I had to lower the mic as I paused to laugh. So, it’s going to be that kind of crowd, huh? Griffin was starting to take off his shirt. I snapped my fingers and pointed at him to get him to stop. He smirked at me but left his clothes on. “Naughty, naughty,” I told the crowd. Then I gave them a playful half-smile. “I like it.”

As they screamed, I motioned behind me for Evan to start the song. When the guys started playing—when I started singing—that was when the crowd’s attitude changed. They weren’t just seeing us as a group of good-looking guys messing around, no, I could tell from their reaction that they were loving it, because they were loving the music. They were jumping up and down, a boisterous mass of enthusiasm that I could easily syphon energy from. I meandered back and forth across the stage, reaching out for the close ones, pointing out to the farthest ones, giving their energy right back to them. And even though they didn’t know the words, didn’t know the songs, the feeling was the same as when we played at Pete’s. No…it was better because this was so much bigger. It electrified me. I’m so glad I said yes.

By the time we finished our last song—when they were firmly wrapped around my finger—I felt higher than I’d ever felt after a show. The only damper was knowing that I couldn’t share the moment with Kiera. She should be here. That would have made this moment complete. But I could call her later. I could still share this with her a little bit, and that made it okay.

All four of us were still buzzing when we left the stage. I playfully punched Matt’s arm about six times as we headed back to where the other bands were. “You were so good, man. You nailed it!” And he really had. Not that Matt wasn’t always good, but I don’t know, he was just on point tonight.

Matt grinned as he thanked me. “I think throwing up helped me play better.”

With a laugh, I told him, “I promise I won’t ever let you look at the crowd before a show again.” No. Matt needed to be kept in the dark as long as possible pre-show if we were going to make a go of this. And it was really starting to feel like we were…

When we got back to the lounging area, the other band members started clapping. Some even whistled. It was surreal. Justin headed our way with his hands in the air. “Dudes! You guys are so fucking good! I knew you’d be perfect for this.”