Ever So Slightly

We cross the reception area again as the man strides ahead of us towards another door, pushing it open and waiting impatiently for us to walk through. I’m instantly hit by the deafening buzz of hundreds of voices, and the atmosphere of a lifetime.

I stop still, stunned by the noise, and Bianca tuts, pulling me through the door by my arm. The room we enter into is huge. On the left side of the building, the side we’re on, there’s about a 10 meter long stage which curls around one of the corners. The stage however, is only a foot or so high, and most of the fans gather around the front, held back by metal railings, reaching out to touch the instruments.

Over on the right side of the building, is a huge room, partially barred off to the public. There’s a bar either side, and I can just about see the array of plush seating sprawled out and around, with the odd fan slumped in it.

The area we’d entered into was right at the front left of the stage, and was a meter or so wide. We’d be properly in the mosh pit if it weren’t for the barriers - it was like they’d caged us in so that we wouldn’t have to be with all the other sweaty, screaming fans.

Phew. I didn’t fancy getting crushed

The room is plunged into darkness with a single UV light concentrated on the stage. Suddenly, everyone is jostling around and screaming, waiting for the first band to come one. The hysteria gets more and more concentrated as the silhouettes of five people emerge onto the stage, picking up instruments.

And then I feel my heart stop, as I hear an oh-so-familiar voice echo across the room.

‘Ladies and gentlemen…we are, The Academy Is.’

The spotlights above us burst into light and rise up, illuminating the band, and the crowd starts screaming as Siska strums away no tune in particular, ridiculously fast. I just stare up, eyes wide at the transformation that’s happening before my eyes.

‘And now, can I please have...your attention?!’

Both guitars burst to life as I hear William’s voice sing for only the second time in my life, belting out through the room.

‘Attention, attention, may I have all your eyes and ears, to the back of the room, if only…if only for one second - will you hear what I have to say-’

I’m astounded. This isn’t just a guy whispering those words in my ear. Up there on that stage, he’s a legend - so lively, just jumping and dancing around. I giggle at the image.

As the song ends, he walks to the center of the stage and throws his palm in the air.

‘So guys,’ he yells. ‘I gotta say - it’s so great to be here tonight.’

The crowd are screaming louder than ever at these few words.

‘We flew all the way from Illinois, Chicago to see you, and it was so worth it. You guys rock the shit out of America…and you know, it’s so great playing little venues like this, cause the atmosphere’s just so alive - it’s just so great to be this close to the fans.’

Little venues? This place is huge! They must be used to playing at like, stadiums and shit. I gulp.

I had no idea they were this humongous…it’s sort of humbling, you know? And all of a sudden I feel a bit stupid and naïve. How you’d feel telling a hot guy that his Irish accent is ridiculously cool, when actually it’s Scottish.

Just like that.

Williams speech is coming to a close.

‘So we got a whole lotta songs for you now, and this next one’s called…A Big Mess On Our Hands.’

The fans are all screaming and I just hope they’ll stop just long enough for me to hear William sing again.

The guitars pull off clanking riffs for a few moments, before Will starts hollering into the microphone.

‘I’ve got this lefty curse, where everything I do is flipped and awkwardly reversed-’

He’s walking across the stage, stopping now and again to reach out into the audience as fans thrust their arms out to grab his jacket, arm, microphone. I’m stunned. I’ve never seen him this alive before. It’s so…hot. My jaw has literally dropped.

He flicks a glance in our direction and walks over.

All of a sudden, it seems as though the room has gone into slow motion, as he leans out into our cage and pushes my gaping mouth shut again with his index finger, his face so close to mine, smiling wryly, as if he knows something that I don’t.

I close my mouth obligingly and grin up at him, and for the rest of their set, I think I went numb - not even noticing as I climbed over the cage and started jumping in with the crowd.

After their last song, William wipes his brow and peels his jacket off, throwing it behind him.

‘Thanks so much you guys, this has probably been the best crowd this tour,’ he says, against the crowd’s wild screams. ‘But now, I have to hand you over to the guys who’re gonna break alll o’you, so give it up for Cobra Starship!’

Some of the audience leave the pit as rest of The Academy Is leave the stage, but a whole lot more cram in, and I’m so squashed that my ribs are pressed up against the barrier painfully. Gabe gangster-walks through the door at the back of the stage and flings his arm round Will’s neck.

‘How’re you doin’ Bilvy? You’re looking a bit sweaty there I have to say.’

‘I’ve been running around on stage for an hour Gabe, what do you expect? We can’t all be naturally deodorizing like you.’

The crowd laughs uproariously.

Gabe leans in to Will’s face and whispers huskily into the microphone, ‘I’ll teach you my secret later babe, don’t you worry.’ The crowd starts screaming, and Will hands over the microphone. Somewhere in between Will and Gabe’s exchange, the rest of Cobra Starship have appeared on stage and Ryland starts strumming a random tune over and over.

‘Hello Birmingham!’ screams Gabe to the deafening audience. ‘D’you all enjoy The Academy Is? Yeah? Well, prepare to have them blown outta the water, ok? ‘Cause you’re not gonna get outta here alive!’

The guitars start up again, and both Gabe and Will launch into a song, so lively and upbeat I find myself forgetting about my ribs, and jumping up and down anyway.

‘Times are strange…we’ve got a free outbreak for, snakes on a plane…fuck ‘em I don’t care-’

Beside me, but still in the cage is Bianca, jumping with her fist in the air, whistling loudly and screaming.

The guitars subside ever so slightly near the end of the song as Vicky steps forward and starts rapping into Gabe’s microphone, Gabe dirty dancing along. As she finishes, she can’t keep herself from laughing at Gabe, and they both collapse on stage in hysterics, stopping the song short.

I’m finding this so funny, and Gabe eventually climbs up, and clears his throat as Will leaves the stage, grinning.

‘Ha - Sorry about that - it’s just cause we’re so ha, rad,’ he says as a random girl screams ‘Get your cock out!’

I glance at Bianca but she doesn’t seem to care - either that or she hasn’t noticed.

Gabe on the other hand, definitely has.

‘See, that’s what I love about you Brits,’ he starts. ‘You’re not afraid to get naasty.’ He pulls a goofy grin. ‘I’m walking down the street and I see twelve year old girls with their beers out, with their alcohols out, and it feels like the world is ending - and if the world is ending, mother fucking Cobra Starship are throwing the party!’ he screams.