In July 2010, eight lucky Melbourne Rainbow Band members traveled to Cologne for Gay Games VIII. It was a magical experience, and a journey that none of us will ever forget. For the 9 days we were all in Cologne together we worked hard and played harder – both musically and also in the bars each night. We all made many new friends during the process, and formed a closer bond amongst ourselves.
We went there as part of Team Band, and had two performing objectives: to march in the Opening Ceremony, and to perform at a Gala Concert.
The first 4 days in Cologne were dedicated to learning a 15 minute marching field show, a challenge which many of us Aussies had never faced before. Marching down a street and playing? Easy. Formation marching whilst playing in front of 20,000 people? MUCH harder. Thankfully it finally fell into place on the afternoon of the performance, and by the time we went on stage we were buzzing with excitement. We were all tired by the end, but filled with an energy that only comes from pulling off an amazing show.
After one day of rest, we were ready to take on the challenge of the Gala concert. We had three days to learn over an hour of top quality music, and it was another tough challenge. Spirits remained high though, and we overcame all the random issues that performing in a foreign country throws up. The Team Band organisers did an amazing job, and their ability to keep smiling throughout kept everyone in positive spirits. Again, the hard work was worth it: we performed to a sold out crowd of over 500 Germans who rewarded us three standing ovations!
A HUGE thanks to everyone involved in organising the trip, particularly our marching conductors Bob Derickson and Bob Dolan, Gala concert conductor Nolan Dresden and LGBA organisers Leslie Becker and Michael Tolliver. You guys were AWESOME!
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