Rockin' by the River

[strikeachord]

Who: Billy and OPEN!
Where: Along the boardwalk somewhere
When: 20 September, evening
Summary: Billy said he was putting on something of a little shindig and he's gonna put it on, dammit.
Warnings: None as of posting! Will be including Youtube links to songs on occasion, though!

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Setup actually started earlier in the afternoon. Billy might regret it just a bit.

Sweaty, with a glass of water in hand and his guitar on his back, he nevertheless moves with a long, easy stride between the even longer tables, checking and re-checking to make sure everything looks good. Sharp eyes who've come to investigate the fuss going on at the boardwalk might even notice the faint tremor in his hands as he reaches up to make sure for the umpteenth time that his hair isn't mussed. And still, he's smiling.

Sure, he's never played a show quite like this; it's a mighty big change from seedy roadhouses and rowdy bars. For one, there's no cage to keep folks from hitting him with stuff if they don't like the show and decide to lob a glass his way. But then he figures there's nobody in town that bad; Saeng Seong's a far cry from his world, that's for sure. He should be fine, he tells himself, and does a walk of the refreshment tables one more time. Snacks aplenty and drinks – cold and with plenty of ice on hand to keep them that way – to spare. He wishes again he could've thrown together some burgers or something, but that would've been a lot of cooking on top of putting on a show. What he's got will just have to do.

With the day wending into evening, he finally gives in and ambles up to his 'stage', just a cleared section of boardwalk with a stool for him to sit on when he needs a break. He stands there for a moment to survey his setup. His smile falters briefly; he wishes everyone else was here. Mika'd love it. Juji would… probably like it but not say anything.

He sits down with that pang still in his heart to start playing warmups while he waits for the audience, however small or large it may be, to wander their way down here. The melody comes to his fingers without a thought, slow and lazy and a little melancholy. Juji'd hate it, but it's just what Billy feels right now, and it rings out clear and loud even though there isn't an amp or speaker in sight.

Comments

[purple_chelonian]

Donatello was actually poking around under the boardwalk, mostly for something to do before the concert starts. The dirt is cool between his toes and there's surprisingly little trash down there. When he hears the first few notes of music drifting down, he smiles and clambers up a piling to have a seat on the railing.

He gives Billy a friendly wave, then settles in to watch him play.

[strikeachord]

Billy notices the movement off to one side – he'd probably have been dead a lot sooner if he was that oblivious – but he doesn't really see Donatello right away, too wrapped up in playing. It isn't until he strums the last chord and starts plucking out a few notes while he ponders what to warm up with next that he looks up.

That's… definitely a turtle wearing a mask. Billy blinks, then grins. Sure looks friendlier than most odd sorts he's met.

"Howdy!" he says and sort of waggles his guitar in a wave without taking his hands off the strings. "Got any requests before I get the show rollin'?"

[purple_chelonian]

"Hi! Requests? Uuuuh . . ." You are addressing a turtle who does not listen to much music, Billy. "No, no requests. I'm sure whatever you play will be great."

[noparachute]

Steve can be seen walking around the snack tables at first, grabbing a couple items off them as he waits for Billy to begin. He's in no rush though, not when he's attending this thing with his best friend. He invited Bucky to come along with him after talking with Billy and the other man agreed to come along.

Even if Bucky doesn't remember everything that's happened between them, they'll still create new memories together. He's determined to be here for him now and he wants to make sure he uses his time with him well. Going to this concert with him sounded like a good idea.

So for now, he looks over to Billy as he starts to warm up.

[heismymission]

Bucky knows what music is, but until now he's had very little interest in actively listening to any. It seemed so trivial and unimportant compared to learning about other things, but Steve's encouraged him to go to the movies and do other things that seemed equally as trivial, so he supposed it wouldn't do any harm to come with the other man and listen.

Bucky Barnes liked music, apparently. Maybe it's time for the soldier to find out if he still does. Besides, he is a bit curious about how Billy's doing, considering how long it's been since he's seen the kid. A lot has changed for him, after all--he's he's still cautious and ever-aware of his surroundings, but he's remarkably more relaxed than two months ago, and he's even set aside the constant expectation that the worst will happen. It's possible that something significant happened with Billy in that time as well.

He stands near Steve with his hands in his pockets, watching attentively as the kid begins to play. He takes in the movements of the guitarist as much as he listens to the sounds.

[strikeachord]

Steve and James get a big smile from Billy once he spots them, and he transitions into something lighter and more upbeat. It makes him feel so much better to see James out and about and at least trying to enjoy life.

"Thanks for comin' out!" Billy cheers. "I'm takin' requests while folks roll in, if you got something you wanna hear." And, well, if he doesn't know it, he can always try something else.

[noparachute]

He smiles in return and gives the musician a small wave as he listens to him play a more upbeat song. It was surprising to Steve that Bucky already knew of him, but he's glad that his friend has established connections with others here. Who knows when he'll be sent back home again after all.

"Nice setup you got here." He responds before turning to look at Bucky for a moment, still rather content with everything going on. "Have any requests, Buck?" He's not sure if his friend remembers any song, but he'll make one if the former assassin couldn't come up with anything.

[heismymission]

The kid is about as bright and friendly as ever, it seems. Bucky is a little reassured by that for some reason he doesn't quite understand. He isn't sure what could have happened to change that anyway.

Although he's silent at Billy's greeting--the soldier wasn't programmed to make requests--Steve's direct question catches his attention and he looks a little taken aback. After a moment, he glances down and shakes his head.

"No." He shifts his shoulders to adjust his jacket, not sure if that was the right answer to give, but he honestly doesn't know much of anything about music--especially not enough to ask for anything in particular.

[makes_it_rain]

After getting a drink from the refreshment table, Yamamoto will settle down on the boardwalk, and gives a cheer when Billy does take the stage, quieting down when the music starts.

The music seems to be an exact opposite of the enthusiastic man who invited the city to see his show, but Yamamoto likes it. It's a bit slow and almost sad, but it's beautiful too.

[strikeachord]

Thankfully for the potential success of the show, Billy's warmups have no bearing on his set list, and that's much more to the tune of getting a crowd together for a good time. He spots Yamamoto and it takes him a second or two before he recognises the fellow from the network. He plays a quick riff as a sort of hello, grin bright enough to give the lights a run for their money.

[ribbonbon]

Having heard Billy play once before, Pilouette was eager to hear him perform again. So when she saw his announcement over the network, she knew she had to check it out. Plus, she hasn't had much of a chance to talk him since that first time; maybe she can catch him afterwards.

She quietly stands among the rest of the audience and listens as Billy warms up. It's pretty different from what he had played for her before but she would be lying if she said it wasn't just as nice to hear. Thinking this would be the kind of thing she would like to have memories of, she decides to whip out her cell phone and take a few photos. She tries to be kind of discreet about it, though.

[strikeachord]

It's a few bars before Billy looks up, and then he grins when he spots Pilouette. Always nice to see a familiar face, and though he winks at her, the tune remains until the last few notes fade.

"Glad you could make it!" he says. "Got any requests while I'm still gettin' ready?" He plucks a few jaunty chords encouragingly.

[ribbonbon]

She takes a moment to think. She figured out a while ago that a lot of things she knows don't exist in other worlds, much less in Saeng Seong, so there was no guarantee he would know any of the songs she did or vice versa. If that ends up being the case, she doesn't want to request anything specific since she feels like it might be awkward. At least on her end.

"Oh! Um, maybe...something like, nice and upbeat might be good!" she says with a smile.