Guiness and Good Music

  Guinness and Good Music



         “What do you mean you’re bored?”  An irritated George yelled at Keith; the blond surfer who was currently standing in the middle of the Vegas Strip looking about mournfully.  “It’s ten o’clock in Vegas on the strip!  I could spit in any direction and hit a bar, there’s even a pub or two, or a restaurant, anything that serves beer!”

         “George!”  Paul screeched, “That’s disgusting!”

         “Well, it’s true!”  He roared in response.  Keith had been dragging all five men from bar to bar for an hour now.  He was never satisfied.  They went to one bar that didn’t have Guinness so the five Irishmen dragged George to another bar.  They were at the next bar for twenty minutes when Keith announced he wanted to listen to live music.  Keith rushed out in search of live music and the other five men were forced to follow.  At the next bar Keith wasn’t satisfied with the music so they were forced to leave.  So here they were, six grown men standing in the middle of a very busy walkway with fellow travelers giving them deadly stares as they squeezed by the group.

         “We’ve been to several different bars Keith, what are you in the mood for?”  Neil pleaded, he just wanted a Guinness.

         “I don’t know, I’m tired of listening to the same things, I just want something different.”  The young Irishman whined, he was in desperate need of a Guinness but couldn’t find a place he liked.  His mates were incredibly annoyed that much he knew but where he wanted to go was beyond him.  He was looking around aimlessly when his fellow Irishman Neil grabbed his arm excitedly turning him around and pointed at a sign.

         “Oh Paul, look,” Damian grabbed a hold of Paul’s sleeve and pulled him in the direction of his frantic gaze.  “Michael Buble is playing at the New York New York!  Can we go, please!  The young Irishman begged pulling out the old standby, the puppy dog face.  Damian had just recently turned 21 but when his favorite singer was mentioned he acted the fool. 

         “Really,” Paul craned his neck to get a better look.  “He is!”  Paul latched onto Damian’s arm and the two men skipped off excitedly to go watch Michael Buble.

         “Ryan, go with them would you.”  George indicated the pair who had people leaping out of their path.  “Try and make sure they don’t get into too much mischief.  I’ll keep an eye on these two.”  He pointed to the other two men who were busy discussing their next destination.

         “Fine”  Ryan sighed as he turned to follow the ridiculous two men making sure to walk close enough behind them to keep an eye on them but far enough away that no one else took him to be a part of their silly antics, he was much too cool for that.

         “We have decided.”  Keith declared pointed his finger dramatically in front of him and marched off with Neil beside him with a slightly excited bounce in his step.  George took off after them knowing it was going to be an interesting night.

         “Where are we going?”

         “We have decided on the HardRock Cafe.”  Neil replied.  “They will have Guinness and good live music.  At least they should.”  He added.

         “As long as we have a plan and it leads to beer and a chair.”

         “Of course the plan involves beer, honestly George, who do you think we are?”  Keith said defensively.  He thought of only four things, surfing, music, Guinness, and girls, in that order.

         After what seemed like an eternity the three men arrived at the Hardrock Café.  “This had better have been worth the walk.”  George sighed, now he really needed a chair.

         “It will be!”  Keith and Neil looked at each other like two kids plotting mischief.  ‘Oh boy, looks like I’m gonna have my work cut out for me.  I wonder how Ryan is getting along.’  George thought about the other three men and realized he got the better end of the stick.  Keith and Neil caused mischief but normally kept out of too much trouble.  Paul and Damian were another story, he was happy to be where he was at.

         The three men wandered in and found a table near the stage.  There were people scrambling around the stage setting things up.  Out of the corner of Keith’s eye he saw two young women but first things first he thought.  A waitress appeared at his side as if his thought had summoned her.

         “Welcome to the Hardrock.  What can I get for you gentlemen?”  The waitress smiled at the three men, her gaze lingering on Keith and Neil.  George smiled at this; he loved watching the young women fall all over themselves around the lads.

         “I think we’ll all have a Guinness.”  George answered knowing they have all been dying for Guinness for over an hour now.

         “I’ll be right back with that.”  She smiled at George after hearing his voice, women loved his Scottish accent.  George sat back with in his chair thinking how very comfortable it was and surveyed his surroundings.  There was definitely going to be live music tonight and it looked like it was going to be interesting to say the least.  He saw a very pretty young woman with bright red hair tuning and setting up a drum set, he glanced at Neil who was also looking in her direction.  His smile broadened when he spied another pretty young woman with black and white hair strapping on a shiny blue guitar and Keith’s approving glance; oh yes, a very interesting night indeed. 

         A few moments later the waitress returned with three glasses of Guinness and passed them around the table.  “So who’s playing tonight?”  Neil asked without taking his eyes off the drummer. 

         “That’s ‘Rendered’ a local band; they play here a lot, very popular with a certain crowd.”  She said this with a smile looking at Keith and Neil.  “Can I get you guys anything to eat?”

         “No thanks, just keep the Guinness coming.”  Keith replied taking a large swig from his beer.  The waitress smiled and left the three men to their beers.  As his eyes followed the amused waitress he glanced around him, “this place is awesome!”  Keith exclaimed taking in all the rock paraphernalia along the walls.  They had one of Steven Tyler’s crazy get ups, several of Elvis’s suits which looked quite similar to Steven Tyler’s.  He also spotted a whole wall of guitar picks that belonged to several of his favorite musicians.  He definitely liked this place, “good choice Neil.”  Keith nodded to his friend who smiled back over his beer. 

         “Hopefully the music will be just as good.”  Neil smiled and his eyes once again fell on the pretty drummer. 

         George snorted in amusement, “the music could probably be horrible and the two of you would still enjoy it.”

         “We wouldn’t enjoy the music,” Keith stated very matter of fact, “just the show.”  Knowing the truth of this statement all three men broke into loud peals of laughter.

         As if right on cue the singer and rhythm guitarist spoke into the microphone.  “Hey everybody thanks for coming out tonight.  We are ‘Rendered’ and this first song is an original called ‘Any Other Day.’  It started slowly with a bass line, then the rhythm guitar, it was slow but catchy.  The three men were on the edges of their seats, beer forgotten about for the moment.  The music had pulled them in, they could almost hear a pulse when the drums and lead guitar kicked in at the exact same moment and the song sped up to twice its original speed.  All three men’s jaws dropped to the floor and stayed there for the entire song and if Keith and Neil had a hard time keeping their eyes off the two pretty musicians it was now impossible.  Pretty is one thing, combine that with talented musicians and the two young men were in heaven. 

         The lead guitarist was playing a shredding solo and Keith forgot for a moment that it was a pretty girl playing and just heard the guitar; it was a perfect combination of melody and rock. 

         The song made its way back to the chorus and Neil’s eyes were on the drummer who was twirling the sticks and tossing them in the air while keeping perfect time.  The two young women were having the time of their lives; you could tell they lived for this.  Their eyes kept meeting and sharing silent jokes over the music, they had also noticed the three men sitting at the front table, and their admiring glances. 

         Just when Neil thought this song couldn’t get any better the drummer started playing her solo and Neil also forgot he was watching a pretty girl and only heard the drums, he was impressed with the variety in the playing; every fill sounded different but kept the same overall feeling of the song.  Most drummers recycled the same old beats over and over again.  Both men wanted to talk to these women but not for their phone numbers but to talk about music, they wanted to know how they got to play so well.

         “Alright, we’re going to take a short break, hope you all enjoyed the first half, we’ll be back in 10.”  The whole place broke into loud cheering and applause.  Perhaps the loudest came from the front table where two Irishman and one Scotsman sat whistling and clapping very enthusiastically. 

         Keith and Neil had just gotten comfortable again and were smiling at each other over their beers when something hit the side of his head followed by a small splash and George doubled over laughing.  Neil looked around for the culprit and soon joined George on the floor.  Keith stupidly looked at his beer where the object in question had landed.  He picked up his beer and peered at the bottom of the glass to try and figure out what it was.  After a moment he realized what it was, a guitar pick.  He shrugged his shoulders and drained the glass, took the pick out and put it in his pocket.  He looked at the stage to see the two young women walking towards the bar and the guitarist threw him a mischievous grin.  He turned back to his friends who were sitting back in their chairs but still chuckling softly.  “Thanks guys, thanks a lot.”  He muttered but smiled in spite of himself.  He liked her more and more. 

         The band played their second set which if possible was better than the first.  The drummer was fun to watch, almost mesmerizing as she twirled and tossed the sticks in time with the music never dropping or missing a beat.  The lead guitarist played solo after solo each more melodic than the last.  It was a great show!!  They played to the crowd shamelessly, always smiling and playing their hearts out.  Neil knew why they were so popular and it wasn’t just because they were pretty; it certainly didn’t hurt though.  George was very curious to talk to them, as an entertainer himself he was very impressed with them; he had enjoyed himself thoroughly.  He wondered if the other lads were having as much fun as him, he thought of Ryan being stuck with Paul and Damian as they geeked out over Michael Buble and chuckled, probably not.

         At the end of the last song the entire place exploded with applause and cheering, this time everyone clapped just as enthusiastically as the front table.  Each band member stood and took a bow then walked off the stage talking to a man who looked like the owner who was smiling at them knowing he’d made a large profit that night thanks to them.  George suddenly got an idea and for the first time that night a mischievous smiled played across his lips.  “I’ll be back gents.”  He wandered in the direction of the bar until he was certain the two lads weren’t looking.  He veered slightly in the direction of the band and waited patiently while they finished their conversation. 

         He saw his opening when the two young women stepped aside from the group and started talking amongst themselves; laughing and smiling in the direction of George’s table.  “Good evening ladies.”  George spoke smoothly giving them both a dashing smile.  “I was wondering if you would like to join my friends and me for a round.  We enjoyed the show and would love to chat with you.  I’m George.”  He extended his hand in greeting.

         “Hi, I’m Alex.”  The drummer grabbed his hand and shook it firmly and gave him her own dashing smile.

         “I’m Kaitlyn.”  The guitarist said meeting his eye and smiling.  The two women exchanged a silent glance, “We’d love to join you.”

         The three made their way to the table; when Neil caught sight of them he grabbed two vacant chairs and put them between himself and Keith.  Keith stood and waited for them to reach the table before he reached his hand out to Kaitlyn, “I’m Keith, you ladies put on a great show.”  Kaitlyn took his hand and said, “I’m Kaitlyn, this is my sister, Alex.” 

         Neil held out his own hand to Alex and introduced himself.  “I’m Neil.” 

         “Hi.”  She smiled at him and went to shake his hand when she realized she was still holding her drumsticks.  They both chuckled as she put them in her back pocket and shook his hand.  Everyone took a seat when the waitress wondered over. “Hey Alex, Kaitlyn, want your usual?” 

         “Sure.”  They both answered, and she walked away shaking her head laughing. 

         “That really was a great show.”  Keith said, trying to start up a conversation.  “How long have you guys been playing?” 

         “We’ve both been playing since we were kids.  I used to drive my parents crazy drumming on everything so they bought me a drumset and told me I wasn’t allowed to drum on the dinner table anymore.”  Alex answered with a laugh.

         “It’s very difficult to eat when you’re chasing your dinner around on your plate.”  Kaitlyn replied.

         “Only when you’re trying to eat peas and you hate those anyway.”  Alex answered with a smile.

         “Very true,” They both laughed at a shared childhood memory. 

         “I used to get yelled at about the same thing.”  Neil said smiling as well, probably thinking about a similar memory.

         “That’s right; you play drums too don’t you.”  Alex asked.

         “Um… you know I play the drums?” 

         “Oh, um, yeah, we know who you guys are.”  Alex answered with a shy smile.  “We saw you in concert recently actually.  You guys were great.”

         “Oh, why didn’t you guys say something?”  Keith asked.

         “I don’t know, it just seemed weird to interrupt you by saying, oh yeah, we know who you are.” 

         “It would be better than most fans who just fling themselves on us.”  Keith replied cringing at a recent encounter with an energetic fan.  They all laughed at this and the tension broke.  They launched into easy conversations talking about all sorts of things.  First their favorite music and bands, then their favorite guitars when Alex and Neil got into a friendly argument about Fender vs. Les Paul, Alex won.  Turns out she plays guitar as well which impressed Neil even more.  When the waitress brought another round of drinks for the men and the drinks for the girls the men were surprised to discover their drink of choice was also Guinness.  There were several comments made on the subject until it was interrupted by the sound of drums being hit, very badly. 

         Alex whorled around on her chair to see who was violating her drums; she saw it was her fellow band mate.  “Touch my drums and die!!!”  She yelled as she jumped out of her chair and ran on stage.  The man behind the drums gave a yelp and jumped from behind the drums and tore off towards the exit.  Alex gave chase.  “Get back here, I promise I won’t kill you too much, just a little bit.”

         Kaitlyn sighed and with a smile she looked at her new friends, “I’ll be right back.  Alex!”  She yelled as she ran after her sister. 

         Neil put his head on his hand and sighed, “I think I’m in love.”

         “Me too,” Keith said as he stared off after Kaitlyn.

         George smiled at his friends and knew they were right.  “This turned out to be a grand night.”

         The other two men were murmuring their agreements when Kaitlyn came back dragging a very annoyed Alex back to their table, “if you kill him, who will play bass?”  Kaitlyn asked Alex as she shoved her back into her seat. 

         “Fine, I won’t kill him, I’ll just shove one of my sticks up hi…”

         “Alex!!”  Kaitlyn interrupted her mid threat. 

         “Fine,” she sighed, “I guess I’ll load up my drums.”

         “Want some help?”  Neil asked.

         Alex smiled up at him, “sure,” and the two walked off talking and laughing, Alex’s good humor returning.

         “We should do this again sometime.”  Keith said to Kaitlyn.

         “Definitely,” she replied with a smile that made his heart melt and his knees weak.  He was going to hold on to this one.

         George smiled, glad that he could witness such things, and because he knew that as soon as they made it back to the hotel both men were going to grab their guitars and write new songs.  Nothing inspires better than love.