SHOW 1 - The Strand Ballroom & Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island
October 2nd

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 2, 2024

THE GREEN INFERNO Returns to the Stage After Two-Year Hiatus, as a Last-Minute Addition to Alt-Metal, Boston-Based Powerhouse BEYOND THE PINES "LAST RITES" Farewell Tour Throughout New England

I read it over about fifteen times that morning before taking a deep breath and hitting send, unleashing my first real press release out into the void. Between work contacts and some assistance from Raf, I'd compiled a list of various local media outlets, bloggers/podcasters, and community groups to send it out to. Ultimately, a press release was targeted at anyone who could help either amplify a message or get it in front of the desired audience and generate interest. I was hopefully about to become real tight with some people with questionable music taste.

In some instances, press releases were ultra detailed, even going so far as to quote whoever and whatever the press release was about. I, unfortunately, did not have that luxury - Devon made sure of that. I believe his exact words had been "I'd rather strangle myself with guitar string." Charming, as always.

Another point of a press release was that it served as an official, on-the-record statement for both the public and media to reference, which meant information about The Green Inferno's new music and the tour was also out there in the void, and it was a point of no return - one Devon didn't seem too ready to approach (as if that whole guitar string strangling comment gave anything away). I think he viewed it more like the event horizon of a black hole.

Well, if you believed that theory that a black hole would spit you out somewhere else in space, I had to hope that someone out there on the other side would receive the message and take enough of an interest to show up. Then at least I would have done my job well, in spite of the lack of cooperation. Usually I was above saying I told you so, but saying it to him would be more satisfying than unboxing a new pair of Manolos.

I refreshed my email for what felt like the 50th time that afternoon, grasping at the hope that someone would send a message back from the other side.

The ear-shattering sound of someone dropping a cymbal for a drumset startled me, reminding me that I was not in fact lurking on the fringes of a black hole. Back in reality, I was lurking on the fringes of the stage, waiting in the wings backstage while the band and a few crew members they borrowed from the headlining band fluttered about like moths trapped behind glass. I looked up from my phone to zero-in on the source of the ruckus - Gareth, obviously, animatedly arguing with Clark in front of his drum set while the fallen cymbal still sat on the ground.

"This is why nobody should be touching my shit," he went on, flinging his arms out in front of him. "I don't even want this cymbal. It's not my lucky one."

"How is anyone supposed to know that?" Clark asked with a shake of his head, still sounding as bored and monotone as he ever was. I almost envied the level of calmness he had, despite the fact that everyone else had been running around like headless chickens all afternoon.

I chuckled and shook my head as I turned away from their little squabble, nearly bumping into a crew member carrying a few chords.

"Sorry," I tried to express to the guy, but he'd already blown by me and was halfway across the stage. I took a deep breath as I tried to steady myself, stuck within the tension that lingered in the air.

I remembered Raf telling me that Beyond the Pines had graciously lent some of their crew and roadies to The Green Inferno for stepping in and covering for whatever band had originally pulled out of the tour at the last minute, so they were clearly the ones handling a lot of the equipment movement and setup. Roadies that apparently did not know about Gareth's lucky cymbal.  

We'd gotten to the venue around 1 PM despite not being scheduled to go on stage until 8. I was learning the setup process on the fly, watching some crew members swarm the equipment van like ants to a picnic, picking off instruments and amps and tangles of chords like breadcrumbs for the colony. Everyone was so preoccupied that all it seemed I could do was helplessly observe. It was almost 6 now, sound check had been done, and Raf had dinner delivered from some local deli back in the green room.

I'd had a whole Instagram video planned out (one of those I'm passing the phone to... ones that always generated a few laughs) but I could barely get anyone still long enough to execute it. Everyone had come in, grabbed food, and disappeared.

I started getting antsy as my window for good social media content began to close - after all, that was half the reason I was there - and everywhere I stood, I felt like I was in the way. We had just one post on their new Instagram and Twitter, which was the EP announcement (I was still in the midst of battling with Devon over making a TikTok. I was losing).

I thought I'd been prepared. In hindsight, the type of chaos that ensued before a metal concert should have been obvious, and in my obsessive panic to just do things the right way, the simple facts of the night seemed to have fallen by the wayside. It was about to be a whole month of this, and I had to figure this out before it figured me out.

After I'd nibbled at my chicken caesar salad wrap (alone, because all I wanted to do was stay out of the way at this point), I wandered around backstage and leaned out from behind the curtain to get a glimpse of the stage itself. I snapped a few pictures of the stage, as ready as it could be before show time.

Red and white lights faded in and out as the lighting engineers tested the on-stage lighting, illuminating a few standing microphones and Gareth's drum set, elevated on a platform at the back of the stage. The Green Inferno banner hung behind it, their logo in need of an update as it still resembled that purposefully illegible scratchy font that I'd learned most metalcore bands used, like some kind of genre inside joke. In the idle silence, there was almost something peaceful about it, but it didn't take a genre insider to know it was more like the calm before a storm.

Of course, I had my own obligatory things to post on my personal Instagram stories. Yes I am having a great fucking time in Providence, Rhode Island because yes my job is so fucking cool and I know exactly what I'm doing. I just love loud, angry music. I should get a shirt that says exactly that and wear it next show.

At the very least, I had to document my actual outfit in the venue's sticker-coated floor-to-ceiling mirror in the women's bathroom - a beige denim mini skirt with a plain black t-shirt. At the last minute, I'd thrown on the leather jacket Lyanna had me pack, because the last thing I wanted on opening night of tour was to stick out like a sore fashionable thumb among all the other black and leather clad crew, band members, and concert goers.

I glanced out into the venue, where nothing more than a few staff members ambled around the open concrete floor, as the doors wouldn't be opening for at least another hour. Apparently there were usually seats at the floor level, but it had all been cleared away for general standing admission. There was a mezzanine level with a few hundred seats, for people who wanted to see this kind of music live without risking life and limb in the inevitable mosh pit.

It wasn't like I was purposefully looking for him, but somehow my gaze found Devon like a grouch-seeking missile, standing down by the sound mixing booth in what looked like a tense discussion with the engineer. His perfectionist ass was undoubtedly double and triple checking that everything was exactly the way he wanted it.

I watched him rake back a few strands of dark hair that had fallen onto his forehead slowly, as his shoulders rose and fell with his breaths, and it wasn't until someone tapped me on the shoulder that I realized I'd been holding my breath.

"Pretty small, huh?"

I whirled around to see Evie, oozing cool alt-girl vibes in her baggy cargo jeans and an obscure band tee that had been crudely cut at the bottom to make it cropped. She had her hair up in space buns, leaving the two white blonde pieces at the front out, and her cheeks and forehead dusted with the faintest shimmer.

"The venue?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound like I was still trying to find my breath. "I believe the word they use is intimate."

That got a chuckle out of her, and I allowed myself a more audible exhale.

"That's a polite word for small," she grinned. "It's okay though, I've learned that sometimes it's almost better. There's something about people being able to see the lights in your eyes when you're screaming your heart out. It bonds us."

"Then maybe that is the right word," I grinned back.

Evie nodded and rocked back and forth on her boots, the chain on her jeans jingling just slightly, and it was as if the sound flipped a light switch in me.

I liked Evie. She was probably the only person that made me feel grounded for the oncoming storm, but it would have been selfish of me to helplessly cling to her all night while she got ready. But now here she was, effortlessly cool, and I had to take advantage of that.

"Wait," I took her wrist as she turned to walk away. "Would you do something silly for me?"

"I like silly," she nodded.

I held my phone up to her. "Would you do a fit check before the show?"

Evie beamed and spun around on her toes with her arms out. "You have obviously picked up on the fact that I am the most stylish member of the band."

"Of course," I smirked playfully, but I meant it. "Ready when you are."

Evie inhaled and took a step back. "So I've got on some old Docs because they're comfortable and broken-in already, and I tend to not trip in them. Don't wanna bust my ass on the first night. This is a thrifted Lorna Shore shirt-" she paused and held up her finger. "-it came precut, I would have done a better job, but it was too cool to pass up. And finally my super cool jeans - which have like eight pockets - are Agolde."

Evie brought her hands up underneath her chin and beamed to end the video. I stopped filming and lowered my phone. "Shut up, those are Agolde?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I got them on mega sale from Revolve."

"Revolve is so clutch," I gushed. "I just ordered two shirts from there."

"Well, you can borrow 'em if you want." She wiggled her hips. "But the stipulation is the chain stays on."

I grinned at her. "I might have to take you up on that."

"Are you done yet?"

I knew his voice before I saw him, seemingly materializing out of the darkness like Slenderman.

I shot him an unamused look. "I suppose you aren't interested in a fit check, are you Devon?"

He folded his arms over his chest. "Negative, ghost rider."

I almost had a laugh. At least it was an improvement from Polly Pocket.

"I think you're just jealous of all my pockets." Evie held one leg out and jammed her hand in one of the big cargo pockets.

"Maybe a little bit," Devon grumbled, and Evie responded with a laugh and a gentle shove to his arm.

Ironically, he really could have done a fit check. He wore a loose-fitting gray and black tie dyed shirt with some kind of scorpion motif on it, and I had to pretend that I wasn't a little bit relieved that it wasn't the same tight clothes he'd been wearing that brought way too much attention to all the muscles in his arms and shoulders and chest. However, his black jeans were enticingly tight on his thighs, with two big holes at the knees, exposing colorful matching moth tattoos on both of them.

I swallowed hard, wondering when I'd stop finding new tattoos on him to gawk at and hoped it was sooner rather than later.

"Last minute prep." Devon jerked his thumb back towards the depths of backstage, and Evie responded with a nod.

Evie then turned and smiled at me one more time before squeezing my arms and sauntering off with Devon.

I let out a relieved sigh when I was out from under his gaze, and I rewatched Evie's fit check video with a smile. We'd have to make it a regular thing.

As I backed away from the stage to make my way to the doors, I stepped right on someone's foot, losing my own footing and feeling myself topple backwards in what seemed like slow motion. As soon as I'd resigned myself to taking a fall, I felt someone's arms come underneath me, cradling my back before I'd hit the floor.

I didn't know who I'd run into, but when I looked up, I didn't expect what I saw. There was something weathered and rugged about him, his cheeks freckled and his beard well-kept. He wore a backwards hat with a few locks of chocolate brown hair falling over the snap closure, and a cutoff shirt that said THANK GOD FOR PUNK ROCK.

At this point, I realized not only had I been staring, but so had he, still holding me halfway off the ground. 

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," I blurted out as I wriggled myself out of his arms. His broad, tattooed arms. I couldn't escape it.

"Nah, it was my fault," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I shouldn't have snuck up on you. You're...you're okay?"

Maybe it was just the unexpected softness of his voice or the objectively nice manners, (who gets stepped on and then asks the person who stepped on them if they're okay?) but my heart fluttered just a little.

"A little embarrassed, but I'm alright." I responded, offering him a faint smile. "Are you?"

He stuck his foot out to show me his boots, similar to the ones Evie wore. Must have been a rock concert fashion staple. "Steel toe. I've dropped enough shit on my feet over the years to have learned my lesson."

This time I smiled wider. "Well, now I feel less bad about stepping on you but...still embarrassed. I'm not normally so..." I waved my hand around, gesturing to the stage and trying to grab whatever I was trying to say out of the air.

"Your first show?" He looked amused, which meant he probably knew the answer despite asking.

I resigned myself with a sigh and nodded.

He stuck his hand out to me, callused but still warm. "Well, I'm Kevin, and this is my 407th show."

"Oh shit," I blurted out, immediately kicking myself the moment the words left my mouth. "I mean, I'm Sienna, and it's very much my first show. I do PR and social media for the Green Inferno."

He smiled down at me, and his teeth were super white - perfect to the point where I wondered if they were fake. We held each other's gaze long enough for me to feel a warmth start to build inside me, and it was like we'd forgotten we'd still been holding each other's hands, until he finally let go as a faint blush spread across his cheeks. "Well, I don't know if drinking on the job is frowned upon, but I was gonna go to the bar to get a pre-show drink if you...wanna come?"

His blue eyes enticed me, like crystal clear ocean water you wanted to jump in from off a cliff. Yes, yes I did. But there was no harm in not letting him know that. I arched an eyebrow at him. "The bar's closed."

"Okay, rule number one: bar's always open to us." He grinned, then nodded for me to follow him, and jump off that cliff into the water.

Even just stepping off the stage, the temperature felt like it dropped 10 degrees, and I started waving the lapels of my jacket to get some air circulation.

"Yeah, rule number two: it's fucking hot on stage," he chuckled at the sight of my unsubtle flailing. "Why don't you just take it off?"

"I've committed to it," I explained to him pointedly as we made it to the bar at the back of the general admission section. "It's part of the outfit, and it would feel incomplete if I took it off now."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it." He turned and handed me a plastic cup. "It's just ice water. Figured you needed it."

"Thanks," I smiled and took a much needed sip, feeling my body start to cool. Kevin held up his drink to me (something dark and thankfully not a New York whiskey sour) and I held mine up in return.

"Well, here's to your first show, and here's to hoping I impress you enough to stick around for a few more."

I smirked up at him. "Don't you mean we?"

"That's what I said." He nodded, mirroring my smirk. 

Even in the dull light of the venue, I'd been so transfixed by the color of his eyes that I hadn't realized the doors had opened. Idle chatter floated through the air, and suddenly it seemed like there were a dozen people getting drinks, even though they'd probably been there almost as long as we had. I checked my Michele watch (a treat to myself when I landed the job at Hudson), and it was past 7.

"I gotta go start getting ready," Kevin said after he polished off his drink like it had also been water. "Enjoy the show."

He playfully bumped my shoulder before walking off and disappearing into the growing crowd. This time when I turned back to the bar, I ordered my god damn New York sour (almost gagged just saying it) and lingered until the lights in the venue began to dim. There was a bit of cheering and clapping, but not quite enough to match the amount of people that were still filing in. In the darkness, I saw shadows move across the stage, and when the lights came up, it lit a halo around Devon at the center. His tattooed fingers wrapped around the microphone, and he opened just like he did that night at Sweet & Vicious, ever so cold and collected. "What's up, we're the Green Inferno, and we're gonna play some loud fuckin' music."

That garnered a few more cheers and jeers, and when Devon began to sing, there was something slow and almost sensual to it. My heart seemed to lift in my chest, moving me forward almost against my will. The crowd was still dispersed enough for me to get close to the stage, and when I glanced around, nobody else seemed as spellbound as I felt.

When I looked back up at him, I understood what Evie said about being able to see the lights in his eyes as he sang, and there was something sad in them.

⋆ ★

i know this chapter was *super* internal dialogue heavy (always an insecurity of mine when there's too much), but my girl was a little overwhelmed with no one to talk to...at least until the end ;)

beyond the pines is based on one of my all-time favorite post hardcore bands, a day to remember. i've seen them live four times, and i'm hoping for a 5th this november when they come to savannah, which is about an hour and a half away from where i live.

anyway, we're already past the quarter mark in this story already which is crazy to me because it feels like we've barely started, but i guess that's a good thing! would love to know your thoughts so far/predictions on what's to come <3