“It’s very strong and there are two of them on there. I’d only take it in quarters if I were you but you will have a good Easter”
He looked down to the tiny rectangle of paper in his hand then put it away carefully.
Ron was going to a three-day festival and he hadn’t had a break for a long time.
Ruby and Diane drove him over
He swallowed the lot in one go before he remembered
And by then it was too late
There was the solo set ahead but that was two days away and he had his leather jacket and his guitar was hidden backstage
For the first couple of days he just wandered around – befriending all the animals and he slept on a huge slab of Totara in the nights.
He didn’t seem to need food and then he got bitten on the hand by a little dog
It came time to do his gig and Ron was still seeing a purple sky
He went backstage to get his axe
She was just a little girl and she had his guitar – his telecaster.
“That’s actually my guitar and I have to go on the stage and play. So can I have it please?” said Ron.
“No! It’s mine and you cant have it.” said the little girl.
He was getting desperate to get his guitar back and there were people waiting to hear him play.
“You can play drums if you give me my guitar,” said Ron
“OK”.
When they got out there on the stage no one was sure just what was going on
It was still early afternoon
He realised then that he hadn’t thought far enough ahead
The world was some kind of giant plum tree with its insides hanging out
Ron had a moment where he couldn’t remember anything he had ever written
So he played covers
Stones, Dylan, Bowie, Beatles, Doors…
Even Monkees
He played around with his voice but kept forgetting the words
The little girl was terrible on the drums and a great big tall bloke replaced her after awhile
He wasn’t sure if things had improved but the crowd responded to Nights in White Satin with the new drummer and Ride a White Swan
It all peaked there
He left the stage and re-trod his steps trying to make sense of everything
There was nothing there
Ron slept on the way home
He was on his way into the weird movie world
Almost primed for it
He was locked out of his own music and songs
And he really needed to get back on his feet for a couple of years
Hide in the Hobbit…
The Ghost of Electricity – War Stories by Jon McLeary is a new initiative at Off The Tracks, a series of stories and reflections from painter, writer and musician Jon McLeary