Good people of the night...it is time for the Headlining Act of the Kill the Poison Stage here at Total Annihilation 7! I give you,
The Rockers!...
Johnny Johnson had been thinking a lot lately. He was taking a risk tonight, and not one that he was completely certain was worth it. His family and his friends had all questioned his decision. Now he was sitting in his dressing room waiting for them to call The Rockers to the stage. His doctors had made complaints and warned him of the risk he was taking. But he knew that he would never live happily without performing. John knew that this was always going to happen. Still, he was nervous.
Suddenly his brother Joey came through the door and smiled down at him.
"It's time."
"Alright."
There was a simple silence between them. There always had been. The two brothers had pulled each other from the wreckage that had been their lives and lived to tell the tale. But instead, they opted to keep those stories to themselves as much as possible. They knew where they stood with each other, and for that Johnny was grateful.
The long walk to the curtain seemed even longer than it had in the past. Humming to himself to make sure he would be able to keep his voice in check, Randy Wilde and Gary Roberts joined in behind him and Joey as they passed their rooms. Sound checkers and other people John didn't care about were there too, but all he could see was the black curtain in front of him.
The rush of adrenalin hit just as it always did as he pushed the curtain open and the rush of applause from a wild audience greet them onto the stage. This was the first crowd that John or any of the guys had stood in front of in nearly two years. John straitened his back and stepped to the microphone.
"Retirements a bitch." He said.
Memories of old gigs hit him as the crowd cheered and the band kicked into their first song.
I feel a little bit empty
I wasted my time with you
I know there's nothing to save me
There's nothing left I can do
Standing in a crowd of faces
I cannot tell who is who
I know there from different places
Somehow they all look like you
I tried to run from my secret
I kept it trapped in my head
Turns out that I couldn't keep it
Some things are better left unsaid
I found a time that was certain
I had to shine out my light
It had become to great a burden
I had to know what was right
John could feel the hairs on his arm stand up as Randy burst into the solo for the song and Gary beating on the bass drum. Johnny was actually amazed at how easily it all came back to him. His voice was holding and his energy levels seemed fine.
"I want to thank you all for coming out here tonight to see us and the rest of the line-up. Total Annihilation is a time where we can all come together and prove how important friendship and keeping the faith is. This next song is about that."
The age of redemption carries on
and you can't handle it when it all falls down
She was the reason it that I watched it burn
and everything I tried to do, it was all for her
Now I'm lost in a haze of mirrors and smoke
she left me lying here tired confused and broke
And the age of redemption carries on
but I can't handle it when it all falls down
There was truth and honesty, but she only wanted lies
to think back on it now, I only ask myself why
Cause I'm lost in a haze of mirrors and smoke
she left me lying here tired confused and broke
and the age of redemption just carries on
down the road of broken dreams, where I can never belong
and the age of redemption just carries on
down the way of dying kings, a city where I don't belong
and the age of redemption, just carries on"Thank you! Damn, I'm having fun." John yelled out as another round of clapping and drunken shouting assaulted his ears. He was still feeling well and the band were having the time of their lives. Every note brought back things John had thought certain he had forgotten.
Alone in the shadows
I look to the dark
Hoping for a light
a sign of the lark
I finally found it
within all my pain
there's something to be said
for dancing in the rain
So I'll dance here
while the lightning flashes
In the slow rain
while the thunder crashes
and though you're gone
I'll realize
you were never here
its no surprise
Alone in the Shadows
I look inside me
Hoping for a light
Something I'll never see
I finally found it within
your pain
I lost my mind
while dancing in the rainHalf way through Dancing in the Rain, John stepped out onto an amp set up in front of the stage to lean out and shake hands with the crowd. It wasn't the smartest thing, but John wanted to make sure he took in every moment. Each hand was a fan he thought he'd never play in front of again.
"Having a good time out there?" He asked before turning to Joey. "Let's do Memories."
Joey gave him a questioning look but smiled.
"This one's for those of you who have served in the armed forces. This one's for the people who lost their lives in 9/11."
Its late in the evening
but early in the night
when one lone man
goes out to fight
He holds his sword high
and holds his pride low
holds on to his mind
and hopes it don't go
its early in the evening
but late in the day
and he he has to
find his own damn way
He looks up to the sky
holds his hope up their
hoping for a sign
see how he'll fair
they march at each other now
shield and sword raised high
most of them will go down
memories of the night
and that one man
who went out to fight
people die by his hands
memories of the night
all a disgrace to man
turn out the light
wish to stop but we cant
memories of the night
and its bloody red
what an awful sight
its all for freedoms said
but its memories of the night
what honor or glory be
their remains no right
killed is and so is he
memories of the night
"Thank you. You know...we're living in hard times. But no matter who you are or where your from I want to tell you this...there is always a chance for something better. They told me I shouldn't be here right now, that I couldn't be here ever again. Here I stand. This one's for the broken and the lonely."
I'll feel better in the mourning
the time on the clock will keep on turning
and no matter what we do
we all have something to lose
time for a change to come my way
I knew that you would never stay
everything looks so much stranger
We all run into a little danger
The hour bell will soon be ringing
The sound of the muses voices singing
We tried to run but we fell down
It's hard to see from under ground
But we'll feel better in the mourning
We can watch the fires as their burning
Yea we'll feel better in the mourning
When the signs go up and we ignore the warning
I followed you when I was lost
I didn't know what that would cost
and there has to be a better way
because that's a price I could never pay
But I'll feel better in the mourning
the time on the clock will keep on turningJohn smiled as the song ended and the crowd erupted. Randy stepped up to John and laughed. They looked at each other and then at Joey and Gary. The time they had spent on stage seemed almost equal to the time that they had spent off of it in their lives. The four of them could only smile.
You will hear the ravens call
when you know you will take the fall
The gates of Heaven will call you home
But you'll have to make it there, on your own
A risk for-taken on the sands of time
You'll take the same roads that once were mine
So hear the calling of the raven so black
It's just an old love that's calling you back
But I know that its over now
and I don't have to see her, don't have to feel that anymore
But it's hard to face an open road
when you start seeing things you never seen before
I finally realize this moment is true
I found a new me, and I got rid of you
You can cry, about the time
but I have grabbed my life, and made it mine
there was a moment, when I felt safe
maybe I will again someday, some other way
For now I'm happy and living with a smile
And you aren't in my mind, after all this while
You used to be there, in the darkest parts
But I have freed my self, and opened my heart
But I know that its over now
and I don't have to see her, don't have to feel that anymore
But it's hard to face an open road
when you start seeing things you never seen before
I finally realize this moment is true
I found a new me, and I got rid of you
So why do I still think of you after all of this time?
When I've released you and broken the line?
Maybe it's nothing, maybe I'm out of my head
Maybe there's something that we left unsaid
There's only the one thing that I truly know
I want you out of, my heart and my soul"Thank you, everyone. We've had a great time here tonight and I hope you have as well. I'd like to leave you with a song that means a lot to me. But first, I want to bring my song Baron back up on stage to sing with me."
Baron burst through the curtain and stepped up to the mic.
"Hello again." He said.
John and Baron shared a wink and turned to the audience as a stage-hand gave Baron a guitar and another acoustic to John.
"This one's a personal one that we wrote together. It's about family and the world. I'd like to leave you with this one because it portrays a message that I've been trying to get across for most of my career. Baron? Get it started."
Watching Baron play through the opening chords gave Johnny a feeling of pride that he hadn't felt in a long time. It reminded him of watching Baron's real father, Robert Kain play guitar.
My God... he thought.
There's a family torn apart without a single broken heart and everyone only cares for themselves
You could buy their love if you how to wear the glove you'll have to give something back as well
It's a pity to live in sorrow but we'll feel better tomorrow I can relax while you sit and cry
There's a family that belongs to me who I choose not to see they wont care until the day that I die
Oh Why can it be that I can see but they cant it never had to be this way
A funeral brings us together under clouds and stormy weather the reunion is scheduled for May 15th
We could shed a few more tears and pretend that we don't hear maybe the wolves will show their teeth
Like animals in a pack we follow a single track the train fell apart 7 years ago
what could bring us to our knees? what could finally make us see the truth is none of us even know
Oh Why can it be that I can see but they cant it's foolish to do this every day
A hidden message in every thought so that it's all been for naught we'll destroy the very thing that we create
The logic doesn't make much sense but it hasn't since way back when twisted lock we make our own fate
I hope you all see the light before the darkness comes in sight Until then I'll leave you behind
I never knew you all that well but you all live in your own hell you pretend that you'll miss me, cause I don't mind
Oh Why can it be that I can see but they cant, everyone is broken in this home
everyone here belongs in a home"Thank you everyone. I'll be seeing you around. This isn't the end. I promise you."
With the lights fading behind him, Johny left the stage with his son and his band. Nothing could have been better.
