Rob mounted his throne as the crowd cheered wildly at Jane and the rest of them. Sometimes, Rob had to admit, being the drummer was rough. You’re situated high and deep on the stage; the audience blurred through the kit’s hardware and cymbals. It was difficult to see Jane, Sam, and Austin be free to run about, screaming at the audience and moving at-will. 

Still, there was a sort of comfort back here. There wasn’t a crowd and sometimes, that was a good thing. There was a deep focus on the music, a sort of primordial urge to just play the song really fucking well. What he lacked in mobility he made up for in solitude and he really started to enjoy the feeling. 

The first song came and went; it was Sam’s first pick and easily the best opening track they could all agree to. Distorted, mindless rhythm plowed out of the channels for a good half-minute. Then, as Jane prepped the crowd and really egged them on, Sam and Austin would turn to Rob, and he’d count them in at a blistering 185 bpm, every time. He always kept a metronome on just to be sure. Perfect moshing tempo, guaranteed.

It was a fun song, sure, and so was Jane’s personal pick (which came second), but the third song was what Rob had been waiting this whole time for. 

The lights dimmed. Then, Rob would start up by virtually stomping his foot on the high-hat petal, keeping time at a speed faster than their opening track. Then, he’d start out by slamming his sticks into the snare, [i]just once.[/i]

The crowd roared for more, and Rob obliged. He slammed the snare again, which was followed by more cheers. Then, the kick began to slide in, syncopating his rhythms, throwing off the groove of the audience, causing them to stop their incessant, off-beat clapping. All well-thought out years ago, when Rob first penned this opening solo. Finally, the build-up dove into complex tom fills, cymbal crashes, and small bouts of double-bass (hence the bare feet). A snare roll broke out of the cacophony of noise, rolling for four beats before the song officially started, with Austin holding the tempo down with mindless, melodic bass. All-in-all, it was a minute and a half before Jane’s vocals even started on the six-minute track, and since Rob had gotten naming privileges on this specific song so long ago, he decided to play off her initial hesitation on the extended opening. 

He ended up naming the track [i]Speechless[/i], and it was a track that sounded like the bastard child of Metric and System of a Down. And, for some reason, the band agreed that that analogy worked. A blend of chaos and staccato. 

Finally, the single came on, and the crowd roared louder than it ever had. It was a bit of a shock, seeing as how the song before it sounded so little like the current single, but it was always exciting to hear a band play a song on local radio, Rob assumed. He paid it no mind, and played the song straight, as it was meant, without any flair or fills. Towards the start, after the verse, Rob looked up through sharp strands of hair to see Jane fucking around in front of him. His initial polite smile turned into a genuine one as she willingly made a fool of herself on stage, for him. It was a gesture he appreciated, and wasn’t going to let current events take away his fun. He tried to give the song a last push as the bridge continued, throwing in some fun fills as Jane tore up her vocal chords. He always assumed she hated it but he was glad she typically did the scream on stage to match the album version. It never failed to get a smile out of Austin, who looked to Rob as he played his ascending bass riff; one of the only moments of the song he liked.

Finally Rob rolled on the cymbals as everyone ended the song with a last flair of the guitar or tone on the bass. Rob’s eyes darted to Jane, as she slowly gyrated her hips to the beat. As he stared, he began to look past her, to Adrianna, taking a photo of the moment with her camera. He watched her drop the lens from her face slowly, giving Rob a lip bite and a smile that wasn’t hard to read in the slightest. 

[hr]

Rob was all smiles off-stage, high-fiving with Jane and the other guys, and casually trying to look around for Adrianna. He caught view of her talking to Jared in the press section, not seeing her. He looked away before he figured anyone would notice. 

“I’m ready to party,” came Jane. Rob looked to Austin, and noticed his expression. Out of the four of them, it was Austin—not Rob—that liked parties the [i]least[/i]. However, today was different. Rob would not fight Jane on this one like he normally would. 

“Where at?”