He was a pleasant enough fellow

proud of his top of the range guitar

fender copy

"keep music live" stuck on the case

de rigeur since music was a living

and amp squatting like a small dog

ready for action

 

tools in an arsenal of self - expression

a one - band man

arriving too early for decency

set up by the time the others arrived.

 

He came apparently by recommendation

probably his own

eager to fit in

and he did fit the available jacket

already broken in.

 

His grasp of musical potential proved

stunningly limited

repetitive favourite licks

as fluent as a sticking CD

pedalboard with wah - wah

phasers, reverb, flangers

planet of the apes,

even a synth board for keyboard effects.

 

When the music started

he was like a bollard in the road

to be avoided at all costs

a collision course

 

and the night was young

but he smiled a lot

being a pleasant enough fellow

and what we call a passenger

with nowhere to go.