The Devil on Kazoo

20: Soundcheck

"Come, let me love you
Let me give my life to you
Let me drown in your laughter
Let me die in your arms"

"Annie's Song" by John Denver

If soundchecks were supposed to be a thing of general entertainment and perfection, the Crumbs were sorely disappointed.

For one thing, a sudden rain shower had snuck up on the boat, which meant a mad scramble to cover wires and shelter the instruments.

For another thing, everyone was put in a bad mood by the storm and overall gloom of the day. Nobody had slept in what felt like days and as the concert crept ever closer, tension was high.

This particular tension didn't create any extra arguments between Kathy and Smiley, who remained naturally roguish with one another.

Where the tension really made itself known was in the normally happy friendship of Syl and Bash.

Bash was uncharacteristically grumpy, which did nothing to help Syl, who was characteristically grumpy.

They'd been butting heads all day; first about the location of the amps onstage, then about whether or not they should start with an original song or a cover.

Even Smiley and Kathy were getting tired of their quarreling.

They never all-out shouted at one another, as loudness wasn't in either of their natures, but if glares could cut through steel, theirs would have.

Once the clouds were far away, Jim deemed it safe enough to re-setup the equipment. It was later in the evening than they'd scheduled, which meant it would be yet another sleepless night aboard Wolgemoth & Sons.

After the cables were distributed, the wires were connected, and the choreography of the musicians was set, the time finally came for them to play through the setlist.

Jim sat a few feet in front of them with the radio station temporarily converted into a sound booth. He flipped a few switches and slid black headphones on.

He bobbed his head up and down. "Give it a go."

Bash leaned into the microphone. "Soundcheck, one-two."

Jim gave a thumbs-up from his makeshift booth. "Sounds great."

Bash shared a look with the rest of the Crumbs and nodded.

"One, two..."

They began to play their first rehearsal for the concert. They played the songs they always played, but this felt distinctly different. It felt important. Real. Like everything laying on the line was balanced even more precariously.

Kathy was a whiz on her new drum set and Smiley was a maestro on keys.

As was the pattern on this particular day, it was Bash and Syl who were off. They couldn't find their natural rhythm which had always come so easily to them until now.

"It's like you're trying to race each other," Kathy said after they had to stop in the middle of a song. She sighed deeply with frustration. "I can't even keep up."

"Let's just try the next one on the list, eh?" Bash suggested.

Kathy and Smiley took a look at the setlist and shared a look of concern, which Bash didn't understand until he saw what the next song was.

It was the Crumb cover of "I Got You Babe" by Sonny and Cher...which was Bash and Syl's only duet on the setlist.

Bash counted them off, ignoring the fact that he and Syl avoided eye contact as they began to play.