I nod and jump down from the railing I'm sitting on.
When I get to the front doors and get an employee to unlock it, I find Gustov standing on the other side with a violin case in one hand and a small travel bag in the other.
He sets them down and wraps me in a hug. "Scout. So good to see you again, young lady."
"Hi, Gustov. I didn't know you were coming."
He chuckles. "Well, it was all a bit last minute, but I couldn't say no, now could I? It's going to be a special night."
(Gus)
Seeing Gustov walk up to the stage with his violin case in hand chokes me up a little. Not with sadness, but with the happiness you feel in your chest when you see an old friend. All I can say is, "Thanks for coming, maestro."
He nods his head. "I'm honored, my boy. It's been a long time coming, the two of us playing together. I'll do my best to do her memory proud."
I called Gustov last week and asked him if he'd come to Grant and play violin with us on "Missing You" and "Finish Me." He agreed without hesitation, even though it meant missing a performance tonight in Boston.
He's never played with us before, so we don't waste any time running through both songs a few times. The guy never ceases to amaze me with his playing, he's flawless. I'm humbled to be standing here playing with him.
We're set to go on in five minutes. And I'm nervous. For the first time all tour, I'm nervous. This is a big night. This is by far the smallest crowd we'll play to, only about five hundred people, but they're all amped. It's going to be fun. I'm in the shadows just off stage watching the crowd, mainly looking for Scout. She's standing in the front row with her I make Gus moist T-shirt on next to Paxton and surrounded by Keller and all of Bright Side's friends. She hasn't stopped smiling all day. She always smiles these days, which I love. But her smile today is different. She knows how important this is to me and she wants to share it with me. There's not a jealous bone in her body. She knows how much I loved Bright Side, but she also knows that doesn't take away from the love I feel for her. My heart's big enough for both of them. Bright Side helped make me the man I am, and Scout helped me remember who that man was, helping me become my own person. I love her so much.
Someone rests their hand on my shoulder. "You okay, big man?" It's Franco.
I nod. "I'm good, dude. I'm so good."
He sees me looking at Scout. "It's not fair, you know?"
I turn and look at him. "What's not fair?"
He gestures with his chin to Scout. "That a dipshit like you gets all the badass chicks."
I can't help but laugh. "I know, right? I'm one lucky dipshit."
And then he's serious. "You're not a dipshit, Gus. You're my best friend and the best person I know. Badasses attract badasses. You're kinda perfect for each other."
We're interrupted by Jim; I've stopped calling him Hitler now that he's stopped acting like a first-class douche. He's got a lot of shit on his plate and he's trying to do better and I'm trying to support that. "You've got less than a minute before you go on," he says. "Have a great show, guys."
I take my guitar from Slim, one of our roadies. He's wearing a Gus makes me moist T-shirt. I think Franco pays him to do it just to embarrass me. "Go show 'em how it's done, Gus." He says it before every show. I like hearing it.
"I'll do my best, dude." It's the same response I give him every time. And I mean it. Every time. "Let's do this," I call out to the rest of the band. And we take the stage.
The crowd is raging already. Pumped up from the opening band and ready to party.
As the stage lights come up, the cheers erupt. I scan the front row and see all of the familiar faces lined up and I feel like they've all got my back. When I get to Scout, I wink. And then I address the masses. "What's up, Grant?!" They cheer louder if that's even possible. "It's good to be back. It's been a while. What do you say we make up for lost time and have some fun tonight?"
We lead in with "Redemption." The crowd's into it. They know the song. They're singing along with me. What a great way to kick off the night.
And for the next two hours, we play. Normally our set is about half that length, but tonight's special and we're playing everything we've got, including a few covers that Bright Side loved.
We saved Gustov for the finale. I motion for the crowd to quiet down. "How many of you were here with us the last time we played this auditorium?" The cheers tell me over half of them. "Well, if you were, you had the privilege of seeing my best friend perform with us. Kate Sedgwick was an unbelievably talented woman. She could sing her ass off and she played violin like nobody I've ever seen. We lost her a year and half ago. Cancer. Which really fucking sucks. I know she's here tonight with us in spirit. She's watching and listening, so I just want to say, we miss you every day, Bright Side. And tonight? This was all for you. All about you. Someone very special flew a very long way this afternoon to play with us on these next two songs. Maestro, come on out."
Gustov walks on from the left side of the stage and takes a seat on the edge of the chair that's been set up for him behind a microphone. He looks composed and professional as always. When he's comfortable, he nods at me and smiles. This feels so right. I'm so glad he's here.
I point at Gustov. "This dude is way out of our league, but we're gonna do our best to keep up with him." I look up. "Bright Side, these are for you. Love you."
The intro to "Finish Me" is all Gustov. It fills the entire stage with an eerie, sorrowful melody. It drives me. I feel like I'm back in the studio with Bright Side when we recorded this song—minus the anguish. I've got my big boy pants on and playing and singing the lyrics are like an out-of-body experience. Inspiration like this is so rare; I give in to it and turn myself over to the music. The song transitions into "Missing You," and Gustov is on fire. He's making that instrument sing with me. It's incredible and draws all of the emotion out of me until I'm happily, and willingly, bleeding out on this stage. When his violin falls silent, and the song is over, I need to take a few deep breaths, both to balance the adrenaline coursing through me and slow my heart rate. He nods first to me and then to the audience. "Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this. Kate was a very special young lady. I hope I did her justice." With that he stands and bows, and the crowd roars.