“Come on, dude. You’re one of us now.” Kay pulled him into the circle.
“Fine…” I suspected there was a little relief in that snarky moan from him. He had to be wondering exactly how accepting the band would be. But everyone else had seen firsthand how hard it had been on Kay and how he’d barely kept his shit together on the last tour. This was better for everyone. And itwas better for Pierce as well if he’d take a metaphysical look around. Hell, it had to be hard not to notice how well they were doing. Warrior Black had been on the big stage across the way before Bramble took the stage, and after they finished, Grindstone and ETF were playing. We weren’t on the main stage, but we had the best possible Friday spot at probably the second-best stage. And they were going to fucking kill this performance.
They stuck their hands in the middle on top of each other, and Kay growled out, “Let’s rock this gig!”
Then they all hollered, “Hell yeah—good show!” They broke the circle with their hands in the air and huge smiles on their faces. Pierce had even joined in. Then they jogged up on the stage, grabbing guitars from the techs, or in the case of Randy, holding his sticks over his head as he got behind his kit. Pierce, though, sauntered onto the stage, strutting around, but didn’t approach the mic yet. I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on.
Saxon leaned in closer to me. “Is that the singer?”
“Yes. That’s Pierce.”
“Mmhmm…”
I was interested in getting his take on this whole thing later, especially since he didn’t actually listen to this type of music. For now, though, Kay had slid behind the center mic. “Hello, Rocktoberfest!”
“Thought you said he wasn’t the frontman,” Saxon said.
“He’s not.”
“We are Bramble Punk, and we’re glad you’re here tonight.” He paused while the crowd screamed in spectacular fashion. “I have a special announcement, but you savvy fuckers are probably well aware…” He held his hand out to the side.
Someone quite clearly screamed, “We love you!”
Kay chuckled into the mic. “We love you too.” Then he looked to make sure Pierce was standing at his side, whichhe was. Kay gave a quick nod, then turned back to the mic. “Ladies, gentlemen, rockers…I present the newest Punk…Pierce Lawrence.” With each word, he got louder, and he paused ever so slightly between them. When he called Pierce’s name, he was practically yelling.
Pierce raised his hands over his head and encouraged the audience to yell louder. As he moved toward center stage, Kay moved to the side, giving him the mic. “Hello, you motherfuckers!” he screamed. And of course, the crowd went nuts, because Rocktoberfest fans loved that kind of shit. “Big thanks to Kay Ashford on lead guitar…” Kay fingered his strings in response. “But we’re big time now. And so cool, we have two guitars. With Joe Young…” Joe stepped forward, playing a killer riff.
Pierce went through the entire band, ending with Randy on drums. His little solo wound into their reworkedHouse and Home. The audience sang along, which always got a band excited. They performed two other songs and concluded withAlcohol and Cars. They gave an amazing performance. Both Joe and Kay stomped forward in time and then leaned back to wail on their guitars together. Then they took turns with mini solos before backing up to give Pierce room to get to the mic to scream out the final words of the song. I’d worried that Pierce was going to be too soft for these guys, but I shouldn’t have. He was one hundred percent metal frontman.
When they came off stage, Embrace the Fear, or ETF as they were often called, were setting up on the bigger stage across the crowd. “Want to go listen to them?” I gestured over. “They’re the biggest band playing tonight.”
Saxon scrunched up his face and shook his head. “Not really, let’s see how Kay is.”
“Okay.” I didn’t mind missing an ETF performance, but only because I’d seen them before and was pretty sure I’d get anothershot at it. The only thing worth missing them for was spending more time with Saxon. Preferably with Kay, too. And in bed.
I gestured for Kay to come over when he finished up with the tech. We’d added a few new guys to the tour, but Laz covered Joe and Kay, and he’d been on the prior tour, so he knew what to do and how to direct the road crew. Brad, Leo, and August were assigned to Bramble Punk and were pros who worked under Midnight Hunt’s head roadie, David McKean. That didn’t mean it was easy to hand over his baby to them, which Kay did before joining us.
“Hi, Saxon. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to formally greet you. Thanks for coming.”
“Wouldn’t have missed it. You were great.” He cupped Kay’s shoulder.
“Now I’m sweaty, though. Can we go back to the bus so I can grab a quick shower?”
“Of course. Come on.” I held Kay’s hand, and Saxon put his hand on the small of my back, probably as much to not get separated as it was to show affection, but it was fine with me.
While we waited, we pulled out the dozen or so lawn chairs stashed in the storage compartment under the bus and set them up. It had been a smart move because some of the guys had already come over by the time Kay came out. His long hair was still damp and starting to curl up cutely around his face.
The band seemed to be settling in for a party, which was nothing new. I introduced Saxon before the drinking started, but it wasn’t long before someone put a beer in his hand.
The three of us sat with Joe on one side of us. The others walked around and talked about the show. A few other bands came in and out, giving high-fives and knuckle bumps.
Pierce leaned against the bus, drink in hand. He was positively smoldering, despite all the attention, which there was a lot of. He kept glaring at Kay and Saxon, and I wasn’t sure if it wasanimosity or curiosity. As long as he kept his mouth shut, I didn’t give a fuck. It was all fine.
But then Harrison walked up with Wolf, and it didn’t take long before he started glaring too, and unlike Pierce, he wasn’t about to keep his mouth shut. “Hey, Don. Can I talk to you a sec?” He walked off without waiting for me to answer.
“I’ll be right back.” I squeezed Saxon’s arm, reassuring him that it was all right. “That’s my brother. I’ll introduce you in a few.”
Saxon’s smile was confident, reassuring. “Do what you have to. I’m fine here.” He patted Kay’s knee, and I noted that I didn’t feel jealous at all. Except that I would have rather stayed with Saxon than go off with Harrison, especially when he was in a dick-mood. But as far as the touching went, it was hot. I liked seeing them together. Taking it as a good sign, I smiled back and waved as I went after my big brother.
