fandomtownies | The Boards, Saturday

Entry tags:

The Boards, Saturday

With his Thursday and Friday classes behind him, and feeling somewhat accomplished for having survived the both of them without any students fleeing the room in screaming horror or anything like that, Jono was taking that as a sign that perhaps it was time to start pushing forward on the show that he'd failed to direct back in the fall. He was finding his footing again! He had an assistant manager, he was very literally standing on his own two feet again. Hell, he was even contemplating taking part-time courses at the community college in Baltimore.

... What the hell had brought that decision on, anyhow? He was going to blame April.

In any case, his shift in the office at the Boards today was going to be spent working out schedules. He needed to organize audition dates, of course, but he also had to work out a timetable for rehearsals, and pick a day for the show itself. Easier said than done, when trying to second-guess the whims of the island.

Not on a weekend. If he wanted it to go smoothly, without surprise gender-bending or children or cast members turning into ponies, the show probably shouldn't happen on a weekend...

But weekends seemed to be just about all he had free, these days.

Well. Crud.

[Open and OCD free!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Natalie was not great at greeting people, just in general. She usually skipped the hello bit and went straight to something else.

Still, the sounds of a piano playing when there hadn't been any before was pretty minimalist as far as greetings went, even for her. But, she figured if Jono was around (and since she'd gotten in, she supposed either he or his assistant manager had to be) he'd show his face if he wanted to.

So, it wasn't necessary for her to.

Really, that logic was sound enough for Jono. He'd extended the invitation, after all, and the piano was there for her use whenever she needed it. So it stood to reason that if she didn't bother to say hello, there wasn't really a need for him to do the same. Not when there was an acoustic guitar that he could pick up, and he could make his way down through the seating, setting himself down in the front row, listening for a bit, and then improvising accompaniment to the music that she was playing.

It was kind of like hello in antisocial musician shorthand, wasn't it?

It was, indeed. It was much more of a comfort than Natalie would bother telling anyone, too. A hello past social conventions that insisted on speech.

A brief added flourish of her fingers on the keys (somehow jazzy, her father would have been proud) before going back to what she'd been playing before served to acknowledge he was there.

Jono's lips pulled up into a little smirk at that. The jazzy undertones were an excellent touch, and, since there really wasn't enough love for jazz guitar in the world, Jonothon was going to answer that flourish with one of his own.

It was an acknowledgment that her acknowledgment had been received, in part. And it was also an indication that he appreciated what she had done, there, and she was more than welcome to do it again any time she pleased. Both her flourish, and coming in to play on the piano in the first place.

He was just lucky she had enough self-control not to show up at all hours of the night. Or that she had a keyboard with adjustable volume back in her dorm room. One of those. She hadn't been sleeping great lately, either way. Sometimes Mr. Moxy got night concerts.

But this was daytime, and her playing had a lighter quality to it than when she was sleep-deprived and sad. Not that it was terribly upbeat right now, either, because Natalie was never all that upbeat, but still. It had a dark poppy sort of quality.

One day she was going to be in a band called Kid Chameleon, and that same quality was going to almost get them signed.

Psssht. As if Jono ever slept at night anyhow.

Anyhow, almost signed was still better than Jono had ever managed. He really hadn't ever graduated past the 'playing in pubs' stage of his own climb to fame before blowing his face off and permanently flushing any hopes of celebrity as anything but a tabloid freakshow curiosity straight down the drain. Still, it was good to see students of his with so much talent, not afraid to embrace that talent.

He settled back in his seat, content to just sit quietly and play for as long as she was willing to continue playing on the piano. His arm was out of that stupid sling, and he'd been deprived the ability to play for weeks. He could keep going all day long, if she could.

Natalie probably could, not that she would. Probably. Other things to do and all that.

Although that didn't stop her from banging out something that sounded suspiciously like Stand And Deliver. Because Adam Ant had been kind of a thing lately.

And definitely not a bad thing, at that. Jono even flashed a bit of a grin as he managed to place the song, tapping his toe to the beat before stepping in with some vocals.

"I'm the dandy highwayman who you're too scared to mention
I spend my cash on looking flash and grabbing your attention..."

Because, really, he'd gone most of a decade without being able to do that. If an opportunity arose for him to sing, he was going to take it.

"The devil take your stereo and your record collection!"

Yes, Natalie was going to join in, too. And what's more, she didn't sound detached for once. Guess it didn't go with this song. There was almost, almost a smirk to her voice, even.

And whether he realized it or not, hearing that put him in a rare position. Only really shared by her father when they played together (and peripherally, her mother, who tended to be within earshot), and probably Jace, if she'd ever played anything around him.

And that was it.

"The way you look you'll qualify for next year's old age pension!

It was possible that Jono didn't understand quite how rare that position was, true. He certainly hadn't heard her throw so much of herself into a song like this before, though, so he appreciated it all the same, grinning as he pulled himself to his feet and kept playing.

There was, after all, a chorus to belt out, no holds barred.

"Stand and deliver your money or your life!
Try and use a mirror no bullet or a knife!"

There was something about music, wasn't there?

There was definitely something about music. An occasionaly safe space in which to let some of your guard down. Even for Natalie, who'd long since built brick walls to keep her safe and hidden.

Yeah, she'd kind of belted that chorus out too, hadn't she? With her fingers dancing on the keys. "I'm the dandy highwayman, so sick of easy fashion." There was even a little hair toss there. (She'd been a lively child, once, and this had been one of her favourite songs. Certain theatricality had gone with it.) "The clumsy boots, peek-a-boo roots that people think so dashing --

While Jono didn't exactly have enough hair to toss, he certainly echoed that sentiment, rocking out as best as he could, considering he'd grabbed his acoustic instead of setting up the Strat. Really, it just meant he had to put that much more effort into vocals, and he'd never complain about that.

"So what's the point of robbery when nothing is worth taking?" He hadn't been so much a lively child, himself. But he'd always been a bit of a punk, and moments like these, he wasn't afraid to let that show. "It's kind of tough to tell a scruff the big mistake he's making."

Edited 2013-01-12 23:53 (UTC)

"Stand and deliver, your money or your life!" Okay, so it was a chorus that demanded to be sung loud and proud, otherwise it didn't mean a thing. And Natalie was far more likely to indulge a song than she was a person. "Try and use a mirror, no bullet or a knife!"

And, hey, a slight change in the tune, served up with another quick flourish. Because she could. "And even though you fool your souls, your conscience will be mine ––"
She sounded... almost gleeful, there. "–– all mine!"

There were shades of Envy all over the place here. But that went perfectly with the last month or so.

The tone in Natalie's voice hand Jono glancing up at that, but there was a grin on his face, something in his expression that was exalting in the music, spontaneous as it was. It was like a living, breathing thing, taking him by the shoulders and shaking, and really, he was just along for the ride.

"We're the dandy highwaymen so tired of excuses,
Of deep meaning philosophies where only showbiz loses --"

But then, that was what music almost always was, to Jonothon. And who was he to hold back, if there was something in a song that wanted to rip free?

And Natalie, well. She needed outlets. Archery was one thing, the focus and the balance and training herself, adapting her body to a new skill. The way she played classical pieces on her keyboard was kind of the same thing. Artistic, sure, but also methodical and restrained.

This was kind of the opposite.

"We're the dandy highwaymen, and here's our invitation: throw your safety overboard and join our insect nation!"

This was a free-for-all, raw and vocal and strings and keys and energy, expression without reservations. It was what music was supposed to be, if you asked Jono. Power and freedom and raw emotion, all wrapped up in notes and lyrics.

"Stand and deliver your money or your life! Try and use a mirror, no bullet or a knife!"

In notes and lyrics and impromptu acoustic covers of 80s glam punk music.

Spontaneity was the best, wasn't it? Even Natalie could sometimes admit that. She could let herself fill up a theater and not feel burdened by her heartache for a moment.

"And even though you fool your souls, your conscience will be mine, all mine!"

She was probably fooling her soul to think everything was fine, right now. And she was good with that.

Sometimes, a soul needed to be fooled a little. It was good for a person, not being stuck on the possibility that they could bleed out at any moment. Dwelling on it had a funny way of making things worse, sometimes.

"Stand and deliver your money or your life! Try and use a mirror, no bullet or a knife!"

Come to think of it, Jono didn't much like mirrors, either.

And Natalie knew all about making things worse for herself.

"Stand and deliver, your money or your life..."

And this was it, the grand finale, pulling out all the stops. Pouring out the last of what she could before she'd inevitably clamp down on it once this was over. Banging away at the keys.

And Jono, giving his all into his guitar playing, belting out one final chorus before, a moment and a "Yeah!" later, the song was done, and he was left standing there with a guitar in his hand, contemplating if he should try to carry this song into another one, or just let it rest, for now.

His fingers, refusing to do nothing, idly picked at the strings while he looked thoughtfully at Natalie. And then offered her a quick grin and a nod.

"Been a while since I heard that one."

Natalie pushed hair away from her eyes, glancing over at him. Her smile was already tempering itself back to something milder and less free. More Natalie-like.

"I hadn't either, for years," she said. "But my dad decided to play it over Christmas."

To lure her out of her room and her brooding.

"He sounds like a man with excellent taste," Jono decided, as his idle fingerpicking turned into the few opening notes of Fast Car. "I was just little when that song was released. Wore that vinyl out, if I remember right."

Because of course he had a turntable even before he was a music snob. He'd been born in the seventies. It was a requirement.

"My dad's copy isn't doing so hot, either, though that's mostly my fault." Something she'd demanded be played, over and over again. She pressed a few keys, made a few notes join his. "On the whole, his taste is a little different. Although suspicions of him moonlighting as a jazz pianist around Montreal have been inconclusively proven."

"There are worse things to be suspected of moonlighting as," Jono noted, smirking faintly. "Playing jazz piano? Definitely the sign of a musician with excellent musical tastes. Does Montreal have very much of a jazz scene, then?"

He had no idea. His experience with Canada mostly began and ended with various people in tights that he'd either fought alongside or against over the years.

Sigh, Alpha Flight.

"There're clubs." And she seriously wasn't entirely sure if her father went out and played or not. Her world was kind like that. Mysterious jazz men happened. "And the world's largest jazz festival. So, you could say there's a scene."

So help him, Jono actually almost missed a beat in his fingerpicking at that.

Almost.

"Good lord, it is, too," he mused, blinking. "And I'm actually on the right side of the ocean to make a trip up for that, someday."

And he had been for nearly a decade. Shame on him.

"Have you ever been? It's an international festival, innit? My French is abysmal," and his Quebecois French was even worse, "but if it's international, there are liable to be other people there who are just as baffled as I am." A beat. "Not that I'm... running out and buying tickets right now or anything, of course."

Sorry, Natalie. It had been a while since Jono had gone anywhere for live music. That Hannah Montana concert where he'd been dragged onto the stage almost counted, if you managed to ignore the humiliation and all. He got excited easily when it came to music.

"It's not for another six months," Natalie said. Almost smiling, not quite. It was... nice, to hear someone that into going to a music festival. "I've been, once, but I was a kid. And you can do just fine with just English."

She shrugged a shoulder.

"My dad can usually get tickets either free or for a reasonable price, if you want to go."

"It's tempting," he admitted, looking thoughtfully up at the rafters. "It's... very tempting. And it is in the off-season, so far as the theatre goes. I suppose it depends on what the year leading up to it manages to throw at me."

Considering all of the crap that 2012 threw at him, 2013 could be full of all manner of madness, really.

"Never really had the opportunity to go to a big music festival, admittedly."

"Mm, the Fandom and other madness effect," Natalie agreed. "Last year, the island decided to do the dystopia thing right as I was supposed to take Sam to the comedy festival."

She almost surprised herself with her ability to say his name without a wince or any particular expression of hurt. Pointlessly. Wasn't she the queen of repression, most of the time?

"But it's still an idea. And where I'm from, I don't think you'd even get too many weird looks."

Sure, people tended to be a more normal colour. But they also had superpowered vegans and people with bionic arms and whatnot around.

"An added bonus," Jono allowed. "I even get weird looks where I'm from."

Of course, where he was from, people didn't tend to explode into Canadian coins, either.

"I think I'll keep it in mind. With any luck, we won't end up in some re-written version of the island around then, run by a madwoman with a fetish for kitten plates."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Boards, Saturday

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject