Chapter 346

"Hey, bud," I said and gave him a combination handshake/high-five. "Fucking awesome show."

"Thanks, dude," he said, flashing that famous, boyish smile.

"You must be ready for a night off," I said.

"I feel good, man," he said. "This has been next level. Crazy crowds. Amazing fans. And we get to dictate the schedule? It keeps you fresh. It’s nothing like the grind of doing like fifty shows in sixty days."

"Well, you fucking earned the right to structure it that way," I said.

For the Stages Tour, Riley and Henry had decided to play three or four shows each in twenty cities across the U.S. and Canada, a total of seventy-five gigs in all. The concerts would be centered around weekends, which gave them more down time and a less arduous calendar. They sincerely believed it allowed them to connect better with their fans by performing higher quality shows. Based on the crowd response and the c