that was enough and herded them over to the waiting vehicle as well.
The door had barely closed before we sped off, towards the stadium the band was scheduled to play in. Everyone was in good spirits. Caleb struck up a conversation with me, asking me about whether things in America were really the way Christian had always described them. Eventually we pulled straight through into the underground parking and were ushered straight into a backstage area. Each member of the band had their own room, and when I entered Christian’s I was actually shocked at the luxury. A dressing table like the ones I always saw on TV and in movies was in one corner, a bean bag chair and comfortable looking couch sat on the other side. Racks of outfits for the concert lined one wall, a tray with some snacks next to it. A large rug covered the floor, and the walls were lined with posters of the rock stars of yore.
“I’ve got to admit, I’ve never been backstage before, anywhere.”
“Well, now you’ve seen all my secrets! Like the fact that I always eat a bunch of fruit before going onstage” Christian replied, motioning at the tray next to his outfits. I went over to the rack.
“Are you really going to wear all of these tonight?”
Christian shook his head. “No, I only usually wear two outfits a night, I change halfway through the show. I just don’t always wear the same thing, it’s not like a lot of pop concerts where they change outfits ten times a night and it’s always the same outfit. Rock is a lot less choreographed, a lot less strict about those sorts of things. Anyway, if you head out to the stage area, we’ve got about fifteen minutes before we come out and start to play.”
I did as Christian suggested, making my way towards the open area of the stage. It was weird, being literally the only person in the arena, tens of thousands of empty seats around me. No one else was around, and I sat down near the front of the stage, in the mosh pit, waiting for Christian to appear. It took a few minutes, and suddenly, out of nowhere the pitch black stage burst to life.
I was blinded for a split second as my senses went from almost completely unused to overwhelmed. The music started immediately, the bland getting right into things with one of their big hits right off the bat. As the arena exploded in a cacophony of music and lights, and Christian belted out the music, I found myself mesmerized. I suddenly realized just why this band was one of the most popular in the country. Not only did Christian have an amazing voice, combined with the band able to make incredibly catchy rock songs, but Christian had a stage presence unlike anything I’d ever felt before in my life.
Christian’s voice was his instrument. It seemed effortless, as he used his range to coax lyrics to life, to make them seem larger than life. It was husky and raw, like a rock star’s voice should be, but at the same time sensual, his control of his voice so perfect that every note sounded better than the last.
While Christian played, I could feel the intensity of his focus on the music, the strength it took to be so precise, so perfect for so long. For two hours the band did their final run-through, for two hours Christian showed his soul, bared it for me to see. I had never felt more connected to him than in that moment. He was so wrapped up in what he was doing, so heavily into the song, and yet at the same time I knew he was focused on me almost as intently.
His eyes met mine throughout the concert, and as he belted out the hardest notes, I knew, somehow, that he was singing exclusively to me. I had never imagined that this would be the reaction I would have when I saw him sing. I knew now, this was exactly what Christian had been born to do. As the band struck the last note, the strings of Andy’s guitar vibrating to a stop one final time, I burst into applause, although the noise was quickly lost in the vast space in which I was the only