First Show: Beta Blockers or Whisky?

So Friday was a very long day. We met Reed at Pinocchio's coffee in Miami Beach for breakfast, and then walked a mile in some serious heat over to the venue- The Fillmore. Reed thought it would be a good idea for me to meet the Erasure crew and see the stage beforehand so as not to be overwhelmed later in the day. 

The Erasure crew and the whole tour crew were all very friendly and mostly British. I'm pretty sure our dressing room was just a closet that they renamed "dressing room." The four of us (Reed, David, Bobby and I) couldn't even sit down all at once. It was like a Thai prison. Not really though. They actually honored our backstage rider (list of needs...):  bottles of unrefrigerated water, a plate of fruit, a bowl of nuts, 4 beers and exactly 2 Diet Cokes. Very rock and roll. Vince and Andy's room was like a presidential suite with velvet couches and a giant flat screen tv. But hey- they deserve it ;)

Reed walked us over to se the stage as the Erasure crew was assembling their set. Holy shit, a big theater. Terrifying.

The next few hours were kind of a blur. We walked around, sound checked, put on makeup (I had to duck into the crew's room to do that because our "dressing room" had no mirror). Vince came by to say hi- I told him I might need a shot of whiskey. He joked that Andy had a big stash and I should just come get some. Then we heard that dinner was being set up in the catering area and would be ready at 6:00. So out of boredom or nerves or a combo of both, we all hit the buffet at exactly 6:01. 

Andy, the manager of this whole giant tour, and Mark, the production manager, sat with us and we all chatted while we ate. I mentioned again that I might need some whiskey before the show to calm my nerves, and that it wasn't on our rider. 

I had been wondering all day what to do to calm my nerves on stage. My doctor had prescribed beta blockers for this purpose, but I wasn't convinced that they would work all that well. My other option was a shot of whisky. As all of my friends and family know, I hate alcohol. But the one time I drink is before a show (mom- maybe you didn't know that). So at some point, I just decided on the whiskey. Probably because Erasure’s tour manager knocked on the door and presented me with a glass of it. Plus a little Diet Coke thrown in for good measure. Bobby told us that they would give us a 5 minute warning at 8:25, and then come get us and lead us out to stage right before. Bobby's girlfriend Alex arrived backstage and the 5 of us squeezed into the "dressing room" and alternated between joking and staring blankly for about an hour. Then at 5, we get the warning. Then Andy comes and gestures for us to follow him- leads us backstage with a flashlight, and then to the stage where there are about 2,500 people staring at the stage waiting for us.

I had already decided that the only way to do this was to project confidence no matter what. No matter how badly we screwed up. No matter how terrified I was. It was really the only way to handle it.

More to come...