On Thursday evening, I watched the closing ceremony of the Lithuanian Football A League season. It was Vytautas Šiškauskas who started and finished it with songs. As usual, he sang passionately and sincerely.
But since there were many worthy teams and football players to be awarded, the ceremony lasted long. The official part lasted two hours, and strange thoughts started popping into my head.
I kept thinking about Vytautas Šiškauskas.
What would he be like if he were a Lithuanian football player?
Clearly, Vytautas Šiškauskas would have mischievous friends with whom he sometimes made bets that he would sing badly.
During the concert, he would purposely miss a note. He would sing with a cracking voice, sometimes forgetting the lyrics. Perhaps even fall off the stage.
The audience would sense that something was wrong, but still love him. For such antics, Vytautas Šiškauskas would probably get a scolding from the concert director, who would understand that the fault lies not with Šiškauskas, but with his mischievous friends.
The director doesn't like those friends, he doesn't even know them. But he let Vytautas behave like that for ten years. He used to tolerate such foolishness, so now he can't really be angry. Like he would want to give that troublemaker a good earful but he doesn't really know how.
Vytautas Šiškauskas would have many wealthy fans-supporters from Russia. It may not be a bad thing if they didn't disapprove of Vytautas' antics. Vytautas would often have to sing to a synthetic backing track. Not because he couldn't sing live. He certainly could. But singing to a backing track makes the voice clear and pure like fresh grass. Why strain the voice?
Vytautas Šiškauskas would establish his own music academy and would invite many boys from various cities and towns. Not because he really liked them, God forbid, no. He just didn't think that the most talented boys would fit into other academies - like Arina's, Marijonas Mikutavičius' or SEL's. If a producer from the UK - even from a smaller one - visited Šiškauskas, maybe he could push a boy into an international show?
Vytautas Šiškauskas would be a good guy, but sometimes he would also have to visit a doctor. But not just any doctor, but Henrikas. Because of old habits.
Producer of a singer don't like old habits because it's harder to find cultured supporters for concerts, but old friends are never betrayed.
Of course, there would be difficult moments in Vytautas Šiškauskas' life, and he would sometimes lack money. The mayor doesn't always give it. When he doesn't, Vytautas sings reluctantly for a couple of months. He borrows money and, agreeing with the producers, starts a new concert tour every year, not repaying the money from the previous one.
But if the money for gasoline were really tight, Vytautas Šiškauskas wouldn't go to the last concert. Let the audience sing to each other.
Vytautas Šiškauskas would organize concerts on different days. Sometimes he would have to perform in Alytus, but after mixing up, he would go to Kaunas and have a concert there in the middle of a workday.
Year after year, Vytautas Šiškauskas would participate in the Eurovision selection. But he would never reach the final. Not even a new red suit would help.
Only a few people would choose to attend Vytautas Šiškauskas' concerts. Many couldn't because there are no spacious concert halls in Lithuania.
However, people would still go, watch, and listen to Vytautas Šiškauskas sing.
They know and understand that their Vytautas will never stagger off stage like Robbie Williams. He will never be as beautiful as Beyonce. And he will never sing as powerfully as Luciano Pavarotti.
People would still watch Vytautas Šiškauskas and love him. Not because they really liked the Vytautas he had become over the past twenty years.
People just feel that he can change.
Kęstutis Rimkus, www.lrytas.lt
