Chapter 12.5 – The Bushweeds Autumn Tour 2023: part V – Turn the page..

Sunday September 25^th – Travel Day 3

 

It was a drowsy sunday morning by the lake.. The band was still sleeping and the students in town were taking it easy as the exams were still a great distance away and life was easy.. of course there wasstill the occasional busy bee on his or her way to the library or the universitys study rooms, but most of them weren't to concerned with that yet... Some just woke up, while others were still asleep, and some were on their way home after enjoying what seened like the best night of their life so far...

...and some were hanging around in their dorm showing off their skills to each other with the trick ball. ;)

 

 

Then finally well into the afternoon the band members started to come to life again after last nights concert and drinks at the bar..

The band had to soon get moving again as they now were about to embark on the longest leg of their journey to head further south and back towards the coastline again to play in the city of Wad Nahadau. They had never been this far south before, and as there was such a long journey ahead of them they had planned to spend a night in the small town of Pleasantville, before turning west towards the city.

 

They were lucky to have two bathrooms in the house, which helped to speed up the process of getting ready to a little, but there were still some time to kill while the others were bathing. Sam was already tired of driving and wasn't looking forward to getting back into the car again... Though he didn't like heights very much, he still made the suggestion to Merete that they should just ditch their car and get some plain tickets instead..

 

Merete thought the idea was ridiculous, if not flat out laughable. They had already agreed on going by car, so couldn't make that suggestion now that they were pretty much more than halfway through their tour.. and since it was Gerdas car, she was pretty sure she wouldn't agree to just leaving it behind like that..

 

There was only one thing to do as soon as everyone was scrubbed clean and ready.. to head for the nearest café again to grab a quick lunch and get ready for several more hours inside that tiny box on wheels...

"So this is what the town looks like in daylight..."

Gerda would have liked to stick around for a day more here and there to actually get to know the towns that they were mostly just zooming by, but there was no time for that. All she could do was try to grab as many impressions as she could of everything that she could see from her car window..

 

She found it interesting that a town of this size should have it's own university, as most universitys were located in or adjacent to major cities. It was clear that a large part of the population were indeed students, and this town really had the appearance of being built around the university, and not the other way around...

 

University Life may have fit this band just fine, not because of the learning, but because of all the opportunities to party.. which all of them really liked to do..

 

It wasn't everyday that Merete went into a café on a sunday to watch a zebra and a hot dog leave the premises... "Did you guys see that?" she chuckled to the other band members "I think when we get back home we should make our final concert also into a costume party."

Sam thought about dressing up as a ghost, the most creative of all costumes..., while Gerda still wanted to get into a real bar fight with someone.. Kajsa wanted her band to stop fooling around and focus on getting something to eat, because they had to get on their way soon..

 

The place was starting to get a little crowded, so they walked upstairs to have their lunch in peace, but that was to no avail.. even the paparazzi was now at it again with their flashing cameras and notebooks..

"Where were all these people yesterday when the band played their concert?" Gerda wondered out loud to herself. "Probably at some house party..." she concluded, thinking that the student group was a hard one to win over to become fans.. either because they were picky when it came to music, not wanting to listen to something that wasn't trendy among their equals... or because they were saving money by drinking at home instead of going out..

.and on the topic of drinking, suddenly Gerda remembered having logged on to the computer yesterday after they had gone to their rental house after the concert...

 

    "Kajsa.. did I .. did I chat with someone on the computer last night...?" Gerda already knew the answer to that question, but was hoping that Kajsa would show some support to make her feel better about potentially having made a fool of herself...

    "Yes, you did." Kajsa said briefly without trying to hard to hide her gloating smile before finishing the last piece of her bagel, before getting up from the couch to tell Sam and Metete to hurry up eating.. The road was waiting for them again..

 

It was time to leave this now all of a sudden crowded and paparazzi-ridden place behind and move on..

 

..but where was their vocalist? They couldn't leave without her..

Well of course, she had found another dumpster to bury her head in..

"Gerda!" Kajsa had to shout at her.. "Now is not the time to go looking for more collectibles.. we're leaving... now!"

"I'm coming!" she shouted back to them as she landed her feet on the ground just in time to hear the sound of a car door slamming shut..

..then the closing of two more doors followed by the impatient revving of a car engine...

"...guys? Guys!? You're not gonna leave me here, are you!?"

 

Now, of course they couldn't leave their vocalist and lead guitarist behind.. Kajsa just wanted to prove a point, and to get them back on the road.. She would be much more at ease, once the wheels had started rolling again..

If they were to make it to the city in time... She had calculated that they should be able to make it there in two days, give or take..

So it was time to say goodbye to the Grotto one last time (for now?) as they drove past it again to head south towards the town of Pleasantville, about halfway on the route back towards the west coast, where they would spend the night before (hopefully) making a right turn to head towards the city of Wad Nahadau..

                                            - Metallica - Turn The Page (Bob Seger cover)

On a long and lonesome highway
South of Onebega*
You can listen to the engines moanin'
Out this one-note song
You'd think about the woman
Or the girl you knew the night before

But your thoughts will soon be wanderin'
The way they always do
When you're ridin' 16 hours
There's nothin' much to do
And you don't feel much like ridin'
You just wish the trip was through

Here I am, on the road again
There I am, up on the stage
There I go playin' the star again
There I go, turn the page

So you walk into this restaurant
All strung out from the road
And you feel the eyes upon you
As you're shakin' off the cold
You pretend it doesn't bother you
But you just want to explode

Yeah, most times you can't hear 'em talk
Other times you can
All the same old clichés
Is it woman, is it man?
And you always seem outnumbered
You don't dare make a stand
Make your stand

Here I am, on the road again...

Oh-oh, out there in the spotlight
You're a million miles away
Every ounce of energy
You try and give away
As the sweat pours out your body
Like the music that you play, yeah

..and then they, after a few more hours on the road and Kajsa wanting to take over the wheel again they arrived in Pleasantview, where they would be staying at New Old Lake Barret Motel & Bar for the night..

They were still several miles from the coast, and even had to traverse the same mountain chain again to get there. Yet they felt they were getting closer as the weather had already changed from the dry, fair weather most often found on the east side of the mountains to the kind of weather they were most used to from home..

 

They were all exhausted, tired and ready for a big meal and didn't feel like standing out in the rain for to long though.

 

Sam was the first one to rush in through the door to speak to the owner and barkeeper to ask if they had any available rooms and to order a meal.. This was off season for tourism, so getting a room was no issue, and they were lucky to not have arrived half an hour later before he closed the kitchen..

-----

 

While the barkeeper prepared the food, Gerda had found herself a drumkit to practice on. Gerda is versatile and enjoys playing many different interests, but it's really on the electric guitar she shines the most, to put it that way. ;)

 

Kajsa did her best to keep her thoughts away from the rumbling noises in her stomach (and Gerdas terrible drumming....) when the barkeeper finally came out of the kitchen with a plate of spaghetti to share for all of them.. It wasn't anything special, just the regular bar food, but it would do... They could get a more proper diet when they came back home and could finally make their own food again...

 

After having spent several hours with the same people in a tiny car along the road, on stage and almost every waking moment for the past days, Kajsa wanted to sit by the bar to get some time alone before bedtime...

 

Their rooms where on the top floor, and the barkeeper had promised them that all the rooms had a very pleasant view of either the town on one side, or the river and his very own small fishing pond on the other.

 

Kajsa and the band didn't really care about any of that right now.. they just wanted to sleep.. and besides, it was dark. If there was any view to enjoy, they could do it tomorrow.. before it was back inside the car again...

Later in the evenin'
As you lie awake in bed
With the echoes of the amplifiers
Ringin' in your head
You smoke the day's last cigarette
Rememberin' what she said
What she said

Yeah, here I am.. on the road again...

Turn the page..

Good night.. ;)

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* Not the correct lyrics, of course, and there's one syllable to many, but this almost works..

Chapter 12.4 - The Bushweeds Autumn Tour 2023: part IV - Bright Neon lights

 ------

 

Merete had been driving as fast as she dared to on this last stretch of road to try to reach the venue in time, and finally they could see the town ahead of them. So this was Lake Onebega.. they had heard about this place before, and learnt about it in school that it was an important area for the Sámi people, but they had never been here before.. As fascinating as all that could be, they had no time to think to much about it, or get to know the town yet. They had to get to the Grotto fast to do a quick warm up at the very least, and then start playing..

"This looks like the downtown area, so it has to be one of these buildings..." Merete pondered out loud as she slowed down looking for something that could be a bar..

"The Grotto! This is it! Stop here!" Kajsa commanded from the backseat as she saw the bright green neon sign above the entrance of the bar. They had found it, and almost just in time..

 

Sam was happy they had made it, and thought that nothing more could go wrong this evening. Eager to get to play a concert again and potentially win a little more fame, he had to cheer excitedly after exciting the car. ;)

Kajsa however didn't feel like letting out a sigh of relief just yet, as she had to talk the bar owner first and apologise and explain to her why they were late.

There was only one thing to do now, to walk over there and get the job done.. Kajsa wasn't usually easily intimidated, but this time there was a slight feeling of apprehension as she walked in the direction of the bar.. Sam was in his own world there, and didn't understand why she would be nervous. They were there in time, and there was no problem at all!

"I'm sorry for being late miss" Kajsa began a little stutteringly "we tried to come here as fast as we could. There really is no excuse, but you see we had a little trouble with the... uh, the weather along the coast and uh..."

The bartender only rolled her eyes at Kajsas attempt at a story. She didn't believe a word of what she said, yet she wasn't angry with them, like Kajsa had feared she would be. She had been in the business for quite a few years and have had her experiences with various bands from here and there, and had gotten used to the fact that hiring a new and up and coming band from out of town was always a little bit of a risky business.. hence, of course, she hadn't pay them a single penny in advance. ;)

The bartender was just happy they were all there – and after all, right on time – so it wasn't really a huge problem. It was probably worse for the band as they had to go from spending hours in a car to going up on stage and still be expected to give it their all to entertain an audience, if any....

No the bartender wasn't mad at all, as she pointed Kajsa towards the stage. Finally Kajsa could relax a little more, even though the stage did look a little smaller than she had hoped for, and the space around it was perhaps a little to cramped for her liking.. but still, now was probably not the time to act like a diva and start complaining...

Upon inspecting the stage she tried her best to keep a positive spirit to not ruin the night for the bartender and the other bandmembers.. and herself.. and just maybe, if she looked closely, those bright neon lights behind the stage.. didn't they have some kind of star quality to them? Maybe Sam was right, they were there after all, and what could go wrong now...

-- The Concert --

 

 

If anyone was in need of a toilet break, now was the time to get one.. Sam and Merete both had the same idea, as there hadn't been any time for such in between Ravenswood and Lake Onebega.. but now that they were and, relatively speaking, had plenty of time such a luxury was definately affordable... ;)

Gerda wanted to warm up her fingers by playing some scales and random doodles on the guitar, and it seems the paparazzo and their first and sadly only listener in Marjánná Onébegajávrre were already present.

Kajsa was still a little stressed out and felt like calming her nerves with a drink before calling the remaining band members up to the stage to start the show... Merete had just been in a quarrel with the guy on the right, and if it weren't for them having to play a show, she probably would have given him a good beating...

 

..but that would possibly have to wait until after the show if he dared to stick around. Time to get up on stage, make sure the instruments that needed to be in tune sounded alright and than start the show..

The paparazzo was clearly a fan of Gerda already, but Marjánná, though she enjoyed the show, was getting tired and decided to call it a night and head home to sleep, afterbriefly visiting the bathroom..

They may have earned themselves atleast a couple of new fans here, though, and yes, this includes one of the paparrazi...

The other paparazzi was clearly more of a football fan than a music fan, but has gone out to cover the band playing anyway.. rumours about Kajsa having an unfortunate incident in Bridgewood was already spreading, and if the band could do something scandalous, he would be certain to get a good story out of it..

 

So far he was a little out of luck and should probably instead focus on writing a good review of the band, like any decent music journalist of course would have done. ;)

..and maybe that's what he would end up doing, as it looked like Gerda especially was on fire tonight, possibly winning the band its third fan for the night. ;) Well, that can only be deemed a success I think, so far.. relatively speaking.. even the guy that made fun of Merete earlier was now listening in on the band playing, albeit from a safe distance by the bar...

 

Well, atleast until he's had a few more drinks in his system, and it looks like Gerdas guitar playing had earned them their fourth fan for the night, quite possibly. Well done! I suppose with her flashy flying V she has come a long way since their very first concert back in their hometown just a little over two years ago, when was so crippled by stage fright she didn't even dare to face the audience at first.

 

Kajsa was certainly pleased with the show after she got up from her stool. The band had performed pretty well, in spite of having spent almost all day driving to get to the show in time. Though they still only played at small bars and clubs to a small audience, there seemed to be a different atmosphere among their usual tiny audience this night. Maybe this was for real, or maybe she was just imagining it. Maybe it was just the drink she has had prior to the concert, or maybe she was just tired after, but she felt that there were indeed some bright neon lights, fame and fortune ahead.. this could only go one way now...

 The paparazzi was still hanging around and taking notes, but since they have shown themselves to now be new fans of the band, perhaps they no longer hoped for them to do anything to reckless.. or maybe they still did, a paparazzo also needs money and food on the table.. but anyway, it was now time for Kajsa to walk past them for now and head over to the bartender to, hopefully, collect some money herself to share among the members of the band..

To make money on their music was necessary in order for them to be able to hopefully one day focus on it full time. They were lucky now, that the theatre they all worked at, had given them all a 'vacation' in order to tour with their band, but money wasn't their – and Kajsas – only motivation to do what they did of course.
    Though she was happy that the concert appeared to go so well, she was also a little anxious to approach the bartender again – not because she had to ask for money – she felt that was her right as they had fulfilled their part of the contract. No, she was anxious now about what the bartender really thought – did she like their music? Did she enjoy their show, or was it the worst thing she has heard since The Broken Dolls released Lulu?

Well, Kajsa of course had nothing to fear there as the bartender thought they had put on a splendid show, and awarded them with 2700 simoleons. That should about cover their expenses for gas, food and for renting a house in town for the night, and perhaps a little extra for each of them..
    Nothing to get rich off of just yet, but they had to start somewhere... what pleased her the most right now, and what gave everyone in the band a reason to celebrate – as if they needed one... - was the feedback they received from the bartender. She absolutely loved the show and was "delighted by the new atmosphere". Kajsa was so happy to hear what the bartender said, she felt like she had just made a new friend right then and there, and maybe she had. ;)

 

She couldn't have hoped for a better result after this night. Now, let the party begin.. Merete had already gone off to the cafeteria section of the Grotto to find her own disk to dance on, while Gerda was up and shaking her stuff on the one in the bar area.

 

Kajsa and Sam, though also elated after the show, focused on taking it a little more easy, ordering a meal to go sit in the backyard to eat by themselves.

Atleast for a while until the paparazzi sniffed them out..

 

..either this one on the right has set her eyes on Sam.. or she's about to make up a story about them sneaking away from the other band members because secretly they're having an affair with each other.. guess we'll find it by reading the gossip magazines tomorrow. ;)

 

The night went on with the band having an afterparty of sorts with the paparazzi in the bar, seeing as how there weren't anyone else there..

 

This one was definately feeling happy and star-struck to hang out with the band after the show. A tale to tell if they should ever truely make it big one day. ;)

They continued to fill up their bellies with tasty drinks for the remainder of the night, returning a good portion of the money they just received back to the bartender, and one may ask for whom this business is really the most lucrative? ;)

Merete had to climb on the bardisk to dance one more time before closing, while Kajsa went over to the bartender to give her a hug and say a finaly goodbye for now and thank the bartender for receiving them so well. Maybe one day they would come back and play here again – only time will tell. They would most certainly be very welcome. ;)

..but still, even with how welcomed they had been, closing time is closing time and they had to leave for now to try to find their way to the house they had rented for the night...

 

Let's not talk about how they got in their car to drive there after having had several drinks already...

There weren't many houses for rent in town, actually there was only one house available on the very outskirts of town and Gerda wondered for a second if Kajsa was about to drive them out of town again before she at the last minute did a left turn up the hill to the house.. She was not ready for a lengthy road trip again, atleast not now..

--­

The house didn't look at all bad, and it shouldn't as it was the most expensive one they had rented so far. It almost broke the bank for them, but if they wanted to play here, they didn't have much of a choice.. all in all they for now ended up with a net negative, so they could only hope that it would be worth it in the long run, by gaining a reputation, fans, record sales and a bigger audience next time..

Merete and Sam were to tired to inspect the house, and went straight to bed.

Gerda logged on to leave a few drunken chat messages to her friends back home at how awesome this gig was, or something like that...

        "Wee just foud n the house we're stayimg ar! what a lovely h.ouse, ftpm the most aqesome hig evee! Ot waas reall. y great! Miss yyou lots and xan't wait to come nack and pñay for you!!"

Kajsa was taking a look at the house in her own way, by scoffing at the so-called art the owners had decided to litter the place with...

Though as a sign of gratitude towards Gerda for having contributed to what was their greatest gig so far, she wanted to gift her the most expensive book she had carried with her all the time since they left home, which was to Gerda a very heart warming surprise. Kajsa wasn't usually the first to hand out gifts to people, so Gerda thought she must have done something really good to be given this honour!

Very tired and pleased with herself after all this Kajsa finally walked up stairs to find a bed in the same room as Merete had fallen asleep in a little earlier. Gerda still hadn't eaten yet, so she stayed behind for a last meal before joining as well.

 

Interestingly Gerda chose to sleep in the same bed as Kajsa, even though there were a spare bed in the room were Sam was sleeping on the opposite side of the house, making it one room for the girls and one room for the uh.. boy, as Sam was sleeping in a room all on his own..

...but maybe it was better for him that way, in case any of the others should be snoring or something. May they all get a good nights sleep, because there is still a long way left to go for them.. luckily they have no gig scheduled anywhere for tomorrow, which gives them two days to make it to the next one..

 

...but as they're now going all the way down south and back to the coast again it's also quite the distance to drive, so if they're going to show up relatively well rested at their next place, they're probably gonna need that time too.. good night. ;)

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