<strong>Angela Corbett</strong><br/><br/>The kids were dubious about the concert, that was clear when they finally arrived at dinner. That my sister wasn't interested in going didn't really surprise me. I had the distinct impression I was going to need to use sterner measures to break her out of her mood. She used to be such<em>fun</em>before she started dating that looser.<br/><br/>Well, we ate fairly quickly, because we needed to drive back into the city, and get there in time to hopefully catch the warm-up act too. I'd had a couple of interesting signings from bands who were supporting the one I'd actually been told to see. "Look", I told the kids, "seriously, if The Upstart Freaks' music is as bad as their choice of name, I will be the first one to get up and walk out. You know why? Because that's my job! I go to a lot of concerts and pub gigs, and most of them are tolerable. Some of them are pretty dire. Every so often I find one that is actually good, and that one is the one that pays for all of this!" I swept my hand around indicating the luxurious kitchen we were sat in.<br/><br/>On the drive into Wellington, this time in my Beamer, I tried to make small talk, get to know them a bit. "How's school?" "What sort of music do you like?" "Do either of you do sports?" That sort of thing. Well, we made it to the venue, and i parked up and led the kids to the door. I walked straight past the teenagers queueing to get in, walked up to the bouncer and pulled out my ID, listing me as an employee of Kiwi Records and clearly sating that all entrance fees should be billed to them. "Hi Garry", I said to the big bruiser blocking my way. "This lot any good, d'you know?"<br/><br/>Garry shrugged, and nodded at the queue. "Kids seem to like em, Miss Corbett. Who're these?" He nodded at Edward and Debby.<br/><br/>"My nephew and niece, They're saying with me for a while. Their dad just died, you see, and I'm helping their mum get back on her feet. I thoght this might cheer them up a bit, you know?"<em>There, kids, learn a lesson</em>, I thought as Garry ushered us all in.<em>If you have a sob-story, then milk it. It will get you favours you wouldn't believe!</em>I led Ed and Deb to the table at the front and ordered drinks, then we sat and waited for the entertainment to start.<br/><br/>The supporting band was awful. I mean truly dreadful. They were trying to do a cross between hip-hop and punk, and it just didn't work, sorry. Fortunately the crowd thought so too and they were getting stuff thrown at them by the end of their second number. Gerry and the other bouncers were kept busy stopping people throwing dangerous stuff like bottles, but they allowed the throwing of food items!<br/><br/>The dreadful supporting act was dragged off after their third number, thank goodness and some otally unfunny comedian came on while the roadies changed the equipment and removed the worst of the debris from the stage,and then it was the turn of The Upstart Freaks.<br/><br/>And you know what? They weren't half bad! hey did a passable cover of one of Robbie Williams hits and another of one of George Michaels, but most of their stuff was original, at least as far as I could tell. The lyrics were explicit to the point of being pornographic, mostly about sex and drugs. That would never get past the radio censors, I knew, but we (that is, the record company) could work with them to tone it down while still getting the message across. The beat was catchy and when they finished... Damn! I was humming one of their original tunes as I stood up and, instead of heading to the exit with the rest of the crowd, headed towards the stage entrance, beckoning Eddie and Debbie to follow. "Come on, let's go meet some soon-to-be millionaires". I told them. "And remember, you met them before they were famous!"<br/><br/>I grinned. What I would have given to have met the four members of that band I mentioned earlier,<em>Jonny And The Moondogs</em>, before John, James, George and Richard became famous...<br/><br/>I had my hand on the door handle to the dressing room when another hand grabbed my wrist. "Hey, what are you three doing back here? You can't go in there! Get out before I call the cops!"<br/><br/>I looked up ayt he unfriendly face of a bouncer I didn't know and smiled sweetly. "Actually, yes I can", I told him and again produced my ID card. "Now if you value your job, and any future employment anywhere, I strongly recommend you remove your hand from my person!"<br/><br/>He looked, realised who - or more accurately, what - i was, and stepped away, dropping his hand to his side and stammering an apology.<br/><br/>"Thank you", I said, then olpened the door to the band's dressing room. "Oh, they're with me". I indicated the kids with my thumb.