Once we’d finished greeting all the bands, rehearsal immediately began.
“We’re going up in order of appearance, so we start,” Serika said.
Huh, so we’re following the actual order? I heard it’s pretty common to rehearse in reverse order, which is, by the way, called rehearsing backwards, as you might’ve guessed.
“Okay, gimme the big three, drums!” The sound tech—the person in charge of the sound systems—was giving us directions and adjusting the volume settings for us.
Yamano hit the bass drum, snare, and hi-hat; apparently, those were the “big three” the sound tech was referring to for a sound check. Yamano, having experienced band life in middle school, pulled it off coolly.
“The bassist next, Specs-kun, please!”
“Y-Yes!” Mei stiffly played a few notes on his bass.
I get it. It’s nerve-racking, isn’t it? Mei and I are still wet behind the ears, so it’s our first time playing at an authentic concert venue. The place feels extra vast because the audience isn’t here yet.
“Serika, make some noise.”
“Okaaay... How’s this?” Serika seemed to be quite close to the sound tech and chatted casually while they did her sound check.
“Okay, great. Then last up is you on the guitar, please.”
Oops! Now’s not the time to be observing other people. I hastily plucked a few bars and sang haphazardly into the mic. After that, we all played together and did one section of “Monochrome” for a final check. Not gonna lie, I’m so nervous that I can’t tell whether I’m singing well or not.
“Okay, we’re done here. Maruido, you guys are up next!” said the sound tech.
Everyone began disassembling while I stood around in a daze.
“Natsuki, don’t forget to take a pic of the settings,” Serika reminded me.
“O-Oh, right. We have to reset everything later, huh.” Before I tore down, I took a picture of my current amp settings and whatnot. Then I hurriedly packed away my guitar and let the next band take the stage.
There was a rehearsal for the school festival too, but it makes sense this would be different from a school concert. There’s an actual sound system and a tech to operate it. The tension is palpable among the indie bands. It’s really sinking in that we’ve left the cozy bounds of our light music club to perform outside.
The greenroom had been transformed into a place for all the bands to store their equipment, so we waited in the lounge. The four of us rested, watching the other bands rehearse out of the corner of our eyes.
“All that’s left is to wait for the concert to start, huh,” Yamano remarked.
We didn’t talk much. Now that the big day was here, we all had butterflies in our stomachs. As we waited in the lounge, attendees began to come in. They entered in droves, bought drinks, and then congregated in front of the stage.
“Dang, that’s a big crowd,” Yamano said.
“The weather’s good today, so I think we’ll get the expected turnout,” I replied.
“We should head to the waiting room,” Serika said. “We’re up first, so we need to get ready.”
Mei must’ve been overwhelmed by his nerves, because he didn’t say a single word.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was almost time. I took a deep, slow breath and then headed for the stage. The curtains were still drawn shut, so we couldn’t see the floor. Nevertheless, we could hear the huge crowd clamoring through the thick curtain. We redid the settings of our instruments and equipment, and played a few quick notes for a final check.
“Okay, let’s kick things off, then!” At the sound tech’s signal, the curtains swung open.
The venue, jam-packed with bodies, gradually unveiled itself. So many people were looking at us. I even heard a few oohs full of anticipation.
“We’re Mishmash Leftovers! Thanks for coming out today!”
However, in spite of the large crowd, not that many people seemed particularly pumped up. Of course they’re not. We’re a new band with only a handful of fans. I bet ninety percent of the attendees haven’t ever heard of us.
They applauded in an obligatory fashion as we introduced each member. “Who’re these guys?” was written all over their faces. Their appraising gazes scared me. This was a stark contrast from the school festival, where we’d had tons of people cheering for us. We had no place here. I had come knowing all this, but now that I was experiencing it firsthand, I felt like I was going to be swallowed up. Cold sweat ran down my back as I continued to MC. I made a dumb joke, but not a single person laughed.
“Natsuki, calm down. We’ve just gotta play,” Serika whispered.
I nodded back. It’s like I’m playing an away game; I’m getting overwhelmed. But we just need to turn everyone here into our fans. We practiced with that in mind, supposedly... At the very least, that was the intention in the beginning.
“Here’s our first song, ‘Black Witch.’”
However, reality was harsh. To summarize events in brief, we learned that miracles don’t happen so easily.