The Day Everyone was Invited
@orleans-jester
Life. It had a way of changing direction. Wild Will would call it the wind changing his sails. He'd follow it every time whichever way the wind blew. Bastien would call it his walking man shoes taking him somewhere new. Kuzco would say he followed his groove. A lot of people might call it a lot of things. Some might even call it stirring the pot. Whatever it was something in Flotsam had the hankering to jump in bed with some old people. Not literally, but more than one reunion was up his sleeve. So was making some money. Collaborations made bank. He was always up for keeping the numbers on the rise, especially by legit means.
A concert. A party. All in one night. An Ozzebration. An Ozzcert. An Ozzy tribute concert and after party.
First things first. Reunions. They were happening today in more than one way. The Boogie Boys, the band was going to be the opening act. Lock, Shock, and Barrel used to be a band. Shock might not have been around, but Spade was. She might have seemed cold and studious when out and about, but on stage she was the splitting image of her mother in her younger years. This left Lock. The world might have assumed him dead, but he'd pull a Sparky or a River and get tangible for just long enough to play a few songs. No one would even realize it was a ghost. The set would be short enough that he'd not rot away before walking off stage.
It may have had their fans confused as all get out, but it absolutely creeped Kuzco out. There was a time they were friends and once upon a time Clopin had to help him get away from that friendship all together. He had been relieved when he died if only because it hurt worse to think he'd been betrayed than killed off. Some fans would argue it was a hologram or some sort of AI. Others would cry no way claiming to have felt his sweat when he flipped his hair. Rumors would fly all around.
Oogie and her band were going to have a set. What was left of Electric Voodoo had a set. Flotsam gave Oogie her dues knowing she was the biggest name on the roster and let her be last as the main act. His band's retirement never seemed to completely settle even without Jetsam. But that was the thing. Jetsam would complete the band this night. For the first time ever, Flotsam would introduce Electric Voodoo was coming out of retirement with a new singer. Bastien Bellerose. He couldn't say it was Jetsam and it wasn't Jetsam's voice considering it was Bastien's vocal cords, but it was Jetsam puppeteering Bastien's body. It would be as controversial as Linkin Park's new singer. The difference was everyone would think Bastien had an uncanny similar energy. They could critique his voice all they wanted, but the performance was spot on eerie to Jetsam's. No one would ever deny that, and it would fulfill fans tastes who had been disappointed by the retirement.
Because it was a planned possession Bastien was nervous about being in front of so many people. He usually didn't know it was coming. This was a whole different ballgame. Knowing his body was going to be taken was nerve wracking in of itself. He would ask his wife to film the whole performance so he could see himself as Jetsam for the first time. It wasn't always something he could remember clearly or even at all.
He surrendered to the whole thing. The new Electric Voodoo made their debut and rocked harder than ever before with new material Flotsam had been writing all this time and they played a fan favorite. This was an Ozzfest tribute concert, so they didn't bogart it up with too many. One new song and one old standard, other than that all Ozzy or Black Sabbath songs.
Koda and Cheshire were there of course. Electric Voodoo wouldn't be complete without them. Koda sent Elsa two pair of tickets down close so she could bring some people with her.
Koda was engrossed in the feeling of being on stage again. It'd been so long. It took over his whole body, and he became one with the music. He still had the hair for head banging. So did Bastien. Cheshire liked to make contact with every fan in eye shot, often waving to them individually, or throwing drumsticks.
Flotsam was glad to be back on stage as himself. Valerie was a whole different side of him musically. He was back to his roots. All his other band projects just didn't stick. He was older and had shorter hair than the last time he played with his brother, but he could still put on a great show.
Though this was one of the biggest concert events he'd ever done his heart had been far more focused on hoping to see Thomas in his security jacket during his big moment. It was something he got used to looking for near the end. He wasn't sure he could do it without that vital detail.
When their set was over, which got a long-standing ovation, Flotsam positioned himself backstage at an angle to watch Oogie's band. He'd wait for the last song and hear his cue to step back out for the surprise performance with Oogs. Close Your Eyes Forever. As planned the crowd went wild at the first chords. It didn't take long for them to figure out a duet was happening. Lyrically, if interpreted with a twist of imagination it held certain parallels to Flotsam and Oogie's story. Childhood tragedies and holding trust from one another. It fit to a certain degree even if they were never a love story as the song might claim. It helped Flotsam be able to dig deep for his performance.
Kuzco was in charge of the live recording that was going to make this wreck all radio and SiriusXM Stations that played their genre. So, the quality would be nothing less than perfection of the groove.
End result? A deafening crowd up on their feet cheering, screaming, throwing stuff on stage. They were chanting both Oogie and Flotsam's names.
Ozzy Tribute Concert = Complete Success. They'd have footage of Ozzy in the background the whole time.
What came after? Time would tell. There was an after party in kiwi town. It had an open-door policy for anyone in Oogie's world she might have invited to her own party. The Laveau's knew this meant half of Halloween Town might show up and that was all right by them as long as all those people loved them some Ozzy. This was the only real requirement.
When Flotsam and Oogie finished their last bows and walked backstage he'd say, "We fucking did it."