I Got The Power! (standard:other, 727 words)
Author: Derek Heath	Added: Mar 28 2003	Views/Reads: 3318/3	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
I was amazed at watching Robbie Williams at the Glastonbury Festival and the influence he held over the crowd...This is how I think I would be feeling in a similar situation.

The bass is thumping, the deep rumble vibrating through the leather
soles of my boots, while the wall of noise from the drums is rolling 
and thundering through the air. Breath deeply. Goosebumps prick my 
skin. Feel clammy. A huge shiver runs up my back and shoots out the top 
of my head. Bounce about on the balls of my feet, burn off nervous 
energy. About twenty seconds left. Ready to go out there. Get my first 
reaction from the audience. How would they be tonight? A lot of it 
would be down to me, of course. If I was good, then they'd respond. If 
I sucked, they'd soon let me know. 

Jet-black hair. Trademark black shirt, three buttons open, tight black
trousers, boots.  The next phase of the intro music begins to boom out. 
That's my cue. I stroll, amble even, nonchalantly onto the stage, like 
it's the most natural thing in the world, like everybody does this 
every day. Two huge spotlights, one each side of the stage, seemingly 
as bright as the sun, hit me. Pin me to the spot like a captured 
butterfly. For a moment, I feel blind. I've done this a thousand times 
before, but Christ, it's deafening tonight. The roar! There are at 
least forty thousand people out there, waiting to hear me. Forty 
thousand people! Never ceases to amaze me. 

I gaze out over the pit, into the Stygian darkness. I can't even see the
first few rows, what with the clouds of tobacco smoke and dry ice 
wafting across the arena, and the glare from the gallery of spots at 
the back. For a moment, I stand stock still, at the front of the stage. 
The pounding drum-and-bass rhythm has been joined by two driving 
guitars, an orgy of feedback, kicking the music along at about a 
hundred miles an hour, almost ear-splitting. There are still a couple 
of minutes of the intro to go. This is the point of the night that I 
love. I don't have to do anything. The audience are already straining 
at the leash, ready to go insane. I open my arms wide, and the crowd's 
anticipation gets even louder, charging towards a zenith. God, it's 
amazing. 

The adrenalin is already pumping. Endorphins shooting around my veins
and I haven't said a word yet! It's like footballers say, it's better 
than sex. There really is no feeling like it. I'm going to have to come 
up with something pretty special to do justice to this reception. Still 
a minute or so to go.  Still on the edge of the stage. Still with my 
arms outstretched and the crowd still going loony. Jesus, they love me! 


Need a good line to open up with. 'Hello, good evening and welcome' ?
Nah, crap. 'Hello, everybody' ? Sounds like bloody Butlins. Not long to 
go now. Stomping bass shakes the whole arena. Drums hammer like the 
cannons from the 1812. Guitars shriek towards a climax. What am I gonna 
say? It'd better be bloody great, otherwise they'll go spare. Thirty 
seconds. No inspiration yet. Shit, come on! You do this a hundred times 
a year! Ten seconds. Bloody hell. Mind's gone blank! The music storms 
to a huge, crashing, screaming, tumultuous crescendo. Now or never! 

The intro ends. The last chords boom out loud and dissolve into the
ether. The edge of the stage, arms open, brain completely empty. The 
crowd are getting quieter. Three seconds, five seconds, then ten. 
Silence. I can hear my heart thumping. Feels like it's crashing against 
my ribs. What am I going to say? 

And then, like my vocal chords are on automatic, I scream out. 'GOOOOOD
EEEEEVENIIIIIN' MAAAAANNNNNCHEEEEESTAAAAAHHHHH!'. Fireworks shoot from 
the back of the stage, pluming golden sparks high over my head. Lasers 
charge across the air. The intro to the first song kicks in. The whole 
place erupts! The noise is like an explosion, hurtling across the arena 
like a sonic boom, it feels like the roof is going to cave in. Forty 
thousand people cutting loose and going mental crazy ape-shit bananas! 
Forty thousand people going mad for 'Good evening Manchester!'. The 
power! I could have said anything! 'Overthrow the Government!'. 'Storm 
the Royal Palaces!'. This is what it must be like to be a king. Or a 
God. 

It's bloody great being a rock star...


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