SMOTHERS BROTHERS STUDIOS, 1967, BACKSTAGE

”Keith, put the powder down!” you exclaimed, watching Keith fill the explosive at the foot of his drumset with extra explosive powder.

The Who was going pretty good, and you’re saving act— which was destroying your instruments— was finally accepted by a televising manager! You were in a pretty big comedy show, the Smothers Brothers, and you were pumped to perform. However, creating a makeshift bomb could exponentially harm the act and the others. Keith was a wild soul, though. He would do anything that came to his mind as long as he wasn’t told to think about it.

“It’ll look insane!” Keith said with a cheeky grin. “People will love it. They love destruction.”

You knew there was nothing you could do, so you let it be and hoped for the best.

————

SMOTHERS BROTHERS STUDIOS, 1967, NEARING THE END OF THE PERFORMANCE

The crowd seemed to be pumped, Roger, you, and the band were singing well enough. Pete had started to smash his guitar into the speakers, and smoke was starting to go off. You glanced at Keith behind your shoulder and saw a faint, focused, smug grin on his face. He stood up off of his stool, standing at a two-foot distance as he kept banging on his drums. He knew he had the power to set off the explosive.

BOOM!

The explosion goes off, and you see Keith grab his shoulder and run away from the drumset. His face was covered by the smoke. Pete’s hair was on fire, Roger and John looked confused. You didn’t notice the attention on you, and the fact that part of Keith’s snare flew off and hit your head. The smell of gunpowder filled your senses, snd your ears rung. The smoke stung your eyes. You didn’t see much at all before you dropped your mic and fell to the ground. The last thing you heard was the mic screeching over the broken speakers and Roger’s concerned call…