Track 6
Showtime
Finally the big day has arrived. It was Saturday noon and the preparations for the Battle Royale of the Bands at LA Feeding Fire were near to an end.
Meanwhile the attending bands were busy with the second most important thing of a good band: Styling.
While Sully and his crew, were just getting some jeans and buckskins on, the Home Wreckers and Henkan seemed a little stressed out.
"Is my hair all right?" Preston asked.
"You already looked in this stupid mirror about twenty times. I think your hair is good." Andrew murmured. He was not feeling very well at the moment, the contest made him nervous. Andrew stood up and started picking on his blue-checked trousers. "Do they really match this black T-Shirt?"
"It matches it perfectly." Preston nodded. He was looking at himself in the mirror. With his new haircut and colour he looked pretty cool, he thought. Then Preston checked his outfit once more. Black Converse, black trousers, a green shirt with leopard print and a pair of white gauntlets with a big pink star on them around his wrists. His father was going to hate this outfit.
"Hank, you cannot wear this for the contest." Delia sighed.
"Why not. I sing, so I decide what I will wear as well." Hank countered.
"Well, red is maybe not your colour."
"Anna? What are you doing here?" Delia asked. "Aren't you mad on Hank anymore?"
"I am still, but I cannot let you others hang." Anna sighed.
"Are you ready for the battle?" Hank grinned, looking at her.
Anna wore a pair of black leather boots. A short jeans mini with blue stockings, a black top with a red comic print and some leather bracelets.
"Anna and Delia look like twins." Jake laughed as he entered the room and saw the two girls.
It was 19:00 when the contest finally started.
Saku was entering the stage and the crowd was jeering.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm!" Saku welcomed them. "So, I will not talk long. Let the Battle Royale begin!"
The first band entered the stage.
"Hi. Were are "Sheer Satin"." The lead singer said into the microphone.
Sheer Satin made a good show, all glam rock with a nearly cheesy song about true love in a self made paradise.
Monorail, one of the two attending punk bands, brought a depressed song about feeling blue after a hard day.
The second punk band, The hooked Prostitutes, performed a loud screamo-song about how much the hate President Bush.
Pandemonium was the fourth band to sing on this evening. As expected the six members of the gothic rock band came dressed mostly in black. They used accessories in colours like red, pink and green. But the two front girls of the band were real eye catchers. Jonna, the seventeen year old singer and her three years elder sister, guitarera Maarja were dressed really flamboyant.
Jonna wore a Gothic Lolita dress in rococo-style. It was white with a flower print in violet and brown velvet bows on the front. (picture) White stockings and white leather pumps and much silver jewellery and pearls.
And Maarja was dressed in pink converse, a jeans mini with red and black striped Capri-leggings and a white tank top. She had a lot of studded bracelets around her wrists and wore a studded collar and she was never going anywhere without her pink electric guitar.
The group entered the stage and the audience started screaming.
"Hi, we are Pandemonium and we are going to rock you!" Jonna yelled into the microphone as Maarja started playing the first songs intro.
You maybe think that I was high as a kite
when I get dressed tonight.
Just try to take me serious,
I just want to be mysterious.
The audience was almost freaking out, because of this band and Michaela just realised that there were a lot of Gothic's in tonight.
"Damn it!" Preston got angry. "They are too good."
"They singer is hot." Fynn noticed.
"Yeah, but she is already in a relationship with some blonde guy, who's working at Kindergarten." Fallon informed him.
"Damn it!"
After Pandemonium's performance, it was time for the Home Wreckers.
"We are the Home Wreckers, check us out!" Anna spoke into the microphone and made a seductive wink to the audience.
But there will be no lament,
cuz I knew from the very start
that in the end,
I would have to let you go.
"I think I'm gonna freak out now." Andrew said soundless as Henkan was entering the stage.
Preston had a fast look over the audience and found his father sitting in one of the last lines, looking sceptically as always when he looked at something Preston did.
"Hey minna-san! We are Henkan!" Preston introduced the band, half in Japanese and Fallon started the song with a drum-solo.
I can see you.
I can hear you.
I know what you mean.
You don't see me.
You don't know me.
You don't listen to me.
You don't know who I am.
Don't try to deny
that I am not like you
want me to be.
Preston A. Lodge II listened attentively, deep inside he felt that his son was talking to him.
Sully's band the Natives were the last band to compete in the first round. The jury and the audience had already rated the prior bands but nobody would get to see this rating till the last band had done their first song.
I stay up, just to watch you sleeping.
I'm gonna do whatever it takes,
to see you smiling.
From the first time,
I saw you,
you had to be mine.
Our love's gonna shine.
When Michaela heard this song, she knew it was the song Sully was writing for her and she was moved to tears.
"So, and now it's time to announce the first voting!" Saku announced. "The voting is like showed here." He pointed out at a big monitor behind of him, where the voting was displayed. "We have a point rationing scheme from one too ten. One is the fewest, ten the highest amount of points. The three bands with the highest rating are going into the final round."
Band
Jury
Audience
Total
Sheer Satin
5
3
8
Monorail
3
3
6
The hooked Prostitutes
3
2
5
Pandemonium
8
7
15
Home Wreckers
6
9
15
Henkan
7
8
15
The Natives
5
8
13
"Pandemonium, the Home Wreckers and Henkan are going into the final with the same rating!" Saku announced as the audience began to freak out again.