Sister to Jonas

Letterman

Brexley's POV

Tonight, Joe is performing on the Late Show with David Letterman. It's kind of a big deal for him; almost the entire show is devoted to him and his music from Fastlife, and the crowd is going to be filled with fans. I know he's used to having a lot of people who like his music in the audience, but today isn't the same as usual. The difference? For the first time in his entire music career, the crowd will be full of people who love him, and only him. Not Kevin, not Nick, not any other performer. Just Joe. It will be a huge moment in his life.

It's around 10:00 right now, and the show begins at 11:30, so I'm going to have to leave the apartment pretty soon. However, I'll have to go by myself. Joe's been at the Ed Sullivan Theatre, where the show is taped, since around 1:00 this afternoon for tech rehearsal and preparation for the performance. Oh well. I'm sure I'll survive.

At 11:20, I reach my seat in the first row of the main level. It's literally right in front of centerstage, so I know Joe will easily be able to find me. Once I'm in position, I take a few minutes to look around at the crazy amount of people packed into this somewhat small theatre. My brother has really built himself up a following over the years, that's for sure. And then the lights dim, a short intro video beginning to play. Immediately, there's a lot of screaming from the fans before the backing track to Love Slayer starts up and Joe emerges from a door at the rear of the room. He has a huge smile on his face as he sings, making his way down the main aisle and to the stage while high-fiving some people.

Once he gets on stage and sings out to the audience, I can't help but beam at him as my eyes well up with tears. I've literally never been prouder of him, and seeing him up there, putting on what promises to be a killer show, just makes me emotional. Joe notices this, and his already-radiant grin grows a little bigger. He then gives me a tiny shake of the head, as if to tell me to pull it together, before going back to glancing around the theatre.

Love Slayer finishes after a few minutes, and my brother quickly addresses the crowd before Just In Love begins to play and he's on to the next song. I can tell Joe is feeling this immensely; he's dancing around and acting like he owns the place, which, right now, he basically does. Guaranteed there's no one in this entire building tonight who isn't hooked on his performance. And if people weren't already excited about the music after Love Slayer, they are when Just In Love finishes up and Fastlife begins. Though the choreography for this song is slightly cheesy in my opinion, something about the way it's conducted on stage just makes it fit with the show. It makes it look more professional than it would've if Joe was just walking around on stage and doing whatever, similar to how he acted during the first song.

The next song slows down the vibes a little bit, but the audience seems to be just as excited about this one as they have been the others. And though I know my brother hates sitting still while singing, the way he executes it during I'm Sorry makes a great image for the mood of the song. Of course I've heard this one before, given I live with the guy and am usually present at his solo recording sessions, but Joe's natural confidence and stage abilities when singing to an audience, which he's had since day one of the Jonas Brothers, makes this song sound ten times better tonight than any other time I've heard it.

Now, he decides to play some of the hits he, Nick, and Kevin created a few years ago to get the crowd more involved. When You Look Me In The Eyes and Hello Beautiful are songs a lot of fans of the Brothers have memorized by now, and this, I can tell, is what Joe was hoping for as he leads the audience through them with a little bit of his own twist. He is also sure to compliment everyone on their voices, being the nice guy that he is, which gets a loud reaction from them all and definitely makes each person here love him even more.

Joe spends a little bit of time thanking the audience for their support after these two songs finish before continuing right into another one off the Fastlife album, Kleptomaniac. He's got everyone dancing for this one; there's not a person seated anymore and the energy inside the theatre right now is electric. Even though he messes up on the lyrics a little bit, Joe still plays if off well, doesn't let his confidence falter, and no one in the crowd seems to realize or care. Besides, it's not as if his fans don't know he has a problem remembering lyrics. It's kind of a running joke now.

For See No More, the last song of tonight's set, Joe kicks it up one more notch by shedding his gray suit jacket and performing in just the black undershirt. This gets the girls going especially, and there's a lot more screaming to be heard as the song's backing track starts up. People seem to know the lyrics to this one, and most everyone sings along with my brother for this final installment of the show. Including me. I do notice that the smile never leaves Joe's face, and as he finishes up the concert, he's beaming so widely I think for a second his face might split in half.

Before exiting the stage, Joe waves to everyone and has the crowd acknowledge the band members. Then, he runs off and I exit my seat to go meet up with him, since we have to be out of here before the actual show ends so fans don't mob him. I wait in the lobby for Joe, and after collecting his belongings and getting his mic off, he makes his way over to me.

"Joe, I can't believe you just did that!" I tell him proudly.

"Did you like it?" he asks me with a smirk.

"It was incredible. Definitely your best," I say.

"Were you crying in the beginning?" he teases, and I roll my eyes before answering.

"No, I only had tears in my eyes. They never came out. Get it right," I say, and he laughs.

"Why?"

"Because that was the moment I fully realized you were creating your own story. You had one with Kevin and Nick, but you don't need them to be successful. Joe, you're more than capable of doing this on your own, and tonight really proved that."

"Aww. That might've been the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Brex," Joe says, grinning cheekily as I smack him on the arm.

"Way to ruin a sentimental moment," I joke, and he shakes his head as we get into his car and drive back to the apartment.

The man knows how to put on a show, knows how to get people going. That's all I have to say.