2020.03.28: Murder of Crows Reopening

Murder of Crows Reopening
It's a bar that's reopening.
IC Date	March 28, 2020
IC Time	5 PM-???
Players	An'Madra, Arthur, BT, Caelan, Cash, Clara, DeadPixel, Ethan, Hop, Joel, Merek, Robin, Simone, Skye, Sterling, Wick, Zazu
Location	Murder of Crows
Prp/Tp	N/A
Theme Song	N/A

Sceneset: Arthur stands near the stage, a bundle of nervous energy, counting things, five things he can see, four things he can hear, three things he can feel, two things he can smell, and one thing he can taste. The taste of a sweet cider on ice. He waves to anyone who waves to him, a friendly word if they can hear him over the music.

At the appointed time, he walks up the stairs to the stage and to the lead singer's microphone position. A nod to Charlie and the music goes silent.

Arthur clears his throat and addresses the crowd "Ladies, Gentlemen, Theydies and Gentlethem, friends, strangers and everyone in between. I bid you all a fond welcome to The Murder of Crows. I came up on the rock scene in a bar in Dublin called Fibber Magees, and there I learned that rock has always been the music of the outcast, those that the mainstream have left behind, forgotten or eschewed."

"To that end, I would like to commit this bar to the principles of inclusiveness. And on that note, the bar's share of tonight's profits are being donated to the New Hope Sanctuary. So please, enjoy your night, enjoy the band, tip your waiter, and if you can't be good, be magnificent." He alights the stage and walks to the bar and sits by Hop, staring at the stage with rapt attention.

Clara helps Hop set all the food down on the bar and smiles, "It all smells wonderful Hop, you're going to put my cooking to shame"

Hop smiles to Clara, "Oh, thanks!" and lets her snag some stuff, that done, and now that he can see, he heads behind the bar to start unpacking things. "I made blackberry pies, and blackbird shaped sugar cookies, to go with the rhyme and the aesthetic and all that, and some banana and fennel tarts - which are good for nasuea, incase anyone drinks too much."

Sterling nods his head to Ethan. "Indeed so," he says. "Always good to see friends branching out and making their efforts and labor available to us all, nay?" He chuckles as Clara goes to help Hop with his burden. The good doctor looks like he would like to go help as well, but stays put so he doesn't get in the way and trip folks up. "A bold claim, my lady, and I'm -quite- sure is next to impossible. But! I shall certainly be willing to put both chefs to the test, and make summary judgement, for the good of posterity. Suffer as my waistline might." He pats his hefty middle with a chuckle.

Ethan says "'Banana and fennel'? So that is where that smell came from during the pub crawl."

Clara laughs and smiles at Hop "I dont do as much baking as I do other things, we'll hae you all over for dinner soon" she says then turns back to Sterling and takes his arm again

Ethan says "Excuse me," to anyone around him, and crosses the room to the pool table.

Wick turns up with an electric guitar over his shoulder and a backpack full of other equipment. Though he usually performs in just his streetclothes, tonight his clothes are all punk-rock. He pauses at the door, gazing across the room, before heading off to the stage to start setting up for later.

DeadPixel practically skateboads in the door, stopping just in time to kick up the board, grab in her hand, and actually walk herself into the shop. Her head is kept down, not really going to make eye contact with anyone, not really trying to draw attention to herself -- this being one of the few places where that's a posssibility. She moves about the space, seemingly looking for something as opposed to someone.

Simone is backstage, doing prep work. She spots Wick and hurriedly waves him over. "You're late," she tells him quietly once - if - he gets closer.

Moments after DeadPixel comes An'Madra, she keeps her hands stuck into the pockets of her pants a mischevious smile playing on her lips as she glances around and seems to be searching for nothing or noone, she just wants to get an impression of the crowd as she makes her way over towards the pool table.

Skye glances about and wanders over to the bar, hopping onto a stool there. He smiles slightly and looks about at the club starts to fill up.

Joel has been chilling at the pool table, Guinness in hand. He lifts the can towards Ethan at his approach, giving him a wan smile, abandoning the Guinness down towards the break line. "Play you?" he offers. "I'm a good shot. It's been a saving grace before." He may or may not be talking about pool, even as he distributes stripes and solids in the rack, rolling it a couple of times to even it out, nodding Ethan towards the pair of cues to choose his first. "Don't forget to chalk," he adds without looking up from racking up.

Hop smiles to Skye at the bar, as he plates things and starts slicing other things, "Hey, you made it sweet, glad you could." he says to him and then looks over to DeadPixel, "Rad board! We should shred together sometime."

(Arthur's sceneset was here.)

Skye smiles and nods his head at Hop. "I did. It looks like it'll be a pretty large gathering. That's good for business, I suppose." He says, lapsing into silence and looking up at Arthur as he speaks.

Clara Applauds Arthur's speech and looks up at Sterling "Shall we get a drink?"

Wick offers Simone an apologetic wince, ducking his head as he joins her next to the stage. He keeps his voice hushed, whispering to her as Arthur starts to address the crowd.

Sterling looks up as Arthur takes the stage, and smiles warmly at the younger man's speech. He adds his own applause, whistling sharply through his teeth. "Hear hear!" he booms cheerfully. He looks back to Clara with a smile and a nod. "Delightful notion, my lady. Let's." He settles his arm around her shoulders and ambles over to the bar. "Bourbon on the rocks for myself, and whatever this radiant vision next to me would like."

"This is it, ladies and gentlemen! This is the -happening place to be- right now if you are in Ca-li!" Zazu shouts into a his phone, aimed down at him from above, as he makes his way into the grand repoening. "Party central! Zazu will -not- lead you wrong! Get down to this bird-house! See your main hornbill in action, and hey - buy me some drinks while we Par-Tay!"

Clara steps up to the bar with Sterling, eyes widen in delight at something she sees then she smiles "Big Ginger" to the bartender, leaning into the larger man's embrace

DeadPixel doesn't say too much in response to Hop, but she does momentarily make eye contact and nod at him, so that's probably in the affirmative. After looking through the space for whatever it was she was looking for, she heads back to the door. Reaching into her bag, she pulls out some flyers that she leaves by the exit. A xerox-collage style monochromatic asssemblage on magents paper, advertising what it is presumably going to be musicians of some sort playing at a place called 'Thee Psychicc Euth Centre'. There is no address for this location -- whatever or wherver it might be -- but a 'map point' is listed for those who choose to be adventurous that nght. Having put the info out, she slips outdoors again, but doesn't stray far. Nope, it's cigarette time. All that socialization can work on one's nerves.

Hop smiles reassuringly to Arthur and pats his hand. Then people order drinks! So he motions to the food he made (blackberry pie, blackbird shaped sugar cookies, and banana and fennel tarts-which help ya' not vomit!- ) and then goes to start filling some drinks. He moves about the back of the bar Nimbly flipping mixing cups and bottles with the ease of someone who is very dextrous, a practiced lush, or both.

Joel calls over to Zazu, "Don't forget Rafiki!" even as he sets the rack in place on the pool balls, lifting it up for a break shot to be attempted and raising a brow at Ethan.

Wick joins the applause at Arthur's words. And with a broad smile, he climbs the stage after him. One might expect some trace of apprehension to stand before so many, but he just shines with excitement at them all. As he sets up a custom microphone, he calls out, "Hello! I'm Wick. Let's hear another hand for Arthur and for the grand re-opening of the Murder of Crows!"

Once at the pool table, An'Madra glances back at the entrance with a rather curious look and that mischevious grin spreads on her lips. Realising noone is coming for her, she nods her head slowly and climbs up on the pool table, balancing on the edge so she isn't standing on the cloth of the table. Now she might be able to get a decent view after all.

Clara looks over from teh bar and applauds as Wick speaks

Simone is backstage, and nowhere to be seen, apart from that time when she popping her arm out enough to wave Wick over.

Striding into the place, Caelan arrives with his hands in his pockets as he weaves his way through the crowd. For a moment, he lingers near the entrance of the place, peeking his head up and bobbing up and down, dipping and diving as he swishes about, probably looking for someone. And as it happens, his eyes settle on Hop rather early in his arrival. His lips curl into a content smile, and he starts to duck and dive through the crowd, making his way towards the candy maker in question.

Zazu turns the camera over the head of the crowd, almost not certainly getting anyone in focus, until he purposefully stops it on Joel at the pool tables, "That right there, faithful fans, is the one, the only Joel, the man who's going to bring hockey to the local scene! If you're interested, you know who to reach out to - Bill Gates. Ha! Like he'll listen! No, it's me! Hit me up, I'll get you in contact! Hockey! Like, on ice!"

BT has wandered in dressssed in what could only be considered as 'haut-coulture fashionista gets ravaged by punk'. Even thouse that may have seen her before might only recgnize her due to her hight. New hairstyle, new color, different clothes and shoes. But she's dressed for the occasion. At her side is Robin, whose sshoulder she has an arm wrapped lightly around, "It's so busy!"

"What the fuck are you doing?" Joel, who has already set up the pool table for a game, demands of An'Madra. "Get off." He gestures with his pool cue, looking somewhere between surprised and annoyed, given he's already set up the pool table. At Zazu's Livestream, he stops, flashes a smile. "Hey. Yeah. Hockey. At the indoor rink. Five a side and a goalie at least. I'll kick your ass." He doesn't miss a beat, at least, and then he shrugs at Ethan. "You in for a game, man? Pool, not hockey. I'll break if you don't wanna."

Ethan, having taken a cue from Joel and chalked up, looks askance at An'Madra on their table and says "Uh... yeah. We were here first. Joel, you break."

Outside, DeadPixel flicks her cigarette to the curb, and walks back in, having calmed her nerves -- at least as mmuch as a cigarette is going to calm your nerves. Walking with her skateboard under her arm, she takes a look at BT and nods in approval. "All came together," she says softly. "Let no one ever tell you that it's an urban legend. Just like albino gators in the sewer, I've seen it with my own two eyes."

An'Madra looks at Joel and blinks her eyes a few times, before she leaps down. "Such charmers." the short girl wipes her nose "Playing with each others balls." she wrinkles her nose and starts to search for another elevated position that would grant her a chance to see who ever is playing

Wick sets up a set of pedals at his feet. Yeah, this is a last minute set up. The only mic-check is the one he's doing now, playing a few notes on that restored black electric guitar. But it's all good. He flashes a broad smile across the crowd. "Thank you all for coming. This is Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds."

With no further introduction, Wick steps on a pedal and launches right into the song with an accompaniment of background drums. It's far faster and far harsher than the original - carrying all the classic punk twists. The mic casts a haze of a man on the wall behind him.And leaning into the mic, his voice comes strong - with a perfectly relaxed confidence. Take a little walk to the edge of town And go across the tracks Where the viaduct looms Like a bird of doom As it shifts and cracks

Robin walks into the bar with BT in arm. "Yeah. If you get overwhelmed tell me." He smiles and starts to push until DP says something cryptic to him. "I'm sorry what was that? I'm not great at wordplay."

Hop makes a cocktail for Skye, it's bright pink and has a rim of sugar and tastes like cottoncandy amped up to 11, he sets it down with a wink and then goes back to shaking together martinis and such for people with his bar trick routine. He sees Caelan and smiles from ear to ear, "Caelan, bro, you made it! Awesomesauce, grab a seat. What's your poison tonight?" he asks with a smile as he sends a bottle flying into the air and then catches it, "This is Arthur." he motions to said man, "Owns the bar. Arthur, Caelan. Caelan is an author."

DeadPixel scrunches up her face and gives a confused look to Robin. "Word play?" she asks him, either having no idea what he's talking about, or one hell of a poker face. "The Commes de Garcons Dumpster is as true as albino gator in the sewer," she finally explains. "I seen 'em both. No word play. Honest truth." She shrugs a bit and shakes her head, moving further into the venue, heading to take a look at what the menu offers.

Skye looks surprised as Hop sets a cocktail before him. He smiles. "Oh, that looks pretty good." He takes a sip and nods his head. "And it tastes good. Nice and sweet." He smiles, glancing about. He notices Robin and smiles, waving to him.

Zazu turns the camera back around on himself, a close up shot as he makes his way deeper into the room, "Sewer gators! You heard that right, Pridelands! Guess what I'll have on here next week? That's right - the one, the only... Large group of people who probably want to talk to me about sewer gators. Well isn't that somethin' else!" Arthur extends his hand to Calean "Hi. Sorry, not quite myself today. Arthur Bond, new in town."

BT gives a little wave to DeadPixel, "Thanks!" SShe says, loud enough to be heard by the other woman over the music before she wanders away. She leans in to Robin, "Nah. We ain't gonna leave unless you ain't having no fun." Though her attention quickly moves back to Wick on stage.

"Hey, what's up chief?" Caelan offers towards Hop with a soft grin and an incline of his head towards Hop as he arrives nearer to the other man. His eyes twinkle with delight as he watches Hop flipping around the bottle and serving drinks. "Man, ye of many talents. And all I do is write a little." He says, grinning over at Arthur and bobbing his head towards him. "We've met. Though, just the once. He served me a drink when I was feeling kinda shitty." His right hand comes out of his pocket, and he offers it towards Arthur. "How's it going?" A pause. "Arthur Bond. I didn't get your name last time, I think. Caelan Flynn."

Robin nods to Deadpixel. "Oh okay. I thought we were talking in some code, sorry I was talking to a peeson yesterday and it was like trying to solve a fucking 1000 piece on every sentence. Messed with my head. Can I get you a drink in thanks for the help today." He smiles.

Joel mutters something quietly to Ethan, waiting for An'Madra to leave the pool table before he sizes up his shot, narrowing it down. His focus appears to be more on the goings-on than the game, though, because his break starts off weak. He doesn't sink either stripes or solids, and he gestures to Ethan to take the next shot.

Arthur frowns a little "It's not like me to forget a face. Then again I am not myself tonight. Or, perhaps I am more myself than ever." he chuckles. To Clara and Sterling "Clara, Doctor Sterling. I am so glad you could make it. Do you like what I've had done with the place? Local contractors all, of course. Builds community and in turn inspires others to do the same."

DeadPixel looks a little taken aback by Zazu all the sudden talking about her. Luckily, she seems to know who he is, so she lets it pass. Looking to Robin, she tells him, "still don't drink, but I appreciate that." Looking to the stage, she says, "One second," and dissapears into the crowd.

Sterling sips from his bourbon, smiling to Clara and making sure she's well taken care of. As Arthur speaks, he looks up and smiles warmly. "Young Master Bond. What a delight!" He gestures around with his glass, nodding his head. "It's -most- impressive, for certain sure. You're to be commended, young man. I'm very pleased to see you doing such fine work for our community."

Wick can't help but shift on the stage, almost dancing in place as he continues through the song. A flash of copper glints in his hand as he plucks the strings of his electric guitar, letting them reverberate with that harsh edge. It's excellent. Not perfect, but punk rock isn't supposed to be perfect.

As the song nears completion, Wick lifts lifts his voice in a harsh shout, singing the last piece:

You're one microscopic cog In his catastrophic plan Designed and directed by His red right hand.

Wick seems left out of breath - a sheen of sweat on his brow. But his eyes shine as bright as his smile as he steps back into a deep bow to the crowd. "Thank you! I'm Wick and that was Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Next up - we've got DeadPixel! She's got an impromptu noise set for us."

Cash steps in, wearing a security shirt - glancing around at the throng of people. A wry grin spreads over his face, the man clearly amused at something. He steps in, looking to mingle abit into the crowd.

Once Wick finishes performing and the applause has finished, there's a loud static buzz as someone plugs something directly into the PA. Then there's an even louder blast of staticky noise, as DeadPixel takes over the stage briefly with a cellphone plugged into the battery powered guitar pedal. Ear shredding rhythmicc noise with little care for the decibel level. Luckily she only 'performs' for less than a minute. Just enough to send out the general sensation of Well and then get off stage, returning to being a bit shy and blending into the crowd.

Without making any further announcement of the next set, Wick steps into another deep bow and just heads off back stage.

Zazu turns his camera to the stage at the singer. He reaches to an ear piece in his ear - a cheap, shelf-model bluetooth, - and calls out, "Listen to that! What a voice! Oh. Well, next act, coming soon!"

Topeka steps in after cash, wearing a red flannel shirt, unbuttoned to reveal a black t-shirt that reads 'Zack Morris is Trash' in Saved by the Bell logos/fonts, black denim jeans and a pair of black platform boots on her feet. She pauses, looking over the sea of people as if she's trying to spot someone. There he is! She hurries over towards Caelan, "Cae-Cae! What's uuuup?"

Clara catches Caelan looking and smiles with a nod

Hop chuckles to Caelan, Nah, man only got one talent and it's spelled, F.u....." he waits a long pause and then ends "...n. Fun, of course." and he winks to his friend. Then someone orders another drink and he spins away to mix that up, never stopping or smiling as he goes about. After a moment he comes back and pours Caelan a martini that takes several mixers, all flipped in the air, he pours them one by one and the glass is slowly filled with a rainbow of liquor all keeping seperate in the glass. He winks at Caelan and then chuckles, and gets him a glass of Middleton as well, per Arthurs request. That done he slides a piece of blackberry pie over to Skye with a smile.

"No worries man." Caelan offers towards Arthur, his eyes tracing towards Clara and Sterling, a soft smile on his lips as they seem to be nearer to Arthur. Then he grins back at Hop, chuckling softly. "It occurs to me I never said what I was wanting. I'm not even sure. I'll trust your judgement."

Arthur nods to Hop "Get him the middleton single malt. The bottle's already open."

Merek looks to the stage with the familiar sense of emotional resonance, then he lifts up his brow a bit. He then finds a place to lean back while he looks to people in thought.

Zazu pulls the bluetooth out of his ear, a wide smile over the camera man's face. He holds the phone steady up above him with practiced professionalism, "Well, je-sus! How about that performance?! That little girl goes by the name 'Deadpixel,' look her up! If anyone's asking, I found that talent first! Hoo! Wowzers!"

A healthy, amused chuckle escapes Caelan as he shakes his head at Hop. "You don't need to spell it man, just lay it all out there." He says, then chuckles more as he watches the drink be prepared, and then offered over to him. Scooping it up, he lifts the beverage up towards the other man, and then gives his drink a sip. "Hey, that's pretty good." As Top arrives near him, he turns towards her with a bright smile and offers his drink over to her. "Here, try this."

BT looks to Robin, "If you wants to go talk to your friend, I'mma just be dancing when more music happens." She says as she pats his arm with a smile before moving in to the crowd. It's not likely that someone's going to lose her in the crowd though.

Skye flashes a smile at Hop as he passes the blackberry pie slice to him. "Oh, thanky ou!" He says, breaking off a piece and taking a bite. "Mmm.' he murmurs, slowly looking about the growing crowd.

Wick returns to the stage after that blasting of ryhtmic static - still a bit dazed from it. He glances to Simone as she steps out with him and then smiles across at the crowd. He nods at the applause. "Thanks. Next up, we'll be playing a cover of Zombie by the Cranberries with Simone Blake! AND none other than the owner of the Murder himself, Arthur Bond!"

Top blinks, glancing at the drink, looking it over, and then taking it without question to start chugging it. She doesn't even bother to question what it is. She trusts him. After she finishes, she closes her eyes and waits for it. Caelan probably knows what's coming. Beeeeeelch! "... 6 out of 10. See? Better?" Topeka grins towards Caelan now.

Arthur two-pull pours the perfect pint of Guinness, he nods at it, impressed and then turns when he hears its his time to retake the stage. He joins Wick and Simone on the stage and takes a stool towards the back, picks up his guitar.

"Uh-oh," Zazu says, pulling back the camera to his own face. "Sorry, folks. This one's, uhh... Well, off limits by request. Hey, let's get some interviews! Zazu's not leaving you bored." He walks around, looking for anyone who maybe wants an audience; be it business, or total intoxication.