First Song

He's pacing the stage as the band finishes setting up
behind him. His thin black sports coat fits well with
his faded black dress pants. Both have survived many
nights that have started like this. The bass player is
looking at him while the drummer is impatiently
rapping his fingers on his snare drum. The guitarist looks
up to let them know he's almost done tuning. The sound
guy lets them know he's ready whenever they are. Drake
stops pacing for a moment to give him the thumbs up.
The guitar player nods at him. He glances over at his
keyboard player set up next to his backing vocalist Nancy.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. We're Mutual Fools."
Four clicks on the hi-hat and the music began. The wash
of color from the stage lights might as well have been
the barometer for their souls. The room swelled and filled
with the sound of a band roaring to life. Drake moved
side to side across the stage with the microphone grasped
firmly in hand. Each gesture of his hands and body
accented the music in a way no punctuation could alter
the words on a page. They moved in perfect time as
the music moved from verse to chorus, to verse to chorus
to bridge and chorus. Nancy looked as glamorous as
an old time movie starlet with her sequined dress hugging
her body tight as she sang and played the tambourine.
As the final beat of the song approached Drake turned
his back to the audience and threw the mic straight into
the air. Without looking he reached for it in air and caught
it as the final beat landed with the power of pure conviction.