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The heat from the lights is starting to get to them; he's glad it's the
encore.
They don't use a sax for the opening; Leo plays it on the bass guitar instead.
The audience recognizes it, starts screaming.
They got on Billboard with this one, even though it's a remake. They've
heard Bob Seger likes it better than the Metallica one, though he's too
cool a guy to play favorites in public.
Don only sings lead on this one; he claims he hates the spotlight, but Leo
knows he loves the rush as much as the rest of them do. He's the one that
chooses the songs most of the time, and always the covers; his instincts
are close to perfect. Leo remembers the time he played k. d. lang's "So
In Love" and everybody laughed but Mike.
That one, with Mike singing lead, went to Number One.
Don leans into the mic:
On a long and lonesome highway east of Omaha
You can hear the engine moanin' out his one long one note song
You can think about the woman or the girl you knew the night before
But your thoughts will be wandering the way they always do
When you're ridin' sixteen hours and there's nothin' much to do
And you don't feel much like ridin', you just wish the trip was through...
They mostly do original stuff, but they like to have a cover each for
the concerts.
It's their chance to break out of the heavy-metal corner they're usually
boxed in thanks to the 'costumes.' Leo's been doing Burt Bacharach lately,
just for kicks.
Don's voice purrs, and Leo can see a few girls swaying up near the front
of the stage.
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin' star again
There I go
Turn the page
Don keeps his hands on the keyboard. He did have a remote control which
managed the whole sound system, just by gestures, but people didn't like
it. They liked seeing a keyboard. Sometimes if they get the right crowd
he'll use the remote control for the opening song. They did it tonight,
while Raph screamed out his latest. Raph's the worst singer of them all--
can't carry a tune in a bucket, honestly-- but they give him the raps, and
the loud stuff, and his sex appeal usually carries it through. Leo still
finds it hard to believe they find any of them sexy, attractive,
anything.
Of course, they see a costume...
Well, you walk into a restaurant, strung out from the road
And you feel the eyes upon you as you're shakin' off the cold
You pretend it doesn't bother you but you just want to explode...
Don's done this song since the beginning. He's got the right voice for it; low and deep, close to a growl.
Most times you can't hear them talk, other times you can
All the same old cliches, "Is that a turtle or a man?"
And you always seem outnumbered, you don't dare make a stand
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin' the star again
There I go
Turn the page
They're not the world's greatest musicians, but the gimmick made them
famous, and it gave them enough time to get good. What choice had they had?
The Foot thought they'd have them, and for a second Leo'd been inclined
to agree with them. The last thing they'd expected was that the trap would
come in the form of TV cameras... Mike had saved them. Came up with some
BS story about their concert debut, coming up... we'll announce the location,
but it's gonna be in a month... you gotta be watching for us. We're the...
the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
What was the Foot gonna do? Exactly what they had done... nothing.
And they learned to play-- fast. Leo and Don had caught on first,
but they'd all caught on fairly quickly. Quickly enough for that first half-assed
concert, when everyone was looking at the 'costumes' instead of listening...
Out there in the spotlight you're a million miles away
Every ounce of energy you try to give away
As the sweat pours out your body like the music that you play
Don leans down to the girls, still screaming at him, reaches out his
fingers.
One of these days, when they're not as famous, when the security's not so
tight, the Foot's going to be there, Leo knows. They're watching now. Waiting...
Later in the evening as you lie awake in bed
With the echoes of the amplifiers ringin' in your head
You smoke the day's last cigarette, rememberin' what she said...
They're freer than they ever dreamt they'd be. And more tightly trapped.
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin' star again
There I go
Turn the page
The music swells behind them, through them. One of the girls up front has her eye on Leo, and he smiles at her. She's actually kind of pretty... God, what he'd give for an hour with her-- ten minutes-- just to know someone, just to touch her hand...
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin' star again
There I go
There I go
They move back, watching the crowd, half-deafened by the screaming.
Don gestures, and the stage goes black.