NationStates Jolt Archive

Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and children of all ages! The Athletic Paradise of Sliponia welcomes you all to the first annual RockStock MusicFest. We have a lot of great bands coming up for you today and tonight so get ready to be rocked! Coming to the stage at this time is our first act..give a warm welcome to §æÑ!

<---TAG--->

[OOC: Sorry for the delay, my ISP has been swifty this week and eternal-dragons has exams. I'm reposting this for him.]

The time indeed was indeed swiftly passing by, as the initial rock-hard fans of §æÑ, and various other alternative music fans began to set up their tents, obviously preparing for the event that would arise within a few days. Despite this, §æÑ was notably not present, after reports recently resurfaced about the groups funding of various extremist groups located across the globe.

However just as the fans of §æÑ began to dismay, a rather large flame-painted limbo began to emerge towards the staff backstage, undoubtly §æÑ by the dramatic entrance they often incite.

After the initial indentification papers upon entrance the limo doors were opened, resulting in three rather large black-hooded figures to emerge from the stretched-car, their identification obvious by the name §æÑ printed all across the shirt. Finally after the huge scene, a sudden rush of reporters started their march towards three of the band members, their questions often out of timing and around the fact that two were currently missing.

"So..You have arrived in style.....But before you go can I enquire as two where the rest of the bandmembers are?...." Asked a young Blonde-haired reporter.

" And what about the recent reports about you....? Our they correct?" Shouted another black-haired reporter.

The group member known as Axe then began to speak, his itentity easily noticeable by his usual calm tone.

"Well....The band-members Veþ and H@dø are currently busy......As for the rumors...We state once again we will not answer because we do not give a f*** really.....Now we must leave please..."

With that final remark the band members started to stride off, escorted by their various bodyguards, whilst also ignoring other curious questions as they walked.

======Backstage area========
Upon arrival into the area, they were met with much dismay once again as it appeared that they were not impressed by their punctuality, and the fact that some were missing.

Announcer: Due to unfortunate circumstances, the order will be changed a bit. The first band to play shall be Gator Farm!

After unloading all the equipment, Katarin went herself to talk to the guy in charge (OOC: what's his name and official title?). She found him around the commotion caused by Saen's late arrival. "Excuse me," she said, her accent distinct, "We sent our tour manager over a while ago, I guess he got lost or something. We were wondering if there are any rules about onstage behavior, like what is and what is not allowed? Also, will the sun be down by the time we perform? And is there a place for soundcheck? Where do we put our shit?" Despite having a reputation as being a bit of a nutcase, Katarin was very devoted to the band, and always wanted things taken care of.

"Oh, and where's the backstage area or dressing rooms or whatever?"

Meanwhile, Knut, Idun, and Bjorn were wandering around, meeting fans and members from the other bands (OOC: feel free to have your guys talk to them).

Monaa arrived at 12:25pm, just as it was announced that Gator Farm would now open RockStock in the absence of §æÑ, implicated in a political storm in their home nation of The eternal-dragons. Davae Rogas appeared in black trousers and a Kaze Progressa football (soccer) team replica shirt (green with a touch of red); Davae Hawl opted for grey tracksuit trousers and a black shirt made of a shiny semi-opaque material. Somehow one sensed the shirts should have been swapped. Casee Watters opted for a red tracksuit to match her hair, Kata Macaga went for jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt, while Kristi Bakar went for a brown skirt, matching boots and a green shirt. It was an eccentric-looking group indeed. 'Just wait until you see us on the stage tonight,' noted Hawl.

He had a point. The band are known for using a variety of instruments at a gig, flicking between them as appropriate. But which ones would be used tonight? Hawl said 'I don't want to reveal it because people might guess the setlist as a result', but one reporter said he saw the instruments prepared - two keyboards, a violin, a cello, two guitars (an acoustic and an electric - Monaa's basslines are always played on piano/keyboard rather than bass guitar) and, bizarrely, a harp. It transpired that Floraca Asti was their special guest for the show. [OOC: is this OK? We can get on without Asti and her harp, and I can remove this reference from my RP if needs be.] Hawl then admitted as much, but refused to say whether Asti - who is perhaps better known as a classical pianist and composer - would be involved in any other way. 'It's going to be fun though. We've only rehearsed once with Floraca, and everything sounded so different. I can't wait to perform live this way.'

Meanwhile, Knut, Idun, and Bjorn were wandering around, meeting fans and members from the other bands (OOC: feel free to have your guys talk to them).

As the three walked down the hallway, they were almost run into by two men running out of a smoke filled room. As they watched one of them tripped the other and stood over him. "I told you you couldn't make crystal meth with talcum powder and a zippo!"
"You didn't have to trip me dude."
"Yes I did, you just lit our dressing room on fire dumbass!"
"It was funny though."
Turning away in disgust the first man looked at the three members of Canis Lupus. "Sorry," he said running a hand through his spiky blue hair, "I'm Danny Greer, guitarist for Left Behind, and this idiot is Cory Kendall." Danny kicked him lightly, as Cory climbed to his feet. "Hi, I play keyboard and turntables, I also light things on fire."



OOC:My 4000th post!

Idun couldn't help laughing. Cory had reminded her of something Katarin had done a while back. Knut introduced the three to Danny and Cory. "We're in Canis Lupus. I'm Knut Tveitan, I play bass, scream and sing, this girl with the sense of humor is Idun Aereth, she plays keyboards and a bunch of other stuff." He was interrupted.

"You can play a turntable?" Bjorn said in typical drummer fashion.

Knut and Idun looked at him disapprovingly. Idun continued the introductions. "And this is our drummer, Bjorn Kvel. He's confused because there are no bands that use turntables, at least not that we know of, in Callisdrun. Anyway, pleased to meet you all.

They were all clad in their street clothes, Knut in blue jeans, band shirt (with incomprehensible writing) and jeans jacket, Idun in plain black, and Bjorn in a shirt that by the looks of it said something very offensive and funny in Callisdrunian. And of course all of them in boots. They looked kind of disheveled, actually. They had ridden a long way on a bus with no AC. Idun then spoke up again. "I have to live on a bus with these wackos. They make a habit of decorating the bus with lingerie that gets thrown on stage. And they hog the vodka."

Bjorn put on a face of mock shock. "No we don't, you drink more than I do, and Katarin has like... half of it."

[OOC: No contact from The Sunshine State so I'll just post.]

Gator Farm comes to stage and follows the submitted setlist to form.

1.Old Smokey
2.Dixie’s Land
3.Florida Oranges
4.The Farmer’s Daughter
5.A Night in the Swamp
6.Pick your Poison
7.Crocodile Creek
8.Sweet Jackie from Jacksonville
9.Negro Jim

The crowd loves the warm up from GF.

An announcer comes over the PA:

Give a round of applause to Gator Farm! Now coming to the stage, Ravea's top act, Tangerine!

Tangerine walked up on stage bringing a new energy to the crowd. The band took a minute to set up, then adressed the crowd.

"How are you all today!" Said Dave into the Microphone loudly. "It's good that our paths crossed at the greatest musical fest of the world in the middle of one of the greatest places in the world-Thank you Sliponia! My mind is blown."

With that, the band launches into thier signature song, Tangerine Sky. The song is upbeat and the lyrics are catchy. The Chorus especally drew in the crowd.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"How are you today?
I'm glad our paths crossed this way
Under this Tangerine Sky
Where one day we all will lie

And we'll find Love Here
as sure as it can be, oh,
Baby, it only you and me
Thats what I'm talking about

Love is where it's at
Together in the sky, well,
Baby, I guess I'll stay and wait
For the next good thing that comes my Way...."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The song contines with a blazing hot Trumpet/Sax/Guitar dual and a skillful piano solo. By the end of it, happiness radiates from the crowd. The rest of the songs charged up the crowd even more with a Dave Matthews cover and the classic tune Moondance, as well as many others.

The last song, Progress, was a somewhat slower and sadder ballad that mourned war and death. It semmed somewhat fitting that it was Tangerine's last song. As the last note was struck from the piano, the crowd broke out into a torrent of clapping and cheering. The band felt that they had done thier piece well.

PA: Thank you Tangerine! We hope to have you back next year!

*Crowd Cheers*

PA: Coming to the stage, The Nongod Corporation!

Cory stared open mouthed at Bjorn. "What else would you do with a turntable?"
Danny grinned at his companion, "I'm sure Cory will be happy to give a demonstration later tonight, but for now, we have to go find the rest of our band and make sure they don't find out about his little incident." The smoke was still gradually clearing from the dressing room. "It was good meeting you, see ya on stage."
As the two walked off Cory was talking animatedly, "We're going on tour in Callisdrun!"
"Okay, we'll run it by the rest of the band."
"No! We are going on tour there! They've never seen turntables before. What kind of Godforsaken place is that?!"
"Calm down dude, we'll send them some music video DVD's."
"No! I'll go by myself with my turntable!"
"Sure Cory, you do that."
"I will!"

As the band took to the stage amidst flashing lights and smoke, an expectant silence crept in after the initial cheer, largely from the droves of travelling Kelonian rock fans who were hyped up after enjoying Tangerine's set and were ready to hear something heavier. As soon as guitarist Janjene Mataney started up the chugging riff from 'Virtue', Mayat Stafelnaya's low growl rumbling across the audience through the slower, quieter version of the usually ultra-violent song, the large screens behind the stage flashed up, in distorted text against a background of old factory imagery, the name of the band; 'The Nongod Corporation'.

The guitars really hit on Session 56, Mayat switching to an almost inhuman roar that was his trademark back in Kelonia, their cathartic industrial aggression working the metal fans in the audience into a frenzy and putting the fear up anyone who preferred something a little softer before breaking down into the soft instrumental 'Passive' and then into the song that had made them famous in Kelonia, the infamous 'Teenage Bleed'.

"This is about... well... one of my ex-girlfriends, you see..." said Mayat before the song began, over a quiet piano piece that was the extended intro to the song "...she was... abused and... the things I was told about those experiences have... never really left me, you people know? I know this song's not like our usual songs, but could you... bear with us for a few minutes... we've got something special for you afterwards, we promise..." The low rumblings gave way to emotive singing as the guitar slowly wound up and NTU Operator Pauvel Sanaschvik span up the electronic backing track, driving upwards in emotion through the second verse and then the powerful chorus;

i feel your hands rip away at me -
naked and ravaged like my own favourite dream,
beyond the caustic curtain you put up...
lay you in place, shifting out of phase -
looking at you with dirty crescent eyes -
before damaging your design...

till there's nothing left inside,
for anybody else to claim -
i'll covet all your purity, as it drips back off of me...

As the last beats from the song drifted over the audience a cheer rose from the audience, and a few lighters were held aloft... there was a silence as the band allowed the impact of the song to settle upon the crowd before starting up with the chunky riff that brought a huge cheer from the travelling Kelonian fans - the intro to the brutal Skinless. The pounding songs continued until the end of the set, with a lot of improvised guitar tricks and Mayat's voice breaking under the emotion a few times, before the final quick-fire drums of 'Shutdown' and the final powerful bellow pumped the crowd right up with it's violent message and strobe lights, the vidscreens pulsing with war and mechanical imagery. The lights faded and Mayat kept his exit to a cry of "thank you! RockStock festival! God damn!" as Janjene took the mic from him to scream a simple "wahoo!" - the bleached-mohawk-haired girl guitarist hurling water bottles up into the air for the audience to catch, finally hurling her gloss-black guitar a little way up for them to catch, a lucky fan near the front catching it and making immediately for the exit through the still cheering, clapping and whistling crowd to make sure the damn thing didn't get damaged during the next act.

A final shout from Mayat and Janjene, a simple "thank you Sliponia!", was the last thing they did before being called off by the rest of the band, leaning on each other after a tiring and emotional set...

Most of the Canis Lupus fans who had come to Rockstock could be observed headbanging and getting really into The Nongod Corporation's set. A few members of CL themselves were in the audience at that point. Idun had explained to Bjorn that some bands used record players (turntables) for more than playing records. He was still confused, however. Knut and Katarin watched the performance from a "safe distance," and talked about various things. "Do you think these guys would be interested in touring with us? They're good, and definitely have a way with the audience." He said this very matter-of-factly.

"Maybe. If they stick around for our set, we'll see what they think of the idea."
Katarin, to her dismay, had not found anyone who could tell her what rules there were for onstage behavior, so they were going to assume that everything was allowed. At least until the tour manager, who they had sent to look into it, and who was still yet to come back, told them any differently. They had a fairly elaborate stage show planned.

PA: Show some appreciation for The Nongod Corporation! We are ready now for some music from JJB!

JJB comes out and rocks the crowd according to the setlist. The fans weren't too happy with the repeat of "Flying."


1. Flying(Come and see)
2. American Idiot(Greenday cover)
3. Hold
4. Keyring
5. Snake in My Path
6. Vertigo(U2 cover)
7. Flying(Come and see)
8. Hold
9. Snake in My Path
10. I'll be there for you(Adaptation of Friends themetune)
11. Keyring

PA: Ladies and gentlemen, prepared to be audited! Make some noise for Zion-Y's Audit!

The four members of Audit walked onstage amid cheers and cat-calls from the audience. As Joe tuned his bass and Helen adjusted her cymbals, the singer, Ava, stepped up to the mike and yelled, "Hey, we're Audit, and we're here to knock your socks off!" As she ended her sentence, a drum fill played behind her and the band launched into a fiery version of their hit single, "Doesn't Concern Me".

The band continued through their set list as expected, with no problems aside from a missed chord halfway through the third song and the drunken fan who'd tried to jump up on the stage. "Thank you, Sliponia!" shouted Ava as the band walked offstage. Joe turned back, grabbed the mike, and added, "Hey, and don't forget to tip your waiters!" The crowd cheered, despite the fact that this made no sense at all, and prepared to be rocked by the next band.

OOC: Is it ok that when I RP Canis Lupus' performance, that I do it in more than one post?

OOC: Is it ok that when I RP Canis Lupus' performance, that I do it in more than one post?
OOC: That's perfectly fine with me.

IC:


PA: Thank you Audit! Making their way to the stage now, Lemur!

The Rockstock Festival, 6:02pm

A Starlight Conspiracy album tracked, played over the tannoy, fades out. The sun is backing itself behind some cloud, and the lights on the huge RockStock stage come on and point at the huge 'Lemur' flag at the back of the stage. Brien Wallace takes to the stage and gets behind the drum-kit to the sound of huge cheers from the mostly-Sliponian crowd. The stagelights turn to his drum kit, and he starts the pounding drum intro to Lemur's first song, 'Bullets'. The crowd start clapping along, lit up by the lights and the sun as it breaks its way out of cloud cover again. Then the bass and guitar come in. The bass pounding along to the beat, whilst the guitar fades in and out of feedback. Bassist Duncan McCauley approaches from stage-left, with guitarist/vocalist/superstar Scott Wallace taking to the stage from the opposite side, sprinting towards the crowd and climbing atop of some speakers to get the crowd on its feet and to the front. The drums stop, Wallace divebombs on his guitar, jumps back onto the stage and the band break into classic Lemur track 'Bullets' to a brilliant reception. They go on to play a new song, 'Wasted Traitor', before kicking in to the die-hard fans favourite 'Mr. Johnstone'. Wallace's guitar solo is a bit shaky and sounds muddy through the PA, but thats sorted out in time for 'Legislations for Carelessness', the song which should convert any undecided voters in the crowd with its slow piano into, rip-roaring chorus and a beautiful guitar solo, this time played perfectly, from Wallace.

The song ends with the familiar 'tallica style ending (all the band pounding on whatever E-note they have on the instrument theyre playing) and stops abruptly. Wallace slowly moves to the front of the stage.

"Sliponiaaaaaaaa?" cries the singer. The crowd respond with a resounding roar. "I want everybody to fuckin' sing along to this next track, we got ourselves known for this song in this beautiful country, its the first song we released here and we hope you all bought it. Anyone who's heard it will know the chorus, anyone who doesn't it goes "Why now so discouraged, you've lead me this far, (by now the crowd are singing along with Scott), What've you seen that scares you, Do you even know where you aaarrrreeeee" With a crack of a bass-string the band launch into the first single from new album 'Etchings of the Ceiling", the bass and drums rumbling under Wallace's baroquian lead guitar part before coming to its climactic crescendo.

to be continued

bump

Most of the members of CL were in the crowd, either getting into Lemur's set or talking to audience members.

Knut liked to talk to members of the audience. Partly because when he'd been a teenager, going to concerts, he'd always appreciated it when bandmembers would come out and talk to fans.

Unfortunately, and much to the band's dismay, they had to go to the dressing room to prepare for their set, and so would miss the rest of Lemur's performance. However, they got one of their touring people to record it for their later enjoyment (nerds). In very typical fashion, they found Bjorn banging his head to the music. When informed that it was time to go get ready, he said simply "Oh."

Knut and Atilla didn't really have much to change. They just changed their shirts. Knut's usual gigging shirt was plain black with a red hammer and sickle on it, however, today he wore the original Canis Lupus shirt, with the stylized band logo and a picture of a wolf on it. Atilla decided it was hot enough to go shirtless, so he simply took his off. Like Katarin, he had extremely pale skin, being Moroii (living vampires) as they were.

Bjorn changed into shorts and put on a University of Callisdrun (Cal) shirt. He also took off his shoes and socks, prefering to play barefoot.

Idun and Katarin were the longest changing. Idun changed into a deep red dress, while Katarin changed into a leather shoulderless top that exposed her ghostly skin and tattoos. The reason they took so long was that Idun was putting Katarin's hair into about 10 dreadlock-like-braids. It was so long that even like that it went almost to her elbows.

After getting changed, they all went and help the roadies get their equipment ready. Knut, Katarin and Atilla tuned their instruments and Bjorn got his drum set partially assembled.

The various elements of Left Behind gradually began to congreagate in their dressing rooms. They planned to get dressed early and be backstage for the Canis Lupus set. Jamal put on black shorts and a red shirt reading "What Now?" across the front. Sam went for a blank blue shirt with matching shorts and a black hat with the stylized "LB" logo. Both wore plastic strap-on sandals. Peter took off his shirt, pants shoes and socks, opting to perform in his red boxers. Cory put on a red version of Sam's hat, turned backwards and a black shirt that reads "I ate a fetus for breakfast." on the front, also putting on black athletic shorts. Danny kept his black/gray camo patterned cargo shorts, but changed into a black shirt with the Left Behind logo on it. He also respiked his blue hair. Kelly emerged from her dressing room last, wearing tight fitting black pants and a white tank top. Her bright pink hair was pulled into a pony tail. "Kell, you're gonna roast alive in those!"
"You'll just have to pick up my parts when I pass out then Danny."
The band slowly wandered to backstage, finding their gear and then going to a place where they could look at the band performing from the side.

The CL members also went to the side of the stage to watch the latter bits of Lemur's set, near where Left Behind were. The contrast with the Squornshelan (OOC: spelled right?) band was almost humorous. Looking at the contrast between the footwear was hilarious, sandals verses black leather steel toed boots. In their early days, they had always worn war paint onstage (OOC: Parts of the Callisdrunian military still wear ancient war paint into battle. I have a very weird nation), and they still did, occasionally, but they had chosen not to for this gig.

PA: Coming to the stage at this time, §æÑ!

The contrast with the Squornshelan (OOC: spelled right?) band was almost humorous.

OOC: You are the first person to ever get that right. You don't know how many times I've seen Squornshelousian.

OOC: You are the first person to ever get that right. You don't know how many times I've seen Squornshelousian.

OOC: Wow, that's hella cool.

btw, is anyone going to post?

OOC: Wow, that's hella cool.

btw, is anyone going to post?

OOC: The eternal-dragon, the handler of Saen should be posting soon. I though Audioslavia was going to post more which was why I just bumped the post. But then that got cleared up.

Some very exciting news will be posted very soon!

Punk/bluegrass crossover band, Foggy Mountain Zombie Outhouse, of Daistallia 2104 has been added to the line up and will be playing next!

As the roadies set up for Foggy Mountain Zombie Outhouse (FMZO), the band prepares back stage. Mohawks get the final application of laquer. A jug of 'shine is making it's rounds, while a smaller group finish snorting their crank.

The roadies finish up with the set. The instrumentation on stage varies from banjo, dobro and mandolic through guitars, and ends up with a percussion section can only be described as frightening.
The center piece of the set being an outstanding example of an outhouse (largish image (http://ghostdepot.com/rg/images/utah/cisco%20outhouse%20building%20tlh%20Pc200105.jpg)).

Moon, the lead vocalist, wanders on stage, fairly stoned. He wears a beat up camo jacket over a torn black t-shirt, black jeans, and jack boots. His iridescent mohawk shimmers. The other band members wander on. They seem to be a mix of pure West Virginia hillbillies and hardcore punk rockers.
Moon walks up to the centerstage mike.
"AWwwwwauggghhh! Ha, ha, ha! SLIPONIA!"

(Pause for crowd reaction)

Left Behind stared at the new arrivals.
"These guys are nuts."
"I know man, It looks like two separate bands out there."
While most of the band stood near the stage entrance to watch, Danny, Cory and Kelly didn't. Danny sat down in a darkened corner of backstage and began twiddling the intro to Sweet Child O' Mine on his guitar, while Kelly sat down and leaned on his shoulder. Cory sat on a drum case looked annoyed. "Man, my buzz is wearing off." He walked over into a corner and pulled out a lighter. Pretty soon the unmistakable smell of pot was filling backstage, as the smoke filled Cory's lungs. Kelly picked up a drumstick and threw it at him. "Cory, put that crap out!"
It was too late though, Cory was through the roof again, and began wandering around bumping into various roadies, giggling uncontrollably.

Moon checks that everyone's ready, then grabs the mike.
"One, two! GO!"
Guitar, bass, and drum erupt in a wall of fast paced dissonace. Moon, half remembering the announced play list, launches into the classic Rocky Top.

As FMZO started their hallucinogen-boosted set, the Monaa team watched in fear.

'What the slani hell is going on?' asked Davae Hawl.*
'Bunch of loonies on stage?' suggested Kristi Bakar, not entirely inaccurately.
'Guess so,' sighed Davae Rogas. Yes, Monaa succeeded on the back of three girls and two guys called Davae. And with that observation, they moved away from the scene to the backstage rehearsal area. Floraca was already there, playing the harp (which couldn't exactly be stored anywhere else, unlike a guitar). With hours until their late-night performance, the team decided to improvise rather than rehearse, if only to relax. And so they did.

* 'slani' = an expletive from the Rejistanian language that is also used in many other nations in the sports-RPing world, including Kaze Progressa.

Rocky Top is followed by a few of FMZO's pure punk hits.
Then the band switches gear.
A soft mellow bluegrass version of the Ramone's classic Blitzkrieg Bop wafts out accross the audience.

Knut idly played a song by the band Lechery on his bass. Though the two were often compared and people liked to invent a rivalry, the two bands were actually close friends. Katarin toyed with one of her braids whilst watching the strange band's set. Bjorn sat down and drummed on the wall with his sticks. Atilla went over to the people in Left Behind "Do you guys know how long these dudes play for?"

"I have no idea," replied Jamal, "I don't know what to think about this. I thought we were a crossover band but this stuff is crazy."
"What the hell are they called again?" asked Sam.
"Misty Mountain Outhouse or somethin like that."
It just so happened that Cory chose that exact moment to trip over an empty guitar case and knock over a cymbal stand. He ended up sprwaling at the feet of the two bands assembled at the backstage entrance.
"Hi guys!"

Katarin took a flask from her belt and drank from it. It was vodka, of course, and it was very easy to smell. After this she smiled at the Sqournshelans and went off into a corner to warm up her voice. It was an unnerving sound, as she began with actual singing, and then started practicing ghoulish shreaks and growls. After a few minutes of this, she came back and talked to Knut in her pleasant speaking voice. Idun gave Cory a hand "Let me help you up, there."

"No, that's okay," mumbled Cory from the floor, "I can get up by myself." He continued to lie there until Idun helped him up. "See, I told you I could do it." He noticed her slightly confused expression and immediately apologized.
"I'm really sorry that I'm acting so wierd, it's because I'm extremely stoned," he said with a lopsided grin. "Did you know," he started with a secretive look, "that I blew up my dressing room today?"

"Yes," Idun said matter of factly.

Katarin rubbed her bare arms. "Hmmm, it's kinda cold just standing here. Maybe we should have gone with the armor." In many concerts in Callisdrun and neighboring nations, the members of Canis Lupus wore medieval military equipment, such as chain mail, on stage. They had chosen not to on this occasion because they reasoned that it would be very hot. Idun looked at Katarin "Where'd you get that one, is it new?" she asked, pointing to one of the many intricate tattoos on Katarin's arms, this one featuring a wolf standing on the top of a large rock, howling.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I drew the design when we were on the plane, and then got it at a local shop yesterday."

Idun nodded, and began stretching her fingers. She was often seen as the intellectual of the band, as the keyboard player often she often was not in the limelight, but what she wrote often formed the basis of the band's music. Some critics in the classical field had called her style of playing in Canis Lupus "heavy handed." However, as she had pointed out in numerous interviews, different forms of music demanded different playing styles. She was not playing classical music, so what would be "heavy handed" in that genre, was not necessarily so in what she played. She didn't mind that the others got most of the attention, for they didn't let it get to their heads at all.

The band blasts through a few more "traditional" bluegrass numbers. Then, Moon says "lets slow it down a little".
The band moves into a totally bluegrass version of "Blitzkrieg Bop".

The band blasts through a few more "traditional" bluegrass numbers. Then, Moon says "lets slow it down a little".
The band moves into a totally bluegrass version of "Blitzkrieg Bop".

As he brushed the dirt off himself Cory glanced up at the stage. "Didn't they jsut play that?" He looked at Idun confusedly. (w00t I made up a word!)
"I think so."
"Those guys must be more f---ed up than I am!"

OOC: The key words there blasted and "traditional" (not sure if you were playing along or if I was unclear). :)
Let's find out who remembers this golden oldie from an RP over a year ago, referencing an even older one.

IC: After a few more in the same vein, the band picks it up again with a cover of the Dead Lama's "Melkor's Holiday Camp for Elves".

"Well, they'll certainly create quite a name for themselves as being... unusual." Idun was almost never surprised by any form of music, and seemed to be candid and calm about any form of music she heard.

Knut, still fiddling around on his bass, posed a seemingly random question. "Think we should do an Emperor tune instead of Funeral Fog?" he asked to no one in particular.

Atilla looked over. "I was rather looking forward to playing Funeral Fog, though."

"We could just play both. Lead one right into the other," Katarin interjected. Everyone seemed to agree this was the best option. It meant, however, that the band would almost surely go over their one hour time allotment.

The band segues into an original - "The Ballad of MJ666".

bump

The band finishes up their set with an original take Foggy Mountain Breakdown, blending traditional bluegrass and punk in masterful way that is liable to make the sober think they're stoned, and the stoned think they're really tripping.

Moon stomps off stage.

As Canis Lupus prepared to go on, the various members of Left Behind wished them good luck and then backed out of the way to let them get set up. Danny and Kelly got up from their corner and came to stand with the others.
"This is gonna be good."

(very poorly disguised bump)

PA: Much thanks to last minute addition FMZO! Now get ready for one of the best acts of the night, in the opinion of President Jesse Ross, from the great nation of Callisdrun, CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNIS LUUUUUUUUUUUUPISSSSSSSS!

All the lights in the place go out, save for a few near the vending stands in the back. Intro music not found on any of their albums starts playing. It starts with a wolf howling, and then goes into what sounds like a lunatic playing a pipe organ with strings in the backround as shapes (the members of the band) come onstage. After these strange sounds, an entire pack of wolves is heard howling, somehow eerily in tune.

Idun, suddenly partially illuminated by a spotlight, plays the opening organ chords to "Our Manifesto," her fingers, their nails painted black, gracefully and seemingly effortlessly gliding over the keys. From out of nowhere in the darkness, Katarin screams "Sliiiipoooooooniaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa," as the guitars and drums crash into the thundering fanfare intro of the opening song.

The stage is suddenly lit up in an haunting red light as the band, following four short barks of the snare drum, blows into the relentless juggernaut verse riff of "Our Manifesto." Katarin and Knut both stepped up to their microphones. They seem to trade off at times Katarin, known for her energetic live performance, does not disappoint as her many braids whip to and fro while she headbangs. When she has vocals, her face is more expressive than most, going from a sarcastic humorous expression to one of pure rage in some parts as she bares her fangs, while she seems to gesture with her black Explorer (a kind of guitar). However, upon closer inspectionl, Knut easily holds attention, as the fact that he is able to execute such complicated bass lines on his Rickenbacker (a famous kind of bass) while growling the lyrics into his mic.

Idun, having been criticized when she joined the band as "not 'metal' enough," once again proved the foolishness of her detractors by turning her head/hair into a veritable windmill whilst headbanging. She still looked beautiful, though in a much different way than Katarin, in her blood red dress.

The band changed moods slightly as they went into the dissonant interlude part. Their picking speeded up, but the actual beat slowed, creating a strange effect.

Atilla only did not bang his head on the lead guitar part in the middle and his solo immediately afterwards.
After the solo, the Callisdrunians charged immediately into another verse, and concluded "Manifesto" with a reprise of its fanfare intro and a crunchy full stop.

The crowd appeared to like what they saw (OOC: that's not a god-mode, is it?). Knut stepped up to his stage-right mic and said, simply and calmly, in his deep voice, "Thank you."

Katarin stepped up to her microphone in center stage. Her voice had a lot of hiss in it, as that was one of the strange little quirks of some vampires like herself. Normally, talking to a foreigner, she would hide it somewhat, but not now. "Recently, in our land, we celebrated a very important holiday. A night of bonfires and centuries old songs and dances." Her voice was seductive in a way, when she was speaking. "And, seeing as how it is still winter..." at this hint some fans started cheering, "We thought this would be an suitable tune..." The drums started with a double bass drum roll and as the guitars entered, she screamed "Winter Solstiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice."

It was one of their oldest songs, and as such, was a headbang-fest as the music was not too complex. It was a fan favorite as well, and seemed to be an audio sort of bludgeoning in a style reminiscient of early Emperor, but somehow different. "On the night of twenty first, of the twelfth month..." Katarin screamed into the microphone as they tore into the first verse.

OOC: Their set will also take several posts. Hopefully there will be some crowd reaction and such

A noisy reaction from most of the crowd proved promising for the Callisdrun metallers Canis Lupus. The Progressan members of the crowd, while mostly here to see Monaa, were quite impressed.

'They make a noise with purpose!' shouted music critic Mitsar Jazurah over the wave of noise from the crowd. His compatriot and girlfriend Alinae Quilai, a member of the emerging Progressan act Monkeys of Mayhem, was nodding in agreement while hugging Mitsar. Many of the fans - and most of the photographers - suddenly seemed to congregate around this one point. Not long after, the two walked away to another part of the crowd, with photographers chasing them all the way. Fortunately, Monaa had exited the practice area and the photographers caught them instead.

All this, while Canis Lupus were still performing... [Callisdrun, continue RP from here]

It was odd to hear how "Winter Solstice," a song from Canis Lupus first album, had changed since they had first played it in a basement party. Both vocalists sounded quite different then they had in those days, especially those of Knut, who had most of the lines, and quite a bit more keyboard and lead guitar parts had been added. The original had sounded muddy, sloppy. It didn't sound that way now. However, the carnival-esque atmosphere was still preserved in the song as the guitarists rattled on their strings while Bjorn churned out a constant blast-beat (though now with many intricate fills) on drums. At the full speed ending, a strobe-light flashed, almost frantically.

As the crowd cheered their appreciation of the classic, Knut again said, very calmly, "Thank you."

Katarin went over to get a bottle of water, which she took a few gulps of and and then threw into the crowd. So far, both songs the band had played were old, "Manifesto" being from the second album and "Solstice" from the first. Katarin put her hands on her hips as she addressed the audience. "We're going to play another old song now... don't worry, there'll be plenty of the recent stuff later..." It was unbelievable sometimes that from this lovely small woman came the searing screams heard on CL's albums, especially when she was speaking in such a mild, pleasant voice as now. "This one was our first slow song... yes that's right, from the first album... this is..." and then she said in a very hissing but seductive voice "Of Blood and Passion"

Idun elegantly began playing. The song started with keyboards, in the straight-up Pipe Organ setting. The guitars one by one came in, rhythm guitar without distortion, came in first, followed by bass and then lead guitar. The tune had been a stand out on the first album, with many dynamic shifts between segments of the song. "Of Blood and Passion" was also one of Canis Lupus' first songs with actual singing, as the band had sought to match the subject matter. There was, of course, ample screaming, but there were lengthy portions of the song where Knut and Katarin sang a duet in operatic style, his deep bass voice complimenting her surprisingly beautiful soprano (though somewhat low for a soprano) tones. The lyrics were somewhat autobiographical for Katarin, as they were about a vampiress who fed from her lover. Some lighters were already being held aloft in the audience.

Dave from Tangerine walks quitely backstage, an acoustic guitar strapped on his back, mingling with other band members and enjoying the music. He had never enjoyed headbanging and metal much, but to each his own. Dave noticed Moon from FMZO stumble backstage. In Dave's opinion, FMZO had one of the best styles of the night. Whoever thought you could mix hardcore punk and bluegrass?

Dave walked up to Moon and offered his hand to him.

"Nice job out there," He yelled over the metal music banging out of Canis Lupus's amps. "I really your style. Mabey we could do something later!?"

OOC: This is terrific stuff from Callisdrun. There's an ironic coincidence (I know it's not plagiarism because I haven't RPed much as Monaa in ages); Canis Lupus have Katarin, Monaa have Kata Macaga... and Katarin seems like a low soprano, and so is Kata. (Not that Kata would scream and shout like that. She's got a much lighter voice than Katarin.)

IC: Kata Macaga wandered through the crowd, brushing off a couple of photographers to head towards the backstage practice area. The rest of the band followed; Floraca, the guest of the set, remained backstage.

Canis Lupus arrested their attention, however. The curious screeching had somehow given way, mid-track, to singing... even more unexpectedly, it was perfectly good operatic singing. Knut's powerful bass voice cut across even the noisy backing - thus proving that there was no need for them to screech to be heard. This was also true of Katarin, a dramatic soprano with a distinctly dark tone to her voice that neatly married their operatic and metal intentions. Monaa could learn from this lot... on the other hand, they had done rather well with their own formula. An intriguing improvisation session backstage was sure to follow.

Meanwhile, backstage was a somewhat humorous scene, with Left Behind getting into CL's set, while trying not to knock over or break anything they needed for their own set. "The writing in these songs is awesome," Sam was amazed by the harmonies coming from both voices and instruments.
"We should really consider going on tour with them."
Everyone turned and stared at Corey. "Holy crap, is he sober?"
"No," Danny grinned at Corey, "He's just so friggin wierd that sometimes when he gets high he turns normal for a minute."

bump

The first to make the backstage area from Monaa was Davae Hawl, who turned to hear the sharp comment from Danny and immediately laughed. In fact, he laughed so hard he fell, literally, onto the floor. Why, not even he knew. But he appeared to have picked up a slight bruise on his nose in the act of this unlikely face-first fall. As the rest of the band arrived, they were at once amused and worried; fortunately Davae was back on his feet, but the bruise would still be noticeable.

'I'll stay like this - not as if it's killing me or anything,' he joked to the band, when they offered help to patch up this unlikeliest of wounds.

will post soon

"Of Blood and Passion" was ended with a spectacular keyboard melody that was one of the other things that set the song apart from Canis Lupus' other early songs. Not to say it wasn't decently fast and heavy, though, there was much headbanging by the members onstage, Katarin's braids whipping about most notably. After the last haunting note, Knut thanked the crowd again and then related a short anecdote about how they had almost missed their flight because of bureaucratic incompetance in the capital city of Callisdrin (The cities of Callisdrin and Drun, where CL were from, always had a bit of a rivalry and were the butt of each others jokes).

Katarin, who had left the stage to get some water, came back up to the microphone. "This next song is by one of our influences. It's from quite a while ago, but some of you might know it. It's by Mayhem," she paused as a few people, who knew of Mayhem, cheered. "Funeraaaaaaaaal Fog!" The band blasted into the noisy cover, with the Bjorn's drumming so fast it sounded like a bunch of machine guns all firing at once. Idun, who didn't have to do much work in this song, was windmilling (a form of headbanging) as she played the chords on her keyboard. Atilla ripped into the lead guitar line they had added.

bump

Backstage, Peter moved his hands rapidly, mirroring the movements of Bjorn onstage. "Funnest song in the world man," he announced to no one in particular, "hard as hell to play but friggin awesome."

OOC: I'll post soon on this. I'm not done yet. Thanks for posting your guy's comments, Squorn, Kaze and Ravea.

bump

Their cover of "Funeral Fog" was far more complicated than the original, but still had all the aggression and energy of the old Mayhem song. During the chorus, their were two vocal parts, one a high screetch and the other a low growl. The vocalists covered their respective parts well. Atilla then ripped into a guitar solo he had written for the song, as the original did not have one, and finally, they closed it with a fanfare-like reprise of one of the riffs.

"All right," Katarin spoke into the microphone. "This next one, is another old one... Let's see if any of you recognize it."

With a short count off from Bjorn's ride cymbal, they pounded into the dissonant opening chords of "The Dehumanization of Mankind," which at the time had been a somewhat experimental song. The way it was written, it seemed to almost move, bouncing all around in strange patterns. The fact that they were even able to play it in concert was impressive, given how complicated it was. They played it almost perfectly, which was even more astounding. It was one of their darker songs, and also their most eclectic. If there could be a theme song to the end of the world, this would be it. It ended with a collossal riff that suggested nothing so much as doom, and the final note echoed eerily across the venue.

No one in Left Behind had ever heard anything like "The Dehumanization of Mankind".
Perhaps Cory, best expressed everyone's feelings, since he was the only one who said anything for a good 20 seconds after the song.
"Damn."

While the audience was still applauding, all the members of the band except Knut went to the rear of the stage. At this time, he turned on his distortion and whilst using his wah, played the Callisdrunian national anthem (OOC: to the tune of the RL song "Finlandia"). The natural reverb made it sound just right, both proud and in a way, mournful. The rest of the band came forward again and joined in on the last note.

Sam looked at Jamal, "That was pretty cool, we should think about doing something like that at our shows."
Jamal gave Sam and odd look, "You just wanna play our national anthem solo one solo bass like that."
Peter snorted, "Sammy loves the limelight don't he?"

"We will now be playing some material from our new album," Knut said to the audience, who cheered. Idun played the beautiful introduction song on her keyboard, mournful and dynamic. She held the last note while Bjorn counted in a quick tempo on his cymbal.

Katarin ran up to the mic and screamed "Plains of Sorrow!"

As darkness fell over the stage and amphitheatre, Left Behind began to notice the change in tempurature. Most of them sent roadies back to the dressing rooms for sweatpants and such. Danny, who was wearing convertable pants, simply zipped on the bottoms. He also put on a long sleeved Squornshelan Soccer Jersey, which was black with a red sunburst pattern on the front. A makeshift changing room was created in the corner of backstage with a few screens and soon the band was comfortable again.

Plains of Sorrow (Part I) was fast paced through its entirety, mostly a blast-fest, though it had parts that were sung operatically. It was woven around the origins of the Altar-Rang/Callisdrun mutual hatred, the forced conversions, the executions by burning at the stake, repeated aggression. Katarin gestured with her fist in the air. The song was really more of a thrash song with black metal vocals and keyboards. It ended with a blindingly fast solo by Atilla, which led into a frantic sounding guitar harmony and then the conclusion.

Backstage, Left Behind began tuning up their instruments and getting all the drums and other equipment ready to be taken onstage. Jamal was shadowboxing over in a corner, his dreds waving randomly as he ducked and weaved, Danny and Kelly were still sitting together leaning up against the wall. Corey was sitting, fascinated with his lighter, which he was flicking on and off, while sitting on a drum case.

For "Voices in the Wind," Idun took out her cello. It was CL's most ballad-like song, with clean guitars through most of the piece and hardly any screamed vocals. It was somewhat akin in style to My Dying Bride or Opeth's Damnation album. It was an incredibly mournful song, and the crowd waved their lighters in the air as if they were at a candlelight vigil. Through the middle of the song there was a lengthy cello solo, which Idun played beautifully.

In the middle of the song they wove in a bit of "What Might Have Been," but only did about two minutes of it before going back to "Voices," which closed loudly. Knut whispered a "thank you" into the mic.

Katarin drank some water and then addressed the crowd. "We're going to be wrapping up now. This is more Plains of Sorrow."

The band opened the lumbering intro to "Plains of Sorrow (Part II)," to which the crowd chanted. It was a menacing sounding song, but was not fast. It had a short drum solo at the end, from which the band kicked into the full throttle epic of Part III. This was the story of the Great War with Altar Rang, twelve long years of bloodshed in the trenches, horrible weapons, and atrocities on both sides. The song was designed to sound desperate, like the war. It was a kalaidascope of emotions conveyed through song, from patriotism, to grief, to anger, to absolute terror. Guitar harmonies seemed to to be perfectly blended into the musical landscape. Idun played the difficult organ/piano part perfectly. Bjorn's drums gave the sense of charging into battle. It was like they had somehow converted a panorama of scenes from the war into music. The final spike echoed through the venue.

The band put their guitars on stands and walked off stage amid applause. Backstage, they all consumed at least a bottle of water each.

OOC: Final song comming up. I'm going to be away for a few days, though.

The band members returned onstage to the chanting of the crowd. After picking up her guitar, Katarin said to them "So, you want some more?" The crowd cheered. The band members conferred with each other for a minute and then Knut said into his microphone "The Conqueror Worm." It was an early song, based on E.A. Poe's work of the same name.

Bjorn gave a four beat count in on one of his cymbals and CL slammed into the Black-Sabbath-like intro of the song. This slow, relentless pounding continued for about a minute and a half.
Knut began the next riff while the guitarists stayed silent, as they had taken to doing after the first tour with the song. "Come on, Sliponiaaaaaa!!!!!!" shouted Katarin, before she and Attilla broke into the thrashy riff.

They quickly moved into the chorus and then the verse, the chorus being partially harmonized between the two guitars and bass, while the verse was based around minor and major chords played in very quick succession. The vocals during the verses were the typical screeches, the chorus was instrumental only.
The song was odd in that it suddenly stopped and went to a quiet bit, dominated by the bass playing notes higher in its range. This gave a bit of a break to the headbanging fans before the blasting black metal segment immediately following. Atilla tore through a short guitar lead while the others banged out the rhythm line. Katarin and Knut did more vocals and then the band perfectly played the epic end of the song. Bjorn and Knut provided the musical foundation, with the drummer providing and continual sixteenth note pattern on the bass drums, while the bassist played the root notes of the chords. Katarin played the third and the fifth of each chord, while Attilla and Idun's parts interacted with each other to form a beautiful harmony. Knut and Katarin sang a duet over the musical masterpiece, singing the mournful closing words of "The Conqueror Worm." They broke into one last furious chorus, and then dragged the ending out for about twenty seconds before hitting the final spike. Each member of the band came up to the mic and thanked the audience, Knut first, with a simple "Thank you, Sliponia," and Katarin last, saying "Thank you all so much. This is one of the best, if not the absolute best, concert we've ever played." She then took off her shirt and threw it to the crowd. Roadies dismantled the bands equipment and got it offstage.

OOC: No intro coming I guess.


IC:
Backstage, there were backslaps and handshakes for Canis Lupus, "Killer set out there," said Jamal before running onstage accompanied by a guitar & drum spike. He grabbed the mike and bent over it, shouting in a the high pitched nasal voice typical to Ragga performers.
"It's time to wake up now Sliponia, cuz here's the band gon' make you jump up an' shout! Dis wan goin out to all my brothers an sisters can't git no respect. Better stand up an be counted, can't no one put you down!"
His words come so fast it was hard to understand what he said, but the crowd loved it anyway, cheering loudly as the opening chords of "Category" rang out over the arena.
Category had been Left Behind's first big hit, and while Sam and Peter kept a steady bass beat going, Danny and Kelly played a simple, but great sounding guitar riff over it. Corey filled in the gaps with effects while headbanging so hard it seemed like he'd hit his head on the turntable. Jamal alternated between rapping, singing and screaming throughout the song and ended the song with a screaming repeat of the catchline, "You can't touch meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

As the rest of the band adjusted for the next song, Jamal spoke in a comprehensible voice.
"Thank you, this is Left Behind, and y'all just rocked out to Category," here he paused for cheering, "our next song is gonna be Reboot."

Reboot, off of the same album as Category, began slowly with a quiet guitar solo by Kelly. She carefully picked out the notes while nodding in time. Peter put in a brief drum fill and the full band came in. The first verse was soft, with just one guitar playing with drums and keyboard. Jamal sang it almost in a Bob Marley style, but as the chorus hit, Sam and Danny came in hard and heavy. During the bridge that followed the second chorus, Jamal put his mike back on the stand and abruptly launched himself into the crowd, Danny sang the bridge section while Sam launched into a bass solo. Jamal found his way back to the stage in time for a another time through the chorus.
"Alright," Jamal yelled, "I wanna see you all get up this next one!"
After talking backstage, they had decided to skip Administration Failure, and moved right on to "Dying is for Losers". Danny put his guitar on its stand and picked up another mike. Meanwhile, Cory pushed some switches and set his keyboard to play the rhythmic guitar part.
Danny took a deep breath and screamed as loud and long as he could, while the band started up the tune to the song behind him. This song was based on the struggle one of Danny had with cocaine addiction. He'd finally kicked the habit and been clean for just over a year. He'd written Dying is for Losers as a part of Left Behind's latest CD, to close that chapter of his life completely. Throughout the whole song, the music came fast and furious, while Danny screamed out his rant against addiction. The close of the song, which sounded hopeful, like a new morning, brought a huge cheer from the crowd, many of whom knew Danny's story.
"Thank you," he rasped and picked up a bottle of water, downing about half of it. "Thank you very much."

The members of Canis Lupus walked tiredly off stage, saying thanks after being congragulated. Bjorn went to the dressing room and collapsed. The job of being a drummer in a black metal band was a hard one. Knut Sat down in a chair to watch Left Behind's set. Katarin went to the dressing room and put on a tank top before coming back out.

As Atilla and Idun watched Left Behind's set, Attila said "We recorded that one right? The fans have been asking for a live album for quite a while now."
Idun tried to remember, "Yes, I think we did. It went pretty well. Maybe get together with some of the other bands and release a Rockstock compilation as well. These guys are pretty interesting. Not a very common style back home."

"They have a ton of energy, though. They really know how to work a crowd," Atilla remarked.

After his drink, Danny stepped back to his guitar for the cover of "Nobody". Peter counted off and they kicked off the song hard. Jamal stalked around the stage pointing at people in the front row of the pit while he sang. The band really got into it on this one, with Sam doing a strange little dance with his bass while keeping the beat with his head and feet. Jamal finished off the song from on top of a stack of speakers, srouching and screaming.
As Jamal continued to pump the crowd, Peter continued the final beat of Nobody into a long snare drum riff that turned into the opening for Malfunction. Jamal, still on top of the speakers shouted out, "I can't hear you Sliponia! What's your Malfunction?!" He then turned and jumped down off the speakers as the band hit the first chord. Malfunction was another song off Left Behind's first album, this one wasn't a big hit, but that was probably because of all the other hits on that CD. The song was pretty typica metal until it reached the bridge section, where the guitars stopped playing and Sam turned off the distortion. With their hands free, Danny and Kelly got the audience to clap in time with the music, which was now a laid back reggae feel. Jamal stood out on the front of the stage and sang the bridge:

There's people on tha street
They gots nothing to eat
No shoes for they feet
Ya mon
But Babylon don't care
Just wanna fix they hair
Don't no one wanna share
Ya mon

The band continued playing and Jamal sang through it again. Then he shouted to the crowd, "Okay, I wanna hear everybody sing this time! Ready? 1, 2, 3, go!" Almost the entire crowd sang the bridge through twice, the effect was one of Jamal's favorite things to do at concerts. After the second time through, the band went back into the chorus to close out the song. "Give ya'llselves a round of applause mon ya'll did great!"

"Very interesting," Idun remarked. "They've got a lot of variety, a very eclectic style." Both she and Atilla were carefully observing Left Behind's performance. They were both very analytical types when it came to music.

Knut was also watching, but at the moment was trying to get the roadies to go buy a 24 pack.
Katarin, completely exhausted, sat down next to Atilla and Idun. "These guys are crazy," she said.

OOC: Just for the record, I think Katarin's right. ;)

IC:

While most of the band took a quick break to get some water, Cory punched a few buttons on his keyboard and began playing "Mary had a Little Lamb" with a vaiety of techno effects. As he continued, Peter began to tap out a backbeat to the song on bass drum and snare. One by one, the band joined in until Peter gave a countoff on the snare and they came in on the song. Although it wasn't entirely constructed of Mary had a Little Lamb, from time to time, you could hear it coming up in the background of "Lobotomy". At the time of their second CD, Cory had thought that if you lobotomized everyone's brain, you would find one thing in common: Mary had a Little Lamb. So the wove the nursery rhyme into the song. It made for quite a contrast between the heavy guitar riffs and the turntables to suddenly hear it on the bass part. The song ended with one huge chord thta gradually faded away while Cory played the rhyme slower and slower and slower util he stopped.
Silence covered the stage for a few moments, and then Danny brought in the next song with a quick riff that everyone picked up to form the melody of Terrorist R U. This song was a sort of shoutout to conspiracy theorists everywhere. The lyrics talked about government massacres and UFO's and FBI agents pushing drugs on the street. Needless to say it was one of their more controversial songs.

"That's some pretty heavy stuff with the lyrics," Katarin remarked during "Terrorist R U." Both Atilla and Idun were still discussing "Lobotomy."

Meanwhile, Bjorn, who had recovered, had brought out a keg.

As the uncertain applause for Terrorist R U died down, Danny and Jamal counted off the next piece in their heads. This was a contrast as most of their songs began with a drum fill of some kind. Instead, on this song Jamal came in by himself, with Danny following up on guitar. If the crowd was shocked by the previous song, they wouldn't know what to think now, as Jamal spoke the opening line:
"Ya'll want a single, say f-ck that"
This song was played in the style peculiar to Korn, with Sam popping the strings on his bass. Danny and Kelly had also tuned down their guitars between songs. Without much to do on this song, Cory came up to the front of the stage, trailing the cord of a small sound effects pad, which he punched from time to time. However, as they entered the bridge, he dropped it and dove into the crowd. Jamal's dreds whipped around his head as he sang the final lines of the song.

During the brief pause between songs, Jamal walked offstage to grab a handfull of water bottles. He dumped one on his head and put all but one of the others down. He drank most of it and then set it down on the front of the stage. As Peter counted off the next song, Jamal ran forward and kicked the bottle into the crowd at the same moment the band hit the first chord. It seemed like Left Behind was packing all the anger into the middle of their performance as Born Angry rang out over the arena. Once again, the unique blend of Jamaican reggae and thrashmetal got the audience up on their feet, jumping in the air with Jamal and Danny sharing vocals. While most of Danny's work was screaming, Jamal sang an eerily melodic line over the top of all the noise. The song ended with a dying guitar chord and Jamal and Danny holding out the last word, Jamal in a high whine and Danny screaming.

Katarin turned to talk to Knut. "What do you think of them? I like their set, they're good at their craft. After they're done, we should see if they want to collaborate or something. Make a split album or tour together or something like that."
Knut agreed. "What we could do, is have them open for us back home, and maybe in Rotenburg, and then we could open for them in Squornshelous."

When the next song began, most of the audience didn't notice it until a few seconds later. Cory was holding a disonant chord out on the keyboard and slowly turning up the volume. As the whole band joined in, building the chord until it was the only thing possible to hear, Jamal stepped up to the mic and screamed, "I feel it coming!" The song changed to a loud Deathmetal style guitar-smashing rhythm, very loud, with a lot of wqork for Peter on the double bas pedals. The song was not melodic in any way, with all of the band thrashing on different chords, resulting in a firghtening mess of noise. Jamal somehow made himself heard over the raucus mess, screaming out the vocals, which were almost incomprehensible. As the song reached its conclusion, the guitars dropped out one by one until it was ust Cory holding the chord again, gradually fading away to nothing.
After a moment's pause, Jamal brought the mic to his lips again. "That was Rigor Mortis, thank you."

Many of those in the crowd who had come to see Canis Lupus loudly expressed their approval of the song "Rigor Mortis" by headbanging wildly, shouting, crowd surfing, and even moshing. One even got up onto the stage to do a stagedive. He landed in some mud and scrambled away before security guards could nab him.

As a couple of overenthusiastic security guards attempted to push into the crowd after the stage diver, Jamal spoke into the mic again. "Hey mon don't hate, let im have some fun." The security guards realized they weren't getting anywhere and went back to the side of the stage. "Alright, this next song is somethin a lil' bit different now." As Jamal spoke, Kelly and Danny both set their guitars down to pick up mocrophones. Corey also set up a mic that he could sing into while playing keyboard. "We're gonna see how you like it, it's called Facial Graft. Peter started with a countoff on high hat and started with a simple rock beat. Sam joined in with the baseline, which was also pretty simple. Corey came in last on keyboard, mostly chords but whith a basic melody being played overtop. Jamal started singing in an oddly sing-song style, and was joined by Danny Kelly and Corey. They sang a four line verse in a round that kept repeating the words over and over again, while the notes and rhythms changed subtly:
I always knew that you would go
creeping away from me.
Tear your false face of let it show
that it's only skin deep.

As the song faded, all the instrumental parts stopped and the round continued. Finally, they stopped one by one, and came in, singing in harmony:
"You're gonna need a facial graft."

After Facial Graft, the band took a moment to reconfigure their instruments for the next song. "This is gonna be another cover song," Jamal announced, "get ready for Three-Nil, from Slipknot!"
Peter started a basic drum beat, hitting the bass, snare and crash cymbal together at the beginning. As the guitars and bass joined in, he began to add runs and fills on the toms and double bass pedal. Finally the main melody hit. Jamal's dreds whipped around his head as he headbanged waiting for the start of the first verse. Danny and Kelly played completely different, but still interlocking parts on their guitars, while Jamal screamed out the words.

This is not my revolution!
This is not my convolution!
This is not my expectation!
This is not my desperation!
Today I say Goodbye!

At the end everyone pulled out a microphone for the last bit of vocals, with Jamal repeating the words after them:

One (One)
Two (Two)
Three (Three)
NIL!!!!

Knut looked at Katarin and grinned. "I like their version a lot better than the original."

Katarin rolled her eyes, "That's not saying much, as you don't like the original at all."

Knut looked abashed "No, really, these guys make it like, pretty good."