The traveler took the Toreador comment as a dig. It normally was in Anarch circles; a polite way of saying you didn't look tough enough. He smiled and teased back, "I could say the same of you. What a pretty mask you wear." He returned the wink and reached for his guitar case. He went and found the sign up sheet, noticing that the act on stage was the last one to sign up. The night was getting late, but he wanted to play so he signed his name.
The traveler didn't want to get in the way of the game still in progress and so placed the case on a nearby table, popping open the clasps and revealing the instrument inside. It was a beat up looking Yamaha, but held the signs of being well cared for. It was polished, with fresh strings, and had a new leather strap attached. He lifted it from the case and wrapped the strap around his shoulder. A guitar pick was pulled from his pocket and he returned to the table. Lisa-Joe had noticed this, and that half the bar was staring at the traveler now. They were curious who he was at this point. She walked over to the sign up sheet.
The bar owner looked who was next and saw Tyler spelled out in fancy cursive, the T ridiculous and oversize. She frowned, but decided to let him play. She's heard he was pretty good. There was even an old story that he'd won that guitar from some devil. She crossed the room and got up on stage. The Harpy's red hair looked almost strawberry blonde as the lights hit her, and she gave the bar her normal smile. It was one part lovely, another terrifying.
"Let's give it up for whoever the fuck that was," she said gesturing to the last act scrambling off stage. There was some mixed clapping, even a loud whistle as the band descended. Lisa-Joe waited for the attention to return to her before proceeding.
"We have a special guest in the White Rabbit tonight," she sang-spoke, eyes landing on the traveler and his guitar. Lisa-Joe summoned him with a pull of her head. He turned to Eva. "Guess so," he said to answer her question about being serenaded. He left the table and got up on stage, the crowd curiously watching as he stood next to Lisa-Joe. While there were a few auras over five hundred tonight, there was something strange about the traveler's. It felt it's age, but older. It felt like clan Brujah, but somehow not. Everything was right. Everything was off, and the older vampires in particular started to fidget. A patron near Same whispered to his friend, "no way. It's not him."
"I'd like you all to give a warm White Rabbit welcome to Tyler," Lisa-Joe introduced. The warm welcome at the Rabbit was normally the crowed spewing insults and throwing things at you, but instead the room was almost silent. Lisa-Joe blew a kiss to the crowd before turning to Tyler. "Give 'em something kind of long. I need to fill space." With that she dismounted and walked back to the bar. She'd watch Tyler preform as she worked, already aware she'd just revealed a major Anarch leader. Jake wouldn't be pleased, but it would be worse if rumors persisted. At least now Tyler looked like an honored guest, not someone who'd shown up to investigate.
Tyler shyly looked across the room. It had been a while since he'd played for so many. The lights shined off his pretty face, big eyes, and crooked smile. He lifted the guitar up a bit, and leaned into the microphone. "Hello, I'm Tyler." With that, he jumped into a song. At first the simple strumming sounded soft, almost muted, and Lisa-Joe was about to offer Tyler an amp to plug into when out of nowhere the guitar's sound magnified. A few in the bar jumped back. One mortal screamed, but Tyler just kept on playing, and soon the bar was listening again. However, it wasn't just the sound of a guitar that filled the bar. Drums, steel-guitar, base, tambourine, and keyboard all seemed to erupt from Tyler's plucking. The tune was a
Bob Dylan's 115th dream. He sang:
I was riding on the mayflower when I thought I spied some land
I yelled down to captain Mithras, I'll have ya understand,
Who came running to the deck and said boys forget the whale
We're goin' over yonder. cut the engines. change the sails.
Haul on that bowline we sang that melody,
Like all tough sailors do when they're far away at sea.
I think I'll call it America. I said as we hit land.
I took a deep breath. I fell down, I could not stand.
Captain Mithras he starting writing out some deeds
He said let's build us a fort and start buying the place with beads.
Just then a cop come down the street crazy as a loon
They throws us all in jail for carryin' harpoons. *Credit Bob DylanAs Tyler played, a strange thing began to happen to the patrons. They started to dance. The bikers were the first affected; big, burly, hard drinking men were now finger wagging and scooting around, smashing beer glasses and demanding more. Tyler looked like the Pied Piper, smiling, singing and dancing too, his fingers moving too fast to see. He leaned in and out of the mic, depending on when he was singing, and began to change Bob Dylan's famous song. He added a wider variety to the melody, pushing it from folk into folk-rock and finally into something that sounded almost like metal. All the while, the back up instruments changed to accommodate, almost like they knew Tyler's very will. By now, the younger crowd was starting to dance too, and all around was laughter, bar fights and fun. Even Lisa-Joe found herself toe tapping behind the bar. She was in such a good mood she called out, "shots for everyone!" The bar erupted in cheers and all through it Tyler continued to play.
People began to swirl near the stage, and some even chanted,
Tyler! He just smiled an innocent grin and kept going, pretending not to notice the effect he was having. Tyler was an excellent player independent of whatever was adding all the other instruments, and his voice sounded smooth, husky and low. It was like K.D. Lang singing Dylan, and sounded much better than Dylan himself. It wasn't exactly a pretty voice, but it worked for the song, and as Tyler neared the big finish, he did a key change that took the whole song up a half step, showing a higher vocal registrar existed. The bar was jumping at this point, and even some of the upstairs crowd had come to see what all the fuss was about. Tyler finished his song and bowed to thunderous applause. He smiled and waved around the room, making sure to look at Eva and Sam first. He almost missed his final guest, a handsome boy with dark hair and pale skin. Prince McCloud watched Tyler from the back of the room, his face a hateful stare. Tyler just laughed and shrugged his shoulders. He was just playing for them after all.
