Alright! My first attempt and writing out a live concert! And a very special thanks to Atrolus for helping me with the lyric rewrites. You rock man!
If you want to hear the actual songs that are being played in this, I'll have links at the bottom.
(CHAPTER 6) MY LITTLE ANGEL
Azusa and the rest of Shadow sat in their dressing room as they waited for Red Star to finish their opening concert. It gave the band some breathing room while the first act would get the crowd warmed up. Azusa sat with Tama sitting next to her on one of the leather couches while they waited. The rest of the band was finishing their preparation for their show; some were finishing their make up and others were simply chatting.
Azusa was sitting in her white, and silver outfit that was covered in the colorful, light reflective sequins. She would be wearing it under another set of clothes until they performed the song My Little Angel which wasn't until about halfway through the show. She quickly pulled out a small mirror and looked at her stage makeup. Her black lipstick was on perfectly accompanied by her black and silver eye shadow. She then put the small mirror aside and stood. Tama looked up at her mother as Azusa said, "Mommy's just going to fix her makeup." Tama simply nodded and replied, "Okay." As she went back to listening to her iPod.
Back at the dressing table, Azusa pulled out a small makeup bag and looked for a little plastic container which she quickly found and opened. Inside was silver body glitter. She put a bit of the silver flake into her hand and then sprinkled it over her delicate face. She quickly washed the excess from her hands in a small sink and looked at herself in the mirror. The glitter added that extra hint of beauty as well as added an extra shimmer when the stage lighting would shine on her.
Phantom walked over to his equipment case and pulled out his neatly folded stage outfit. It was a black and silver trench coat lined with leather belts and chrome buckles. He quickly slipped it on over his well muscled shoulders and said, "Well, Red Star is almost done, ready to head out?" "…Yeah." Tyler said back as he finished his own stage makeup. "Might as well."
Azusa nodded and quickly pulled out her own stage outfit. It was a long, black, military style trench coat that was covered with military insignias on the shoulders and sleeves, including a large Shadow band emblem on the upper left chest and on a white arm band which was wrapped around the upper left arm. Her final outfit piece was a military officers hat which she quickly put on and said, "Alright. Ready Tama?" With a quick nod of her head, Tama hopped off of the couch and quickly took her mothers hand as the band headed out of the dressing room and out into the halls of the arena while being led by security guards.
As they headed for the stage, the band talked amongst themselves as they walked past arena crew members and pictures on the wall of other bands and performers that had played at the arena. Most of the halls; however, were dominated by the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey logo's and large pictures of the team members.
As they walked, all that could be heard aside from the other band members talking, was the sound of a cheering crowed as Red Star finished up their last few songs. "Sounds like a good crowed tonight!" Ghost called out. Wraith nodded and said back, "Pittsburgh's always been good to us."
Tama then called out, "Where is Mio going to be watching from?" Azusa looked down at Tama and said back, "She's going to be near the front of the stage with the other people from the news papers and TV shows. You can see her again after the concert." Tama simply nodded and said, "I hope she likes it." Azusa smiled and replied, "She'll love it. I just hope the explosions and fake blood don't scare her like they did earlier."
Azusa and the other's were led out of a large double door that took them behind their stage out in the main area of the arena. Red Star was playing through their last song as the crowed cheered like crazy. They could hear the lead singer of Red Star call out at the very end of his song, "We are Red Star! Bringing down the house here at Pittsburgh!" The crowed openly cheered as the final guitar riffs were hammered out under the blood red stage lighting as their singer continued. "Looks like you guys are all psyched up now for Shadow!" The simple word shadow sent an ear deafening cheer throughout the crowd.
Tyler looked back at Ghost and said, "I don't know. I don't think their excited by us." The comment instantly made Ghost laugh. From the stage, Red Star's singer took a bow with the rest of his band and said, "Thank you so much Pittsburgh!" and then walked off stage with the rest of the band.
Red Star's members walked down a set of stairs that led to the stage as the arena lights came back on while the stage crew quickly took down the bands stage equipment and readied the stage for Shadow. Their lead singer who was dressed in all red, everything from hair, clothes, and stage makeup, looked at the members of Shadow and said, "Yeah, this crowd has some energy." Tyler nodded and said back, "Good to hear. You guys rocked by the way."
With Red Star now finished, Azusa led Tama behind the stage, while Tyler talked to Red Star's singer, to the opposite end where all of her guitars and equipment rigs were. Azusa's guitar tech was hard at work making sure that all of her sound equipment was working properly and all of her guitars were in tune. Her guitar tech was named Chris. He was short and thin, and in his mid 20's with short cropped brown hair, and a goatee. He was an expert on anything that had to do with guitars and sound equipment. He was also always in a good mood and rarely was ever upset about anything.
"Chris." Azusa said. He quickly turned and said, "There's my Angel!" Azusa walked into the area underneath the stage where her sound rig was located with Tama close behind. She then said, "I have good news." "What's that?" He asked. Azusa looked down at Tama and said, "You have a new assistant. I promised Tama that she could help out more with the crew. She'll be helping me switch out guitars between songs. Is that alright with you?" "Sure!" Chris replied with his usual smile. That's less for me to do and will give me more time to keep your rig running and your guitars tuned up."
"Thank you so much Chris! You're the best." "I know." He instantly said back with a smile. Tama then walked up to Chris and said in her cheerful voice, "I can't wait to help out!" Chris motioned her over to the large wheeled cases that were packed with different pieces of sound equipment, distortion pedals and amp heads. He looked at Tama and said, "Well, while your mom gets ready to go on stage, do you want to help me finish getting her rig set up for the show tonight?" "Really? I can help?" Tama chirped. "Sure. It's never to early to learn." Tama instantly ran over to Chris and stood next to him, watching as he tweaked the systems on Azusa's guitar rig. Before she left, Azusa asked, "Hey Chris, you know about the changes to the songs right?" Chris nodded, "Way ahead of yah! We had a crew meeting this morning." Azusa nodded and continued, "Great. And please, don't drop my guitar when Specter tosses it at you." "I wouldn't dare." He said back.
About 20 minutes had passed since Red Star had finished their show. The stage crew was finishing setting up the stage for Shadow and getting ready for the bands intro. Azusa quickly went over to Tama and said, "See you after the show sweet heart." Tama smiled and replied, "Knock em' dead, mommy!" She then gave the rocker horns with her tiny fingers which Azusa returned. "Alright, be good for Chris." "I will."
Azusa then headed out from under the stage and noticed Mio sitting with other members of the media near the front of the stage. Azusa headed over towards the barrier that kept the crowed away from the stage. She called out, "Mio!" Mio looked up and saw Azusa in her stage outfit and said, "Azusa! Look at you!" Mio had never seen Azusa in her stage outfit and black makeup in person, only through other pictures and online video's of their performances and music videos. It was something that she had to see in person to believe. She knew Azusa as the innocent little girl from back in the Light Music Club. She wasn't saying that she didn't like the look, it was just so different than how she knew her.
"I really did have to see it to believe it. I never imagined that this would be your look someday." Mio commented. Azusa smiled and replied, "Wait till you see me halfway through the show! I think you'll like it." "What is it?" Mio asked. "Cat ears?" Azusa felt a twitch run through her at the memory of her cat ears that she was forced to wear. She forced a grin and replied sharply, "No!" Azusa then pulled up the black sleeve of her trench coat and showed off a small bit of sequin covered fabric from the detached sleeve of her second outfit. Mio saw the shine of the fabric and said with excitement, "Is the whole outfit like that?" Azusa winked and said back, "It's a surprise."
From up in the crowed, the two could hear someone call out, "Oh my god! Angel!" And instantly cheers and camera flashes began to shine around them. Azusa looked up at the crowed and gave a quick wave. She then looked at Mio and said, "We're going on in a few minutes, I need to get ready. Enjoy the show, okay." Mio nodded and replied, "I can't wait to see it. Everyone raves about your live shows and says how incredible they are. I can't believe I'm getting to see it in person." "We won't disappoint you, especially with all of our new stuff for tonight." Mio nodded and said, "Alright, I'll look forward to it."
As Azusa walked away, Mio looked up at the stage. Red Star had only preformed on the main stage floor. The rest of the stage was covered by a large black curtain so the crowd wouldn't be able to see Shadow's entire stage before the show started. She watched as the stage crew rushed to get everything finished before the show started, everything from making sure all of Red Star's equipment was off the stage, down to last minute light and stage effect checks.
Mio could also see the area where Azusa would be standing during her performance. She could see the back of a large switcher box which allowed Azusa to switch off her guitar sounds to different effects during the show as well as a microphone that looked like it could be raised and lowered from below the stage for when she had back up vocals. Now that it had come down to show time, Mio couldn't help but feel overly excited.
Azusa went back behind the stage and found Tama sitting with Chris. Azusa said, "Ready Tama?" Tama nodded and followed Azusa up the stairs towards the back of the stage where her guitars were kept. Instantly, Tama pulled out her mothers guitar for the first song and happily called out. "Drop C tuning for Field of Shadow." Azusa smiled and said, "Thank you."
She could see the rest of the band members getting ready to take their places on the stage. She quickly gave Tama a kiss and then watched as Tyler motioned for the crew to start the show. Azusa and the other's quickly went to their places on the stage behind the large black curtain and then she stood in front of her breakaway wall that she would enter the show through. The arena lights darkened and the crowed cheered loudly.
The darkness of the arena quickly became pinpricked with small sources of light as people in the crowd pulled out digital cameras, and camera phones as they recorded the beginning of the concert. Behind the stage, Banshee was led to his keyboards by a stage hand holding a flash light. He quickly took his place and made sure that all of his equipment was functioning properly before he called out, "You guys ready?" Specter called back, "We're good, hit it!"
Banshee nodded and then pressed down several keys on his keyboard and began to play the intro. The crowed instantly erupted into a loud cheer as the haunting sound that Banshee was known for filled the arena. The ghostly tone of a dead wind that sounded as though it were blowing through a dark abandoned tunnel resonated throughout the arena as the crowed continued to cheer. Gradually, a group of fans began to chant the bands name and within seconds the whole crowd of over 30,000 people began to cheer and chant, "Shadow! Shadow! Shadow!".
From the top of the stage, two white lights shone down on both Azusa and Phantom and the two then began demolishing their breakaway walls with their guitars. The crowed cheered louder as the walls broke into pieces and the two guitarists became silhouetted by white light and fog as they broke through. With the walls broken away, the two guitarists stepped through and stood motionless on the upper part of the stage as cameras flashed and people cheered. Next, a small bright red flame began to circle its way around a black wall at the center of the stage with a sound of electricity added to make it seem as though Specter were cutting his way through with a torch.
In the background, Banshee began to play the sounds of a haunting choir that raised its tone as the flame completed it's circle neared the end of it's path. Seconds after the small flame went out, Specter kicked the cut section of the wall down and the crowed cheered loudly. Silhouetted by light, he slowly stepped through the hole and held his arms up and encouraged the crowed to cheer louder which they immediately did. Specter then slowly walked down the metal ramp with his arms held out at his sides. He walked towards his microphone stand and slowly lowered his arms as he neared it. As his arms lowered the lights from the stage darkened and the sound from Banshee's keyboard lowered its tone and slowly died leaving the arena once again in total darkness.
Wraith then hit a heavy beat from one of his two bass drums and the keyboard to the first song began to play as Specter began to sing the first songs intro.
"Walking alone in the night
On your path devoid of light
Hear the whisper in the air
Continue on if you dare."
He sang with his haunting voice and with the added effect of a white light coming from within his mouth. It was one of his new features, a simple LED light that was rigged to fit inside his cheek. With the songs intro verse complete, The stage lights suddenly flashed back on revealing that the black stage curtain had been removed leaving the entire stage as well as the rest of the band visible as the entire band began to play. Both Azusa and Phantom hammered out slow but heavy chords and sang,
"Sha-dow!"
The double bass drum beat played heavily along with the guitars and the crowed singing along.
"Sha-dow!"
Azusa and Phantom both quickly ran their fingers up the necks of their guitars raising the pitch of the note. A deafeningly loud detonation of pyro charges popped from the top of the front of the stage sending a thunderous bang through the arena.
The crowd cheered as the song began with heavy guitar riffs and flashing stage lighting. In the crowd, Mio watched with wide eyes at the spectacle. Seeing Shadow perform live had a much more powerful impact on her then seeing them in video clips. The power that seemed to flow from them was amazing. Every beat that was pounded out of Wraiths double drum kit impacted on her body like a small concussive burst and the power of the guitars and bass filled her with the sudden urge to cheer.
She watched Shadow perform the first song and focused on Azusa as she held her stage appearance. Her delicate face shimmered from the silver glitter and she showed no smile on her face but even Mio could tell that behind her stage persona that she was having the time of her life.
As the first song neared the end, the crowed was already fully energized. Accompanying Specter with the lyrics, both Azusa and Phantom stood in front of their mic's singing "Sha-dow!" when the back up lyrics came. As the song ended, the two hammered out the final notes on their guitars and just for effect and a different sound, Azusa played a few final notes near the bottom of the neck to give a higher pitched tone to go with the ending.
With the last notes played and the song over, the arena erupted into a loud cheer. Even Mio found herself cheering and screaming along with the crowd. Azusa took notice of Mio from onstage. She could see her cheering and clapping. Azusa smiled and shot a wink at Mio as she headed off to the side of the stage to swap guitars with Tama and then headed back out onstage to start the second song which Ghost was already starting as he hammered out a heavy and scratchy beat on his bass guitar.
It was about an hour into the show and they had reached the halfway point. The crowd had been cheering nonstop in that time, including Mio who had been watching Azusa perform with locked eyes and countless pictures she had taken for her magazine company. With another song ended, both Azusa and Phantom quickly went backstage to again swap out guitars for different tunings.
Azusa quickly grabbed her Drop D tuned guitar from Tama. Tama smiled and gave her the horn gesture with her hand which Azusa quickly returned. She then quickly put on the pair of white feathered wings for the upcoming song and headed back towards the stage as Banshee began to play the songs opening on the keyboard. The stage lighting was dim, only illuminating Banshee and Wraith as he crashed the cymbals on his drum kit.
Two large stage lights shone down from above on both Azusa and Phantom as the two guitarists took their place on stage. They waited for the beat and then both Azusa and Phantom hammered out 5 hard, open chords on their guitars accompanied by the same drum beat from Wraith. With each beat, pyro charges erupted from the front of Wraiths drum kit. They repeated this several times until Wraith hammered out a heavy snare drum beat with matching pyro charges as the song opened with a hard and heavy guitar riff.
The stage lighting flashed and the crowd went wild as the opening was played. Azusa watched the fists of the crowd pump towards them with the beat as people moshed and crowd surfed. Azusa walked over to Phantom and the two stood and faced each other. With smiles on their faces they both hammered out the opening riff of the song and head banged. As the opening riff neared it's end, the two went back to their own sides of the stage and quickly switched their distortion off to a clean, undistorted sound as Specter walked up the center ramp onto the stage and sang the opening verses.
"Lost by god, found by man
Kneel down for me, that's my demand
Angel's save her if you can
So she may have her peace again"
Heavy bass beat from Ghost shook the arena as he played along with Specter. Azusa watched the crowed as they all cheered and sang along, including Mio who she could see cheering and clapping with them.
"Caress my fingers through your feathered wings
I touch your skin, feel the pleasure it brings
Soft as silk so pure and fine
Cry out once more and you'll be mine"
Both Azusa and Phantom switched back over to their heavy distortion and began to hammer out the chords of the songs first chorus. Azusa then began to quickly walk in a circle in her area of the stage as she played the chorus with the stage lights flashing blue and white around her as Tyler openly began to sing.
"My little angel
I'll tear off your wings
It does you good
Listen to her scream!"
Azusa then stood in a rocker style position and hammered out the bridge of the song by accompanying stage lighting and roaring cheers from the crowd. She then switched back over to her guitars clean, undistorted sound along with Phantom as they played along to Specter's lyrics.
"Don't be bound I'll set you free
Look up at me from on your knees
What hurts you now will bring me joy
It's time to play my little toy"
The stage lighting was again dim with only the large spot lights shining down on the band members with other lights shining over the stage and above the crowd. Azusa stood with her body still as stone as she played the bridge of the song. She constantly looked out and over the crowd, watching the fans cheering for them and singing along.
"You fell from grace into my cage
Oh please sweet angel show me your rage
Now you're mine let me hear you yell
You've seen haven let me show you hell"
Azusa quickly went from her still position back into her rocker stance as she switched back to her heavy distortion and hammered out the chords to the chorus.
"My little angel
I'll tear off your wings
It does you good
Listen to her scream!"
She stood hammering her pick off of the strings of her guitar and head banging heavily to the beat as she always did as she listened to Specter continue to sing in his hauntingly beautiful voice.
"My little angel
I'll tear off your wings
It does you good
Listen to her scream!"
Azusa took in a deep breath. This was the big moment in the song that the whole band had been practicing for. For the first time this new and exciting element was going to be added to the song. Azusa looked over as the stage crew wheeled out the large, ornately decorated coffin onto the stage. She continued to hammer out the chords and got ready for the songs special performance.
The stage lighting flashed to red as she played the hard and heavy guitar riff. Specter walked across the stage towards Azusa. He roughly grabbed her by the white feathered wings and snatched her guitar from her hands. He quickly took her guitar from her and tossed it off stage only to have it caught by Chris which he was thankful for, because if he would have damaged one of Azusa's guitars, she would have killed him.
Specter roughly drug her to center stage and acted as though he were beating her. Of course he wasn't, it was all for show. He then forcefully began to tear the white feathers from her wings and just as planned the fake blood sprayed out from where the feathers had been torn while Azusa acted like she was in pain. Phantom continued to hammer out the heavy guitar riff accompanied by the rest of the band as the stage show continued.
With constantly flashing red stage lights, Specter took one last good, "Fake" hit on Azusa. She then made herself fall backwards and acted unconscious as Specter caught her and picked her limp body up over his shoulder. He then carried her over to the coffin and put her inside.
With the heavy guitar riff still playing, he took a few more hard swings inside the coffin, hitting the sides to make it look like he was in fact hitting Azusa. Over the loud, and heavy guitar riff, Azusa called out to Specter, "You better not burn me, Tyler!" He winked at her and said back quickly so that the crowed wouldn't see, "I'll try not to." Azusa then quickly pulled the safety screen over herself and quickly began to change out of her black outfit while the stage show continued.
Specter jumped up to the raised section of the stage and stepped onto a small platform and grabbed the large metal bucket. The heavy guitar riffs and heavy drumming suddenly stopped and was replaced by soft, haunting keyboard and blue and white lighting. The platform that Specter was standing on then began to rise high above the stage and the coffin that Azusa was in. He stood motionless looking down and then lifted the mic to his mouth when the platform stopped raising. He then slowly and softly sang…
"You fell from grace and you've been betrayed…
These must be your darkest days…
I see your face as you cry out at me…
Oh sweet angel this is how it has to be…
The rest of the band then hammered out the same 5, quick, heavy beats in between verses as Specter softly sang,
"My little angel…
I'll tear off your wings…
It does you good…"
Phantom then walked up to his mic and said harshly,
"Listen to her scream!…"
The heavy guitar riff again picked up as Specter grabbed onto the metal bucket and tipped it. Instantly a plume of glowing orange sparks poured down onto Azusa as fire rose from below the stage and surrounded the coffin. To the crowed it looked as though molten metal was being poured all over Azusa, and that's exactly what the band wanted them to think. As the heavy guitar riff played, a loud, ear deafening explosion erupted from the coffin sending out a shower of fluttering golden flashes. The crowed cheered wildly at the explosion as Specter continued to pour the sparks over the flaming coffin. Seconds later, another loud explosion plumed from the coffin as the crowed again cheered. Specter stood motionless as he watched the sparks and pyro effects go off. In his mind he was going crazy with excitement that the new stage effect had worked. One last, loud explosion went off from the top of the coffin as the shower of sparks stopped and the crowed continued to go crazy. Specter then sang the final chorus.
"My little angel
I'll tear off your wings
It does you good
Listen to her scream!"
The final heavy guitar riff was played as the platform that Specter was standing on slowly began to descend. As it lowered back down; for effect and with the mic away from his mouth, Specter called out insults and random profane words towards Azusa as the crowed continued to cheer.
As the platform returned to the stage, the heavy guitar suddenly stopped and only soft notes were played accompanied by soft beats and the occasional clash of Wraiths symbols. Specter then stepped off the platform and then jumped down to the coffin as the flames disappeared from around it. He looked inside, saw Azusa give him a thumbs up to show that she was okay, and then returned to his performance. He stood back up, made a religious cross motion over his chest and shook his head as if to tell the crowd that she didn't live through it. He then walked off stage as soft notes of Phantom's guitar were played.
After a few seconds, Azusa quickly pulled back the safety screen and slowly raised her hand up. She heard the crowed cheer as she began to move. She then slowly pulled herself up and out of the coffin, taking in a whiff of the smell of sulfur from the recently detonated pyro charges mounted on the top of the coffin. She then stood from the coffin and revealed that her black military style outfit had changed to a pure white and silver mini skirted outfit and was covered in the colorful, light reflective sequins. The crowed continued to cheer for her as she slowly stepped out of the coffin and then slowly limped her way over to center stage.
A metal panel in the stage slid open and from below, accompanied by fog, one of her guitars rose up from below the stage. The crowed instantly cheered from the effect as Azusa carefully ran her delicate fingers over the guitars neck and then slowly picked it up and slung it over her shoulder. She then pulled a guitar pick off of the small pick holder on the back of her guitar and then played several notes going lower and lower on the musical scale and then finished off the song with a loud bang as flash powder detonated directly in front of her from below the grated metal stage. The crowd cheered and her ears rang from the explosion but she didn't care. She loved it. The stage lighting then went dark and she quickly went back to her spot on stage and got ready for the next song.
The show continued for well over an hour before the final song, Black Fire was played. Tyler stood wearing a large pair of metal wings that shot fire from the tips. As the song neared its end, fire erupted from both Specter's wings and from below the stage. Phantom began to jump and wildly play the songs outro while Azusa head banged along with the beat. The 4 light towers behind the stage illuminated and flashed with white light and smoke spewing from below; and as the song neared the very end, loud bangs echoed throughout the arena as pyro charges detonated behind and on the side of the stage as the song climaxed.
Mio jumped from the sudden explosion and wanted to hold her ears but didn't. She watched as none of the band members flinched from the sudden loud bangs and simply continued to play. She quickly pulled up her camera and managed to get a picture of Azusa playing her guitar with a bright flash of pyro charges detonating behind her.
As the final explosions stopped and the music slowed, Azusa stood holding her guitar as she motionlessly faced the crowed allowing a harmonic to ring out form her guitar. Mio stared at her. Standing in her white, sequin covered outfit, she looked so beautiful and pure. Mio wasn't looking at it from a sexual point of view but simply found herself being captivated by what Azusa had become.
Mio felt something. For some reason that she couldn't explain, she felt tears running down her cheeks. Not tears of sadness, but of joy. She couldn't explain the feeling, but seeing Azusa and the rest of Shadow play made her so happy and it also made her a little sad that it was all over. Still, she simply wiped the tears away and cheered loudly as she took a few last minute pictures.
The band then walked off the stage as the lights came back on while Banshee remained at his keyboard and played a soft ending to the song and continued the calming notes as the other band members came back out on stage and took a bow. Specter then walked up from the center ramp from below the stage and approached his mic stand as the crowed cheered loudly for him. He looked at the crowed and simply stared for a second.
Pittsburgh was his hometown and he loved this city dearly. It felt good that everyone was cheering so loudly, not only for him, but for his band as well. He took the mic and said, "Pittsburgh, thank you so much for being here with us tonight. We are Shadow. Goodnight." The crowd instantly cheered and it brought a smile to all of their faces as they headed off the stage while the soft, orchestrated outro song began to play.
I hope it flowed well. Writing a live concert isn't easy. Not for me anyway.
(All of the songs are based off of Rammstein's music (With lyric rewrites) as well as the live stage performance)
If you want to see the songs that were performed, then go to Youtube and search for these videos.
1st. Song (Field of Shadow) - RAMMSTEIN Rammlied live Madison Square Garden (Video uploaded by Protyreus)
2nd. Song (My Little Angel) - RAMMSTEIN Ich Tu Dir Weh live Madison Square Garden (Video uploaded by Fuckingdevotee)
3rd. Song (Black Fire) - RAMMSTEIN Engel live Madison Square Garden (Video uploaded by Protyreus)
Look up the video's uploaded by those users for the best quality.
Again, thank you for reading!