Painted to Life || Julie and the Phantoms

CHAPTER 9: Now or Never

ONE STRENOUS WEEK later and the band is ready to perform live at the Orpheum. We have barely been able to see each other outside of rehearsals. Watching them through the lens of the lighting booth leaves me feeling disconnected, but I'm happy to be a part of their success.

After multiple exclamations from the boys (mainly Luke) that Sunset Curve was finally playing the Orpheum, we'd finished set up the stage. I head up to the tech booth, greeting Fred as I sit down near the sound board. We run through the sound check and I readjust the sound for each of their individual earpieces. They all have to be able to hear Alex's drums as well as their own instruments and vocals.

Once that is over, I give the guys a thumbs up and Alex counts off.

"1, 2, 3!" he shouts before playing his drums.

I giggle at how Reggie starts jumping around like a bunny. It's kind of cute.

"Take off, last stop, countdown till we blast open the top," Luke sings at full energy into the microphone. Because of the sudden volume, I have to turn down his sound slightly so that it blends with the rest. "Face first, full charge, electric hammer to the heart."

The rest of the band joins in, but Luke's voice is still heard above the rest.

"Clocks move faster, 'cause it's all we're after now! Ohhh!"

Bobby holds up his guitar and strums it with vigor, whipping his sweaty hair out of his face.

"Won't stop climbing, 'cause this is our time, yeah." I readjust the sound so Reggie's low harmonies can be heard better.

"When all the days were black and white those were the best shades of my life!" Luke sings solo.

"Don't look down," they all sing.

"'Cause we're still rising," Luke goes solo before they join in on "up right now!"

"And even if we hit the ground!" they sing, the other guys joining in on the last words like earlier.

"We're still flying, dreaming like we live forever, we're livin' like it's now or never!" Luke sings, then strums aggressively before singing the next verse. "Hear the noise, in my head, it's calling out like a voice I can't forget. One life, no regrets! Catch up, got no time to catch my breath."

I'll admit, even with my week of training, it's hard to keep up with their sound. Especially when Reggie decides to sing into Luke's mic with him. While that would be great for the energy of the crowd, it's creating confusion for me.

Fred shakes his head. "Just role with it."

I nod.

"'Cause we ain't searching for tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow!" Reggie echoes.

"'Cause we've got all we need today!"

"Today!" Alex and Reggie sing together.

"Living on a feeling that's been running through our veins," Luke sings.

"We're the revolution that's been singing in the rain!" Reggie sings with a hair flip.

I'm starting to feel the stress getting to me. Fred gives me an encouraging smile.

"Don't look down!" they all sing as they go a cappella. This is the part where I have to set off the smoke right on beat. "'Cause we're still rising up right now!"

I press the button and sigh in relief when I see that everything goes right.

"And even if we hit the ground! We'll still fly, keep dreaming like we'll live forever, we're living like it's now or never! It's now or never!"