Day Five: Quebec City

Connor gets up and announces that we have arrived at the venue. It is now 1:30

p.m. exactly and everyone starts leaving the bus. The weather is pretty nice; it’s cold,

but very sunny. As the sun shines in my eyes I squint and put my hand up to block it. I

look around to see where the guys have gone and then see Dom standing next to the

trailer behind the bus. I walk over to him and notice the other guys are there too. I’m

about to ask what they are doing when I see Jason and Gino unloading equipment and

rolling the flight cases towards the venue. Next I see Paul and Jordy do the same, as

well as all the others. Feeling like I should help, I go around the bus to see if I can do

anything. Connor throws me a harsh, annoyed look and waves me off.

“Look, I’m just offering to help. I’m sure there is something I can carry, but

never mind I’ll just stay out of your way.” I turn on my heel and while muttering to

myself I stalk away.

Not really knowing where to go I get back on the bus. About a minute later

Reagan comes on the bus and asks if everything is OK. He must have seen me stalking

away from the trailer.

“I’m fine. I just offered to help with the offloading of your stuff, but that jerk

waved me off as if he couldn’t possibly think of any use for me.”

“Yeah, Con can be a real a*****e sometimes. He’s a good guy though, once he

gets to know you. In the meantime just try to ignore him as much as you can.”

I laugh and say: Ok, thanks! I’ll try that.”

He’s right, I shouldn’t let that guy get to me. It is his problem that he doesn’t

want me here, because I’m not failing my assignment over him. I guess I’d better

make it easier on myself by staying clear of him. Some people just don’t have any

social skills.

“Hey, listen. The guys from the venue arranged sandwiches for us, so if you’re

hungry you can come with me to the venue. Afterwards you can watch us set up and

sound check.” Reagan offers. I consider this for a moment and then decide that it is

probably a good idea, so I nod and follow him. As he gets on the stage, he points to

the bar. “There are sandwiches over there and you’ll have a clear view of the stage

from there as well.”

I walk over, choose a sandwich and take a seat. Soon the guys join me and grab

sandwiches as well. They all stand around while eating, though there are enough seats

at the bar for everyone. I guess they want to finish eating quickly and get back to

setting up the equipment.

When everyone is done eating, they head back to the stage. I grab my

blackberry and write down everything I see them do; the way everyone just knows

exactly where to put everything, what to do and when, like setting up the drum riser

and -kit, the cabinets and amplifiers for the guitars and bass, hooking up the cables

and taping them to the stage (so nobody trips on them), placing microphones around

the drums, cabinets and in front of Yuri, Jason and Reagan.

When everything is set up, Jordy goes over to the sound table and Gino to the

light table. I guess now it’s time for the sound check; Stepha`n starts with his kick

drum and when Jordy is ready adjusting the sound he moves on to his snare, then his

toms, his floor tom, his hi-hat and lastly his cymbals. Then it’s Jason’s turn to start

playing his bass. Soon after, it’s Dom who starts playing his guitar. When it’s time for

Reagan to start he plays a funny little riff. Lastly, the microphones are tested and at

that time the guys start joking around.

During the sound check Gino goes through all his lighting routines to check if all

the lights are correctly placed. When he sees that some need to be adjusted he waits

for Jordy to be done, so he can do the tweaks to the lighting-rigs. Even though it

seems like it takes ages to get this done, it actually only takes them a little over an

hour to be finished with everything. We all walk back to the bus and once we’re on

Connor lets us know that dinner will be at 6:30 p.m. It is now 3:00 p.m., so we have

another 3 1/2 hours to ourselves. That seems like a lot of time, so for a moment I

wonder if anyone is going into town after all. That doesn’t seem to be the case as

everyone goes about their business. It’s a shame, because I would have liked to see

more of Quebec. I guess I’ll have to come back another time to do some sightseeing.

I decide to go up to my bunk instead and transfer the stuff I wrote on my

Blackberry to my laptop. As I get my laptop and USB cable from my bag I move to the

back lounge and start it up. While waiting for it I put it to the side and walk

downstairs to get something to drink. In the little fridge there is mostly beer, but

luckily there are also some soda cans. I grab a can of Sprite and head back upstairs. I

sit down next to my laptop, pull it onto my lap and connect my phone to it. After

transferring the document I add it to the stuff I wrote earlier. Not knowing what else

to do I start up my e-mail and check if I have any new ones. Seeing them come in one

by one I know I shouldn’t have checked. There are three from Sylvia; one of them is to

tell me off about one of the articles I handed in yesterday, another one is to warn me

to keep in mind that if I do anything wrong she will personally fire me and the third is

a general message to the whole department reminding everyone that stories need to

be handed in well before the due time otherwise she’ll have our asses. Even though all

three e-mails piss me off I force myself not to respond, because the last thing I need is

to give her a reason to fire me, which she is itching to get. Instead I write an e-mail to

Beth venting about the stupid b***h.

After sending the e-mail I turn off my computer and put it in my bunk. Seeing as

I still have 2 and a half hours to spare I decide to go outside and take a walk around.

Maybe that way I can clear my head. I make my way off the bus after getting a bottle

of water from the fridge. Before heading downstairs I put on my favorite hooded

sweater and as the weather hits me I’m glad I put it on. The temperature has gone

down a few degrees since I was last outside.

Without consciously thinking about it I choose a direction and start walking. The

venue is in a pretty secluded area with wide open spaces. There is one big road that

leads to the venue and in the distance I see the downtown district. It is definitely too

far to walk all the way there, so I decide to go around the venue and walk for a while.

As I stroll around I let my mind go free. At first I think about work, then I force myself

to focus on something else. My mind automatically drifts to the guys on this tour and

how I haven’t really succeeded in making friends so far. I mean Reagan and Paul are

nice to me, but so is everyone else besides Connor. What can I do to get to know these

guys better? I guess spending more time with them is the first thing. I immediately

walk back to the venue and get on the bus. As I step into the downstairs lounge I see

Dom and Jordy playing a game on the PlayStation and Paul reading a newspaper. They

seem to be enjoying themselves, so I don’t want to disturb them right now. I turn

around and head upstairs. Jason, Moe and Gino are in their bunks talking and joking

around with Yuri, who is sitting in the aisle. They all greet me enthusiastically and ask

me to join them. So I sit down opposite Yuri with my back to the stairs. I listen to the

conversations and jokes for a while before speaking up myself.

When the conversation moves to the subject of movies I join in by mentioning

that one of my colleagues does the reviews for the Boston Globe and he watches all

new releases. “I went with him once to Hannibal. I can tell you one thing. Never go to

a movie with a critic. The whole time he was analyzing every little detail of it, ruining

the entire movie for me.”

The guys start laughing, which makes me feel good. Then Yuri says that he

didn’t like it at all, that they should have never made a movie out of that book and

that Red Dragon was even worse. This starts a huge discussion between him and Moe,

who thinks both movies were superb.

“Oh, you started something now Skylar. They always find something to debate

about. Somehow they manage to have a difference in opinion on any subject.” Jason

explains laughing.

Gino tries to keep the guys in check, but gives up after a while. Jason, Gino and

I try to have a conversation amongst ourselves, but at some point we can’t be

overheard through the increasingly heated discussion. We decide to go downstairs to

get away from the yelling. As we come down Dom asks what’s going on up there.

Jokingly Jason says that it’s my fault, right when Connor steps in who snorts at the

comment. Ignoring him Jason explains what happened and starts laughing.

Dom, Jordy and Paul laugh as well, but Connor is looking straight at me when he

says: “Oh great. They will be at it all night. Thanks a lot!” Then he tells the guys it’s

time for dinner and walks away.

Jason throws me a sympathetic look and mouths sorry to me. Dom pats my

shoulder and says not to worry about a thing. I wait for everyone to leave the bus

before I sit down. I slump in my seat and try not to let Connor’s snarl get to me. Of

course I can’t stop feeling hurt and wonder what I have done to make him dislike me

so much. I feel someone sit down next to me, so I look up and see Reagan. He smiles

gently at me and asks if I’m OK.

I shake my head and say: “I know you said to ignore Connor, but you should see

the way he acts around me. I’m sure he hates me and I don’t know if I can stay around

someone like that for three weeks. Maybe it’s best if I just leave.”

“What? Are you crazy? You can’t leave. What about your assignment? Are you

ready to get in serious trouble over Connor? Well, I won’t let you. I’ll talk to him and

straighten things out.”

Before I can tell him not to, he is off. I take a few deep breaths before hurrying

after him. I see him enter the venue and follow him. Unfortunately I don’t reach him

in time to stop him from talking to Connor. I watch them leave as Jordy offers to get

me some food and ushers me towards the rest of the guys. While Jordy hands me a

plate of food I sit down between Yuri and Dom. This way I can look at the door that

Reagan and Connor went through and see them come back. It takes a long time before

they do. Everyone has already finished eating and is relaxing for a couple minutes

when they rejoin the group. Reagan looks at me and winks. I return it with a tiny

smile, but then look away quickly. Making sure I steer clear of Connor I get up and

leave. I walk over to the bus, go inside and up to my bunk. I lie down on my bed, close

the curtain and stare at the ceiling for a while when I remember the picture dad gave

me. I take it out of my wallet and look at it. Dad was right, looking at this picture

does make me feel better. It reminds me that at least the two people in the picture

love me. I hold the picture close to me and lie like that for a while. Suddenly I hear

someone coming up and decide to stay as quiet as possible.

“Skylar? I just wanted to let you know that we’ll be starting our show in 30

minutes.” Reagan says.

I hear him moving away and open my curtain. “Thank you for letting me know.

And also thanks for talking to Connor. Maybe I’ll watch this first gig from the

audience’s point of view, right in front of the stage.” I say while getting out of my

bunk.

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. Have you ever been in a moshpit before?

You could get hurt.” Reagan responds.

Appreciating his concern for my safety, I assure him I’ll be fine. I follow him

downstairs and wait for him to get off the bus. He leads me inside the venue and

shows me the backstage area where everyone is sitting. Paul spots me and comes

over. He gives me a big grin and hands me a drink. He gestures to me to follow him

and I sit down on a chair next to him. We talk for a few minutes and then Connor

comes in to say that it’s time for the guys to get ready because the show is about to

start. Reagan, Dom, Jason and Stepha`n get up and make their way to the stage. Yuri

follows them with Gino, Paul, Moe and Jordy right on his heels. With everyone gone

I’m the only one left. I want to finish my drink first before I go watch the show. As I

try to finish it I sit back and look around. So this is what a backstage area looks like. I

always thought it would be much more than just a big room with a couple of couches,

a few tables and a whole lot of clothes, backpacks and other stuff lying around. I

compare the image I had in my head to the real thing and start laughing. It hits me

that I should probably write this down, so I take out my Blackberry and describe what

I’m seeing and feeling right now. Just as I finish with my drink Connor comes in

looking for something. He is so focused on the search that he doesn’t notice me here.

I get up from my seat when he has his back towards me and slowly make my way to

the exit.

Right when I’m at the door he says: “Did you see a box of picks? You were here

last, so chances are that you saw it.”

“No, I haven’t. But I can help you look for them.” I get back into the room and

start looking. “What does it look like?” I ask.

“It’s a little white flight case with a glass top.” Connor answers. I lift up

someone’s backpack and something falls on the floor. We both look at it and it’s the

flight case we were looking for. I pick it up and hand it to him. “Thanks.” He says

without looking at me.

He turns around and rushes out. Well, at least he said thank you. I walk through

the hallway, pass some flight cases and a security guy and find a spot right in front of

the stage near Reagan. He spots me immediately and gives me a smile. The guys are

about to start their show, so he is ready to play. Yuri talks to the audience for a

moment until Stepha`n starts counting down with his drumsticks. They start playing

and from the start the crowd goes wild. From where I’m standing the guys seem to be

having a great performance and are really enjoying themselves. I keep an eye on the

crowd and move away from the moshpit every time it comes too close to me. When

the guys have just finished playing their last song I decide to go backstage. There is a

security guy at the entrance.

I ask to go past, but am not allowed. “But I’m with Dreads on Fire. I’m writing a

story about them.”

“Lady, that’s what they all say!” the guy says. “You are just going to have to

stay here.”

Jordy walks up to the guy, looks at me and for a second it seems he considers

leaving me here. Then he turns to the security guy and tells him to let me through;

that I’m with the band as well. I walk past him and thank Jordy for helping me out.

He smiles slyly and says: “I should have left you sweating for a few more

minutes. What would you have done if I hadn’t gotten there to let you through? Why

aren’t you wearing your backstage pass?”

Before I can say anything Connor walks up to me and says: “Next time have your

backstage pass with you.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have one and didn’t know I needed it.”

He looks at me for a second and then walks away without saying anything else.

Feeling very frustrated I chase after him trying to get that backstage pass, but

suddenly feel a hand on my arm which makes me stop in my tracks.

I jerk my head around while freeing my arm and relax at once when I see

Reagan looking at me. “I don’t think you should follow him right now. He looked very

annoyed when I just saw him and think it’s best if you gave him some space.”

“But he just told me I need a backstage pass. I just wanted to ask him to give

me one, since I need to be in the audience sometimes to get a feel for their side.”

“You know, I think it’s best if you just leave it for now. We should just have fun

with the other guys. We’re all fired up, so maybe you can use that energy in your

story.”

He’s so nice to me. Maybe he could become my friend. Following Reagan to the

excited sounds we find the whole gang in the dressing room. The band members are

either in completely wet shirts or shirtless drying themselves off with a towel. Jason

and Stepha`n are busy discussing their performance. Reagan walks to his backpack

while taking off his t-shirt as well and drying himself off. Yuri on the other hand is

telling jokes and funny stories to Dom, Paul and Moe, who are laughing their asses off.

Not wanting to disturb Jason and Stepha`n I sit down next to Paul and listen to Yuri.

Having missed the start of the joke I don’t really laugh at the punch line, but soon I

join in because Yuri seems unstoppable.

After a couple of minutes Connor comes in the room, hands me a key cord with

something dangling from it and says: “Here. Your backstage pass.”

Without another word or even looking at me for that matter he walks over to

Jason and Stepha`n. I quickly say thank you and put the key cord around my neck. I

look at it and see that there is a laminated card hanging from it. It has the band logo

on the front with Access All Areas on the bottom and in the back it has all the cities

we’ll be visiting during the coming three weeks. As I look at the names of the cities I

notice that I haven’t been to any of them before, besides Boston of course. When I

was growing up we didn’t have a lot money and when dad could save up some it would

be to go to The Netherlands to visit mom’s family. Remembering the only time we had

enough money to go there is already 15 years ago I want to make sure we will be able

to go again this year. In the meantime I will try to see as much of the places we will

visit on this tour as I possibly can.

Noticing Reagan looking at me I smile at him and say: “I’m 29 years old and I’ve

never been to any of these places. Isn’t that sad?”

He smiles and shakes his head. “No, that’s not sad at all. I bet your family did

other cool things.”

“No, not really. We went to The Netherlands once, but that’s about it.” I

explain. I need to stop talking right now. He doesn’t need to hear my sad stories. “So,

I see we are going to Montreal tomorrow. That’s only three hours from here. Will we

be going straight there from here or go somewhere to sleep first?” I ask trying to

change the subject.

“Yeah, Montreal will be cool. It’s a nice venue. I guess we’ll go there right after

we leave here and sleep on the bus. I think we will only be sleeping in a hotel in

Chicago, because we are staying there for two days. During the European part of the

tour we’ll be flying from city to city and staying in hotels as well. The rest of the time

we are going to be sleeping on the bus.” Reagan gets up from his seat and offers me a

beer.

I want to refuse at first, but then remind myself that I could probably use a

little loosening up so I decide to accept it. He walks over to a fridge and grabs two

bottles of Heineken. Before closing the door he offers everyone else in the room a

beer and after handing them out he sits down next to me again. He opens the bottle

for me and hands it over. After clinking his bottle I say cheers and take a gulp. Feeling

his eyes on me I become self-conscious and wipe my mouth. There must be something

on my face. Before I know it I ask him.

“No, nothing is on your face. I was just thinking that you are pretty cool for a

girl. Though, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or stare for that matter.”

Reagan says while blushing slightly.

After talking for a while Connor gets up from his seat and announces that it’s

time to load up the gear and go. I quietly ask Reagan if there is something I can do to

help, but he says it’s not necessary and I can get back on the bus if I want to. I then

walk over to the bus, get on and wait for the guys while I get out my Blackberry to

scroll through my e-mails. As I start organizing them the guys come in one by one.

They all take a drink from the fridge and sit down in the lounge. I hear the door

closing and see Connor coming into the lounge. He walks all the way to the front,

opens a door and says that we are OK to go.

After closing the door again he turns around and faces everyone. “OK, you are

obviously all waiting to hear the plan for tomorrow. I’ll make it quick. It’s a three

hours drive, so we’ll be at the venue at around 6:30 a.m. You have until 4: p.m. to do

whatever. That’s when we start unloading the gear. The sound check is at 4:30 p.m.,

dinner at 6:00 p.m., doors open at 8:00 p.m. and show time is at 10:00 p.m..”

When Connor is done talking he, Yuri, Paul and Dom go upstairs. The rest stays

and talks for a while. After about half an hour I decide to go to sleep. I go upstairs,

grab my pajamas and walk up to the lounge. Since there is complete silence as well as

darkness, I pull at the curtain and walk through. Then I notice that someone is there. I

recognize it is Connor and turn around to walk away, when he gets up and leaves. I say

thanks and he only mutters something inaudible my way. Quickly changing into my

pajamas, I get in my bunk and not long after fall asleep.