Chapter 283 - 283: 283 | Back On Stage

<🎧 Song Recommendation: The Nights by Avicii>

...

(Friday, November 6th, 2020 - Rogers Arena, Vancouver)

Von was halfway through Frozen Attitude when the entire lower bowl started bouncing along with the beat. He grinned at the sight, spun away from the edge of the runway and caught the next line without missing a breath. Behind him, Conor kept the drums pounding while Kiana and her dancers moved across the stage in tight formation, their shadows racing over the enormous screens.

The crowd had been like this since the opening song. Every time Von approached the barricade, more hands shot into the air. The people in the upper seats were no quieter, and by the time Alex stepped forward for his guitar part in It Doesn't Even Matter, a good portion of the arena was already singing along before Von could bring the microphone back to his mouth.

Even Emily, watching from the wings, had given up trying to hide her smile. She'd spent most of the afternoon arguing with a man who had been told he couldn't walk, and now that same man was running across a stage as if nothing had happened.

When the song finished, Von accepted a bottle of water from a stagehand and took a long drink. He wiped his mouth, looked over the crowd, then laughed when someone near the barricade screamed his name loudly enough to cut through the noise.

"I heard you, bro!" he called back. "Damn, save some of that voice for the rest of the show."

The audience laughed, and Von turned to glance at the band. Alex was changing guitars, Conor was adjusting his in-ear monitor, and the next track was ready on Gus's board. Von held up one finger, asking them to wait.

"Actually, before we continue, I gotta tell you guys something."

The noise settled gradually, although a few fans were still shouting from the upper sections.

"Some of you might've heard about an accident here this afternoon." He paused as people began murmuring. "Yeah. That was me. Part of the stage equipment came down during rehearsal, and I ended up in a hospital bed with a broken leg and a couple of busted ribs."

A shocked reaction swept across the arena. Several fans near the front immediately looked down at his legs, making him laugh.

"I know, I know. Don't ask me how I'm standing here either, because the doctors were asking the same thing." He walked a few steps across the runway and spread his arms. "But look at me! I'm good!"

The crowd erupted, and Von couldn't help laughing along. The noise grew even louder when he bounced on his toes and threw in a quick spin, just to prove his point.

"Man, I nearly missed tonight. I really did. And when I was lying in that bed, thinking about all the people who'd bought tickets and traveled here, I was so pissed off." He shook his head with a smile. "We've been on the road for over a month now. Miami, Atlanta, Texas, LA, Seattle... and somehow you crazy people keep making every stop better than the last."

The cheering resumed before he could finish.

"So thank you, Vancouver. Seriously. I'm glad I made it here."

He waited for the noise to settle, then glanced over his shoulder at Conor and Alex with a grin that made both of them sit up a little straighter.

"And you know what? I think I've got the perfect song for tonight."

The audience answered with a wall of excited screams.

"I wrote this one a long time ago, back when I was putting together my first album. Never ended up using it, but I couldn't bring myself to throw it away either. Patch and I worked it into something new for the tour, and the boys have been waiting for me to finally play it."

"About damn time!" Conor shouted from his kit, his voice carrying through the stage mic.

Von laughed. "See? He's been on my ass about it."

He raised the microphone again. "Anyway, it's called The Nights. And after the day I've had, I think we're all gonna enjoy this one."

A bright, plucked acoustic-guitar melody began playing through the arena speakers. Alex picked it up on his electric guitar with a clean, chiming tone, while Conor tapped out a brisk rhythm on the snare and kick. The melody had an easy, almost folk-like bounce to it, and before Von had even started singing, the crowd was clapping along.

Von walked toward the circular end of the runway as his voice came in over the guitar. The first verse was warm and playful, its story about taking chances and collecting moments while there was still time to enjoy them. He sang it with a broad smile, pointing his microphone toward different sections whenever they cheered.

The arrangement started building beneath him. Conor opened up the drums, Alex's guitar became more urgent, and a rising synth line joined them from the backing track. Von brought the microphone close for the final words of the pre-chorus, then lifted his free hand as the music climbed.

"VANCOUVER, LET ME HEAR YOU!"

The kick cut out for half a beat.

Then Gus dropped the bass.

BOOM!

A huge, bright electronic lead burst over the live drums, with a rolling bassline that sent the entire floor jumping. Gold and blue lights swept across the stands while Von ran down the runway, singing over the soaring melody. The track had the cheerful rush of a festival anthem, and the guitar kept cutting through the synths, giving the whole thing a wild, almost reckless energy.

Alex abandoned his spot long enough to join Von at the front of the stage, playing the guitar melody while Von danced beside him. Conor was grinning behind the drums, driving the rhythm harder as the crowd bounced in time. Even the people who had never heard the song were waving their arms and shouting whenever Von called for them.

By the second chorus, the hook had returned often enough for the nearest sections to catch it. Von pointed the microphone toward them, and a ragged chorus rose from the floor.

🎶♪

These are the nights that never die!

🎶♪

"YES!" Von shouted, laughing as he turned toward Conor. "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

The final drop hit even harder. Lights chased each other around the upper bowl, the sub-bass rolled under the kick drum, and Von kept moving through the last instrumental break with the dancers around him. When the band finally brought the song to a stop, the audience answered with such a long roar that he had to wait before speaking again.

"Alright!" he called, still catching his breath. "You guys are actually insane."

He looked up at the tiers of waving hands and smiled. "Let's finish this properly!"

The rest of the show flew by. They ran through the favorites, Alex and Conor got their usual moments in the spotlight, and Von ended the night with the entire arena singing back at him. By the time the encore finished, he had forgotten the incident that happened earlier that day.

***

After midnight, Von finally dropped into the leather seat of the lead coach with a towel around his neck. He was still humming the melody of The Nights when the familiar chime rang inside his head.

[Ding!]

[SHOW 14 OF 26: COMPLETE]

● Venue: Rogers Arena, Vancouver

[Evaluating performance...]

[PERFORMANCE SCORE: 98]

● Remark: An extraordinary comeback and an unforgettable night of music.

[Condition met: Score of 90 or above.]

[BONUS: THE UNSEEN]

● Detected: "The Nights" >> never performed before an audience.

● Conditions satisfied. One additional Momentum tier granted immediately.

[MOMENTUM: +2 TIERS]

Von grinned at the panel. Two more tiers added to the multiplier, and another show safely behind him. Whatever he'd spent on those damn shop vouchers earlier was already beginning to feel like a bargain.

"What are you smiling at?" Max asked from the opposite couch.

"Your face. It's hilarious."

"Man, I've been doing your promotional work all night. Have some respect."

"You mean filming yourself screaming at the bass drop?" Alex asked, leaning over the seat behind him.

Max pointed at him without looking away from his laptop. "It's called audience engagement. You wouldn't understand."

Conor appeared from the hallway carrying a packet of chips. "He's been playing that clip on repeat for twenty minutes. I think he's in love with himself."

"Finally, somebody understands me," Max said, opening his arms.

Von laughed and looked toward the front of the bus, where David was finishing a call with one of the drivers. The convoy had already started rolling out of Vancouver, and the city lights were slipping past the windows.

"Yo, David. Where are we heading again?"

David glanced over. "Denver. Colorado. We've got a long haul and the border to deal with, so everybody who isn't driving should be asleep before we reach Washington. Show's Monday night."

"Denver," Von repeated, settling deeper into his seat. "Alright, I can work with that."

"You can work with getting some sleep," David replied. "Especially after the stunt you pulled today."

"Hey, I'm sitting down, aren't I?"

"A miracle in itself," Emily said from farther down the cabin.

Von turned toward her with a grin, ready to fire back, but the words died when he saw her expression. She was standing near the galley table with her phone in both hands, reading something on the screen. Whatever it was had wiped the smile from her face.

"Em?" Von called. "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she read the message again, then walked over and handed him the phone.

Seeing the news made Von's face to go pale as well.