Sirens, p.35
Sirens, page 35
Tell the driver to stop the car.' ' you crazy? We stay still for a
minute, they'll destroy us. We'll suffocate in that mass.' ' she's being
trampled!' ''t do her any good if were trampled too, will it?" Chris
said. ' cop I see, I'll tell him, okay?' He turned around.
"See, she's up again. There.' He pointed. The limo, turned a comer. Now
a cordon of police stood before them. Arc lights spun dizzying patterns
off the crowns of their helmets. Nightsticks were out. She saw two
police vans parked way on to the sidewalk like metal guardians. Chris
opened the window on his side, spoke to two officers. Then the hall's
towering black silhouette loomed up. The leading edge of the crowd
crashed around the comer. a tidal wave with a mind of its own. An
immense corrugatedsteel door opened vertically in the concrete wall of
the hall and they were inside, moving up a gentle incline. The linio
came to a halt and a moment later its twin rolled in beside it. The
heavy door slid down with a clang. They stepped out into the hollow
emptiness. ' got their tags?' Silka asked. He checked thern, one by one,
and, nodding to himself, led them in a group away from the limos.
-green, rose above them for painted a dull grey ed to be at least five
storeys, the space seemingly gh to house several commercial aircraft
with room Buzzing fluorescent lights hung in orderly rows high eir
heads, giving them all a pallid, sickly look. were uniformed guards all
over. The two beside the -vator doors scrutinized their badges,
carefully checkcolour photos against the real faces. The elevator was us
as a studio apartment. It rose so slowly there was ly no sensation of
rising. e backstage level, twelve storeys up, they were greeted more
uniformed guards who again checked them one But once they were through
the military-like phalanx, could see that a kind of controlled chaos
reigned here. w the publicity people from the band's label herding a of
reporters and photographers into one comer. Among could see the Stone
people who had been at the hotel In addition, she recognized several
people from Time Newsweek who she had met before. She noticed that their
were of a different colour from hers and the band's. This because they
were only allowed backstage but had no 9 to the dressing rooms where an
odd kind of peckingprivacy reigned. ashbulbs popped as Silka led them
across the open conexpanse. Far from them and off to the right where the
ers huddled, Daina could see the thick deep red velvet ins beyond which,
she knew, must loom the high stage. a took them off to the left,
passing, through a doorless re guarded by yet another pair of uniformed
guards who ed the colour of their tags. This led them into a long
hallway of concrete blocks coated with a battleshipenamel. e band had
two rooms on opposite sides of the hall in h to dress. Silka took them
into the one on the left. Benno already there. Inside were benches along
two walls and, he left, a tiled, doorless bathroom with a line of stall
ers and a number of urinals separate from the enclosed ts..A long
refectory table bad been erected in the centre of the It was laden with
platters of fresh fruit and vegetables, 306 307 along with iced buckets
of champagne. In one comer was an old red and white Coca-Cola bin full
of cans of soda ssurroundedd by mounds of cracked ice. Bottles of Kirin
sat at room '. Ian and Rollie, having checked out their room across the
hall, now came into this one. Each had a girl in tow.
Rollie's was blonde and buxom; Ian's was a redhead with the long legs of
a showgirl. She wore tight black jeans and a white T-shirt emblazoned
with a red, white and blue bull's-eye and the word '' across the chest.
Ian headed straight for the bathroom with her and a moment later they
heard the hiss of the shower followed by a sharp scream. A great peal of
laughter and then Ian re-emerged with the redhead in tow. She was
sopping wet, her hair curling around her cheeks, her mascara running in
dirty lines, her breasts with their stiff nipples sharply outlined
against the clinging cotton. He grappled with her for a moment, pawing
at her before letting her loose, turning to Nile. ', mate, how ' it?
Want this dolly?' He grinned. ' real talented lips.' But Nile just
played on with his own talented fingers, not even bothering to shake his
head. '?' Ian straightened up. ', it's you an' me then, eh, laddie?' he
said to Rollie. ' okay, straight swap, eh. What say?' He took hold of
the redhead and, spinning her willing form, danced her across the room
towards Rollie who, with a great ruffle and flourish, flung the buxom
blonde to Ian. For just an instant, their paths crossed and, like
starlets in a Busby Berkley musical, they whirled past each other with
perfect choreographic grace. Rollie put his arm around the redhead,
looked her up and down. ' swap, you say, mate? No way. Look at the
knockers on that blonde! This one -' '!' Ian interrupted. ' anticipated
that degenerate fetish of yours, old boy.
Redheads are relatively rare compared to blondes. I thought that kinda
offset any - uh - so-called deficiencies.' Rollie laughed, ran his palm
across the redhead's still-wet T-shirt. ' on, luv,' he said, leading her
towards the door. ''s get you something dry to wear.' 308 ' the blonde
followed them out as they all trouped e hall to the other dressing room.
and Nigel began to change out of their street clothes.
stage outfits were carefully hung within plastic wrappers the wall.
Nile,'Nigel said softly. ' up?' eyes open, man.' t you thinkin' about.'
music, man. Tha's all. just my music. Humm.' gers arched, turning
blurry, silvery as they performed -air passages only he could decipher.
ssamatter, doncha want no pussy? Somethin' wrong -you, mate." .' into
th' studio nex' week,' Nile said placidly. ' be on the road bitin' tail,
I'm gonna make me the best album you ever heard. Humm.
Hummm. Oh yeah. It's me now' - fingers flexing still - ' a stream.
My s melody goes on an' on an' on. Road with no end - only t .. night
... another sunrise.' igel turned to Chris. ' bastard's babblin' again,
man. t, he's in th' ozone.' ow jus' what I'm sayin, mman,' Nile said. '
don't tand. Inside I cn do whatever I please. Ain't got no sayin, "Nile
do this" or
"Nile you better do that." No got me t' listen to.' uh! ' grunted. '. In
th' studio you're just another e th' engineer plugs into th' board. On
th' road, you got Us filled with ', standin' and'screamin' an' throwin'
an' when you stand up there in the spotlight, when you @em t'do
somethin' - they bloody well do it, mate.
Tell ' rch inta the bloody sea an' they'll go. They'll gop m humm. You
got your ideas, baby an' I got mine.' Nile up and smiled dreamily. ' you
oughtta be wearin' ots, baby. Yeah!' went rigid. ' you saying, you
bloody *le turned to Daina, ' t' be different in th' old days.
sixties. Why I went t' London really.' His eyes held a soft s. ' it's
all th' same, y'see, no matter where y'go. cc is far away no more.' 309
'Listen, you bastard - 1' Nigel lunged , grabbed the black man's
shirtfront and, as if that physical assault was a signal, Nile moved his
body to one side while bringing his forearms up and under Nigel's grip.
He broke the hold effortlessly, took one step forward and kicked. Nigel
went down in a heap. Nile stared down at him. '' time,' he said in that
same sleepy voice, ' keep your opinions to yourself, y'hear?" Nigel
scrambled up, fists clenched but Chris moved between them. ''s enough,'
he said. ' needlin' him, mate. It's almost time t' go on.
C'mon.' Nigel glared from behind Chris' grasp. ' want him outa here."
"He's my mate, too. Hey!' He shook Nigel. ', man, Pin talkin't'you!
Straighten outp Nile looked on impassively. ' mean a thing,' he said.
"Not a bloody thing.' Chris let Nigel go and they both went back to
dressing. Chris pulled on a pair of mother-of-pearl-coloured satin
trousers, took a scarlet satin shirt off its hanger. Nigel was already
lacing up the fly-front of his black skin-tight trousers. He had on a
black T-shirt over which he would wear a black jacket. The door to the
hall opened and'Rollie and Ian came in with their girls. Rollie had on a
white T-shirt with the band's logo emblazoned across the chest and white
jeans; Ian was in a dark suit with a white silk shirt. There were voices
outside the closed door and the sound of shoe soles against the concrete
floor. Eerie echoes from another world. Here it was very still. No one
looked at anyone else. Daina fancied she could hear the sound of their
breathing like distant treetops labouring in a high wind. Despite the
air conditioning, tension had turned the atmosphere warm and sticky,
affecting them all save Tie. She finished one roach, lit another joint
from its last ember. There was a distinct rhythm to her inhalations and
exhalations as if with each toke she were reciting a mantra. The only
sound was the sharp cracking of the ice in the open cooler as it slowly
melted under the weight of the cans. Then Rollie groaned, ' shit!' and
ran for the bathroom.. The redhead went after him. No one said a word as
they 310 self-consciously to Rollie's animal noises as he The room was
sweet from Tie exhalations. Her g back and forth like a metronome. ways
happens th' first night,' Chris said to no one in ar. He wrapped a silk
scarf around his right wrist. ' think that after all these years, he'd
get used t' it.' waited patiently for him to be finished like a
corncadre waiting for a brave but wounded compatriot to his recovery.
standing now, near Daina, apart from the rest of them, to snap his
fingers in complex rhythm, his hair shining sweat, his great head
swaying to the internal beat on his ',swanlike neck. the hideously
compressed time before the beginning they and watched shadows on the
wall or nothing at all and only the inanimate things that moved: the ice
dissolvan olive slipping off a chilled stalk of celery, a hanger
swinging. ey heard the toilet flush and then the sound of running a
female voice muffled, softly soothing, mother to a e door to the hall
swung open and Silka stuck his head massive shoulders into the room.
"Time,' he said softly P chiming of a clock. No one moved. His eyes lit
on f them in turn, then he looked in the direction of the om until
Rollie emerged, the redhead towelling his hair. Silka moved back,
holding the door open for all of s took Daina's hand as they went out
across the long te apron - now deserted - towards the slowly billowing
s. Sound from outside was completely dampened. They side by side with
Nigel and Tie. ' you like t' be on stage with us?' Chris asked her.
love it.' I'll fix it.' had stopped them just before the curtains'
barrier. the guards were with them now, arrayed at every le position.
Chris spoke to Silka for several minutes. dyguard's eyes slid away from
Chris' for a moment, at Daina as if she were a priceless Ming vase and
311 the ambiguity of that stare - the intimacy combined with its
absolute objectivity - disconcerted her. Silka beckoned to her. He took
her and Nile through a gap in the curtains. Haze in the, air for a
moment as heavy as smog. The lights were still up in the hall. People
choked the aisles coming and going. Music from the band's last album
blared. The air was hazed with smoke. Several large balloons printed
with the band's logo floated, bouncing from person to person,
accompanied by great swells of noise from the crowd. One glanced off the
head of a policeman and a great cheering went UP- Banners fluttered. At
the far end of the tiered hall an enormous Union Jack hung suspended
from the ceiling, its colours dimmed by distance and haze, giving it a
peculiar dreandike quality. The high stage on to which they were led was
studded wiih the outsized silhouettes of the band's amps, rising like
black Titan's teeth from the ebon gum of the stage. Centre, on a raised
plinth, was Rollie's enormous drum kit. Coloured lights, now quiescent,
rimmed this ministage. Below, on the stage proper, arterial cables
streaked across the expanse, set in place by dull silver tape so that
none of the band members would trip during the performance. To stage
right was the semi-circular bank of Nigel's key boards, which included a
concert grand piano, a Farfisa electric piano, an organ and several
synthesizers made to order. To the left were the skeletal steel stands
upon which rested Chris' and Ian's numerous guitars. Overhead a
multitude of coloured lights hung in a metal grillwork arc, a workman's
rainbow, ugly in disuse. Slowly the lights began to dim in the vast hall
and the noise level jumped to almost unbearable heights. Speech Was next
to impossible in this din and Silka put his strong hands on Daina's
shoulders, guiding her to stage left, near one of the tall banks of amps
rising high overhead. He disappeared. She turned around but could not
see where Nile had got to. She wondered where Tie would stand, guessed
it must be on the other side of the stage, near Nigel. Sunset had turned
into night. Only a battery of, glowing 312 like stars. -Buttheshaenips,
pilot lights - stood out sharp and pinpoints could hear the great
restlessness of the house, an endless rustling as if a horde of serpents
were ing just out of reach. und came up from the crowd and she looked
up. A screen slid down from the ceiling and a concealed projector at
other end of the hall came on. Swelling applause. By g her head she
could barely make out the film of the being shown. She turned away. just
beyond the lip of stage she could make out the corps of photographers ed
passes down in what might otherwise be the orchestra They roamed back
and forth like hungry felines, awaiting -appearance of the band with as
much anxiety as the rest e audience. ina could almost taste the
excitement now. She felt as as a kite. Her skin was in goosebumps and
her muscles ed in sympathetic longing for release. How long can they
this out? she wondered. that moment she could feel movement near her
like a of dry grass. The roadies had all gone from their lastte checks
of the stage equipment, were crouched in their ed positions. The sound
mixer was set, earphones coveris head. He spoke into a tiny square mike
at the end of a stalk that clamped over his head. His hands raced over
ighted console in front of him. e silhouetted bodies, moving like
wraiths in front of the pinpoints, set the crowd off even before the end
of the film. The screen lifted. Noise swelled like a blister about rst,
becoming at length so vibratory that it seemed as if tire hall shook on
its foundations. Daina's heart thudded her chest and there was a lump in
her throat. Energy, ought. The energy's here. Her fingertips tingled as
if in ct with an electric current. here came a battery of blinding
flashes from the kids . cameras so that the stage and parts of the hall
exploded eird illumination and the band, making their way across I
stage, were shot on and off with brilliant light, their ws ballooning
starkly, enormously, then falling abruptly into pitch blackness in
rapid-fire bursts. is chorded the first notes and she thought, But it's
also 313 all. The power, pure power. And Nigel may be right after crowd
howled its approval. Coloured spots blazed down upon Rollie and Ian;
white follow-spots on Chris and Nigel. Chris lifted his arms, his guitar
aloft like the great sword of an ancient warrior. His scarlet shirt
bloomed into fire by the spot. Then the opening bars of ''s Disciple'
drowned out the insensate roar of the crowd. It was street-scratchy and
stark, as tactile as it was aural. Chris, chording maniacally, raised
one arm exultantly. The plastic pick flew from his fingers and there was
a mad scramble for it among the denizens of the first few rows. Now the
swell of the crowd and the music of the band joined, fused, becoming
more than the sum of the separate parts and, like a volcano erupting,
hovered on the verge of pain. But it was a pain that reached down and
massaged the heart; a pain one could draw energy from or, perhaps more
likely, that released the energy encamped within each listener. Daina
felt her eyes begin to tear, her back teeth vibrate with the sheer force
of it, feeling as she felt before the cameras, when she was Heather and
