Held at Alexandra Gardens, Carnival was a chance for the MRB to socialise and have some fun whilst getting our name out there and seeking out new members. Many of our members have joined up because of our annual stall, which this year was dressed to impress. It displayed photos, posters of performances, and sign up sheets and information for interested people looking for a musical outlet, and of course had at least a couple of enthusiastic MRB members throughout the day to encourage everyone walking by. We were located in the community section of the Carnival, bringing with it great exposure to a diverse demographic.
We supported Carnival Day by offering our time to collect donations from the crowd to help fund the Midsumma Festival. We shared the funds with another community group of which the band will put towards the Cologne Gay Games in 2010.
Our ‘look at moi’ moment came when we paraded from our display stall to the performance area in double file, raising a few eye brows and attracting as much attention as possible. We do like a little bit of attention you see, we’re the Melbourne Rainbow BAND, not mimes.
Our performance was a 45 minute slot on the Boot Scooting – Shuttlecock stage as the opening performance for Carnival Day. It was a nice change to have enough stage area that we could all spread out but the downside was Melbourne had turned on a hot summers day and we were in the full sunshine in the heat of the day. It was a tough challenge to play under those conditions, but it didn’t dampen our enthusiasm.
The MRB put their instruments to their lips, finding mouthpieces and instruments were extremely hot, but maybe this made our performance a sizzling one (!?!). The crowd enjoyed the music from the comfort of the shady trees, cheering and applauding our performance and endurance. Our only let down on the day was the lack of a suitable area for the Band’s second performance which had to be cancelled, as the shade under trees was being utilised by the huge crowd in attendance. Though, it was good to rest, as we were all exhausted from a huge hot day.
Credit goes to the MRB members who were flexible, professional and coped so well with the extreme conditions of the day.
By Chris D (Sax)
Comments on this entry are closed.