Chapter 13: First Show of the First Tour - No More Cherries

They got back to the hall with about an hour to go until show time, so they just sat in the dressing room talking like it was any other day sitting around the house.

Janell changed into her "performance uniform" while everyone made light and chuckled at each piece she put on. Tonight it was a pair of men's boxer briefs rather than commando under the huge pair of men's gym shorts, you never know who's looking and what they may see. She put on little shorty socks and her custom made lightweight shoes that looked like the kind of shoes a race driver would wear. Very thin, but extremely robust. She said they were great because she could feel the pedals like she was barefoot.

She also stripped off her top to which everyone in the room gave a robust round of applause causing Jan to blush bright red. It wasn't like everyone there hadn't seen her tits at some point in time. She pulled on a hot pink, very tight sports bra to hold her boobs in place while she bounced around on her throne, over that was a large men's tank top that was tie-dyed with a peace sign in the middle.

She then slipped on the first heavy terry cloth headband she would use that night. She had close to 100 of them in her stash and generally went through eight or ten of them in a show. It didn't take long for them to be soaked with sweat and be of no more use to her until washed and dried.

As a joke, which ended up relieving a lot of pent up tension, she put on a pair of those glasses that had the sparkly spirals on each lens. They used to sell them in comic books as "X-Ray" glasses.

She looked around the room and said, "Ok, I'm ready!"

Everyone laughed out loud while Jan handed out a pair of the glasses to each band member.

The light man, Hector, came in to explain to them what he was going to be doing with the lights. He about fell over when he looked around the room and saw all the goofy glasses they were all wearing. He just started laughing hysterically.

Janell looked at him and said with all seriousness, "These are our special naked glasses. It makes the whole audience naked so we won't be quite as nervous when we play."

He just laughed roundly again, but said he had to get down to business. They all removed their glasses so that he wouldn't have to look around the room laughing while he was trying to explain what he was going to be doing with all the house lights as well as the stage lighting.

Bob had requested a dark stage for them to walk on to so they'd get used to the naked audience before the lights came up.

Hector said that as Bob introduced each of the girls a spot would hit them and stay on until the music started. He noted there were red dots on the floor where he would like them to be standing for the introductions.

He was going to spotlight Maryanne at the very start because of the music, then the general stage lighting would come up gradually as the drums and other instruments started. He said he'd be playing with them as the girls worked trying to keep in synch with the tempo.

Then just before he left he looked at each of the girls seeing that he had very nervous eyes looking back at him. With a warm smile he said to them softly, "Listen, if you all are a quarter as good on the stage tonight as you are on your CD's, you'll do just fine. Honestly, I'm really looking forward to listening to you guys work. I've heard so much ... and I'd be willing to bet a paycheck that it's all true!"

With big smiles and thank you from the girls he turned and left just as the stage manager came to give them the ten-minute warning.

In ten minutes time it would be all over except the music and they could all relax. Strange as it may sound, as soon as they started to play all the tension would subside and they'd just do what they do.

Play music!

The knock came letting them know it was five minutes until curtain call.

Bob stood up and looked at four nervous faces. He smiled and then putting on his glasses, gave them the pep talk though softly. "This is it guys. This is why you have been working your asses off every day. This is why you have endured sore fingers, feet, and worn voice boxes. You're going to be just fine. Lets just go out there and have some fun."

Then with a huge grin on his face, "Where's the damned toilet, I gotta pee."

This broke up the room so donning their glasses and laughing, they made their way to the curtain in preparation to take the stage.

"Oh by the way, you all look stunning naked," Bob said as they stood waiting.

Once again they just cracked up laughing and a little more of the tension was released.

When it was time, they all looked at each other nervously, and in a circle did a group hug and a high five, which would become a "tradition" with the band as time moved on.

Heather looked at them all and with a big smile said to them what she had said to them before damned near every practice or weekend session they had ever done. "Let's do it to it!"

Then, with each taking a deep breath, they stepped out on to the stage and into the history books.

"Good evening," Bob said into the microphone shading his eyes from the spotlight, and then had to wait for the crowd to quiet a bit. He had his bass strapped over his shoulder and was holding the two padded drumsticks he would use for the opening.

"Good evening and welcome to the first show on the first tour for the group. Umm ... the girls are pretty nervous, so please, be gentle with them." It brought a huge laugh from the crowd as well as the girls.

"I'm sure you all know who I am, so I'll just take a few seconds to make some introductions, then we'll start the show."

Cheers, and loud applause permeated the house.

"I'll start at the back of the stage ... Keeping the beat and keeping the rest of us honest, please welcome Janell Miller playing drums for you tonight. Neil Peart, eat your heart out!" he said with a chuckle

The audience couldn't see all of the girls yet, but none of the girls had taken off her glasses, so when Bob started to make the introductions he looked back at Janell and as the spot hit her, there she was sitting on the throne and smiling with those goofy glasses on her face.

Bob about fell over laughing along with the crowd, but kept it together to do the rest of the intro's figuring that each of the girls was going to have those damned glasses on until the music started.

He wasn't to be disappointed!

More rousing applause, and when Bob looked back again she was bright red, but smiling broadly with those damned glasses on. She tapped the roll pedal once putting out a loud "ta-dump". She raised one hand and waved a stick to acknowledge the crowd.

Bob just continued on with the introductions ignoring the glasses each of the girls still had on her face.

"Next to Janell, on my left, playing a mountain of keyboards that she has magically transformed into philharmonic orchestras among all kinds of other sounds, making it possible for us to do music originally recorded by the Moody Blues, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and others, please welcome Michelle Tejano."

Once again, there was rousing applause for a young woman, wearing goofy glasses, turning bright red but giving a small wave in acknowledgement of the applause.

"Next to Michelle, over there on the far side, hiding behind a mound of different instruments, is probably the most talented of us all, playing everything that nobody else is playing including, violin, saxophone, flute, harmonicas, drums, and keyboards to help Michelle when she needs 3 or 4 arms, and a whole collection of other toys, please welcome Maryanne Ellis."

That brought still another round of raucous hollering and clapping amongst the laughter from the audience. Maryanne took the reed from her mouth and put it into the instrument that was going to blow people's minds. As she stepped up to the microphone she'd play into, she removed the glasses and put them in her back pocket probably for later. Then she stood and waited patiently.

"Last, but certainly not least, is one of the most accomplished guitarists I've ever had the pleasure of playing with." He chuckled to himself with the innuendo that would be lost on all but the band. "On lead guitar, please welcome the incomparable Heather McArthur."

One more time, a rousing round of applause, which Heather acknowledged with a wave while she removed her glasses.

"We're going to open with something a little different tonight and if it works we'll probably do it to open most all of our shows, it's that cool!"

Then pausing for a moment, "I mentioned that Maryanne was probably the most talented person on the stage tonight, and she's proven it to the rest of us over the last few months mastering an instrument that very few people in the world play."

"We understand your excitement and your desire to clap and make noise to make us feel welcome, but this opening number sounds best in a fairly quiet room, so we'll give it a try for you.

After the applause died down a little and the room surprisingly started to get quiet, Bob looked around at each of them, and then turned to Janell who would click her sticks bringing on the first number in the show. Once the music started, Jan was in control and always did an excellent job. He nodded at her so she knew he was going to start the final countdown and all the other girls noted it as well. Michelle knew that she had to start her part when Bob nodded because it was very low and in the background, building as Maryanne began to play her doudouk. Both Janell and Bob could hear her start which was the signal for Janell to do her thing.

Bob turned sideways to the microphone, noting that Maryanne, Janell and Michelle were at the ready, maneuvered the sticks he would use to play the opening, and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen," at which time Janell very quietly for this tune, started her cadence, and on the first click Bob finished, "These Girls Can Play".

In perfect timing, because they had practiced it for what seemed like hours, as soon as Bob said the band's name, Maryanne started playing to obvious gasps from the audience.