"Hey Mal, you're late man."

"Shit, sorry man, I know. Fucking car wouldn't start. I had to footslog it all the way up here."

"No worries. Just set up, man. It'll be cool."

"Cool." Mal lifter the case that contained his bass guitar up onto the stage and the jumped up there himself. The singer in the band was setting up his mic. The drummer was at the back of the stage, tightening the drum skins. "Whoa-ho!" laughed Mal, "look at the fucking professional!" The drummer gave him the finger and Mal laughed again and opened his guitar case.

"Hey man" he asked the singer suddenly, "where's the fingers?" he threw an air guitar pose, waggling his fingers on imaginary strings.

"He's out the back. I dunno, he's probably snorting something."

"Oh, fucking hell" replied Mal. "Shit man, we gotta get a new guitarist."

"Yeah, mate, no-one wants to play with us."

Mal shrugged. "Fuck 'em then."

The drummer looked up from behind his bass drum. "Hey Mal, man, beer o'clock. Go get us some, eh?"

"You get 'em, you lazy bastard! I've gotta set up."

"So do I!"

They both looked at the singer. "You put that mic up yet?"

The singer looked at them then yelled out across the club to the young woman opening up the till behind the bar. "Hey, can we get some beers up here?"

The woman looked up and didn't say anything. In her own time she bought over three bottles of beer. "Thanks, gorgeous" said the singer with a grin as he stood tall on the stage and looked down her top.

"That's $15" she said contemptuously, "and it's coming out of your cut at the end of the night."

Once she'd gone back to the bar the singer opened one of the beers for himself and grinned to Mal and the drummer. "Man, I love playing this place" he said. "Top talent in here!"

"Yeah, don't be a prick" said the drummer. "We wanna keep playing here."

"Man" continued the singer, "we're gonna fucking rock tonight!"

"You sound like a dickhead" replied the drummer. "We're not fucking KISS here, you know".
Mal didn't say anything, but plugged his bass into the amp.