Tours, France

The lights are out. The stage has been blacked out, except for a low light along the floor of the stage not visible form the crowd. The audience is cheering loudly, clapping and whistling, screaming now that the lights have gone out. I run out on stage trying not to trip, a dark shadow amongst other shadows as far as the crowd can tell. I sit down behind the kit, plug my In-ears in, start the click, grab my sticks out of my stick holder and pause. I take a deep breath, hearing only 'click'-'click'-'click'-'click' and the dull roar of the crowd on the other side of the drumset, seemingly far away. It feels like a dream. Smoke rises from behind me, enveloping me in man made mist. It wraps around me so thick I can taste it, almost reach out and grab it. It floats out into the crowd where it is almost completely dark with a thousand, maybe two thousand people cheering, and I feel alone.

One more deep breath, and then I lay into the drums with a heavy groove. Lights come up, blazing like guns from a hollywood western gunfight. Two white lights flanking either side of me rush to focus on the kit. Two additional lights directly behind me roar to life, illuminating the drum riser, throwing a large drumset shaped shadow on the ceiling of the tent. More lights are brought to life, all white, and bright, dispelling all the darkness from the kit. The crowd cheers more as each beat continues to groove, driving, pushing, and calling band members to the stage. I watch as they run out to stage, pick up their fiddle, bass, guitar, someone waves to the crowd, then I stop.

silence. waiting.

We all take a breath, and then hit the opening chords of the song. The lights turn on, filtering through the smokey haze. Purple and yellow dance across the stage. Bright white cuts back and forth, slicing through the thick fog, and the music jumps into a life of its own. This is our show in Tours, France. This is what I do for a living. Just another day at the office . . .

The stage during sound check in the afternoon before the show.