moonlighting....

another time, another life...

Multi-coloured lights

Glimmer upon sweaty brow

It’s just another Friday night

The same crowd

With different names

i inhale my american spirit

Deep

Hold it in

Release

The rest of the band

Settles into place

Bass player

(boom boom badoom)

Drummer

(rappity rap rap)

Lead guitar

(twangity twaaang)

Me

(check check)

The microphone

Smells like whiskey

The bar

Clouded with cigarettes

The music begins

And i growl into the mic

“uh-keep your eyes on da road an’ your hands upon da whee-oh”

Harmonica

Screams

The “woo-girl” section begins

Grinding to the backbeat

The drums in time with my heart

My guitar is a part of me

The music is a part of me

The audience is a part of me

Together we drown

In alcohol induced nirvana

“well I woke up dis mornin’ an’ I got mah-self a bee-yah!!”

All those sounds

Culminate

To give me power

I am drunk with it

I am sex

I am idol

I am god

Into the night

Everyone emitting the stench

Of sweaty exhaustion

Still dancing

Like mad primitives

Around their shaman

The stagelights darken

The audience screams

The woo-girls want more

The drunk Jag-bomb boys want more

The band is hesitant

Tired

But the flame lights

A “C” chord twangs out from my Ibanez

The bass follows

A scream…a woo

“mustang sally!.....think you bettah slow that mustang down!”

One last dance

Together

Like a long kiss after sex

And when the bar lights come on

I’m nobody again

Unassuming

I pack up my gear

And walk back out

To my regular dull life…

Author's Note

Reviews

[Mockingbird]

this is amazing. you've captured the spirit of being a rockstar, the energy that flows through your band and the audience. there are the typical types out there that uplifts you into everything, you are everything, the music, the sex, idol, god...the empowerment of being up there performing is the highest high one can get when everyone becomes one with your music. then you're done with your set and you go back to your life, which to me, is not dull at all because you are an artist who does his art. excellent rhythm, complements the scene and the energy of the club. reminded me of jim morrison.

[sharonlee]

Epic and detailed account... and so relate-able of younger days... helping to pack up band equipment (me)... to bask in the reflected glory of being one of the band... lol Ah memories, Like a long kiss after sex, before reality sets in.

[Nobody.]

:) love this!
there's no better place to hide than a stage.

great poem.

cheers!

[Alessander]

ha ha...like the Ancient Greeks during the Greek Tragedies. It was mandated that every citizen, even women, children and slaves hear the chorus, hear the playwright, see the actors, taste the wine and food.

Then, back to the drudgery of enslavement and death.

I thought you did a really good job with your diction, format and rhythm of recreating the EXPERIENCE...that's always hard to do with concerts, clubs, etc.

Nice job buddy.

[Allen Smuckler]

This is as good as it gets, Brad
Now I know exactly, what it feels like to be a rock and roll star, inside and out...rock on, baby
and by all means let it roll....all night long..
I would love to hear you and your band wail on the Doors (My favorite group after the Stones and yes the Beatles), and transition into a version of Mustang Sally...if you have anything on CD or online let me know....
Meanwhile...this write energized me in the early part of the a.m. and now I'm ready to face the day...you described and depicted the life, perfectly and honestly....in such a smart manner.
Terrific write, Brad
allen
Did you know, that most of my poetry starts with me singing it....I always saw myself as a song writer first.....but, that never worked out...
I saw the Doors live, several times...once in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where Jim couldn't get up on stage as he tried to climb over tires surrounding the stage...we laughed and enjoyed the show....not knowing this was an omen of things to come.
What a waste...Jim, Jimmy, Janis, Brian, Elvis, Kurt, and Amy to name just a handful. your bud, al

[Sethnicity]

Been there done that. Go back to visit every now and then...
thanks for the flashback!

[FireWoman]

And they roll on by faster with each breath. We were young, we were wild and it felt good... I think! Oh and those Jagermeister anisey shots went down semi-smooth. The life of an artist ain't always pretty, but it is real!

[MuSe Ampoule]

A rough bear all, tear out the heart of a musician, that's what this is. Not many can give us a glimpse of the feel of the moment of musical ecstasy like this. And then when it ends, the afterglow wanes and it's back to the norm-hell.

Great work with this.

[Revolutionary]

Sexy broke a*s band boys I used to live by them.Eat them alive.Thats a young girls life.You can't be a musicians wife.You can always be a memory.I wonder how many still think of me.
Love the tale of a cover band front man.I have been busy with the carnival season chaos.I burst a brake line in arkansas so I am on stand by for a day.I have had no time for writing so I have nothing to share.I need some time off

[paul]

'primitive' , 'shamans' -beautiful.