The stage was full of various lights, machines, and instruments. Jack and Andrew set up the piano and Will sets up the drums.
Nate and Emily walk in, carrying two cases of water onstage with them.
"For the crowd. " says Nate.
I nod and take a photo of them walking the water to the side of the stage.
Jack and Andrew finish with the piano and start on the amps. I take a photo of that, too.
After about twenty minutes and thirty photos, the stage is set and is ready to be rehearsed on.
Nate grabs a mic and turns it on.
"Heyyyyyyy!" he yells into it, causing the speakers to screech.
"Shut the fuck up!!!" yells Jack from the back.
Nate laughs with his tounge hanging out. He sticks his earpiece in his ear and pushes his hair back.
He walks towards me and grins.
"Babe." he says as he grabs my waist and pulls me in for a hug.
I smile and look at the empty crowd seats.
"I love you." I say as I close my eyes and breath in his scent.
He kisses my head and rubs my back.
"Love you, too."
The stage owner walks onstage and claps.
"Looks good, guys!" he says.
The rest of us nod and turn on all the mics and instruments, amps and speakers.
"Check one, two." says Andrew into his mic.
Everyone else does the same and Jack strums his guitar.
Will beats on his drums and finds the right two drumsticks to use and Andrew plays around with his keyboard.
"What are we playing first?" asks Nate into his mic as he looks to Andrew and Jack for an answer.
Jack scratches his head and says "Stars".
Nate nods and Jack starts with the guitar, followed by a few beats from the drums.
Nate starts to sing into the mic but then stops.
"Let's go up a key." he says, and they start again.
Nate gives them a thumbs up and they go on to the next song on the list: Some Nights.
~~~~~~~~~
The crowd cheers and applauds. A few screams are heard by us, as well.
"Some nights I stay up, cashing in my bad luck. Some nights I call it a draw."
The crowd jumps from their seats and clap as Nate shouts into the mic.
"C'mon! Some nights I wish that my lips could build a castle, Some nights I wish they'd just fall off."
The crowd joins in and sings with him, which sent shivers down my spine.
Nate steps away from the mic and lets the crowd take it in from there. He walks to his bottle of water and looks at me, smiling.
I take his picture and he winks, right as I take the shot.
He jogs back to the mic and continues.
"Anymore, whoa, whoa, oh."
Nate jumps around with Jack along side of him, rocking out to the guitar. Andrew pounds on the keyboard and Nattie strums the bass.
The six band members play the song with such power and pride that when it ended, I felt like crying because it was so amazing.
