The lights would come down, the crowds voice would hush & the band would appear on stage. Steve in his dark jacket, black jeans & boots; Dennis, calm & unflappable as he climbed behind his drum kit; Mark, the bassist, all blond, lank & affable grin; Paul B., the crazed guitarist, with his ponytail & tool chest of props waiting in the wings. Just their appearance fueled the anticipation. Steve, Hitchcock-like, worked the suspence, stretching it
- starting out with a quiet song, his fingers barely grazing the strings, his voice a foreboding whisper. Slowly building it, note upon note until suddenly, like long-awaited thunder the guitars exploded, the drums crashed & the bass throbbed. Steves voice got higher, thinner & scarcer, his words spelling darkness & danger, his hands trembling, his head shaking the word no
- at which pointyou, the spectator, forgot you awere part of a crowd, forgot there was any space separating you from the music, forgot there was a world.. .