The First Gig

Because there were so many of us in the guest wing, we were given our dinner in a big tent that would be the food tent for the festival. I found out that there would be three local bands in the afternoon, with us playing after a tea break and the other two bands after we come off. The other guys were fun to talk to and had lots of stories about playing at festivals all over Europe. We knew that Goth was still in vogue here but had not realised just how big it was. If we could crack this market we may never have to go home. I also found out that we fitted into the ‘soft-goth’ niche and that there were shades of darkness beyond this to the very dark music. I had heard of Inkubus and Nosteratu but was told of a few bands where just being in the audience was a near-death experience.

The festival site was coming together and the vendors were setting up their stands. I noticed that there was a pyrotechnics van next to the stage and was told that I had better not get frightened by loud noises as the flares, smokebombs and flame generators were triggered by a technician, purely at random as he saw fit, and that I would have no warning. I told the others about this and they said that a little bit of banging would not worry them. Only Lesley caught the worry in my voice and told me that she was sure we would get through it. We took ourselves back to our rooms for an early night, Lesley not going to her own room for an hour.

On Friday morning I woke to the realisation that I had woken on a day that I was to play a live show, in England, as a lead-in to two well-known Goth bands. It was a bit hard to believe, even harder was the fact that I would be doing it in a skirt. I shaved carefully, showered and dressed myself in the grey dress and then brushed my hair for a while. I thought that I would try my hand at a little make-up so used the foundation first. It took a while to do the eye liner and shadow but the mascara was easy. After I had put on the black lipstick I sat there and told myself that this was just for a couple of months. Somehow it sounded hollow as I admired the girl in the mirror.

As I left the room I ran into Lesley and we went to the big tent for breakfast. A couple of guys from one of the other bands joined us and I suddenly found myself as one corner of a foursome, chatting in a quiet voice to a chap who looked like he ate anvils for lunch. He asked me about Australia and I tried to convey the true nature of the country and I think he was not happy about the lack of ‘good music’ there. We walked around the vendor area, now set up and open for business, and, after we had looked at some jewellery, he took my hand as we walked. I noticed that Lesley was doing the same with her chap and she winked at me when I looked at her. This was getting really strange and turned even stranger when I saw the rest of the band walking with other guys. The three daughters were no-where to be seen as I gather they were deep into the organising.

We all met up at the tent for lunch and then got ourselves a spot to watch the first bands. Terry whispered to me that he certainly did not see why we were doing this but that it was important we didn’t break our cover. I agreed but told him not to let things go too far or else there may be more than our cover broken. We sat out on the grass and watched the first two bands play. They were pretty good but seemed to be novices at the actual playing, even if they were really good ham actors. I was sat, leaning against Sven, with his arm about me and was really quite comfortable when I announced that we needed to go back to our rooms to prepare for our part of the show. He squeezed me and surprised me by giving me a kiss before helping me up. The rest of us stood and we gave the boys a hug before we went back into the house. Lesley waited until we were inside before she said “Well done, you lot. You acted just like the girls you are and no-one suspected a thing. Just remember that you promised your mothers that you would remain virgins until your wedding night and you won’t go far wrong.”

The three sisters had seen us leave and joined us in the rooms, each taking over our transformation into Goth Rock Chicks. We stripped and showered, shaved again and started the reassembly of our persona. Lesley came in and helped me with the more dramatic make-up, gave me a spritz of perfume, replaced one pair of studs with the crosses and announced that we would now be ready to take on the world. Right at this point I felt that I would come out worst in a fight with a teddy bear, let alone the world. We picked up our instruments, made sure they were in tune and went back to the stage area just as the third band was finishing. We left the instruments in the hands of the stage guys and then went for a bite to eat before our show. We were settled on a table with his Lordship and the sisters and I could see that Sven and his pals were not pleased but they stayed away while we ate. Then it was time to play. As we followed our host to the stage area, Sven and the boys came over and gave us all hugs, wishing us luck and telling us they were looking forward to hearing us play. The sisters looked quite put out!

We gathered, out of sight, in the back of the stage, and His Lordship went out front to a large gathering of Goth fans. “Dearest Brethren” he shouted “I welcome you to the main part of todays’ entertainment. Tonight we welcome an all-girl, all- Goth, all talented, band from Down Under. They will be household names by the time they finish their tour in this country but, tonight, you are the first to appreciate their music. Firstly, let us welcome Stevie Franks on drums.” Stevie put his hood up, his hands in a pious position, and glided out to stand behind the drums before giving the applauding crowd a wave. “Now we have Suzie Simpson on bass”. I followed suit, standing beside the bass before giving my wave. And so it went on; Brianna Anderson on rhythm; Tess Jenkins on lead and finally Lesley Craven on the keyboard. As she walked to her position we strapped on our guitars and Stevie settled on her seat. As the wizard shouted “I give you the band Quimble!!!” a flame thrower on each side of the stage went off and we could feel the heat as we started to play. We had pretty good responses to our set as we worked through it. The odd gush of flame or the wafting of smoke across the stage did not help my nerves or my sinuses but it must have had an effect on the fans as we got to our own half a dozen songs with a roar of approval at the end. With the last chord sounding, there was a short pyrotechnic display that I thought would set our hair alight but we got off the stage after giving a couple of bows.

Sven and his friends were on last so they wanted us to sit with them while the other band was on and, as we walked back to where we were to sit we were high-fived and hugged by lots of fans, It was a strange, but interesting, experience. When we got back to the boys, Sven stood up and gave me a big hug and a full mouth-to mouth kiss that made my toes tingle. “That was fantastic” he said “we all think that you will go far. You just need to play more of your own music.” We sat with them until they needed to go on stage themselves. As they stood I got up and gave Sven a kiss and told him that we would be watching the first part of their show but would be going back to our rooms as we needed our beauty sleep as it had been a very big day and I had the feeling that we may all have jet-lag. He looked a bit down but needed to get moving to get ready. As I sat down Lesley said that I had done very well as we could slip away without upsetting anyone. We did see some of their show but it was a bit too dark for us, even though they were not as dark as it got.

Lesley helped me undress and I helped her as we kissed. Afterward she asked me “How long have you been dressing as a girl?” I said it must be all of two and a half days, now. She said “Impossible, you have the moves, the thought processes, even the shopping is there. If you tell me that you can knit, sew, do laundry, vacuum and cook I will declare you a natural.” I thought and then said, “Does four out of five count?”

Marianne G 2020