stories from the city; damon albarn

57-

A sound tech approaches Maxis, handing him his ear ins and his guitar, which was plugged in and apparently ready to go. This confused Chloe, who as far as she knew, her father wasn't supposed to be performing at all.

"Dad, what are you doing?" She asks "You can't just hijack-"

He picks up one of his picks and then says "can't hear you, I've got my plugs in."

The sound tech starts counting down from ten, and by 2, Maxis Erlich is fucking running onto the stage at full speed, joining Graham Coxon in playing the iconic, and most hated song.

"Maxis Erlich everyone." Damon Albarn says grinning, and moving away, watching as the nearly 60 year old man started running around the stage, somewhat outdoing Graham with stage theatrics. Then again, this was a seasoned pro— who was also a rockstar from the 60's and 70's.

The crowd was eating it up, clearly never having heard Song 2, with some bulky, half improvised guitar solo, which was coming from someone everyone and their mom knew.

Chloe was gaping at the sight in front of her, Ewan was now cheering on his father in law, whistling and then loudly yelling "That's my father in law!" Before whistling again, raising both of his hands to clap.

Damon ran over to the guitarist, going back to the chorus, wrapping up the song, and getting in his face, trying to match the intensity once and for all. The two yelling the last line of the song together. And immediately after Maxis exists the stage, opposite to the one he'd entered on.

The song transitions into Sing.

The very song that was in Trainspotting.

The song Damon and Chloe had shared their look of knowing at.

It was going to be difficult for him to sing, especially knowing that she was standing less than a 100 feet away, but oh well. It was already thundering out. Sometimes, he'd forgotten that he'd written the set list with her in mind, as if he'd been selecting the songs as if Chloe was going to be watching.

He felt sluggish on the stage this time around, and wasn't facing the audience this time. He was more or less turned around, looking towards Chloe, somewhat off key.

Repeating the same moment they'd had in 1996.

They lock eyes. Staring at one another for a few seconds, not sure if there was a moment of knowing present, just one of understanding. Or acknowledging the pain present between the two of them. Or the string that seemed to keep them connected.

The way he'd almost softly sung the line "Sing to Me." Made her want to collapse on the spot. Her knees felt weak. Ewan hadn't even noticed, he was more mesmerized with the show rather, and was trying to see where Maxis had gone off to.

So when he looked back at the stage, Damon was facing the crowd again.

He reached for Chloe's hand squeezing it slowly, thinking of when he'd seen her crying next to him at the Trainspotting premiere, thinking it had been because of the movie. He felt reminded of that moment. How he had felt on top of the world, and so equally in love with the girl next to him.

And he didn't even know she hadn't been crying for him.

Similarly to how now, he thought she was sniffling for him and that memory.

But rather, it was for Damon and lost time.

The more the show progressed, Chloe had become more and more aware that certain songs had to have been picked because of her presence there. Sing, especially. He had looked right at her for more than half of the song, and she'd felt like he was gazing into her soul.

Or picking up the pieces of a shredded map, trying to figure out a way to get back his lost treasure. He looked broken, or like he was missing something when he was singing and looking back at her. It was almost as if he was balancing being two different people then.

And the second person was who he became once he had to face the crowd again, he become more energetic, more alive and more happy.

She wasn't sure if the fact that after this, the amount of sad Blur songs had decreased. And they were playing the goodies, the ones that made you want to get on your feet and dance. Which she would've done, had Ewan not wandered off to go find her father after Sing had ended.

It was Girls and Boys.

Fuck it. She wasn't going to not dance to that, so down to the barricade she went, figuring she could get attention from someone down there, maybe pull someone over to join her.

Chloe practically ran down there, and surprisingly enough, found that Stella had been down there the whole time, confusedly, Chloe shrugs before joining her friend in the gated off spot between the stage and the crowd.

And much to her amusement, Damon Albarn did in fact take notice of this, pausing from his singing to point it out to his audience, pointing his finger down during the interlude.

"I just want to take this moment, to say thank you, to the two pretty girls down there dancing in the barricade. I wanna give 'em, a big woo. Can we do that?"

The crowd yells out in a frenzy, nearly blowing Chloe's ears out. It had been a while since she'd been to a concert.

Damon Albarn on the other side of things, looks down and snickers, then saying "Thank you Chloe, You've put up with me for too many years."

Before returning to his job and hopping right back into the song, as if he'd never even taken the break to begin with.

And after a few more songs, the show had wrapped up. Chloe was backstage again, cigarette in hand, watching Ewan and Maxis chat from a short distance away, also eagerly watching as the band came off the stage, greeting their own people that were there.

Damon, didn't seem to have anyone with him. So Chloe decided to take on that role for him.

"That was fantastic." She says, pulling him in for a reluctant hug, not caring that she'd end up drenched in sweat from it.

"Thank you darling. Not sure I should've done that though, I'm scared he's going to come back for round two." He says motioning to Ewan.

"You've got security this time." She says playfully

"Did you like it?" He asks

"It was wonderful. You've grown so much as a group. I've loved getting to see it happen over the years. Honestly, I love 13. I think it's one of your best yet."

He laughs a little before saying "I've got you to thank for that."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugs "You're the one who got me to write it. I mean you motivated me to do it. It was that phone call, the one where I told you that Justine left me. It really woke me up. I swear Chloe."

She smiles "Then where's my percentage?" She jokes

He rolls his eyes jokingly.

"I wish you'd played Tender. That's one of my favorites. Ewan sings it to our kids. And we were really hoping we'd get to hear you play it tonight."

He raises an eyebrow. "Sorry to disappoint Chlo. But that song requires a choral group, it's hard to get those on short notice." He says winking her her.

"I understand. That must be difficult to arrange as well."

"You didn't let me finish, I'm sure I could arrange something. Give me a moment."

And with that, Damon dashes off, going off to find something, or maybe someone. Chloe isn't sure.