They
set up their chairs and huddled close. Tanya was glad she'd brought
the extra clothing. Even sandwiched between Morgan and Erica, she was
chilly.
Erica
hadn't told them what type of music was on the program, so they
waited. Caden was somewhat impatient. He didn't like sitting around
doing nothing. Morgan contented himself with seeing how much he could
get away with in public. His hands grabbed and fondled Tanya under
her bulky clothing. Finally, he slid his left hand between her legs,
under the long hem of her jacket. She quit slapping his hand away,
resigned to the fact he was going to continue groping—possibly
doing something even more embarrassing.
An
announcer walked onto the stage to polite applause. He smiled,
standing by a microphone center stage.
"Ladies
and gentlemen, so glad you could join us tonight. We've got a great
turn out. These concerts in the park are sponsored by the Fellowes –
Perrine Arts Foundation. I'm told that two of the foundation's
members are here tonight. Dr. Morgan Fellowes and Mr. Caden Perrine.
Gentlemen—" He held out his hand, inviting them to stand.
Reluctantly,
Caden and Morgan stood and waved. There was loud applause until they
sat down.
"Without
further delay, I'd like to introduce tonight's band. Give a warm city
welcome to Madonna of Blues!"
The
band had taken up positions while the MC was speaking. As they were
introduced, the drummer did a fancy drum beat, the bass joined in and
the guitar picked up the melody. There was no front man for a moment.
Then, a tall, imposing figure walked onto the stage. At first Tanya
thought it was a man, then a loud, clear alto filled the air. Not
only was the singer female, the entire band consisted of women.
Their
opening song was Bang Bang Boom Boom by Beth Hart. The
vocalist did an amazing job belting out the jazzy melody. Their
second song was Rolling in the Deep by Adele.
The
entire program was a mixture of old and new blues tunes. Some were
covers from other bands, the rest were original songs written by the
band. They played Allman Brothers, Buddy Guy, Beth Hart, Kenny Wayne
Shepherd, Billie Holiday. Jonny Lang and dozens of other rhythm and
blues bands. As an encore, they played Rain Dance Maggie by
the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tubthumping by Chumbawamba. When
that wasn't enough, the singer conferred with the band.
"Okay,
one more song," she conceded. "Then it's time to go. We've
got a choice for you. We could sing Santeria by Sublime...."
There was scattered applause. "Or, we can invite Dr. Fellowes up
here to join us in singing Heart of Stone. What do you say,
Doc?"
This
was greeted with thunderous applause, cat calls and cheers. Morgan
wanted the ground to open and drag him under. Ending up in hell,
would have been preferable to going onto stage with the band.
"Bring
your friends. All of you come up!" She waved, beckoning to them.
The
crowd exploded once more, in applause and cheering. Knowing there was
no avoiding it, Morgan stood, holding out his hand to Tanya.
"If
I have to do this, you have to. You, too," he said pointedly to
Caden. "And you," he tapped Erica's nose. "This is
your fault."
The
four of them walked the short distance to the stage. There were no
steps, but security guards lifted the women on stage. Morgan gave
Caden a leg up, but swung easily onto the stage on his own. The crowd
cheered again.
The
singer greeted them, shaking hands. "Carol Osborn," she
said to each of them.
She
was a big woman, Tanya noted. At least six foot two, she was of a
height with Caden and Morgan. Her broad shoulders were muscular and
she had large hands. Tanya felt tiny and delicate in comparison. The
men introduced the women and waited.
"Will
you play drums for us, Dr. Fellowes?" the woman asked.
"Sure.
What's she gonna do?" He pointed to the drummer.
Roadies
brought out another drum set. Laughing, Morgan took his spot next to
the band's drummer. He quietly introduced himself.
"What
about you three? Play or sing?" Carol asked.
"Caden's
a good guitarist," Erica said.
"I'm
not that good," he hastened to say. "I strum and hum."
"We
need a strummer and a hummer."
"I
can sing," Tanya said quietly. "Not nearly as well as
you...."
"Great!
Get the doctor a microphone," Carol told a roadie.
Erica,
in the meantime, was trying to drift into the background. Carol saw
her.
"You're
not getting away, Blondie." She winked at Erica. "Surely
you can do something."
"I
play a little piano," Erica admitted.
"Think
you can handle this one?"
"Yeah.
I know the song well."
Carol
led her to the keyboard and took the center microphone again. Tanya
had gone to stand by the backup singers, but Carol called her over.
©
2020 Dellani Oakes
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