1488/One Night Only!

One Night Only!
Date of Scene:	16 July 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Dazzler, Cypher, Starr

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Dazzler has posed:
ONE NIGHT ONLY: A small all-ages club on the Lower East Side advertised a performer under the name of "Lady Shine" - there's a bit of a rumor mill as to who that might actually be. Guesses, internet buzz, snap-filters, whatever. But there's just enough low-ball hype that there's a decent line to get in and not too terribly long a wait for those over-21 to get their IDs checked and their wrists banded.

There are a few musicians on the venue's stage, testing instruments and checking electrical - basic roadie work; for all that they look like older session musician types rather than laborers.

Cypher has posed:
Did Doug know who "Lady Shine" was? Of course he did. More to the point, he got a free ticket from the Lady herself. And he's been running the internet, dropping hints about 'Lady Shine', speculating in online message boards, and inserting hype. And he's right in front, in a 'Lila Cheney: Steal This Album' T-Shirt and man is he happy to be here.

Somebody says to him, "Can you believe this crowd?"

And Doug just grins. "It's gonna be a great show. I've heard it's this really famous musician, performing in disguise because she likes to hit the club scene, but otherwise she'd be selling out the Garden!" Then he leans on the railing at the front and whistles. Fwwee-ee-ee-eeet!

Dazzler has posed:
Eventually the guys fussing with instruments and stuff settle *behind* the intruments; bass, guitar, drums; there's a keyboard, but the guys are behind the basics. The lights dim a little - they were already pretty dim, but now the announcer comes out onto the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Parkside Lounge presents: Lady Shine!"

Not much fanfare, but hey - right to business is right to business. Presumably it's the Lady herself that takes the stage shortly thereafter, spotlight trailing her. She bows and blows kisses, be-wigged (it's way too glossy and weirdly black/purple/blue to be real) and bespectacled, some people start whispering that she might be Sia.

But once she says "Hey everyone! Enjoy!" and just sort of gets to it, her local New Yorker accent pegs her as at least definitely not the Australian performer.

Cypher has posed:
Doug whistles again, loudly. Fwee-eee-eeet!

Somebody in the crowd says, "I bet it's Debbie Harry!"

"Debbie Harry's like 80, you idiot!"

"I still bet it's her!"

Starr has posed:
    Having secured a ticket for this event, Elycia wanders her way into the club. How she managed to get in is a bit of a mystery except to her. She glides her way around the floor, and actually makes it to where Doug is...right after he whistles. "Debbie Harry doesn't perform anymore. Don't remember Blondie?"

Dazzler has posed:
The music starts, kicking off into something decidedly 80's-sounding. It's definitely not Debbie Harry, because it's not even a cover of Heart of Glass or anything. But it's a pretty sincere old-school pop effort, traces of dying disco practically shimmering from the notes of the keyboard and the voice of the singer.

Considering her own world-weariness, Lady Shine's performance of this musical artefact is tinged with both sardonic irony and ... loss, somehow - the bright lyrics delivered at perfect pitch but with a depth of tone that conveys just how little whoever wrote it actually knew about the world at the time.

Cypher has posed:
"That's... that's Heart of the Beat!" Doug says to Elycia, "It's off of Dazzler's first album, when she was trying for Nova-Disco instead of selling out and going all pop. But I've never heard it sung like this before." He sways, one hand gripping the railing, "It's funny, you know -- she's telling a story. This song was originally about the pure love of music, but the way Lady Shine is singing it, it's like..." He says, before he glances aside at Elycia, "Did you ever wish you could go back and recapture something that doesn't exist anymore, just for one second?"

Starr has posed:
    "Sometimes. But normally you can't go back and recapture something." Elycia says adjusting a pair of glasses on her nose. "It's a wonderful song though, even if it sounds a bit sad."

Dazzler has posed:

Lady Shine continues on - as 'Heart of the Beat' ends, the band moves on directly to the next, the lights shift as they go onto the next sound. The Lady spends a lot of time fussing with some dials and settings on her keyboard, even as she sings the opening lines to the first verse while the band really kills the opening -- another song a younger Dazzler wrote about looking into the future with everything open before you and the world at your feet, the lead single from her actual Hit Album 'Sound of Light and Fury', but again tinged with her own present experiences coloring the tone.

Unbridled optimism gives way to a gentle warning about unchecked pride; the lyrics aren't different at all, but the lights and the tone of the song have been subverted, altered. This is an all-ages show, but it's not aimed for the young at all. The light isn't optimism, and the fury is omnipresent.

Cypher has posed:
Doug says, quietly, "Missed chances, resentment, anger..." He shakes his head, "It just washes over you like a wave." He is quiet, and then he says, "You can't ever go home again. Yeah." Doug says, before he says, "I'm Doug, by the way." He offers his hand to Elycia, and says, "Doug Ramsey."

Starr has posed:
    "Yeah. I get that. Thankfully, I just come out here for college anyways." Elycia says shaking his hand. "Elycia Kreiger. Nice to meet you hun." She then turns to listen the song.

Dazzler has posed:
It's odd the way the older men seem to look to Lady Shine - they're not really familiar with her, but something about the performance itself seems to be stirring something in them, too. For people fluent in body language or chemistry in bands in general - they read as old friends, and she clearly seems to see them the same, but for them - she stands apart. They're here on a gig, and while they enjoy playing with each other, they're not really sure what to think of this Lady.

And she knows it. During the guitar solo, Lady Shine actually steps back from the keyboard for a moment to turn her back to the crowd and wipe her eyes.

But she comes back right on queue and nails the ending of the song. She surveys the crowd, seeing who's feeling what; realizing that she's lost the kids who aren't already depressed teenagers and she's killing the likewise world-weary adults, time to bring them something uplifting.

"Something new, to pick up the pieces with."

Cypher has posed:
"Yeah, I'm going to be taking Journalism classes at ESU. Mostly online, but some in person." Doug says, "My plan is to be the a journalist who specializes in Mutants and Metahumans, giving them a voice. I'm gonna be doing some other stuff too, CompSci and maybe some other stuff. But I want to be a Clark Kent for the Meta-set, giving a voice to the people guys like Graydon Creed would rather leave voiceless, and maybe create a little understanding."

Dazzler has posed:

Lady Shine sings her heart out with this one; a song about confronting the old and the new all at once, using your past to face your present. Confronting change head-on rather than moaning about your lot. It starts at a slow and languid pace, and the band takes a few bars to really get on board with it before it starts reaching for the higher heights of limitless possibility and constant, limitless love. Find familiar in the unfamiliar, the strange is never *too* strange. Where there's life there's hope. Where there is sound there is light, and where there's light there's love.

And with that, "Lady Shine" closes the set.

Cypher has posed:
Which is when Doug has both hands up on the railing, and whistles, cheering enthusiastically. Perhaps this wasn't the show the crowd was asking for -- but it was something. "Wooo-hoooooo!" Doug says, before he hops down again, and then leans against the railing, before he grins at Elycia. "I just love these underground shows! Reminds me of the time..." He pauses, and then sighs, and says, "Well, that was a lifetime ago."

"Say," He says, "I have a backstage pass. Would you like to meet Lady Shine?"