PROSE POETRY

A Roadies Tour

A response “to the past to the future”

What’s something you want to do once physical distancing is over? — Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她)

It’s not so much airports or air travel I look forward to going back to when life returns to some kind of post covid normal, although an upgrade suits me just fine. However, it’s the Kind of travel that burrows into my brain leaving a trail of environmental guilt within the jet stream travelling to distant lands sampling their culture as a paid technician with a touring band, “privileged” one might say.

It’s more so the tour bus transferring us from city to city country to country Setting up drums sometimes percussion, maybe together I look forward to getting back to.

I look forward to the craic on stage and off, the buzz of final preparation just before the band goes on, the audience buzz can be quite electric in that crucial 30 minutes, smooth, or with glitches to be fixed without panic.

Well, that’s what we are paid for, to resolve problems quickly when the shit hits the fan; it usually does, during the show!

There’s this thing called sub-bass vibration, its pass time is to shake things apart just for fun, it frustrates the feck out of technicians, engineers and production team members alike.

It loves to test the mettle of all touring staff to see which ones belong back in the chicken coup, or is that now soup?

The crew’s relief and satisfaction comes after a good show for the band and audience.

Angst-ridden minds abound when things have gone technically awry, or, the band and audience are not really at their best.

After the show, the breakdown sees the gear back onto trucks, packed and stacked into their cases from where they were unloaded.

A two hour break down rivals the initial five hours set up; all day with the band’s soundcheck, then there's the setting of the support act. Us? we are packed back into the tour bus for a few relaxing drinks, or many more, unless it’s a roadie Friday, the night before the next day off, this is where the shenanigans begin; for some.

James G Brennan 2021.

Thank you Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) for your prompt “What’s something you want to do once physical distancing is over. To the past to the future”? Read Lucy’s prompt here. Feel free to have a crack at it.

As my last piece was here in TBIN and I tagged other writers, this time I shall highlight Ann Marie Steele. Read her insightful piece here.

Thank you as always, Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) for giving my words a platform. 🙏 Thank you all for reading and your precious time. Always. J. 🙏✨