The Church Boys ➸ Peterick/Brentrick

29: The Music or the Misery

Patrick was bouncy.

His parents let him do something with the remnants of his old band and the senior orchestra class from Joe's school. Part of it was just because a couple of them wanted the practice before their first concert before school started.

Which meant doing some jazz. Patrick actually really liked jazz and the incredibly large sound it had. Besides that, they were doing Stairway to Heaven in the style of Heart, which was probably just as cool. Either way, though the previous school year had gone down the drain for him, he was ready to take senior year by storm: he'd lost almost too much weight until July, taken actual vocal lessons (sort of- while he was in the studio), and convinced his parents that him being in a band wasn't the worst idea ever.

With the help of his brother and sister, he'd actually pulled it off. Joe had joined in the reunion of The Whoremones with the fact that Patrick wasn't going to be playing anything that night. Truth be told, this was probably the last thing The Whoremones would ever do together. It wasn't a surprise, Joe wanted to start a band with him anyways. Besides, Joe was only nervous because it was his first live performance, doing what some would consider one of the best guitar solos of all time.

Either way, Patrick was bouncy with excitement. He had a suit and bowtie on, distracting himself from the idea that he was going to go out onto a stage. Where people were out, wanting to actually watch what they were doing. The senior orchestra was already out, making sure they were set up. In hopes of getting out there before he changed his mind, Patrick left to go out on the stage, fixing his cuffs and flicking hair out of his face.

He knew this was going to be big, between the advertisement through Joe's school and the otherwise fact that word seemed to spread around through the music scene around the county. It was nostalgic, The Whoremones had once been a big thing in the little scene, doing small concerts when offered. People were showing up, though, which was cool. He could still see a sign that, although slightly torn, still read "The Music or the Misery (the final show): The Whoremones + the Senior Orchestra of Maine North High".

Tugging at his fingerless gloves, he sighed softly and glanced over at Joe, who seemed shocked that so many people were there. Instead of immediately going to the mic, he stayed still next to Joe.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked quietly, watching Joe nod before going back to the mic and stretching.

Patrick approached the mic stand, sighing softly before he started speaking. "Alright, hey guys. So, um, our set list has us starting kind of slow. You can thank Nancy for that, she put it together." Their other guitarist chuckled, shaking her head and playfully rolled her eyes. "Nah, she's great. Anyways, we start kind of slow, so...I promise we don't suck, just hang around for a bit and have a good time, that's what we're all here for."

He'd waited for a long moment, the orchestra settling into place and beginning the piece. Yeah, okay, it was Michael Bublé, but people liked Michael Bublé. Joe was mostly happy about not having a large piece, as it was mostly focused on the orchestra. The next song, as recommended by their bassist, was Breath of Life (by Florence and the Machine), and he found himself relating to it as he got closer to the end of it.

Clearly, he'd never actually listened to the lyrics, because as he was singing he found himself thinking between both Brendon and Pete, then to himself and what he'd done towards the end of the school year. Shaking his head once he'd finished, he took a step away and wiped his eyes, clearing his throat before going back at it with an Adele song (Skyfall, only because it was a great piece for an orchestra). They'd also (well, no, Patrick had) incorporated the orchestra into the Lana Del Rey song Body Electric and as it played, it sounded amazing.