BACKSTAGE

Therese was extremely excited!  She had been planning to attend the festival for months.  Therese was a huge fan all of the musicians that would be playing but, she really was only going to see the “main event”.  Well, at least in her eyes they were.  Her favorite band Powderfinger would be playing and she’d actually had never seen them perform  live.  She was more than thrilled! All of their songs came flooding back. She could hear them clearly in her head already.

As Therese stepped out of the car, she waved to her friend and yelled “Thank you for the ride!” Her friend replied “No worries at all! Have an awesome time and be safe” and drove off. Therese stepped up onto the path and walked towards the admittance gates.  Briefly rummaging through her bag, she found her ticket and handed them towards the Ticket Salesperson, he took a part of the ticket and returned the rest to Therese. 

She looked around at the venue and was amazed at just how spread out and it was.  It was being held on an sports oval, with several partitions to corral festival goers into and out of stalls.  Straight ahead to the left was the bar and that is where she headed.  Once Therese had ordered her drink she sat at the nearby table.  As she sipped it, she observed all the people, the sights and she could smell the mouth-watering aromas of the food stalls. Was that pizza? 

The surrounding coloured party lights which were once dull, began to beam as the night crept in around the festival and the venue.  Still, Therese sat nearby the bar soaking in the change of the atmosphere as the minutes went by. 

During her second beer, she decided to find a good vantage point and headed toward the stage area.  She was mezmerized by mass of the stage area, all the equipment, the instruments and the people running around setting up.  Therese was certain that this would have been the biggest Gig she’d ever been at. She'd always really loved watching live music and was in awe of the art.

Therese headed back to the bar as he wanted another beer.  She could hear instruments coming to life and a voice stirring through the microphone. So, as soon as she had her beer placed in her hand she hurried back towards the stage. Looking around she spotted a space where she could stand and watch. She kept looking around her to ensure she was not in the way of anybody dancing and walking through. 

People surged towards the stage and there he was!  Bernard Fanning and Powderfinger!  Therese’s smile increased ten-fold. She then began to tap her foot on the grass and started singing along to their first song of the night “I Got You On My Mind”. Therese could not stop smiling. She felt content and thought.  Finally. This is the best! Therese was distracted and momentarily thought of another of their songs "Passenger". She then wondered if they would perform that song. She was hoping!

In that moment a fight between two men broke out next to her. The men were really aggressive. The two swore frequently and loudly at each other. At that point, Security hurried towards the two. Therese could not make out what the argument was about as they were slurring their speech.  The two lashed out at the Security Staff. Fists started to connect and one of them bumped her which spilled her beer.  She tried to move away but the other man stumbled toward her, his head smashing into hers and knocking her to the ground.  Therese lay there motionless and she’d blacked out.  Her eyes would open momentarily but then she’d descend into the darkness and the flickering lights were gone. 

Later she came around again, noticing she was on a reclining lounge with a pillow under her head.  The lights in the room were really bright. She felt like her head was going to explode from the inside-out and that she was going to vomit. Therese heard people talking softly in the distance but, once again she lost consciousness and her head fell back on the pillow. All quiet again.

Therese sat up in the lounge, squinting as she looked around the room. There was no one around and she could hear music playing, slightly muffled and loud.  She asked herself, where am I?  Her head was throbbing but she got up and went to the door.  She started to feel a little dizzy and steadied herself in the doorway.  Once outside the room she could see she there was a very long hallway, with doors to other rooms. 

She continued down the hallway calling out “Hello” but nobody appeared. The music playing was becoming clearer and getting louder.  Therese fell silent as she figured nobody would hear her anyway.  Leaning up against the wall, she continued onto a room that had the door open.  She could hear male voices coming from that room.  She didn’t recognize any of them and one man with shoulder-length hair, was standing with his back to her.  They all looked like they were busy, fussing over papers, talking and answering phones.

They all looked up at her as she entered the room. The man standing with his back to her looked around at her.   “I am sorry, I am lost.  Where am I?” The blonde man who’d looked back at her had a puzzled and concerned look on his face. He walked toward her and she gasped in shock.   “Oh no!” Your Bernard Fanning.  She started to giggle and gushed.  He put his hand on her upper arm then said. “It’s ok.  You were knocked in the head.  You are back stage.  We’ll get you back...” Therese felt silly and then interrupted.  “Oh no.  I am sorry”. He replied. “It really is ok.  It’s none of your fault.  We will sit you up where we can keep an eye on you”. 

A few moments later, Bernard sat with Therese while a nurse checked her over and they proceeded to another area up the hallway – Backstage!  For a brief moment he and she talked about his music and silly “life” things.  Therese felt like she would have to pinch herself.  She really couldn’t believe how nice a human he was too.  As he left, he organized for her to sit up behind the scenes to watch the rest of the festival while someone waited on her.  

She was a huge fan before but now she was a Bernard Fanning fanatic!!! As the band began their next song “Wish You Well” that voice in her head cried out!  Woo hoo!