Written for the Friday Fictioneers. A story, about musicians playing to the crowd, begins after the photo.
Genre: Horror/Humor
Photo by: Björn Rudberg
A Minor Adjustment
Smoke drifted through the small club, emanating from handmade candles at the tiny tables. Servers in tee-shirts and sandals delivered organic wines and bowls of endamame to the customers. Folk singers, Gill and Scott, finished the last chord of ‘Puff The Magic Dragon’ to enthusiastic applause.
Gill watched the grinning crowd. “I’m still feeling nervous about this,” he said.
“It’s understandable,” said Scott, wiping sweat from his palms. “I think we’re okay.”
“What’s next on the set list?”
“My Sweet Lord.”
Gill choked, “Seriously? How about, ‘Dark Star’ instead?”
They strummed the initial chords, and the crowd of vampires smiled appreciatively.
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Each week, the Friday Fictioneers join to make music with their literary impulse, prompted to write 100 words of flash fiction by a photo. Thanks to Bjord Rundberg for a great photo. When I saw Rochelle’s story included a reference to George Harrison, I just HAD to follow suit. Hope you enjoyed. Here’s this week’s prompt and Rochelle’s story: http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/25-april-2014/
EagleAye
Momus News 
Ha! That was great. I’ve never heard Dark Star before, thanks for uploading the link. It’s nice to have the reference right there 🙂
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Thank you! Dark Star is one of my favorite CSN songs. I hope you enjoyed it too.
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That is brilliant 😀 I love the way you bounced off Rochelle’s as well 🙂
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Thanks Al! Rochelle got me thinking and story emerged right away in my head. Rochelle has that effect, making people think. I like that.
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She does 🙂 One of the reasons I never read her story first. I don’t want to get ideas from them 😉
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I can’t say I feel bad about that. 😉
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You shouldn’t. 😉
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Vampires? So I’m guessing if they like the singing (or the song) their payment is that they get out with their lives. If the patrons don’t like their singing…hmmm, I’m glad I don’t sing 🙂
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I think they need to have a good, long talk with their manager. This is definitely not the place for a musician to have an off night. Things could get ugly. Thanks for stopping by, Lyn!
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So, What does a crowd of vampires really drink at a bar? Good story. Love the image of vampires listening to Puff the Magic Dragon.
P.S. “Gill watched grinning crowd” Did you mean the grinning crowd?
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I imagine they enjoy organic wine in the early evening, and something with more “body” later on. 😉 I was happening the curious tableau would entertain. And yes, you made a great catch. I’ll make that edit now. Thanks for pointing that out and commenting.
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No worries. More body. HA!
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I imagine none of them drink anything but red wine. I saw the “horror/humor” tag and wondered where the horror was coming in. Your the ending was unexpected, but I would have enjoyed the story even with a human ending. You descriptions of the bar was excellent; the first paragraph really set the mood.
janet
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Cool, I did want to set the mood and I’m happy to hear it worked for you. I’m also glad the story caught caught you off-guard, that was another goal. I could have avoided the vamps, but that was the real reason they were nervous. It wasn’t stage fright, it was the spectre of imminent doom that had them on edge. As always, I deeply appreciate your analyses. They help me a lot.
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I love these musical prompts! Great twist at the end of your story. Great music, too–brings up so many memories 🙂
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It’s some of my favorite music. I’m glad you enjoyed it too. I was hoping the twist would entertain. Thanks so much for visiting, Jan! 🙂
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I love how you twisted the genre at the end! You did a wonderful job with setting the scene (now I have a craving for endamame, which never happens). And I could really feel Gill’s anxiety. Vampires seem like a tough crowd to please. Thy better be careful! 😀
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Hehe. Vampires aren’t so hard to please. The trouble is, when they are dis-pleased. they do something far worse than boo someone off the stage! Glad you got a good feel in the beginning and the characters felt real enough. It’s what I was aiming for. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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Love the song Dark Star! In fact the entire album is really good! Like the vampires!
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Me too. It’s a favorite of mine. Glad you enjoyed the vamps, and thanks for stopping in! 🙂
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That’s another thing I’ll have to make a note of, vampires go clubbing. XD I know I’d be nervous around a bunch of vampires also. Well done. 🙂
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Yup, they do it a lot. If you’re playing there, scope the place out first to be sure. And you really don’t want to play, My Sweet Lord. They might be offended. 😉 Thanks for stopping in! 🙂
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Dear Eric,
I don’t imagine that vampires would care too much for My Sweet Lord, would they? At any rate, it’s not a good idea to get them riled. 😉 You have such a way with mixing humor and horror.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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No, they wouldn’t like it at all. It’d be like singing a hippy protest song in a conservative convention. Not going to win you any friends. Thanks for your kind words Rochelle, and thanks for stopping to visit!
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I feel a little lost here as I know nothing about beatles and vampires.
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Well, the way the vampire legend works, Vlad Dracul was so angry when his wife died, he renounced God. His hate was so terrible he became a Vampire. So vampires, as a kind, are very hateful of God. Thus, playing “My Sweet Lord” might offend them deeply.
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Thanks for taking so much trouble to explain, now I understand.
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haha vampires– what a wonderful twist 🙂 enjoyed this.
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Thank you, KZ!
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Dark Star was/is my favorite CSN song. I used to have that album, himmm, musta lost it in the divorce.
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So good to hear, about you liking the song, that is. Too bad you lost it. It is good to hear an oldie but a goodie, yes?
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Yes, that was a good link too, no scratches. I enjoyed it and your story. I don’t normally like vampires stories but this was not a normal vampire story, so we’re good 😉
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Dear Eric. Great story and I loved the music, even stayed to listen to some Mama’s & Papas (I’m old) but love them. I like George Harrison too and the Dark Star I had heard once before. Very entertaining blog and story – I had fun. Thanks! Nan 🙂
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Thanks Nan! It’s good to know you enjoyed both parts of the post, music and story. fun is what I’m aiming for. Thanks for stopping in reading/listening. 🙂
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Listened to the songs too. They better perform well or they’ll be in the buffet next. 🙂
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That’s right! It seems they serve hors d’oeuvres and music all at once! 😉
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