Chapter 134

"Fellas, we have a problem", David said as he came down the stairs for rehearsal that day.

"What's the matter?" Dan asked.

"The set list needs to be changed. We either needs to switch out songs or add songs to the list because I'm just not happy with it."

"What songs do you want to add?" asked John.

"'Voices', 'The Game', 'Awaken', possibly 'Dehumanized'. I haven't quite decided on that yet."

"Are you not happy with the songs we have on the list already?" Mike asked.

"It's not that, Mikey. I just... Something tells me that those songs need to be played. Not necessarily 'Dehumanized', but definitely the other three."

"What three would you replace?" Dan asked.

"That's the problem. I'm ok with the other songs on the list. I want to perform them, but those three songs need to be added. As does 'Sickened'."

Dan, Mike, and John all studied the board that had the set list on it. Dan grabbed an eraser and marker from the tray. "Ok, how about we knock off 'The Infection', 'God of the Mind', 'Overburdened', and 'Fear'." he suggested.

"No, I want to leave 'Fear'", David said. "I've been wanting to perform that song again since Music As A Weapon I."

Dan erased the three songs that they agreed to replace, and wrote their replacements in their place. "We just need to find a place for 'Sickened'", he said.

David studied the board with his brothers. "Take 'Deceiver off of there and replace it with 'Sickened'." David pulled at the small patch of hair under his lip. Brie called it his soul patch. All he could do was laugh. It was more a flavor savor to him, but hey, as long as it made her happy, what did he care what she called it?

"David, you're going to pull it all out if you're not careful", John said. "Think of how upset Brie would be if your goatee were gone." David shot him the bird with the same hand he was pulling on the goatee with, then went back to tugging at it again. John just laughed.

"STOP FUCKING WITH IT!!!" Mike said.

"No, I'm thinking. Shut your fucking trap, Mikey, and let me think."

"What's on your mind, brother?" Dan asked.

"I'm thinking about the set order. I don't want it to seem like we just threw together a set list. I want it to be cohesive", David said, still staring at the board. He went to the board and took another marker from the tray and drew a line down the center of the board. From there, he started organizing the song in an order that made sense to him. The guys watched as David's methodical mind worked and he organized the set list. "Does this make sense to you?" he asked after he finished.

The guys all read the board. "You want to open with 'Inside the Fire'?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, it just makes more sense to me that way. Open with 'Inside the Fire', follow that with 'Hell', so on and so forth. It just seems more cohesive like that, or am I wrong?