Chapter 7: First Solo Concert

Dave paced back and forth in the green room. He was so nervous his throat was constricted. He told himself, ‘There’s no way I can sing tonight. How embarrassing. I’ll go out there and croak my way through the first song, apologize, and run off stage. My singing career will be over.

His knees knocked together whenever he stood still. He looked down and could see the dangling tassels on his western boots shaking in tune with his nervousness.

He’d been more relaxed when the others were in the room. Zoey and the Circle had left the room forty-five minutes earlier to warm up the crowd with their songs and music. Zoey was so good. Kyle had an album of theirs ready for release any day. Their appearance tonight on the same billing as Dave was coup for the neophyte group.

Dave’s own band had left five minutes earlier to get their instruments back stage and to be ready to go onstage for the final set up as Zoey and the Circle packed up their toys.

The door opened. The manager of the Oklahoma City Chesapeake Energy Arena smiled in at Dave. “We’re ready, Mr. Prentiss. If you follow me, I’ll be sure you get to your entry point for the stage. There’ll be an usher there as you end to get you back here, too.”

Dave thought about telling him to scrub the performance. He felt bile rise into his mouth. His innards spasmed. He grabbed a water bottle to wash down the acidic feeling. How do people do this? He took a huge gulp of air and followed the man down the hallway, past several security points, and then through a maze of corridors.

As they got to the door, Zoey burst into the hallway. “Dave! The crowd is wonderful. So responsive. We’re going to watch from the back somewhere after we change.” She kissed his cheek and fluttered by.

Lars, Alan, and Jaxon followed with kind comments to Dave. He didn’t see Ben or Neo, but they might have used a different exit from the stage.

Robby Nixx, Dave’s band leader, came to the back edge of the stage and locked eyes with Dave as they’d planned. He held up one finger. One minute to go. Knees, please stop knocking together unless they’re in sync with the drummer.

Robby disappeared, and a few seconds later, some keyboard music started to rise in volume throughout the arena. One of the electric guitars joined in, almost random chords at first, but then more instruments joined and then the instruments locked together in a single tune. The beat of the drums slowly started to join in, and then the two more guitars started. The fiddle did some seemingly random notes before synching with the others.

Dave thought, ‘Five, four, three, two, one, zero.’ He launched himself through the curtains into the wide alley way between the side seats that would take him to the stairs leading up onto the stage. A spotlight picked him up immediately, and he saw his image on the large television screens overhead that would give the crowd the illusion of being closer to him than they actually were.

Cheers and screams rose from the crowd. Dave grinned and waved enthusiastically as he strode down the aisle, exuding the utmost in confidence and swagger to everyone in the crowd.

He stopped by an elderly couple sitting in aisle seats. The woman was about ninety and on the aisle. Dave held her hands and kissed her cheek. Everyone cheered and she smiled and said ‘Thank you’.

He bounded up on the stage as Robby dropped his arm and the instruments all came in with the opening bars of Texas Dawn, the song that he and Ashley had ridden in the number one country music slot for over four months. The crowd went wild and then calmed.

Smooth as silk, Dave’s baritone voice drifted out over the amplifiers to the crowd. The music was dreamy and the kind you could get lost in as the romantic lyrics floated past. Many in the audience sang along.

The VIP pit right in front of the stage was filled with mostly young women. They all swooned as they looked up adoringly at Dave singing the romantic love song. Dave locked eyes periodically with one of the pretty girls near the stage. Everyone thought the song was directed at her the way his eyes caressed each one of them. Once in a while they’d all raise their arms and start doing a floating wave. A few were holding their cellphones aloft trying to record the scene.

The song wove through the complex verses with a few members in the band taking romantic solos with their instruments. The band and backup singers finally came together for the last verse of the song:

So Darlin’ let me wake with you

For all your Texas dawns;

I promise that I’ll love you

... forever ... love you forever.

The applause rose like thunder honoring the god of music. As the noise waned Dave held his hand up; he yelled, “HELLO, OKLAHOMA.” There were more cheers and yelling.

Signs started to appear in the audience here and there. Some made him laugh. “I want to have your baby.” “I love you like no other can.” “Can I be one of your wives?” “Love you forever.” “I’m polyamorous. Let’s get together.”

Dave said a few words about how glad he was to be in Oklahoma City performing for everybody. He appreciated their enthusiasm and hoped they felt well entertained by the end of the evening.

Robbie struck up the chords for the next song, a jazzy cover of the Rascal Flatts song, Life Is A Highway. Because of the up tempo of the song, more of the band were able to get some solo riffs during the number. Dave went and danced with Ally, one of the backup singers, even doing a two-step around the stage with her.

Dave exchanged some more easy banter with the audience of eighteen-thousand fans. He commented favorably on a few of the signs, and even made a few humorous comments about his lifestyle and extended family. At one point he commented about being in the delivery room when three women he loved had his baby – two a month earlier, and one two weeks earlier.

He talked about Ashley more, as well; telling how she was doing with the new baby and how both he and Kyle were happy playing the daddy role with both Kendall and baby Priscilla. Between two other songs he even gave a plug for the television show named The Circle.

Towards the end of the first set he had Ally come up and join him. She wasn’t expecting the call forward, but joined him for three songs, although he kept the lead: Loving More Than One, My Baby’s Sexy, and Our Love Is Like Fireworks.

As they sang, Dave realized that he wanted some songs that were uniquely his. It wasn’t that he minded singing ‘covers’, it was just that he didn’t really feel ownership for any of the songs. He hoped he hadn’t been flat or unemotional on any of the songs. Ally certainly outdid herself when she’d come forward and joined him. She did very well. He’d do this often with her.

Dave was amazed at how calm he was when he announced the intermission. The band, singers, and Dave all went back to the green room. There were a few modest appetizers there and lots of choices for drinks. A pretty young girl was also there to oversee the refreshments and be sure to replenish anything that was running low.

Dave started the second set with Girls Like You, a cover of a song Jason Aldean ran into the Top 100.

As he sang and moved around the stage, he became acutely aware of a gorgeous blonde in the front row of the pit. The mid-twenties beauty couldn’t take her eyes off of Dave, and also seemed to be mouthing the words to every song. He’d seen her in the first set, but she somehow seemed prettier on second look.

As that song ended, he gestured to one of the security bouncers at the side of the stage. The man smiled after Dave talked to him, and then waded into the pit. Meanwhile, Dave pointed at the girl; his antics being televised on the big overhead screens. The security guy took her hand and led her to the stairs to the stage that he’d been guarding and urged her up onto the stage and towards Dave.

The pretty blonde was shy and reluctant, but moved out to center stage where Dave was gesturing to her.

“Hello, darlin’. What’s your name?”

“I’m Shiloh Gentry. I’m from Tulsa.”

At the mention of Tulsa, there were many cheers from the audience.

Dave held her hand, and said, “I have some love songs to sing, and I’d like to sing them especially to you.”

Shiloh swooned and the audience laughed. She said, “I may not survive. I love you already. This may put me over the top.”

Dave gestured to Robby and he struck up the band so he could sing Crazy Beautiful to Shiloh. She took it in stride and looked adoringly at him for the entire song. She seemed to be studying every facet of his upper body.

The band segued right into Hotter Than a Pepper Sprout. Dave expected to sing most of the song alone or have Ally come up and join him. He was surprised when Shiloh began to sing along with him. She clearly had the song and its nuances memorized. He kept her up there and gestured many times to her as the audience even sang along. There was a good round of applause for Shiloh when the song was over.

Dave leaned in and said, “Do you know Whiskey Lullaby?”

“Yes, but you start.”

“Are you professional?”

“Oh, God no. I just love country music. Your music. You!”

Ricardo stepped forward to play the opening strings to the song. Dave started singing holding Shiloh at arm’s length. He wandered the stage a little and she stayed put. He moved close to her to prompt her when her part of the song would start. He could see her gearing up to sing, taking deep breaths. She was as anxious about starting as he’d been before he got on the stage. There were only eighteen thousand people watching.