Zacharias wondered how a band that seemed to not be able to play well together actually booked a slot to play in front of paying customers. It made no sense to him, except, perhaps, that one of them was related or dating someone who worked for or owned the pub. Maybe on their own, each musician would sound brilliant, or at least decent, but together, something didn't entirely blend well. Or maybe it was just the music they chose to play. Some instruments didn't seem to lend themselves as well as others to 80's pop, after all. He shook his head a little at the band, taking a sip of the pumpkin juice, happy to have something to balance out the alcoholic drink.
As he listened to Ernie, Zacharias gave a little smile. He thought, briefly, that that had to be nice, to have a mum that fussed in such a way. His thought was not bitter, however. He was, in his own way, genuinely happy that Ernie had such a mother. "I'll let you know," he said, taking another sip of juice. "I think I'm alright for the moment, but if I'm ever having a lack of food crisis, you'll be the first I'll owl."
He glanced back at the band on stage as they started another Serum Vitae song. Halfway through the opening, the accordion player's strap broke, he lost his grip on his instrument, and it crashed to the floor. Zacharias winced a bit, softly saying, "I think that's secretly a blessing," as the accordion player shouted about how it was broken before hauling himself and the accordion off the stage. The cellist quickly apologised to the crowd before she and the rest of the band hurried to console their upset bandmate.