𝙼𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚘𝚞𝚜|| 𝙲𝚊𝚕𝚞𝚖 𝙷𝚘𝚘𝚍

t h i r t y

16th April: Sydney

Andrea and her band waited patiently in the wings: they were nervous. Today was the final day of the tour and there was mixed emotions. It was hard not knowing what was next for the band as Andrea was someone who wanted to be prepared and in this field of work anything could happen. After this tour, many opportunities would be available for them some with more negative side effects than others.

The last few days in Sydney were very pleasant. The guys had got to spend more time with their families which was nice for them. Whilst Andrea and the others went to explore the city and sit on beaches for hours on end. Altogether, they had been practicing for the encore of the final show and work out which side they were going to walk on the stage from and where they were going to stand. It was hard work, but the end result would be worth it.

Everything they had practiced had come down to this moment. The guys had just finished She Looks So Perfect and Andrea knew what was coming when Calum grabbed his microphone. From Michael's side of the stage, in the wing, she caught Calum's eye, he sent a quick smile to her before he began talking.

"So Sydney, you've been a wonderful crowd for us tonight," he erupted cheers from the crowed who were still buzzing, "we have one final song for you tonight," the cheering stopped and turned to booing. Andrea stifled a laugh, she knew how the crowd was feeling. "Can everyone stop fucking booing! As I was saying we have one final song for you guys tonight and it's going to be a special one! We started touring in September last year and we had a little help so to celebrate the last song of the tour please welcome for one last time, Cows In Space!"

Tightly, Andrea gripped the neck of her bass and followed Everly on stage. Whilst Everly took her place at the back, next to Ashton behind a synth, Andrea took hers next to Michael. The crowd were still screaming and they just continued but, louder when they band came into view. Andrea finally believed Calum, she finally believed that people actually liked the band and weren't just supporting them because they were an opening act.

"Right Sydney," Luke announced loudly into the microphone, taking it off the stand and walking closer to the edge of the stage, "as this is our last song of the tour I want you to sing as loud as you fucking can. Can you do that? Can you sing with us for one last time tonight?" the reply Luke received was deafening, but it was so rewarding. All the negatives are gone when you've got thousands of people screaming at you because they're excited to sing the songs you wrote. Obviously, Andrea didn't write Youngblood, but she felt it when she was on stage earlier, it was addicting and it explained why so many artists get lost in the fame and it all goes to their heads.

"The final song of the tour, Youngblood!"

Maybe this was one of the best ideas ever because the crowd seemed to love it. Personally, Andrea thought it was going to sound messy with eight of them on stage, but they actually sounded ok. Their voices managed to fit together perfectly and the two different sounding synths really worked together. Luke and Arthur's voices were possibly the best combination Andrea had ever heard and the simple bass line that was added to the first verse sounded really effective and the beginning didn't sound any different to the original.

When the chorus started, Andrea dropped back slightly and moved over by Ashton as bassists would often go and stand next to the drum kit if they needed to hear what exactly the bass drum was playing. Andrea didn't, she knew the song well enough, but it's just a classic move bassists make. On the other side of Ashton, Calum was there giving it his all and leaving the synth behind. She sent him a quick smile, when he looked her way, and he responded with the same. He then looked back down at his bass and stepped forward, making his way further to the front of the stage. Andrea decided to hang back for a bit, after all she was only playing about one note per bar and she wanted the attention to stay on Calum.