socalfunplaces Page 142
Page 142
"...Ahaha, after all, this is our first time appearing, so it's normal that we don't have much of a reputation." Nijika chuckled dryly in response to Taro's words.
“It’s…it is.” Kita hesitated for a moment, but still agreed with Nijika.
"Don't worry about it, don't worry about it." Liang seemed quite carefree.
"..." After hesitating for a while, Pochi finally managed to squeeze his voice out from his throat. His voice was soft, but unusually firm.
"I... want to play."
All eyes were on Pochi. Pochi instinctively shrank back for a moment, but quickly closed his eyes, straightened his neck, and repeated, "I... want to go on stage!"
"Don't force yourself, it's okay, okay?" Pochi couldn't see Chihaya Aine's expression, but she could clearly hear the worry in her voice.
When Pochi closed his eyes, it wasn't all blackness in his vision.
She saw the fruits of her labor in composing;
I saw Ryo discussing what kind of music they wanted to create.
Seeing the clothes that everyone worked so hard to make, which are now being worn by them.
I saw the version of myself that was once afraid of social interaction and felt lonely.
He saw Momoi Taro, who had violently pulled him up for special training.
She saw Chihaya Aine and Kita, who were working hard alongside her.
I saw two fans who came to see my performance even in the pouring rain.
I saw myself playing "Spring Shadow" with Momoi Taro and the others on the street.
Finally, she saw the serious and earnest look in Momoi Taro's eyes, and then he opened his mouth and said, "Goto, I believe in you. Your words can bring a good performance."
Then she opened her eyes and said firmly, "I want to go on stage!"
The air fell silent. After what seemed like an eternity, Momoi Taro broke the silence brought on by the sudden change: "Well then, it's time to go on stage. Good luck!"
Taro patted Pochi on the shoulder, presumably to encourage her. But when his hand touched her shoulder, he realized that Pochi was actually the most nervous person there.
Because her shoulders were completely stiff—
But Taro said nothing and let go of her hand; he trusted her to handle it. Because…
The four of them walked somewhat stiffly to the front of the stage. After setting up the equipment, Kita, who was the most sociable, began the pre-performance MC:
"Nice to meet you all, we are the End Band. We are very grateful that you all came despite the terrible weather today."
There was silence in the audience.
"Haha..." Hongxia chuckled awkwardly, her voice tinged with nervousness, "Kita-chan, we're a rock band, you're being way too polite."
"Hahaha..." This time there was a reaction, but only Boqi's two little fans chuckled awkwardly to show their cooperation.
Aine, who was peeking from the stage, turned to Taro and asked, "Hey, why aren't the audience reacting? It's not particularly good, but it shouldn't be just one or two people..."
“That’s only natural.” The person who answered her was Hai Ling, her gaze fixed on the figure in the white vest in the audience, and she said calmly:
"If it's not a band you like, it's a waste to focus on them; that's very common at band live performances."
"It's not that they heard but didn't react; it's that they simply didn't hear it and there was no need for them to listen."
Hai Ling's cold words stated the cruel truth. Ai Yin lowered her head and whispered, "That's so unfair..."
"In fact, this is the norm for first-time bands." Hai Ling's voice was full of rationality: "In my opinion, bands like Dong Brothers who can grab the audience's attention with their first live performance are a minority."
"Because there are great generals here," Ruomai said with a smile, squinting at the four people on the stage.
"Now, let's play our first piece, our original composition, 'Guitar, Loneliness, and the Blue Planet'."
A beautiful prelude began. Xi Qun Yao Ling Yin^Qi SiV Jiu④Jiu Ba# Duo started singing: "The sudden downpour made me so fed up with not bringing an umbrella."
Backstage, Taro and Ruomai frowned. Ruomai whispered, "The drums are all messed up. Is it because of too much pressure?"
"What should we do..." Ai Yin frowned and said softly, "The guitar is malfunctioning too."
"The rhythm team is completely out of sync," Taro said with a frown, adding calmly, "It's just noise."
Ai Yin's brows remained furrowed; she could also tell that the lead singer was completely out of sync with the beat, the breathing sounds were particularly noticeable, and there was even a slight off-key note.
⑥（+ 一）%@V??II①⑵⒏司4覇悦怡一曲终了。
"The performance of 'Guitar, Loneliness, and the Blue Planet' is finished." Kita's voice sounded very tense.
The audience barely reacted; some were chatting, others were looking at their phones, seemingly completely indifferent to their performance.
"Um..." Kita was so nervous that he didn't know what to say. Nijika quickly noticed Kita's embarrassment, put aside her own guilt, and reminded him, "Kita-chan, it's time to introduce the next song."
"Oh dear." Aine was even more worried: "If this continues, you won't be able to play the next piece well at all."
However, unable to suppress her curiosity, she looked at Taro and asked, "By the way, Taro, what would you do if our band encountered this situation?"
"The moment I sense it, I'll improvise with my instrument and my singing," Taro said matter-of-factly. "If necessary, I'll unplug the instrument."
"Hey! That's way too rough!" Ai Yin raised her voice slightly to complain.
"Well, he is a general after all. There's nothing we can do about it," Ruomai said helplessly, spreading her hands.
Meanwhile, the MC on stage continued, and Kita nervously said, "Um... the next song is also our original composition, 'That Band'."
However, at that moment, an unusual singing sound came from Pochi's guitar—
It's my birthday today, so the update will be a little late.
I don't want to just brush this off; consider it a simple birthday gift to myself.
And a special thank you to Shuang'er for the gift... it was a bit of a waste of money.
Also, thank you all for your continued support. A special thank you to the reader "Guess What"—if it weren't for these visible comments, I probably would have given up.
I'm so grateful; it wasn't easy to persevere... I've always felt my writing wasn't good enough, really, thank you everyone.
Chapter Thirty-Six: I'll Pave the Way for the Future in My Own Way
An unusual singing sound came from Pochi's guitar—
Everyone's attention was drawn to Pochi's guitar playing as he stomped hard on the effects pedal.
Then, Pochi's guitar let out a defiant roar, strumming the strings as if it had burned its own soul.
Her sudden solo seemed to calm everyone down after the band ended, and PA promptly turned off the lights...
After the unexpected solo ended, the band's song officially began its intro. After the intro ended, Kita began to sing:
"That band's songs sounded to me like sharp, echoing laughter."
……
As the piece ended, Kita turned to look at Pochi, chuckled softly, and then addressed the audience, saying, "The second song, 'That Band,' is finished. Now, for the final piece—"
……
After the final song, the audience applauded enthusiastically. After the band returned backstage, Taro praised them, saying:
"Not bad, Goto. Now, leave the rest to us." With that, he walked out without waiting for the band members' reply.
For some reason, Boqi didn't say a word after coming off the stage. Hongxia patted her on the shoulder and said, "From now on, we just need to be good audience members."
Unlike the Ending Band, the Dong Brothers received a lot of cheers as soon as they took the stage.
A large portion of the audience here are people who were once captivated by the Dong Brothers' performances and have now come here to follow in their footsteps.
After Taro came on stage, contrary to his usual behavior, he took the initiative to step forward, hold the microphone, and begin his MC performance before the live performance.
When Aine saw Taro about to start MCing, she had a sudden inspiration. With such a lively atmosphere, wasn't this a great opportunity to promote the band?
Thinking this, Aine tugged at the sleeve of Momoi Taro's live outfit and looked at him with expectant eyes.
Taro... With the unspoken understanding between us, you'll surely understand what I mean!
Taro naturally noticed that Aine was tugging at his sleeve. He turned around and looked into Aine's eyes with some confusion.
Aine's eyes were full of anticipation; surely our understanding would reach them.
He pretended to suddenly realize something and said, "If you need to go to the toilet, go now. I can handle the MC segment by myself. Go quickly and come back quickly."
"No! This is completely lacking in teamwork!" Aine shouted at Taro in embarrassment and annoyance. Their conversation was transmitted through the microphone to the audience, immediately causing bursts of laughter.
Ai-yin's face turned bright red. Luckily, no classmates were watching, or she would have been utterly humiliated. Thank goodness for the typhoon!
"Aiyin, the general doesn't understand what kind of hint you're giving, hehe..." Ruomai, sitting on the drum stool, covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Ah, I know, I'll just say it directly." She sighed, deciding not to argue with Momoi Taro, and said, "Taro, we can talk about it later. I also have something to say."
"I see. Wouldn't it be better to just explain it properly?" Taro frowned and glanced at Riki below the stage. Taro nodded and said, "Okay, go ahead."
Aine stepped forward, gripped the microphone, and said, "Minna-san—how was the live performance just now—?"
The audience responded to Aine's question with enthusiastic applause, and Aine replied in that cloyingly sweet, coquettish voice:
"Next, our Dong Brothers group will bring you the same excellent performance, and there will be more to come."
"So~ please follow @Donbrothers's SNS account! Thank you everyone for coming to watch our live performance in such terrible weather. Enjoy our live performance now! Taro—"
Ai Yin dragged out a long sound, signaling Taro that he could speak. Taro understood and took the microphone, gazing intently at the audience in front of him: "I'm glad you could come."
Lixi was slightly taken aback. Were Momoi Taro's words meant for her? Then, Taro clearly told her what he was saying next:
“I’ve thought about it. What if you didn’t even have the courage to come here? But you did.”
Hai Ling also glanced sideways. Despite the large number of audience members, she immediately spotted Li Xi, who was standing blankly offstage.
Although Taro didn't say exactly what happened to Riki, judging from her expression, something must have happened.
"My words cannot convey my meaning, but I hope my song can. I will always be waiting for you ahead—listen, our new song—"
Riki gently bit her lip, listening to what Momoi Taro meant. It was a new piece he wrote after their chat. Could he really write a playable piece in such a short time...?
Why, why can Taro, Shoko, and her sister all do it, but I can't?
"Please listen to 'The Road to Tomorrow? Going my way!'!!" Upon receiving Taro's signal, the entire stage went dark instantly, and then a beam of sunlight slanted down from the ceiling and shone on Taro.