Chapter 4 - Chelly's Nightmare

They all got out of bed around noon, and after taking care of the usual morning routines, it was time to head out to find something to eat. The restaurant in the lobby was too convenient, but it was a little late for breakfast when they piled in.

They all decided there wasn't much time to do much of anything after finishing their brunch, so the limo took them back to the auditorium. Bob had phoned the roadies to let them know what was up, so when they got to the dressing room, the support crew was mostly there, grabassing and having a good time as usual.

Those missing would be there very shortly. They weren't expected for a couple of hours anyway, so they were probably off enjoying San Francisco. Not all the roadies were from the local area, so it was nice to have a little time to see the sights, and San Francisco is one of the greatest cities in the world to see the sights.

Their road crew was second to none, and Bill always let them know how much they were appreciated. Of course, most of the crew now was different from the heyday bunch, but it had been over twenty years. They were just as good and just as dedicated as the crew twenty years ago had been. Grabassing was always allowed, and why not? This work was seriously fun.

"Wanna play for a while?" asked Bill.

Everyone nodded since there wasn't anything to do until the show started. All of them made their way to the stage where the roadies already had things prepared, tuned, and set up for all of them to work.

After the first show on this tour, they all had their usual meeting about what worked and what hadn't. One of the things decided was that all of the equipment should be on the stage, so they don't have to scramble during a break. It wasn't that big a deal, and there was usually plenty of room.

The only complication was setting up both sets of drums at the rear of the stage. Both Janell and Samantha's kits were massive, but in looking at the stage layout, the roadies had it figured out and installed in a couple of hours.

Bill made his way to the booth to make sure everything was powered up and ready for the show. Terri met him there as usual. She usually sat in the booth with Bill listing the songs that the "Girls" actually played for licensing payments. Deviating from the playlist messed her up too, but only for a second or two.

The band was going to work practice or a soundcheck into the day. It was no big thing to them to play for a couple of hours before the show. It got them pumped up to do the performance.

While they were milling around getting things powered up and warm, Maryanne told Kylie, "Play the opening, sweetie. I want to hear you do my part."

Unfazed, Kylie began the process of wetting the reeds she would need to blow the doudouk. By the time everyone was ready to play, the reeds were wet enough to work, and she was blowing the flute, making sure it was ready.

The elders knew what was going on, but the kids didn't have a clue yet. So when Chelly and Rebecca began the keyboard parts together, Jan let Sam take the lead, clicking the start.

When she hears the clicks, Kylie started to play the standard opening, The Feeling Begins. With all of them on the stage, the drum parts sounded awesome, and Bill smiled about the recording he was making of the performance.

His daughter played the doudouk exceptionally well. She played it better than her mother, and listening to this opening number only reinforced that opinion.

They played it flawlessly, as Maryanne had expected, but told her daughter, "Once more, honey. Let's do it again."

"Was there something wrong, momma?" Kylie asked.

"Nope, it was perfect, sweetie. I just want to hear you do it again."

Kylie gave her mother a strange look but nodded her head. Maryanne figured that Kylie thought she'd figured out what was going on but couldn't be sure yet.

Hearing the clicks again, the whole bunch went through the opening flawlessly once again.

When finished, the group went on to play a few more numbers they figured they would add to the show since they didn't repeat a lot, just as they had done in the past.

After about an hour of play, Bob walked to the stage center to get everyone's attention. It was time to spill the beans.

"Hey ya'll, we had a thought last night. So we're going to work it into the show tonight."

He had everyone's attention, so he continued, "We decided to switch up the order, and you kids are going to open tonight. We'll do the same switch up we did last night, except you guys will come out first."

Kylie nervously looked at Maryanne and saw a big grin on her mother's face.

"Momma, I can't do that," Kylie whined, "I'm not ready to play it yet."

With a smile, Maryanne just told her softly, "Yes, you are, Kylie. Listen."

With that, she said into one of the multitudes of microphones, "Play it, Billy. Let's listen."

So Bill began to play the two runs they had done at the beginning of the session. They had all talked about it to come up with this strategy. Everyone, including Kylie, listened intently to Kylie's playing of the doudouk doing the opening number.

When both runs were finished, Kylie stood there blushing.

Maryanne looked at her daughter and, with hands on her hips, seriously said, "Now. Tell me again that you can't play it."

"But, momma ... "

"No, but mommas, Kylie. You played it perfectly … twice. Don't tell us you can't play it.

"Honey, you only lack the confidence in yourself to pull it off. You can do it, and if you all choose to do our standard opening, you will do it. I have the utmost confidence in your ability to open the show."

Kylie looked at her nervously and slightly nodded her head.

"Weren't you scared the first time you did it," she asked quietly.

"Well, yes and no," she said, looking Kylie in the eyes, "I had all the confidence in the world that I could do it, but I was scared to death I'd do something to screw it up.

"BUT, I went out and played it anyway.

"Shit, the next night, our second show, I had a camera practically ramming the flute down my throat, but I still played it."

Now Bob said, "We're going to sit in the audience so you guys can work out your opening. There is nothing that says you have to do it our way - it's your show. We would love to see you do it, but it's totally up to you."

Bob and the four girls moved off the stage, took up seats about ten rows deep, and patiently waited for the kids to work it out. They could see that Billy and Samantha were talking to Kylie about doing it. Seeing her nod her head to her peers, the elders all looked at each other with big smiles. They knew Kylie had decided to try the opening.

They actually played it three times before moving on to fill out the opening. They were even going to put in Troubled, but instead of beginning with "oldies but goodies", they decided to play some of their parent's music. When the bunch had gone about forty minutes, Bill stopped them for a minute.

On the monitor speakers, they heard, "Just relax for a minute, you guys. I want you to hear something."

With that, he played their proposed opening, so they could hear how it sounded. It was played without error, and when Bill stopped the playback, all of the adults in the audience stood and gave them a standing ovation.

"Very well done, you guys," said Bob, "that'll sound good tonight."

Kylie looked at them and said, "Thanks, Uncle Bob, but it doesn't make me any less nervous."

"No, and if it did, I'd worry about you," Bob said softly. "It's something you've never done before, but we all know you can do it. You just have to convince yourself. Down deep, even you know you can do it."

From the booth, Bill said over the monitors, "You are just as good as your mother ever was, Sweetie. Listen to this ..."

He put on one of the first studio sessions in which they practiced the track after Maryanne said she thought she was ready to play it. It was good, it was very good, but there were a couple of glaring errors.

Maryanne glared up at the booth but understood what Bill was doing.

"That's you, momma?" asked Kylie, shocked to hear her mother less than perfect.

Maryanne nodded, "Yeah, it is. Pretty ugly, wasn't it."

Of course, nobody told Kylie that it was only the second or third time she'd ever played the tune with the band. The point had been made.

After another forty-five minutes of playing, everyone had to get back to the dressing room because they'd be opening the doors soon. Bill just sat in the booth playing music instead of having to weave his way back in an hour.

Everyone in the room was ultra-hyper and ready to do the show, even Kylie.

Sitting next to her mother, she looked up and said, "I hope I don't let you down, momma."

Putting her arm gently around her daughter, Maryanne said softly, "You won't, sweetie. You could totally fuck it up and you wouldn't be letting me down. What would let me down is if you didn't try."

Kylie hung her head but nodded.

Maryanne continued, "Honey, you can play the number. You've done it dozens of times. Don't think of it as opening a show. Think of it as playing it in the studio with the rest of the band. Forget the audience is even there."

Kylie nodded and then put a reed in her mouth to begin its preparation. Maryanne and Janell did the same. If there were a problem with the one Kylie had, there would be a couple more already wetted for her.

The five-minute knock on the door came, and everybody looked at each other, took a deep breath before gathering in the middle of the room for a big group hug.

As happens during every pre-show group hug, Bob told them all, "Let's go out there and have a lot of fun tonight."

With that, they made their way to the stage, though only the kids were going to come out for the first set.

-----

Bob went out and stood in a corner making his usual introductions. As the intros wound down, they all could hear Rebecca's keyboards begin the opening. While Bob said, "Ladies and Gentlemen ... These Kids Can Play", Sam clicked off the timing while Kylie nervously stepped up to her microphone with her doudouk in hand.

She nailed it, and to continuing applause from the crowd, the show went on. They played the complete set plus a little, and after about an hour and a half, they stopped and took a break.

When the break was over, the girls and Bob took the stage. For fun, they opened with the Beach Boys medley that they had done so many times, in so many places. Then, they went on to play about an hour-long set, which was overtime for them.

When they finished, Bob stepped up to a mic and said, "We're sorry to be so short. The kids can play all night, but we're gettin' kinda old."

They left the stage to raucous applause and roaring laughter.

While the elders were playing, the kids got together to talk about how things had gone. It's something their parents did during their breaks ... kind of a quick debrief. All of them heaped mounds of praise on Kylie for her playing of the opening. She grinned and blushed, thanking her siblings for their confidence.

"We all knew you could do it, Kyl," said her brother, "Mom just decided it was time you just did it."

Kylie nodded and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right, Timmy. Now that I've done it once, it will never be a problem again. I might fuck it up once in a while, but nobody's perfect."

Samantha told her, "That's the best attitude to have, Kylie. Tomorrow is another show. I know I've never played one perfectly, so I just accept that I blew a beat and move on ... if I dwelled on it, I'd make more mistakes."

Once they had done their self-critique, they sat at the side to listen to their parents play their set. A couple times, one or two of them would get up and dance for a bit. Everyone enjoyed "These Girls Can Play".

When the elders finished their set and came backstage, Janell went immediately to the water bottles and started drinking.

"You work up a sweat, mom?" Samantha asked with a grin.

Jan looked at her and said, "You're going to tell me you don't work up a sweat when you play a set?"

"Oh, hell no. Remember? I inherited your sweat glands. It only takes about ten minutes before I'm soaked," answered her daughter. "I just have to give the old folks a hard time."

"Old folks?" Jan laughed.

"Well, that's what daddy said when you were done," laughed Samantha. "We were figuring we'd have to go out and invest in some walkers for you guys."

With a big laugh, Jan threw the contents of the water bottle in her hand at her daughter, who jumped out of the way screeching, getting everyone's attention.

"She's talking about getting us old folks some walkers," Jan said with a smile.

Maryanne looked at her and said, "I want mine purple."

It caused Heather to jump in and say, "I want hot pink just like those tops you wear, Jan."

Everyone was laughing hysterically by this time, but it was also getting to be the time they needed to get serious and back on the stage.

One more group hug, and they all went bouncing back to the stage to the applause of everyone in the audience. Picking up their weapons, Jan deferred control to Samantha, who clicked off the beat for the first number. Again, they played nearly an hour before saying Good night and running off the stage.

They still had the encore to do, but this was their standard exit.

The applause increased by the second when the house lights didn't come up, which is the usual signal that the show's over. Both groups walked back out to the stage and picked up their instruments to begin their encore, which would be slightly different for the first time.

When they finished, all of the kids picked up acoustic guitars and stepped to the front of the stage while the elders hung back.

They finger picked the intro to the final number, each providing their interpretation, but in complete coordination. When they stopped, they all grabbed hands and, in absolutely perfect harmony, sang Daylight Again/Find the Cost of Freedom the same as their parents had always done. This night they did the extended version of the song with Renee playing the guitar interlude.

Heather, Janell, Maryanne, and Michelle, were all in tears, and Bob was on the verge by the time they had finished. As planned, when they finished with the number, the elders stepped up and, with the kids, took their bows then turned to leave the stage. Like his Uncle Bob had done for all of the "Girls" shows, Tim turned and whispered into one of the microphones, "Thank you, and goodnight."

When they all got back to the dressing room, the kids hugged their mothers while Bob looked on with a smile.

Bill came bursting into the room to the sight of the hugs going on but said emphatically, "Damn guys! That was fucking awesome."

Hey looked at him and said, "They had us in tears, Billy. We couldn't believe it."

"You probably didn't notice, but half the audience was in tears as well," said Bill.

Then, looking right at Heather, he said, "I think your point in that number has finally come home to roost, sweetheart. It took twenty-six years, but I think people are finally getting it."

Hey just nodded and gestured to Bob and Bill to join with her and Sam. In moments, it was a group hug, the elders telling their kids how fantastic their show was and how proud they are to have been a part of it.

Speaking for all the youngsters, Samantha told them, "We can't believe this is our show. When we all talked about it, you were the headliners, and we were just going to play along with you."

Janell smiled at her daughter and said, "Honey, in our minds, it's always been your show, and we were just going to play along with you. Once this tour is finished, you guys will be on your own."

To the surprised looks, Heather added, "We will always be with you. We'll probably come to every show, at least for a while, but it will be your gig. We're just the proud oldies now."

Bob added, "If you want, and we hope you do, Bill and I will take care of the business side - bookings, venues, transportation, paying appropriate royalties, and the like. We have systems already in place to do all of that, but if you want your own business organization, we'll be happy to provide them with the programs."

"We won't be insulted if you choose your own business side either," added Bill. "We did our trip. This is yours, so you need to do it your way.

"BUT, if you stray from the straight and narrow, you can bet your asses that we'll be there to straighten you out."

With a grin, he finished, "It's our job."

Everyone got a chuckle out of that, but Michelle said, "Bobby kept us out of trouble, you guys. It is so easy to stray when you have the kind of money you'll have. Just be true to yourselves and each other. Help each other and never think of us as old fuddy-duddies. We may be older, but we've been down the road you are traveling and came out of it sane, healthy, and with our heads held high. Well, mostly sane."

Then with a chuckle, "Yeah, we had some personal secrets, but that was nobody's business but ours."

Everyone chuckled because even the kids knew what she was referring to. The kids knew there have never been any regrets about how personal things worked out. As it turned out, there was an interesting dynamic being played out by the youngsters. Like their parents, it was nobody's business but theirs.

As is their usual practice, they all sat around the dressing room talking while the adrenalin of the show began to wear off.

"You guys may want to consider doing an instrument change medley at some point," Bob said. "I'm betting that because of how you were taught, you'll have an easier time of it than we did."

Maria, the quiet member of the group, said, "We've been working on it already.

"Mom said she had a hard time learning to play the guitar, so we thought since all of us already did, we'd give it a try. We can all play pretty much everything anyway."

"Timmy doesn't like the drums," said Renee with a chuckle.

"It's just that I hear the bass in my head, and the drums sometimes don't work that way. So I'll get it, but it's a challenge," said Tim with a smile.

"Timmy, when you do the drums, make the kick drum do the bass line you hear in your head. It's the only way I was ever able to play them," said Bob. "I started on drums when I was ten, but my mother moved me to bass.

"Probably got tired of the missed beats," he said with a chuckle, "but I took to the bass like it was a third hand. It just happened."

"So what have you decided as a medley set?" asked Bill.

"We've come up with a few of them that have a good rotation," noted Samantha, "but so far, we keep Timmy off of the drums. It's not a big thing and, he'll get it sooner or later, but with seven of us, there's a lot of other switch-o-chango going on."

With that conversation going on, Michelle began thinking back on her troubled efforts to learn the guitar so many years ago.

-----

The session had just broken up so they could head toward the house to hear what Bill had put together when they started to go over the instrument change.

Heather noticed that with guitar in hand, Chelly was crying in the corner while the rest kicked it around.

"Chelly, what's wrong?" Hey softly asked her.

"Nothin'," said Michelle.

"Bullshit, Michelle. You don't cry over nothin'," said Heather, moving to put her arm around Chelly.

"Hey, I'm never going to get this fucking guitar down so that I can play the medley," she sobbed.

"Ahh, that's it. Don't let it get you down, sweetie. We can see you are trying and practicing overtime."

"But all of you guys are doing okay with the other stuff. I just can't seem to get the guitar."

Heather looked her straight in the eyes and told her, "You think your damned keyboards are a piece of cake for me, Chelly? Shit. All I've ever played in my life is the guitar. Trust me, learning the keyboards are just as frustrating for me as the guitar is for you."

"But at least you're getting it, Heather. I can't seem to make my fingers do what they need to do," Michelle choked out.

"You'll get it. Just keep at it."

"I just don't want to let all you guys down."

"Whoa. Hold it right there, missy," said Janell. "I don't think any of us would even THINK you are letting us down. You're trying, Chelly, and it's obvious you're trying hard. It's just not coming to you yet.

"It'll happen, girl, just keep at it. If you weren't trying, then we'd probably feel like you're letting us down, but you're 100%, and that's all we could ever ask."

Michelle looked up at her and said, "You got it, Jan, what's wrong with me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you, Chelly. Dammit, do you think it was fucking easy for me?" asked Janell. "Think again! I didn't think I was ever going to learn it, then poof, all of a sudden, my fingers were doing what I wanted them to do. Trust me. You'll get it.

"Chelly, there is nobody in this room, including Maryanne, that can play those keyboards like you do. It'll come, sweetie. Believe me. It will."

"How are you doing on the bass?" asked Maryanne.

"I'm doing okay on the bass so far," admitted Chelly.

"Chell, in a lot of ways, the bass is much harder to play than the six-string, so if you're getting the bass, you'll get the other. It's only a matter of time."

"Thanks, Annie."

"I'm not shittin' you, Chelly. One morning you'll come out, and all of a sudden, it'll be there," said Maryanne with a big smile.

"Get that, letting us down, bullshit out of your head, Michelle," said Bob. "If you were letting us down, I think you know this bunch well enough to know we'd be in your face about it. Then kick your ass until you put out the effort. You're already putting out total effort in my mind, so like the others have already said, just keep at it.

"Now, let's go hear what Mr. Bill has for us."

As it turned out, they were right, and about a week later, they came into the booth and caught Chelly buzzing away on the guitar and doing it well. They stayed quietly in the shadows of the booth for about fifteen minutes listening to her exploit her newfound ability. She was putting down some pretty good John Fogerty licks, doing Suzy-Q, then straight into Born on the Bayou. When she finished, they turned on the PA microphone and gave her a rousing round of applause.

She looked up at the window to see all of them in the booth looking at her. She broke out in a huge grin and said quietly, "I think I've got it now."

They all moved into the studio and hugged her before getting down to the practice session for the day. At one point, Heather and Michelle traded places for some simple music they could each play on the other's instrument.

It was another two weeks before Bob began working on the instrument change medley in earnest. The first thing they had to do was come up with a playlist.

The first list they were able to agree on was:

Gold Dust Woman -- Fleetwood Mac

Devil inside -- INXS

Woman in Love -- Little Feat

Susie-Q -- Creedence Clearwater Revival

The Barry Williams Show -- Peter Gabriel

Freedom '90 -- George Michael

Knowing Me, Knowing You -- ABBA

Low Rider -- War

Lawyers, Guns, and Money - Warren Zevon

Jamie's Cryin' -- Van Halen

Though they agreed on the list, they weren't happy with the overall sound or flow, especially the finish. They wanted something a bit more epic to finish with.

It was kicked around for weeks. They were in no hurry because it may never be part of a show, but always something they could work on to challenge each other. They practiced seeing how each piece went with each change. The Barry Williams Show was the first casualty.

Only two of the band members could play Tony Levin's bass part, so unless they opened with it or closed with it, the tune just wasn't practical. They didn't want to close with it, though it was a candidate when they thought about it seriously. Either Bob or Maryanne would have to play the whole track, or they'd have to switch with each other.

That was put in the hopper as a possible close.

Stairway to Heaven was another at the top of the list for a closer, but their special version. They all really loved it and practiced it two different ways, but because everyone should be back at their regular place by the end of the close, it was high on the list.

When they returned from the first tour, Bill immediately started with the next. They went back into the studio to kick around the instrument change medley and work on some unique versions of tracks they already performed.

By the end of the fourth tour, they had narrowed things down on the list. Now they just had to work out a viable sequence that put them all in their original positions when the final track began. They decided on Stairway to Heaven as the closer but done a little differently from the standard Led Zeppelin fare.

The "next" final list for the instrument change medley turned out to be...

Gold Dust Woman -- Fleetwood Mac

Devil inside -- INXS

Woman in Love -- Little Feat

Susie-Q -- Creedence Clearwater Revival

Freedom '90 -- George Michael

Knowing Me, Knowing You -- ABBA

Low Rider -- War

Stairway to Heaven -- Led Zeppelin

It gave them forty-three and a half minutes, give or take, to get it all done. Extending a tune to accommodate the swap sequence could be fit in anywhere in the program.

Susie-Q is the easiest to extend, but they could add to any of them. Chelly was assigned guitar for Susie-Q based on what they'd heard in the booth when she'd finally figured it out. By this time, Chelly was becoming a very accomplished guitarist, as was Jan. The five of them would sit around with acoustic guitars and just jam on occasion. They didn't realize it at the time, but that is how they began writing their own music. Maryanne kept track, and when the time came in the future to try some writing, she just pulled out the notes.

Three songs would require either Annie or Bob to be on the bass. Freedom '90 has some reasonably intense bass riffs, and so does Low Rider. Bob decided to push Heather's bass, so she took on Freedom '90, while Chelly volunteered to try Low Rider, and she didn't do badly at all. With some practice, that would work out well.

Maryanne ended up doing bass in Gold Dust Woman because she was the one that started the whole swap sequence. Without that, any of the others could do John McVie's part in the Fleetwood Mac classic.

Part of the challenge in the initial swap was the vocals because Annie did Stevie Nicks perfectly. Nearly everything Fleetwood Mac featured Maryanne. The saving grace was that all the instruments were redundant, so she didn't have to move from her position until the second track in the swap.

Chelly just smiled to herself, remembering the help and support all of her sisters had given her. She hadn't let anyone down and, in the end, actually excelled on the instrument.

A few months after they'd caught her in the studio, finally getting it, she was doing a fair job at some of Carlos Santana's material, so she had gotten it. There was no doubt in anyone's mind.

-----

There was a set of arms wrapping around her in a hug and someone whispering, "Chelly, are you still with us?"

She shook her head and then looked to see Heather had come to give her some warmth. With a smile, she said softly, "Yeah, I'm here, Hey. I just checked out for a few."

"Apparently so," laughed Heather, "we've been trying to get your attention for five minutes."

"No way," Chelly said.

"Way," Heather told her, smiling. "Where'd you go?"

"I was just thinking about when I was so stressed over learning the guitar."

Then looking around the room, "I was so sure I was letting everyone down, but you guys had faith and wouldn't let me flake. It was like you all said, though, when I got it, I got it."

"You were trying some Santana a couple of months after you got it down. That's pretty ambitious shit," said Bob.

"But I learned it, didn't I?" Chelly chuckled.

"Yes, you did," laughed Bob.

"Back to the room tonight? I think the eatery downstairs is twenty-four hours."

"We could go back to that place we went to last night," said Janell.

Looking at his watch, Bob said, "I don't want to screw up their kitchen clean-up two nights in a row. It's a great place anytime we're in the city, but I'd hate to wear out our welcome."

-----

They all piled into the limo and had the driver take them back to the Mark Hopkins, where they found a 24-hour restaurant that had tables big enough for the entire crowd.

By one-thirty, they were back in their rooms. The roadies had long since crashed because they would be getting on the road for Seattle early the following day. By Tuesday, they'd have scoped out the next hall and given the promoter a list of what was needed for them to set up.

Bill always gave the promoter a checklist of things they required to make it all happen, but invariably they found things the promoter missed. Most of the time, it was that the promoter just figured they really didn't need it. Wrong … they were minimalists, so if it was on the list, they needed it.

The band would be flying out in the morning to begin the weeklong media hype. The only ones that weren't going to do the publicity routine were Heather and Maryanne. Neither had much tolerance for the inane so-called talent that local radio and television outlets trotted out to talk with them.

This trip would be a split effort. The kids would be taking some outlets while the elders would do others.

This tour was only to promote the kids with their first record. With a record and a CD to plug, it made things more of a hassle if they shined on a request.

Bill was working on enhancing that situation in his usual way. The recording he was doing of the tour would eventually provide a multiple disc audio offering. The video was scheduled for the last night of the Vegas stop.

It's one of the things they'd learned from the "Girls" experience. They really should have waited for the second tour because though it didn't seem to affect the music, it was a distraction and caught the girls off guard. By the second tour, they didn't care, but they'd already had about everything possible thrown at them.

They'd be finishing in Vegas this trip, unlike the girl's first tour, which closed in the same place it started. There were three shows scheduled in Las Vegas, so they'd introduce the cameras the first night, work them the second night, and do the release video during the Saturday night show.

Vegas was going to be in the Grand Garden Arena at the MGM Grand Hotel. It only had 16,000 seats, so it was smaller than most of the outdoor venues. Bill had considered doing two shows on Thursday and Friday with the one video show on Saturday but thought that might be a bit much to start.

Vegas liked having an early evening show and then a midnight show. Bill said this was their first tour, and he didn't want them burning the candle at both ends. After they were used to the road, they'd come back to play, perhaps a week or two of two shows a night. It would be the only stop, and the shows would be limited to about 90 minutes each—Standard Vegas fare.

He'd start them out with one show each night and keep their options open. The nice thing about Vegas was it was a big paycheck. They just paid for the shows and collected all the gate and drinks. They also pay very well for a good name show.

Bill showed that he was a great negotiator in Vegas for the kid's first trek. Since the Vegas venues paid for the whole show, he knew that their payout was based on a 90-minute performance. Bill used the fact that they always did a minimum of three sets with an encore as leverage to ask the Vegas promoter for two and a half times the usual payout. Though he choked a little on the terms, the promoter knew the kids would be back to do some weeks long, two shows a night, showings, so he bit the bullet and agreed to Bill's requests knowing that he'd make out in the long run. It's the way casinos work.

Vegas was going to be a big paycheck and would eventually garner a hefty paycheck. The musical acts bring people into the casinos, and there is a reason the concert halls are generally in the middle of the building. They're going to make extra money from the concertgoers buying drinks and the gambling they'll undoubtedly do on the way home. Keep in mind that there is usually a two-drink minimum for casino shows, so they were making out just fine. They were not in business to lose money.

Like their parents, by the time the kids left LA for Las Vegas and their grand finale, they were the talk of the music industry. They were new, fresh, and did the oldies style of music, but most of all, they were the children of "These Girls Can Play". Even after more than 20 years off the road, the "Girls" could still draw a crowd.

They had planned to let the kids do the whole show Thursday in Las Vegas, but the public said, "No way." So, they played the second set with the third set mixed but done in an unusual way. It worked so well, Bill told them to do the video show on Saturday the same way.

Thursday night, the camera crew worked with the band. It was a dry run to get the kids used to having cameras in their faces. Like in the past, the crew kept a reasonable distance, but with Bill's instruction, they got in too close at times to let the kids know the camera folks weren't going to run them down or get in their way. Unlike the "Girls" first video, most cameras were on automatic booms these days, so there wasn't much need to have a physical body on the stage. It even gave them better videos because the cameras could get angles for shots that humans couldn't come close to doing. The overhead camera on cables was a definite hit with the producers.

During the debrief, Renee and Maria said the cameras had gotten a little close a couple of times when they were doing an intense lead part. Bill told them he'd done that on purpose and apologized if it caused them to waver.

Renee told him, "No, they didn't cause a problem for me, but they were so close it broke my focus on the music."

Maria just nodded, agreeing with her sister/cousin. It was rare to hear Maria say much of anything, but when she played her guitar, it spoke volumes.

They used the Friday night show to nail down the camera work, and during debriefing, everyone was happy with the work they did. Saturday's performance would be "Live and in Color".

The Saturday show was an excellent example of the perfection that the groups demanded of themselves. Before the encore, they closed with one of the "Girls" signature numbers. It is a number for which they had become very well known. They did Stairway to Heaven, their way.

They had developed the composition because one of their fans had suggested that it might sound really good because of their harmony. They were skeptical at first, but after they had done it in the studio a few times, they fell in love with it.

They'd only practiced it a couple of times with the kids, but Maria, Renee, and Kylie joined the four girls at the end.

The performance was incredible, and the song ran extra long because there were three lead guitar parts to get in. When the end of the number came up, and the guitar solos were finished, in perfect harmony they sang, a cappella:

And as we wind on down the road

Our shadows taller than our soul.

There walks a lady we all know

Who shines white light and wants to show

How everything still turns to gold.

And if you listen very hard

The tune will come to you at last.

When all is one, and one is all

To be a rock and not to roll.

Then after the appropriate pause, very softly:

And she's buying a stairway to heaven.

There were seven female voices, in perfect harmony, instead of Robert Plant screeching and screaming. The crowd went berserk when the band all left the stage. It was the first time they'd played the number that way in 20 years, and it had worked perfectly.

The seven came back out to standing applause to take a special bow thanking the crowd for their response. Best of all, it would all be on the DVD.

The encore that night was almost an anti-climax after the finish, but they came out, did the standard, and left a good part of the crowd with wet eyes.

The close had always been emotional, but with twelve voices, three being male at different tones, it was musical magic. They just needed to practice it with the kids before they would do it for any performance.

Bill was having brainstorms for the future.

In the morning, it was time to head back to the Ranch for some rest and relaxation. They'd also start preparing for the next tour. Bill set it up so the kids would do three shows in Honolulu, and while they were there, he scheduled a couple of months off in Maui before heading down south for the rest of tour number two.

These days, Maui was somewhat melancholy for Chelly. Her older sister Maggie was there, which always made it like a homecoming. Seeing Maggie and her kids was always a good time, but this is where Maggie and Chelly had buried their mom.

They always made the pilgrimage to the cemetery to let Judy know how much they love and miss her. Both had a good perspective and celebrated Judy and the fantastic memories they both had. When they returned from the visit, they were always in a somber mood, but it soon turned cheerful as they talked about the good memories.

Most of the girls went with Michelle, just as they all went with Heather when she visited the cemetery in LA where her parents were interred.

It happens as one gets older. We find all our friends and family are mortal, bringing a sense of reality to life.

They'd always told the kids, "Life is short, live it."

-----

The kids were finishing their last Hawaii show in Honolulu at the Waikiki Shell when they pulled their first shocker.

During the third set, Tim stood at a microphone and began the surprise.

"We wanted to surprise you tonight. I think all of you know who we are and where we came from, but tonight we want to surprise both you and them."

While he was talking to the audience, Renee and Maria had gone backstage to assemble the girls and Bob, who were shocked as would be expected. They hadn't planned to play with the kids, but the youngsters had other ideas.

"I know they're going to be a bit reluctant because they didn't expect this, so we'll need your help. So make some noise and welcome 'These Girls Can Play'."

The crowd did as requested and chanted for the girls to come out and play. Reluctantly they made their way front and center to take a bow, but the kids insisted on handing them instruments. They each stopped and hugged their children, whispering to them what shits they were for pulling this on them.

Bob stepped up to Tim's mic and told the crowd, "Well, this is a total surprise, and we haven't rehearsed anything, so I guess it'll be what it'll be."

The only one of the youngsters displaced was Samantha because there wasn't enough room on the stage for two complete sets of drums with all the other equipment. It was one of the first times Jan ever played without her usual wardrobe, but like all the others took it in stride, and once everyone had instruments and were ready to play, she stuck her head around the vocal mic and said to all of them, "Ready."

The tunes chosen for the mixed performance were displayed on the teleprompter, which the kids used the same as their parents had.

After a couple of seconds, Jan clicked the start of the first number they would play together. Of course, as would be expected, it sounded incredible, and the crowd was duly appreciative. After the third number, Bob set his instrument down during a short pause, followed by all of the girls.

Jan motioned for Samantha to come back up to play, and when she questioned, her mother said, "You don't need our instruments, sweetie. We'll stay and do vocals with you guys."

Taking three of the microphones set up for the acoustic number, Bob and the girls moved to the side of the stage and gathered around.

Bob let the crowd in on what was going on.

"The kids don't need our instruments. I think you've noticed that they all play pretty damned well on their own."

The crowd gave a raucous round of applause, then Bob continued, "So what we decided to do is help out with the vocals."

The show went on, but now there were twelve voices in harmony. When they closed the show, the five elders joined the kids at the front of the stage but let the youngsters play the guitars.

In the end, they took their bows and made their way to the dressing room. The kids were pumped. The adrenalin from the show, plus pulling off the shocker with their folks, had them all giddy.

When they got into the dressing room, and all sat down to relax a bit, Heather voiced their feelings, "That was pretty shitty, guys. I mean, we appreciate that you want us to play, but this is your trip, not ours. We had our fifteen minutes of fame. You didn't even give us a rehearsal."

Rebecca responded, "Mom, we did it because we love you, and we owe our place in line to the five of you. For all of us, there is no finer honor or tribute than to share the stage with you guys."

The ever-quiet Maria added, "Putting down your instruments and just doing vocals was genius. You were right. We didn't need your instruments, but when you five sing with us, it's the greatest sound ever."

Then Maria added, "If you are going to be at every show, we will always want you to at least participate in the finale. It's your encore, and we choose to honor you by doing it, but not only that, we appreciate what it meant to you and want to honor that sentiment as well."

All the kids nodded, and all the adults teared up because of what the whole thing meant to them.

Billy kicked in, "You don't have to make music with us, but we want you to know how much we appreciate what you have given us. So once in a while, it would be nice if you guys would play a set during one of our shows."

"We didn't give you anything but a roof over your heads, a decent education, and full stomachs," countered Bob. "You all have the same natural talent that your parents have, but you worked for it, the same as they did.

"Renee, you didn't just pick up a guitar and start playing Clapton. Sam, you didn't just sit behind the drums and start playing Peart or Bonham. Kylie, Tim, Maria, Billy, and Rebecca, you all have the talent, but it doesn't just happen.

"You have all worked extremely hard to get where you are. Trust me, we all understand that because we had to work just as hard to get where we got. We didn't give it to you, Billy. You all earned it."

Looking around the room, Maryanne put it into another perspective.

"Listen, you guys, Heather is right. We've had our place in the sun, and this is your time to shine. If you are going to insist we participate, I guess we'll have to honor your feelings, but we need some rehearsal."

Looking at each of them, which was pretty easy since they were all sitting together in one place, Maryanne continued, "We had a sound when we played, and we took great pride in our ability to play any band's music but that was over twenty years ago. We need some practice to make sure we can still play the way we did before. You, the audience, or us, shouldn't expect anything less. It's our reputation. You're building your own, and it will be as good as or better than ours, but you have to be fair with us."

Speaking for the younger set, Kylie said, "I think that's a fair request. We certainly hadn't thought about that. I mean, you guys play everything great."

"We need to re-train our fingers, Kylie. The notes are in the brain, but the fingers don't move like they used to without a refresher course," said Chelly. "Remember, we've only worked in the studio for twenty years, so we haven't played much of this music at all."

"Understood," responded Kylie. "I don't know about the rest, but I feel bad that we put you in that spot, even though it worked great. If you are at our show, we would like you to do Daylight Again/Find the Cost of Freedom with us."

Everyone in the room nodded that they had heard what she said, "But there are some things that you guys did that we can't - at least not yet. None of us has momma's voice range. We try, but she's so much better. Renee tries to do Stevie Nicks stuff and does it well, but not like momma.

"There is a lot of Fleetwood Mac music that we'd like to do, but Renee just doesn't feel comfortable because it doesn't sound right to her."

"Guys, most of the things you do don't sound vocally like the original. Most of the time it's better. That's something we had to face up to when we started touring. We had to make that compromise ourselves because Bob couldn't sing every male song we did. It turned out to be brilliant."

"Okay," agreed Kylie.

Then looking directly at Maryanne, "But if we can get momma to come out and do Gold Dust Woman, Silver Springs, Dreams, or Landslide, it would be incredible for us. I also love Rhiannon and Sweet Girl. There is such a distinct tone and inflection to her voice, and momma does it perfectly."

That was very true. When the girls were touring, Maryanne always did the Stevie Nicks vocals. If you close your eyes and listen closely, it was challenging to tell if it was the real deal or Maryanne.

"I don't want Renee to stop because she thinks I'm going to do the number," said Maryanne.

Then looking right at Renee, she said softly, "Sweetie, you do just fine. It'll take more practice, but you do Stevie very well. It's just like Kylie and the doudouk. You just have to go out and do it."

Rebecca added to the round-table, "We also like to do your versions of Stairway to Heaven … both of them, and I think with all of us, it will sound totally off the hook."

Nobody could argue with that. It was unique, and only the girls would even think about pulling it off, but their children did it just as well. With all twelve of them, it would sound mega awesome.

It was very late when they left the dressing room that night, but there was a Denny's close by, so with the few roadies that were still hanging around in tow, they all invaded for a slam or two.

Now, THAT is typical road chow.