this band, as they put on a great show for the crowd.

The former band was a perfect lead up to Sheryl Crow, who may have been my biggest surprise live for the day. I knew from her albums that I like her music, and is overall a strong songwriter, and I've heard from friends who have seen her that she was excellent live as well. Even with that information, I wasn't quite prepared for the level at which her band was playing. Her smoking-hot band, led by blues rock guitarist Audley Freed (Black Crowes late '90s/early '00s, Cry of Love), took her songs to new heights. Touching on many of her hits as well as mixing new material (newer albums I need to check out, because I've found out that Freed is on these as well), her songs played well in the late afternoon sun to a crowd completely in tune to her and her band. She also definitely did not just stick to hits, which I'm sure means she is changing her setlist up fairly significantly from night to night. She also finished her show, bringing out Lukas Nelson to play guitar as well, with the Allman Brothers' (although no mention of it being a tribute to the recently deceased Gregg Allman or Butch Trucks) 'Midnight Rider.' I, for one, can't wait until she comes through the Twin Cities in the future and hopefully get to see her in a headlining position with a complete, full show.

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit followed and played a great show. He was formerly a member of Drive-By Truckers, he is now following a bit more along the lines of singer/songwriters and has been walking the line between the rock scene through his ties with his old band (and make no mistake, he still rocks out), the modern outlaw country, and the singer/songwriter musical camps. Oh yeah, he excels at all of them. If he ever were to do an album tribute, I could see it being to the Allman Brothers Band, Waylon Jennings, or Jackson Browne. I don't see that happening though, because he is creating fantastic songs of his own. He played largely from his new record "The Nashville Sound". He also played three songs that come from his previous 2 excellent albums, "Southeastern" and "Something More Than Free." His crack band, which includes wife Amanda Shires on fiddle and vocals, was up to his every move. To end his set, he dedicated a solid version of the ABB's 'Whipping Post' to recently departed Gregg Allman.

Bob Dylan followed and with a very versatile band, kept the music going into the night. Opening with a swinging 'Things Have Changed,' he followed with an old-timey version (that added a few Hawaiian hints as well) of 'Don't Think Twice (It's Alright).' The band then turned on a dime and dropped a Waits-ish rock version of 'Highway 61.' The band then took another hard right turn into a 40's/50's small combo backing him on one of his new treatments of the standard material he's been doing the last few years. The great band kept to generally one of those three styles throughout, with songs from various eras of his career being rearranged to fit (outside of the covers of the standards, which were kept to similar arrangements as on recent albums). Soloists were inventive and to the point, and everyone played as a cohesive unit. Bob (who was in very fine voice) was playing piano for the night, besides the recent songs (the standards albums), which he stepped out front to sing. An excellent 90 minute set delivered 15 gems from the Nobel Prize winner.

The last on was Willie Nelson, and what a great way to end the night! Opeining with a quick version of 'Whiskey River' that segued to 'Still Is Still Moving To Me,' Willie's band tore through an hour+ material that covered his career and several covers. HIs band included his sister Bobbi Nelson on piano, son Lukas on guitar, Mickey Raphael on harmonica, bass player, and three drummers/percussionists. Everyone played extremely well, and a highlight was a cover of 'Texas Flood' by Larry Davis (Stevie Ray Vaughan had a famous cover on his debut album of the same name), which featured a great guitar solo by Lukas Nelson. As the show wound down, he finished off the night with 3 or 4 songs, including his Merle Haggard tribute 'It's All Going To Pot,' with all the other headliners (including some other band members from the earlier bands, although no Dylan) joining in a big jamboree on stage, that let up with Bobbi Nelson playing a sizzling piano solo to play everyone off into the night.

Written Under the Influence of...Otis Taylor- Fantasizing About Being Black, Logic- Everyday

#summerfest #musicallyrich #outlawcountry #willie nelson #bob dylan #jason isbell #sheryl crow #nathaniel rateliff #margo price #lukas nelson #potr #@RelixMag

1 note · View note

devils-gatemedia · 7 years

Text

Not only is it the weekend, it’s a bank holiday weekend. It’s also pay-day weekend, and there’s only one band to provide the soundtrack for the impending chaos – Hayseed Dixie. Tonight’s gig took place in the band’s “favourite venue in the world” (as declared on the official Hayseed Dixie facebook page). The same venue that I saw Dolph Lundgren in Masters Of The Universe when it was a multiplex!

Taking to the stage in front of a paltry amount of people made no difference to French power trio Datcha Mandala. One they plugged in, they could’ve been playing in front of a full room for all they cared. It’s been a long time since I caught a live band that looked so joyous at being on stage in front of an audience totally unfamiliar with them. Singer and bassist extraordinaire, Nicolas Sauvey, is a whirlwind as he spins around the stage during the short set. Even when he’s singing, he’s restless, never restricted by having to stand still in front of the mic stand. He ends the set on his knees, singing and battering the hell out of his bass, as the mic stand gets lower and lower with every passing second. His compadre on guitar, Jeremy Saigne, is even more animated. He’s everywhere… on top of the monitors, on top of the drum kit. It’s dizzying watching the fella. They can play as well. A heavy, expansive mix of blues and psychedelic rock that goes down well with those that chose to bypass the bar. Sauvey has a fairly unique voice. Think of a young Geddy Lee during Rush’s formative years, and you won’t be too far off the mark. Very accomplished on the four strings, he also gets full marks for whipping out a harmonica on the stunning ‘Mojoy’. I loved it when he used the harmonica on the bass like a six stringer would use a bottleneck for some slide guitar action. What an incredible noise. Special mention must go to Romain Arnault, who was called into action when the band’s drummer fractured his wrist, ruling him out of the tour. Two weeks to learn the songs? Nailed it! Datcha Mandala have opened for acts such as Blues Pills and The Temperance Movement. Throw in some Zeppelin influences, and you have a starting point for what they sound like. I look forward to catching these guys again, that’s for sure.

How can you not like a band that clears the drum riser, places down two hollowed out monitors and then puts two beer buckets inside? A Hayseed Dixie gig isn’t like any other gig though, it’s a congregation, a celebration of songs about “drinking, cheating, killing and hell”. Check your inhibitions at the door, and get a drink in your hand. Prepare to get wet as drinks are thrown in the air, and prepare to feel sorry for the guy who’s rather worse for the wear, getting carried out by his mates. It’s going to take more than a fry-up to cure that hangover in the morning! It’s all about having fun at a Hayseed Dixie gig. Where else can you hear Motörhead and Black Sabbath mixed with Michael Jackson and The Bangles… all played on the banjo…?

It was, of course, “A Hillbilly Tribute To AC/DC” that introduced Hayseed Dixie to the world in 2001, and “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” opens the show in readiness for their headlining set, just 48 hours later, at this years Bon Fest in Kirriemuir, Bon Scott’s birthplace. Barley Scotch aka John Wheeler is in fine fettle as he launches into his sermon about how they realised so many years ago that “the “Lost Highway” of Hank Williams and the “Highway To Hell” of AC/DC were the same damned road”. Necking “white trash” prosecco from a paper cup, he is on good form as he tells the tale of how even after 17 years, his mother still tells him “It’s not too late to go back to school to be a lawyer…“. Cue a hilarious rant about lawyers. “Any lawyers in the audience? Go get a better job… deliver meals to old people, plant flowers by the road… anything.” The more alcohol that gets consumed, the more boisterous the crowd gets. The banjo intro to “Ace Of Spades” sets off a pit, well maybe ‘pit’ is the wrong description. How about a violent barn dance? There are four ladies enjoying a good old hoedown together, when some dude breaks the cardinal rule of never trying to split up ladies dancing. They don’t even speak to him, they just ignore him, rendering him impotent, as he does the walk of shame back to his baying mates. Dude, c’mon man, that’s one thats been handed down generation to generation!

All joking aside, Hayseed Dixie are accomplished players, the standard on display throughout the 90 minute set is staggering. Not only a master of the guitar and possessor of a fine voice, Wheeler also plays a mean fiddle. Banjo player Tim Carter, and bassist Jake Byers, could turn a wake into a raucous party, while mandolin player Joe Hymashy would probably miss the party as his probation was refused… again. His jokey persona on stage might be a mix of a park bench tramp and a BBC DJ from the 80’s, but behind the hairy façade, there is indeed an incredible musician, best highlighted during the intro to ‘Duelling Banjos’, where Wheeler snaps a string on his guitar. After uttering “Motherfucker“, he tells the other three to “play something” as he re-strings and re-tunes the guitar. Without missing a beat, the three other members launch into an almighty jam that starts up the pit/violent barn dance again. Hymashy’s fingers are a blur as they fly across the strings during an incredible impromptu few moments. He also gets cries of laughter as he tries to play the mandolin with a wine bottle. Throughout Glasgow, dogs were howling in agony!

The latest album, ‘Free Your Mind And Your Grass Will Follow’ is a protest album of sorts. Wheeler shines on ‘Ain’t No Country Big Enough’, which allows him to get serious for a few moments. Travelling the world for 17 years, and meeting people from different races and backgrounds, has brought him experiences that so many of his countrymen will never have. Currently residing in Cambridge “for now, but we’ll see how that goes…“, Wheeler has an incredible way with his words, and the song has many thought-provoking and relevant lyrics. Do check it out for another aspect to the Hayseed Dixie sound.

The party came to an end in the same way that it started, with AC/DC. What else but ‘Highway To Hell’ could finish such a joyous evening? If you can go to a Hayseed Dixie gig and come away without a massive smile on your face, then you need to check your pulse. Either that, or you are a lawyer!

Hayseed Dixie are on tour throughout May, finishing off in Yorkshire on the 12th. They then head over to mainland Europe for more shows.

Review: Dave Stott

Images: Dave Jamieson

Follow Hayseed Dixie on Facebook

#gallery-0-5 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-5 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Review: Hayseed Dixie – ABC, Glasgow Not only is it the weekend, it’s a bank holiday weekend. It’s also pay-day weekend, and there's only one band to provide the soundtrack for the impending chaos - Hayseed Dixie.

0 notes

soundcheckentertainment · 7 years

Text

The Writes of Spring tour brought Hawksley Workman, Amelia Curran, Donovan Woods and Tim Baker to Canada’s National Arts centre for their fourth stop, of a nine stop tour. It was a wonderfully laid back night full of innuendos, hockey talk and awkward giggles!

The Writes of Spring: Official Tour Poster by Renée Doiron

Going into The Writes of Spring, I had very little in terms of expectations. I was essentially going in blind, and I loved it! I wish I could attend every concert with no expectations and a very limited knowledge on the artists. This allowed me to appreciate every moment and be mesmerized by the music.

The artists performed four songs each, taking turns down the line.

Hawksley Workman

Hawksley kicked off the night by playing host and MC, introducing the other three singer-songwriters, and telling us all that if at any point we didn’t like what they were presenting, to listen to the exit signs and walk out. He even marvelled at how, here in Ottawa, our signs have arrows, ensuring we know exactly where to exit.

He couldn’t believe how many people were there (the theatre was practically full!) and kept reiterating that we had no good reason to be here – no one likes songwriters. Boy, did we ever prove him wrong! The crowd was engaged the entire night. Between Hawksley’s humour and the music, everyone was hanging on for the next word or note that would be fed to them. Having never attended a songwriting style show before, I was especially impressed.

After finishing telling us all we were crazy for coming out to see silly little songwriters, Hawksley proceeded to comment on Ottawa’s state of constant construction. Claiming that he’s impressed we all made it. Not simply from a lack of interest standpoint, but because of all the “circuitous paths” one had to endure to find the entrance. He even compared it to having to run the Terry Fox run just to make it in on time, showing up sweaty and out of breath, and coughing a little because of a cold.

Hawksley Workman by Renée Doiron

As can be seen, Hawksley kicked the Writes of Spring off immediately with some good natured humour and jokes at his own expense. It wasn’t long, however, until his jokes took a slightly … darker … turn. When observing and interacting with the crowd, Hawksley noticed 4 seats empty in the front row. He metaphorically referred to those seats as being the empty space in your mouth you’d tongue as a kid after losing a tooth. Even though it was small, your attention is constantly drawn to the gap. Now of course, regardless of the crowd, a statement such as tonguing the gap will bring some snickers throughout the audience. Hawksley quickly picked up on this, and proceeded to call out Ottawa on its randy, hot, and unrequited hyper sex vibe. As if asking us to prove his point, when he sang about an ignition and a key, he was greeted by giggles and titters throughout.

Hawksley Workman was not afraid to stop a song and try something new, he interacted with the crowd constantly, and clearly fed off their energy. He was constantly playing with his vocal abilities, showing his incredible range and different styles. He entertained us with songs, both new and old, although he apologized profusely for singing the new stuff. Claiming that new songs should be saved for those you really trust to tell you they’re crap, and not pulled out in concert. This was a tiny jab at Tim Baker, who started with something new. Hawksley felt the need to tease the kid.

The song that Hawksley performed that resonated the most with me, was Birds in Train Stations. It was a sweet song, with a funny tone, that was relatable. He pointed out the cheesy lines midway through the song, which only added to the experience for me.

Amelia Curran

Amelia Curran by Renée Doiron

After Hawklsey Workman’s first song, it was Amelia Curran’s turn to dazzle us all. She started by walking up to the mic and giggling. You could tell that she was one of those people who embraced their awkwardness. Often introducing her songs with something to the effect of: K, I’m gonna sing now. This was a breath of fresh air because it made her seem real. She was relatable, in that she wasn’t super scripted, and she was just overall very sweet. She started things off with a lulling ballad and I was immediately drawn in. Her voice was so soulful and her passion just emanated through the music.

My favourite performance by Amelia was her song The Mistress. She introduced it by saying that everything in this song is true, except for the title. After that, she sang a hauntingly beautiful tune that drew you in, and you just had to close your eyes to appreciate.

Donovan Woods

Donovan Woods by Renée Doiron

Once Curran’s first song was over, it was Donovan Woods’ turn to capture us all with his humour and punchy, straight-to-the-point, style. His first interaction with the audience was to tell us that Tim McGraw has tiny jeans. Woods then proceeded to tell a story of how once, when he had travelled to Nashville, he was writing with McGraw in his home. Donovan couldn’t believe the smallness of Tim’s pants, coupled with the vastness of the couch where he was sitting. He said “It was literally the smallest pair of jeans on the biggest couch you’ve ever seen”. This story had the audience laughing and also seemed to install some respect in everyone. They realized that you must be talented if you’re sitting on McGraw’s couch, songwriting with the respected country artist.

Woods’ voice was not what I would have expected, although still incredible! He sang very close to mic and created this, almost hum, with every note he sang. His style and music was by far my favourite, but this could very well be because I am a country fan and his sound was very country-esque. This could also be because he appealed to my inner Canadian girl and referenced hockey.

Donovan was telling a story of how his song, Put on Cologne, came to be. Explaining that his friend Frasier experienced heartbreak in Cologne, Germany. And how Frasier wasn’t too thrilled that Woods had written a song about it. But hey, artists got to do their art, right Donovan? And this song paid off for Donovan when Erik Karlsson (of the Ottawa Senators), with his dreamy long hair, once tweeted at Woods about this song. Woods couldn’t believe that famous hockey players listened to his sappy love folk songs.

After this revelation, Hawksley had to tell the story about when Mike Bossy sent him a signed jersey. Bossy sent the jersey with a note to tell Workman that he did not shoot it wide, contrary to what was stated in his song Warhol’s Portraits of Gretzky. He mused over the fact that, while Bossy did send him a reply, he had yet to hear anything from Gretzky. Maybe the Writes of Spring will be your chance Hawksley! Gretzky can finally know how pretty bloody sexy that portrait really is.

Tim Baker

Tim Baker of Hey Rosetta! by Renée Doiron

The final artist we heard from, before the order repeated itself was Tim Baker, from Hey Rosetta!. Although we had seen some samplings of his piano abilities when Hawksley asked him for a solo, we hadn’t heard much from the singer songwriter. Tim was a ball of energy, who was clearly passionate about, not only his music but the other three artists’ music as well. He had a quick laugh and wasn’t afraid to try new things in front of the audience, usually in the form of some free style on the piano. Tim Baker showed his diverse artistic abilities, playing the piano, guitar and hitting us with his vocals flawlessly.

My favourite Tim moment is when he was describing the song Welcome. Baker explained that the inspiration hit when talking to his friend’s unborn child. Tim was embarrassed to admit that it wasn’t until telling this story to another friend, that he was made aware that you’re not supposed to talk to pregnant bellies. He didn’t know that most women do not enjoy having their bellies spoken to. Although, I think we can all agree to forgive him, as the result was Hey Rosetta!’s beautifully sad song Welcome.

Overall, the night was a great success! Full of belly laughs and misty eyes, the Writes of Spring brought us through a plethora of emotions and finished us off on a high note. For the encore, all four artists came back on stage to perform the Traveling Wilbury’s Handle With Care.

To learn more about these artists, visit: Hawksley Workman here, Amelia Curran here, Donovan Woods here and Tim Baker here.

More photos by Renée Doiron from Writes of Spring

#gallery-0-3 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-3 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-3 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-3 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Tim Baker of Hey Rosetta! by Renée Doiron

NAC Theatre pre-show

Swag

The Writes of Spring: Official Tour Poster by Renée Doiron

Hawksley Workman by Renée Doiron

Amelia Curran by Renée Doiron

Donovan Woods by Renée Doiron

Hawksley Workman by Renée Doiron

Writes of Spring’s Hawksley Workman Brings an Unrequited Hyper Sex Vibe to Ottawa The Writes of Spring tour brought Hawksley Workman, Amelia Curran, Donovan Woods and Tim Baker to Canada's National Arts centre for their fourth stop, of a nine stop tour.

#Amelia Curran #DONOVAN WOODS #Hawksley Workman #NAC #National Arts Centre #Ottawa #Tim Baker #Writes of Spring

0 notes

poppedmusic · 7 years

Text

Threshold 7

Words: Gary Lambert

Photos: Georgia Flynn & Elena Katrina

Threshold Festival 2017, or Threshold7 to give it the preferred shortened name, was always likely to be one that would stay in the memory. From the announcement that a crowdfunding campaign was needed in order to raise some much needed funds, people seemed to become more comfortable with expressing their love for this slightly curious, niche weekend. For Popped Music, the chance came to show off some favourite bands on our very own stage during the opening night of the festival.

If you are hoping to see a secret set that is going to send social media into meltdown, then this is not the festival for you, but if you like paying for a cheap weekend ticket to watch some great bands who lack fame beyond their home towns at the moment then Threshold is definitely the one for you. It is even definitely the one for you if you like nodding to people who you’ve seen at five different gigs in the last two hours, but you don’t know them and are probably never going to get to know them. The festival is most definitely a celebration of the efforts that musicians and other artists have to go through in order to perform for us. You know nobody is going to a sectioned off VIP area to sip champagne and avoid The Public. Instead you tend to leave a venue and walk over to the next a few minutes ahead of the singer who wants to watch the same band as you after they have packed up. And instead of posing for a selfie with you and then going back to their friends instantly, the chances are that the person you’ve just applauded is willing to stand and chat with you about music – because they’re there as they love music.

Probably the greatest characteristic of Threshold Festival is the variety of music on show. It is not just an opportunity for one genre, or targeted at a set demographic. Instead, their approach is come one, come all. It is designed to open your mind and your heart.

Take, for example, Black Mountain Lights who stunned a packed brewery room into silence with their harmonic Americana which managed to sound fully in tune with its influences, yet with a high definition clarity which made the set completely of its time. Admittedly I spent the first five minutes thinking they were a different band as Threshold is not renowned for keeping to the schedules, but thankfully the singer announced their name again for any newcomers so I was able to edit some social media posts and get on with watching a set that made me forget about anything happening in the world other than the music.

Yet the other side of the road from Black Lodge Brewery in the dark, dangerous confines of 24 Kitchen Street I was enthralled by the raw energy and visceral punk power of Queen Zee and The Sasstones. In a venue that had the perfect amount of darkness to make you forget that it was only sunset outside, Queen Zee took the audience on a trip back in time to New York or London in 1977. There was no hint of the brass accompaniments which people so often associate with 21st century punk music. Instead passion was the motif which made people mosh or at least vigorously nod their head in fear of losing their glasses and being unable to drive home. This band made me feel ten foot tall and wanting to charge on Westminster to end equality and hatred. Exactly what a punk band should do.

Over at the Baltic Social, the bar was left woozy after a session of American-styled glam rock straight out of Lancashire with the intoxicating Sky Valley Mistress. Despite being squeezed into the small space between the bar and the kitchen, this four-piece of constant energy, movement and rock n roll treated the gig like it was Madison Square Garden or, more aptly, Max Yasgur’s farm in White Lake, NY. I will admit to thoroughly loving this band, and this performance showed me exactly why they leave me so spellbound. This is a rock band that knows that a huge part of their reason for being is to entertain people, and they make sure they do it.

For a small festival metropolitan festival populated by unknown or unsigned bands, Threshold is not just about the music and how many gigs or venues you can get to. In between bands in the fantastic Constellations, you could get involved in art happenings as local charity and support groups put on various sessions to educate people on mental health issues under the brilliantly brash banner of “Mad Pride”.

Threshold is an event that you cannot help but love – and a quick glimpse at the full listing showing the likes of Mersey Wylie, Hey Colossus, Seafoam Green standing out amongst bands like The Jjohns, The Shipbuilders, and The Cheap Thrills (three leading lights in north Liverpool’s Scallycore Scene AKA Lid Rock). There is something for everybody.

And if you were a fan of new music, there was one place that you really needed to get yourself, Popped Music’s curated day at District. Some of our favourite bands of recent times made their way over to Liverpool, and took on the challenge of playing to a Friday night audience without any local support to drag some friends in. But it did not matter. As you would expect from a group of artists picked by our Commander-In-Chief, Elena Katrina, there was a plethora of talent and tunes to go along with the booze.

Opening up the event, FANS were louder and more pumped up than I was expecting. As I was walking around to the back door of District, my first thought was that the band must have been sound checking and working out volume levels, but to my excitement it was the start of a set which was similar in tone to early Biffy Clyro. It was a fantastic performance that had me messaging a few friends across the country to tell them to check out this band as I knew they’d love them – and we had a good Facebook Live session going on too.

I’ve always felt jealous of bands being on stage performing, but for the first time I felt very sorry for Fond of Rudy. It had taken them over ten hours driving time to get to Liverpool to play a festival set in a converted warehouse. There was no need for my sympathy though as the band performed with energy and vigour, making the industrial confines of the Baltic Triangle suddenly displaced to a festival field in sunshine. You could not want for more.

With a whole raft of songs in their arsenal, Cinema gave a set which was cool, fun and stylish. The band gave the impression of being professional and hardworking such was the tightness and confidence in the performance. In a way, it reminded me of the likes of Maximo Park and The Hives who you always know you can trust to turn up and roll out a performance that is guaranteed to entertain and make people understand that they have watched a band who are not going to let them down. I was thoroughly impressed.

I tell you one thing though, it was absolutely tiring watching Marsicans. These northern souls perform with such abandon and energy that it drains you like looking after toddlers. Toddlers, unfortunately, cannot make such great sounding pieces of guitar pop. Marsicans are such an exciting band that I think you are all going to be catching them throughout the rest of this year – and loving them.

Now Coquin Migale took the energy of Marsicans, but decided that as well as putting it towards heavier hits than they have sounded to me on record, they made me worried that it was going to be a danger. With the speaker stacks and safety barriers only acting as a temptation to singer Alex Soper, it was an old school show of enjoyment and encouragement to get excited.

Headlining the night, fresh from representing the greatest aspects of the British new music scene at SXSW came False Advertising. Every time I am able to watch this band the three piece seem to grow into a bigger, stronger musical unit. Throughout the set their confidence and stature seemed to grow. They are one of the most exciting bands in the UK without a doubt. It is not just the synergy of the band – especially on the songs where Jen is on vocal duties – but the band have a body of tracks which feel much older than their career. False Advertising are not derivative, but a band of now who perform with such high quality that you feel that even a new song is one that you must have heard before. And if you ever get the chance to talk with them, you will find them to be amongst the three nicest people in music.

Threshold 7 was a brilliant weekend. And from speaking to a number of Threshold First Timers, I think it is going to be a turning point for this festival as everybody seems to love it.

Threshold 7 Photo Gallery:

Festival Review: Threshold 2017 Threshold 7 Words: Gary Lambert Photos: Georgia Flynn & Elena Katrina Threshold Festival 2017, or Threshold7 to give it the preferred shortened name, was always likely to be one that would stay in the memory.

#festival #Festival Review #Liverpool #Threshold

0 notes

justincharlacher · 7 years

Text

My Favorite Stuff of 2016

I was asked today if I had any favorite records of 2016, and after some consideration, the answer is no. I just didn’t listen to much music this year, and I’m actually relying on the year end lists of others to rectify that. I did watch a bunch of stuff and listen to a bunch of podcasts this year, so here is a list of stuff that moved me in those media, as well as two live music events that rocked me to bits in 2016.

Live music

The Local H reunion with original drummer Joe Daniels for a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their second record, As Good As Dead, kicked off in Chicago at the Metro on the anniversary weekend, April 15 and 16. I was there, and it was huge for me. Folks who know me know that Local H has been the band I’ve most consistently followed ever since seeing them touring for AGAD opening for Stone Temple Pilots in Philadelphia in November of 1996. So to be in their hometown for two sold out shows with Joe behind the kit for a set comprised of the entire AGAD record was amazing. It was made only better by the fact that current drummer Ryan Harding and singer/guitar/bass lunatic Scott Lucas kicked off the proceedings with a blistering set, and Lucas was then flanked by both drummers beating the ever-loving fuck out of a pair of quivering drum kits for a finale heavy on tunes from my favorite H record, 1998′s Pack Up the Cats. I would catch up with the tour a few weeks later in DC and Philly, a night that ended with a cheesesteak outing with the band and began with the fellas even tighter and more comfortable playing together. These dates were the highlights of my crappy 2016.

Nearly as awesome was seeing New Oreans sludge weirdos eyehategod in a tiny club in New York City in the fall. I’ve certainly seen EHG in tiny clubs before, but on this tour Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe was filling in for the ailing Mike Williams, and he was insane. I haven’t been into LoG for many years, and they long ago grew out of playing clubs, but this was a reminder of why I loved them so much. Blythe was a force of nature, a wild animal unleashed on a stage to a small room 2/3 full. Dude is the truth. Williams had a successful liver transplant at the end of the year, so hopefully he’ll back out croaking his unearthly vocals for the band soon enough, but catching the Blythe version was a real treat.

Podcasts

Extra Hot Great remains my favorite podcast. The crew who brought you Television Without Pity and Fametracker brave tech issues and thousands of miles of distance to bring discussion of television and ridiculous games. David T. Cole, Sarah D. Bunting, and Tara Ariano are the best thing I pipe into my earholes every week.

Slate’s Panoply network has expanded to include a wealth of great content, but I still gravitate to the OG lineup of The Culture Gabfest, Hang Up and Listen, and The Political Gabfest, which I turn on as soon as I wake up on Friday mornings. Each of these has three hosts with unique points of view and awesome chemistry, though they aren’t afraid to disagree.

The Read is Kid Fury and Crissle. Angry. Black. Queer. Put on your helmet!

The Film Pigs have the only podcast about movies on the internet, and certainly the only one that Chuck D. composed theme music for. Just ask them.

The Cracked Podcast often retreads ground covered in the articles on the site, but it’s worth it to hear Jason Pargin aka David Wong talk about anything. Dude is smart, thoughtful, and the kind of voice that needs exposure behind a humor site.

We Hate Movies. Start with the Boondock Saints II episode. You’ll thank me.

Television

Fleabag (Amazon Prime): This show you guys! Six episodes. Three hours. I dare you not to do it in one go. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a revelation as the eponymous hero with a foul mouth and the need to nervously chat with the audience throughout her adventures. To say too much would be doing disservice to the fantastic narrative that Waller-Bridge, who also created and wrote the show, has constructed. Just brace yourself for a wallop of an ending--and the urge to start over again as soon as you’ve finished. This was my favorite tv thing in 2016.

Catastrophe (Amazon Prime): Season two. Rob and Sharon are parents. What could go wrong?

Banshee (Cinemax): This show aired its fourth and final season in 2016, though I only caught up with the first three seasons earlier in the year. It’s the show for folks (like me) who love the kind of R-rated, big dumb action pictures that Hollywood doesn’t make anymore. An unnamed thief gets out of prison after 15 years and hauls ass to small town Pennsylvania to meet up with the woman he left behind. By chance, he witnesses the death of the town’s new sheriff, and using quick thinking and a hacker best friend dressed in drag, assumes the sheriff’s identity. As sheriff Nate Hood, our hero fights crime and corruption, and an apostate Amish kingpin. The action is filmed spectacularly, the violence would make Kurt Sutter blush, and it’s Cinemax, so you know the sex is sultry and plentiful. This show is an underrated gem.

Rectify (Sundance Network): Like Banshee, this one wrapped a four season run in 2016, and I had only just caught up with it. The tale of Daniel Holden, a man sentenced to death at 18 and released nearly twenty years later on a technicality (the show is cagey about his guilt), this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen on television, full stop. With standout supporting performances from Abigail Spencer and Clayne Crawford so powerful that I followed the actors to lesser network dramas, this show creates a portrait of people just trying to work through an emotional bomb that as been dropped as the shattered son, brother, friend, and step-brother they thought they’d never see again walks among them. Powerful stuff from Ray McKinnon, who I still think of as Reverend Smith on Deadwood.

Better Call Saul (AMC): Season two finds Jimmy with the opportunity to settle in as a legit lawyer and partner to Kim. Watching him willfully blow it is agony.

Search Party (TBS): So yeah...TBS is making quality dramedies now. Alia Shawkat leads a group of painfully self-involved friends as they search for a missing girl who they sort of maybe knew in college. Being lost in life is the real thematic game here, and the show finds a fresh way to engage this age-old trope.

Bojack Horseman (Netflix): I’m not sure that there has been a show as depressing as this one. Bojack Horseman wraps the self destructive tendencies of Walter White, Don Draper, and James McGill together and multiplies them. It’s made worse because he also really feels things, kind of. The third season dropped on Netflix in 2016, but you have to start from the beginning and give the show some time to hook you. It’s well worth it.

The People V. O.J. Simpson (FX): Never in a million years did I think I would even like this, but boy howdy... I loved it. Sarah Paulson is jaw-dropping in bringing Marcia Clark to life and her chemistry with Sterling K. Brown’s Christopher Darden is scorching. Whether or not Darden and Clark hooked up in real life, I can’t imagine many folks who didn’t want these two characters to just get busy already. Courtney B. Vance crushed the role of Johnnie Cochran. And what in God’s name was Travolta doing?! I hate Ryan Murphy products. I loved this show!

Finally, I’m going to toss out a group of good but not great shows that also watched intently in 2016. The Girlfriend Experience on STARZ expands on Soderbergh’s film with a real actress this time (though I think Sasha Grey did what was asked of her in the film). Quarry on Cinemax tells the story of a man who returns to Memphis after two tours in Vietnam and finds himself drawn into a mysterious underworld as an assassin. Lethal Weapon on FOX is far better than it has any right to be, and casts Rectify’s brilliant Clayne Crawford as Riggs to Damon Wayans’s Murtaugh. And Timeless on NBC tells the story of a hijacked time machine and the ragtag crew sent to chase it through American history. Abigail Spencer shows up in this one, so score another extension of Rectify. None of these shows is going to compete with greats like Rectify or Breaking Bad or The Wire, but even in a crowded tv market, I think they are worth a look. They are solid.

Movies

This is a short one as I saw very few new movies in 2016.

Green Room: Jeremy Saulnier brings the hurt with this tale of a hardcore band touring the Pacific northwest who get caught up with group of violent skinheads after a gig. Practical gore. Psychological horror. Patrick Stewart bringing soft-spoken menace as the cool leader of the neo-Nazi group. Also, one of Anton Yelchin’s final performances before his tragic death. This one had me watching through my fingers in the theater.

Brand: A Second Coming: This documentary chronicling the ups and downs of Russell Brand was probably the most thought-provoking film I saw all year. Directed by Ondi Timoner, who has made a career of examining male hubris, this film depicts a man who seems to truly mean well but simply cannot get out of his own way. I found it to be a very powerful character study.

The Nice Guys: I’m in the bag for Shane Black. He still makes the big dumb action pictures. I even liked Russell Crowe in this one.

The Conjuring 2: Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are terrific. These films are legit scary. James Wan expertly uses his camera for maximum tension.

Blue Jay: Sarah Paulson again. I love her. And I’ve also become very fond of Mark Duplass the actor. I’ve mentioned this film before. A lovely two-hander about what could have (and maybe should have) been.

So that’s it. On to 2017! Thanks for reading.

0 notes