RWO Rocks Sydney

The lights go off at the Sydney Entertainment Centre as I stand off stage left, every nerve in my body vibrating with excitement. It's the first show of RWO's first international tour...the months of rehearsal and preparation are either going to pay off or we're going to embarrass ourselves horribly.

Either way Craig, Pip, Dale, and I are going to goof off and have fun on stage. I can't think about it too much right now...I'm solely focused on keeping Craig from passing out from excitement and nerves.

As the venue is steeped in darkness we can hear the crowd roar in anticipation and excitement. The enormous semi-transparent projection screen that serves as a stage curtain lights up with the image of StrongBad's monochromatic computer screen. StrongBad walks into the picture and sits down at his computer with his back to the audience to answer an e-mail. The crowd quiets down as he begins to type...

As StrongBad lifts his BMW lighter into the air at the end of the clip, the electronic background rhythm of "Clearly Opaque" (all but hidden on the CD) starts to loop. Pip, behind his drum kit, starts playing the jazz-influenced rhythm on top of it that starts the song, backlit with a strong spotlight that shows his silhouette on the screen as StrongBad's image fades. Dale comes in on the bass part, front lit by an orange spot in all his goateed glory. On a dare by Craig and I, he's wearing some lederhosen a German fan sent him after an offhand comment he made in an interview a couple of weeks ago. I don't think he's wearing underwear, either. We're going to have to burn those after tonight's show.

Thankfully, his image is eerily blurred by the screen in front of him. That's one goofy mother.

Craig comes in on the primary rhythm guitar part but remains dark, a shadow behind the screen. Standing a few inches behind the screen, I sing and growl the first verse. All goes dark (except this trippy image of a woman descending motionless into a watery abyss being projected on the screen) on the bridge that leads into the chorus and then...

An explosion of light as the curtain falls to the floor and we rip into the chorus with full force. The show has truly begun, for us as well as you.

I look down into third row, center, and see the woman who is ChickyBabe standing there with this enormous grin on her face. During Craig's solos I find her staring at him with what can only be described as "lust" in her eyes. She looks at me during one of his solos and raises her backstage pass (on a lanyard around her neck) toward me. With a smile, I look back and nod. It's going to be fun to read her review of the show on her blog the next day. And though I know I'll be exhausted after the show, I can't wait to meet her. I'm sure it will be a brief meeting...somehow, I know that she'll manage to get Craig alone. Still, it'll be good to meet.

To be continued backstage after the show...