Chapter 100: One More?

Tyler had thought Niall and his former bandmates had been giving their best performance thus far.

Even his fellow artists seated backstage had believed the illusion that the quartet up on stage had decided to go the more intimate route given the past two performances.

But when Archie’s finger descended upon that single, lonely note... followed immediately by a familiar electric tune that carried an inspiring warmth from Niall’s guitar...

...Niall kicked his energy up to the next level, his vocals shifting from intimate and reflective to a raw, intense and unfiltered resonance;

Do you feel the same when I’m away from you?!

Do you know the line that I’d cross for you?!

We could turn around, we could let it go,

But we’ll take what comes, take what comes!

The result was a crowd whose unbridled excitement came in full-force, their cheers deafening as the quartet on stage soon slipped into the pre-chorus.

Feel the beat in your chest...

Feel the rush, no regrets...

Then, as the beat dropped for the chorus, their voices alongside the bouncing crowd harmonized in perfect sync to deliver its punchy declaration!

We’re threading a tightrope, now!

We’re threading a tightrope, now!

We gonna go higher, up!

We’re threading a tightrope, tightrope, tightrope!

The surges of thrilled exhilaration that ran through several spines after that couldn’t be understated, their heads banging in shared excitement!

Yet, Carmen, much like everyone else kept bouncing as Sam, Archie and Lucas were finally able to let loose, as did Niall whose vocals had fully touched on the heights it could!

Even the backline crew behind were much the same, the monitor engineer finally dialing up the speakers to eleven.

At the same time, more and more people began stopping outside the Mojave Tent, crowding in hundreds more as they watched the powerful performance through the massive screens.

And even they, were not exempt from the same energy those inside the tent were exuding as the performance continued on.

Such was the power of a high frequency song.

At this point though, Tyler had come to a staggering realization.

Niall and Midnight Avenue had never once considered him worthy of being a competition, or even considered him for anything at all... not when they were busting out a performance like this.

And so, as the performance continued, one that reached its crescendo with the outro, Niall belted out at the highest notes possible with the singing crowd, further driving home the performance;

So look out, here we go...!

Look out, here we go...!

Look out, here we go...!

Threading a tightrope, tightrope, tightrope!

So look out, here we go...!

The sort of roars and applauds that travelled through the tent was at such a fever-high, it practically reverberated across the grounds of the music festival.

Yet, as if that hadn’t already been the grandest of performances all evening, the quartet immediately slipped into their next song.

The crowd hadn’t recovered from the previous performance just yet when a familiar piano riff from Archie merged into Niall’s raw guitar riff, followed by Lucas’ aggressive drumbeat and Sam’s underpinning yet driving bass!

No sooner had it exploded through the amplifiers in tent, the audience already losing it again, Niall followed up in sync;

You always said I’d never go far,

Raging in caps lock all the time,

And there’s that cold, pitiful light that seeps from you,

You’ll end up like the hollow thing you are, empty and loud as a barrel,

As heads bopped in sync, hands pumping in the air, Niall continued singing as the galvanizing tune climbed in to the chorus;

Don’t you see, I’ll keep rising farther than you’d ever dream,

I’m looking towards the future, I’m feeling like a little kid,

And I’ll keep rising with every step,

If you’re looking back, don’t you dare expect me there,

I’ll keep rising!

Practically expecting it, the charged crowd echoed back, Carmen especially letting out some of her frustrations as she did;

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Again, Niall repeated, his band members attacking their kits with the fiercest of intensities;

I’ll keep rising!

On cue, the thrilled audience echoed back once more;

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Once again, the crowd had found themselves partakers in the titillating performance. At this point, Tyler had long accepted that his prior show had been completely overshadowed.

Despite all his best attempts to put his former bandmates and Niall down, it ultimately was all for naught.

What more, they still had one more song to perform and yet, the quartet looked like they had so much energy left in the tank to keep the high-octane, high frequency show going.

However, when the last fifteen minutes of their performance came, they once again slowed things down.

The reason for this was rather simple.

[Heal You] was the kind of song that was meant to give you some sense of closure to whatever troubles addled one’s mind and soul, and perhaps ease the burden and lift the weight off it.

At the same time--and although the crowd didn’t know it just yet--it was also the perfect song to not just round up the tantalizing performance thus far on a perfect note, but also, prime them for an unexpected last song.

As a result, even as the crowd applauded and cheered far louder than they had for any of the other artists after [I’ll Keep Rising] was over, Niall and Midnight Avenue simply waited it out for a minute.

Then, when things had settled a bit, he spoke into the mic once more;

"Well, I think you were already expecting this, so it leaves me with just one thing to say,"

"Keep this in your hearts."

Naturally, the audience had assumed that Niall was saying his goodbyes earlier, seemingly to imply that the show was coming to an end.

To that effect, despite the sense of longing that cascaded through the crowd even though the show wasn’t over just quite yet, a massive surge of cheers, applauds and whistles riffed through the tent.

Then, with a single nod at his bandmates, a droning, poignant, yet equally, very fragile tune flowed out the speakers.

Niall’s vocals, having returned to its soft and reflective octave, followed just after;

When the lights go dim in empty rooms...

And the nights feel long and deathly cold...

When you’re fighting shadows in your sleep...

Stuck in limbo...

This time, the crowd didn’t cheer, nor did they clap or whistle. Instead, they simply watched on, savoring the moment as they swayed slowly to the song.

By the time the song’s second arrangement had arrived though, the melody becoming fuller as Sam, Archie and Lucas’ vocals flowed into the song, the audience was already waving their hands in the air;

And if your soul... drifts home,

Somewhere I... will be,

I’ll be there... to heal you

No sooner had the song’s tune climbed after that, the accompaniment finally reaching its peak, Niall and the trio pushed for a bolt of energy that immediately set the stage to rouse the crowd right back!

Then, as the enthralling tune suddenly blared at full blast into a rip-roar, courtesy of the backline crew and monitoring engineer backstage, the quartet harmonized alongside the crowd;

Tears flowing, down your face,

When the light streams into those beautiful eyes,

Tears streaming, down your face,

Is proof I never left...

By now, the crowd had long forgotten that they weren’t even at a mainstream artist’s concert stage.

Instead, they were so spellbound by the current performance before them, they couldn’t help but repeat it again alongside them.

Tears flowing, down your face,

When the light comes shining through those beautiful eyes,

Tears streaming, down your face,

Is proof I always believed...

Carmen, specifically, had long forgotten that she was tired just a while ago, the lady waving, swaying and singing alongside everyone else.

At the same time, all of the artists backstage, realized just how much harder they had to go in their careers if they ever wanted to have such an outstanding level of stage presence.

The kind that didn’t beg for attention, but practically commanded it.

The kind Tyler knew he would probably never touch on because his music was nothing more than superficial thrills.

As for the stage mangers backstage, they were so glad the coordinators of Coachella had extended and invite to Niall Parker... and that Niall himself had propositioned to have Midnight Avenue join him for the performances.

And though they weren’t quite certain, something told them this would be one of the most memorable performances at this year’s festival.

To that effect, the tune slowly grinded to a thrum, its base melody accentuating Niall’s evocative vocals as he softly sang its outro;

And when your soul... comes home,

Somewhere I chose... to be,

You’ll know I stayed... to heal you...

The response that followed was near instantaneous, the crowd cheering, clapping and whistling the loudest they ever had thus far!

Naturally, they were also expecting Niall and Midnight Avenue to round up the performances with ’thank you’s’, ’goodbyes’ and ’I love you’s’.

Instead, their claps, whistles and cheers slowly lowered in confusion as they watched Niall walk backstage while Midnight Avenue lingered on stage.

As Tyler’s gaze, alongside the other artist’s backstage followed Niall, each individual watched with widening eyes ranging from skepticism, to curiosity, intrigue and genuine interest.

Afterall, the young artist was handing over the guitar he had used to the crew member, and was substituting it for another.

Then, casually walking back on stage, he adjusted the mic with a light smile on his lips, the evening breeze starting to blow just a tad bit stronger.

Naturally, the crowd couldn’t help but watch in genuine curiosity, their thoughts racing till they came to an almost unified conclusion;

There was still one more song?!

Advance Chapters are available on Patreon!

/Caer07