Tuesday went just about the same as Monday, but Wednesday was when things got interesting. I woke up that morning and went through my morning as usual, making it to school a few minutes early. Band class on the day of a concert was always a pain. We spent a good portion of the period just dragging chairs and music stands to the auditorium before actually starting practice. It was a regular day from that point on with the exception of after school. Once the final bell rang I made my way to the band room and started setting up my saxophone. On concert days after school we'd have a rehearsal where we'd run through the show program in preparation for the actual thing. It was a final opportunity to work out any kinks or make some final adjustments to the show. Nothing much of interest ever happened, but nerves were on high. People always get super anxious during the last few hours before a concert, which I guess is understandable. Our directors always worked to keep people calm, but you could see they were a little nervous themselves. I shared their feelings. I had the biggest love-hate relationship with concerts. On one hand it was the best way to show off what you've learned, but on the other hand there is a big risk in messing up. I knew what that did to people. There was this one show we went to during the marching season where it was stupid cold outside. We were about halfway through our show, standing in the middle of a playing field when one of the girls went up towards the sideline to perform her Oboe solo. Usually she was good, like REALLY good. The Oboe had this special neck piece with a microphone so it could be amplified. Because of the cold, the microphone hadn't sealed against the neck, so air just leaked out. She couldn't get anything out of the instrument other than a couple squeaks (A woodwind's nightmare). So for about 20 seconds she just stood there while the rest of us marched in silence in front of about 200 people in the stands. You could see exactly what she was feeling in that moment, and it was guttural. Her ears dropped, tail went between her legs, the whole package. I don't think I'd ever felt as bad for someone before or since. After the show I saw her sobbing to her mom. Needless to say, I didn't want anything like that to happen to me.
Our time to shine approached quickly. Ms. Husky had us all lined up in the band room, ready to walk onto the stage as soon as we were ready. A couple guys were tugging at their necks, trying to loosen the bow ties the school had rented and made us wear. Finally, we started moving. We all marched into the auditorium from backstage. All the clarinets and flutes were in the front row, so they were also in the front of the line. They'd go until their row was full, then the second row would start. The saxophones were all in the second row, so that was where I resided. In the third row were most of the brass instruments, and the percussionists were behind them. We all stood in front of our seats until Ms. Husky made her entrance. She stood at the microphone and gave her announcements. It was some yada yada about how glad she was that everyone came, how proud she was of the work we'd done, and the origin of the song we were about to play. During this time I scanned the auditorium, looking for Brandy and maybe the Heelers. Even with a couple of them being a bright blue they were still difficult to spot, but there they were. There were 6 in total: Brandy, The Heelers, and Nana. I imagined Stripes' side couldn't make it, but frankly I was happy anyone came at all. I wasn't used to performing for anyone I actually knew. Apparently they were doing the same thing. Chilli spotted me first and started pointing the others towards me, which prompted the kids to start waving. I would've waved back but I wasn't supposed to. We had to stay professional, but I made sure to give them a quick smile and nod. Ms. Husky finished her announcements and stepped up to the podium where she gave us all the signal to sit down. Once sat down we were allowed to adjust our music on the stands and start doing our own personal warmups/tuning. She let that go on for about 10 seconds before cutting us off with a swift motion of her hand. It was at this moment I really started to feel it. It was crazy how polar the auditorium was. I knew for a fact that in the seats it was absolutely freezing, but I was burning up on the stage. Those stage lights are a lot brighter than you realise. However, it's not something I wasn't used to. Ms. Husky raised her hands to the starting position, which was our signal to raise our instruments from our laps to our lips, or I guess just raise your hands if you're a percussionist. She mouthed a silent count and we were off.
The experience of playing on a stage like that is unrivaled by really anything else. You are locked in the whole time. The only thing that mattered to me in that moment was staying in time and hitting my notes. During some of the more difficult moments my fingers flew across the keys of my saxophone. It was a beautiful performance, and the first song earned massive applause from the audience. Ms. Husky would go up and give a few words to the audience between each song. That was the only chance we'd have to get a breather and switch out our music. We played all 4 of our songs almost flawlessly. I say "almost" because it's a high school band, what'd you expect?
Once we finished our final song, Ms. Husky stepped off the podium and gestured towards us. Then we all stood up and bowed. The applause continued for about 20 seconds, and I could hear Bandit whooping from where they were sitting. The amount of relief you feel once you finish a show like that is immeasurable. We all grabbed our music and walked off the stage in reverse order. When we got back to the band room it was buzzing with excitement. There were a few groups of students huddled together talking about the performance. I spotted Bryce across the room talking to his girlfriend, so I made my way over.
"Hey buddy!" I said, "How good was that?" Bryce smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Eh, it was alright," he responded. Bryce always had a way of downplaying whatever was happening.
"Alright?" I asked. "C'mon that was great! I don't think I heard a single squeak the whole show!" Bryce snorted a little.
"That's because you're not next to the clarinets. You should've heard it from where I was sitting," he retorted with a laugh.
"Yeah yeah, whatever you say," I responded as I walked away. Thank goodness Ms. Husky never made us put all the equipment away on a show night, but that meant I didn't have much to look forward to the next day. I proceeded to take apart my saxophone and place it back in my locker. Then I exited to the main hallway, right outside the auditorium. There were a lot of people milling about, mostly parents waiting for their kids. I spotted Brandy and the others standing near the entrance, and I walked over to them. Bluey and Bingo noticed me first.
"THAT WAS AMAZING!" Bluey and Bingo both exclaimed at the same time. I chuckled.
"Well I'm glad you liked it," I said. Bandit came over and patted me on the back.
"Great job mate," he said with a smile. Then it was Chilli's turn.
"That was sooo good!" She complimented, "I can't believe that was free admittance." Finally, Brandy came over to me.
"How'd you like it?" I asked her.
"I loved it," she responded as she gave me a quick hug.