THE OPENER
warming up somebody else's room before the main billing
pays ×0.90 · one fewer song · asks: tames a crowd
7 stages from the PRACTICE ROOM to the WORLD STAGE. Every stage runs a week, every night on its sheet asks something different of you, and every night tells you how hard it is before you book it.
| Stage | Rank | Channels | Songs a night | An act | Closes on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRACTICE ROOM | STUDENT | 3 | 1 | 1:20 | Half Rest |
| OPEN MIC | NOVICE | 3 | 1 | 1:35 | Half Rest |
| LOCAL VENUE | PERFORMER | 4 | 1 to 2 | 1:50 | Whole Rest |
| COMPETITION | EXPERT | 5 | 1 to 2 | 2:05 | Breve Rest |
| FESTIVAL STAGE | PROFESSIONAL | 6 | 2 to 3 | 2:15 | Longa Rest |
| CONCERT HALL | MAESTRO | 7 | 2 to 3 | 2:20 | Maxima Rest |
| WORLD STAGE | LEGEND | 7 | 3 to 4 | 2:25 | Maxima Rest |
Rank opens rooms and never closes them: a LEGEND can still drop into the OPEN MIC with a full desk and take it apart.
Every stage prints a week: 4 nights drawn from 13 bills, each with its own billing, its own brief and its own fee. The house night is always on the sheet - no promoter, no brief, the room as it comes.
THE MATINEE
early doors, a small polite room, and the sun still up
pays ×0.85 · one fewer song · asks: writes a dense bar
THE HEADLINE
your name at the top of the bill, and the promoter named a kit
pays ×1.15 · asks: features two named layers
THE LATE SLOT
past midnight, and the room is louder than it was at nine
pays ×1.25 · asks: closes it clean
THE RADIO SESSION
one song, played exactly the way the station asked for it
pays ×1.10 · one fewer song · the promoter names the song · asks: features a named layer, writes a dense bar · from the LOCAL VENUE
THE SHOWCASE
a room of promoters watching to see how wide you can play
pays ×1.15 · asks: plays wide · from the LOCAL VENUE
THE DOUBLE BILL
two sets in one night, back to back, the second one harder
pays ×1.10 · an extra song · asks: reaches a level · from the LOCAL VENUE
THE RESIDENCY
a long night at a room that already knows your name
pays ×1.20 · asks: tames a crowd, runs the rack · from the COMPETITION
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
three acts, one stage, and only one of you gets asked back
pays ×1.30 · asks: reaches a level, runs the rack · from the COMPETITION
THE AFTER PARTY
the headliner has gone home and the crowd has not
pays ×1.15 · an extra song · asks: features a named layer, closes it clean · from the COMPETITION
THE BENEFIT
playing for the door, and tonight the door is generous
pays ×1.35 · asks: closes it clean, tames a crowd · from the FESTIVAL STAGE
THE TRIBUTE NIGHT
one song, one kit, and a crowd that knows every note of it
pays ×1.40 · the promoter names the song · asks: features three named layers · from the FESTIVAL STAGE
THE HOUSE NIGHT
no promoter and no brief - the room as it comes, the whole fee yours
pays ×1.00
Every night tells you how hard it is - a five-pip meter named the way music names pace - and its pay multiplier sits right under the meter, so you read the risk against the money at a glance. That is the entire difficulty system: no setting buried in a menu, just a decision you make in public, for money.
| LARGHISSIMO | as gentle as this room gets |
| LARGO | broad and slow - it gives you time to find it |
| MODERATO | the room at its own pace |
| ALLEGRO | brisk - it does not wait for you |
| PRESTO | at a run, and it hits hard |
Eighth notes rush you. Sharps zig-zag. Flats lean in heavy. Whole notes soak damage. Every one of them is a note that got away, and taming it feeds the jam. The rests are silence with guns - the short ones run with the swarm and shoot, and the long ones are the bosses. A longer silence is a bigger boss.
EIGHTH NOTErushes you
QUARTER NOTErushes you
BEAMED PAIRsplits when hit
SHARPzig-zags in
FLATrushes you
HALF NOTErushes you
WHOLE NOTErushes you
SIXTEENTH RESTshoots
EIGHTH RESTshoots
QUARTER RESTshoots
The long rests are the bosses, shortest to longest, and a longer silence is a bigger boss. Each one closes an act and carries a signature move of its own, so every closer asks a different question. The maxima rest is the longest silence notation can write, and it is the heaviest thing in the game.
HALF REST
VOLLEY
snaps off a burst of missiles - sidestep the burst, not the shot
first closes the PRACTICE ROOM
WHOLE REST
MINES
sows bombs in its wake as you shove it around - the floor behind it is rigged
first closes the LOCAL VENUE
BREVE REST
FLAIL
a ball of silence swinging on a chain - time your way past the orbit
first closes the COMPETITION
LONGA REST
LUNGE
plants, takes aim, and dashes - be somewhere else when the ring closes
first closes the FESTIVAL STAGE
MAXIMA REST
SPIRAL
a turning spray of missiles - the volley grown into a bullet-hell finale
first closes the CONCERT HALL