A taste of heaven!
For those who listen to contemporary Praise & worship songs, you’ll know doubt be familiar with the ‘First couple’ of the genre- Keith & Kristyn Getty! With global hits like ‘Christ our hope in life and death’, ‘In Christ alone’, ‘By faith’ etc. And surprisingly, this was the Irish-American’s first tour down under, and we were fortunate enough to score one of the last tickets!
Scheduled on a Tuesday evening (8pm), we managed to have a casual sit-down dinner with our friend who was joining us for the concert, and after Light-railing it down to Circular Quay and quick stepping it over to the Sydney Opera House, we got there with 5 minutes to spare. Few!
Seated in the last row of the balcony section to the right of the stage, although we didn’t see the musicians front on, but we still had a pretty good vantage point as the performers on stage were large enough that we could make-out their facial features (as the SOH do not have the large overhead projection screens in most modern concert venues). The Getty’s brought with them a full band of professional musicians, 3 back-up vocalists, 2 guitars, 2 violins, a whistle player, a bass player, and a drummer! And supported by a hundred strong choir from the St. Andrews Cathedral. Their vocals alone filled the concert hall, before we (the audience) added our voices to the mix.
The flow of their repertoire moved seamlessly, from a love song which Keith and Kristyn wrote together when they first started dating; an introduction of the band; a selection of their new songs; a selection of their old favorites; the kids of the touring band made an appearance on stage; and in the second half of the night some Aussie musicians like ‘City Alight’ and Colin Buchanan joined in as well! And throughout the night we the audience were encourage to get up on our feet and sing along!
Now, it’s not in vogue to admit that you’re Christian these days, as who wants to be labelled as being “narrow minded” and/or “out of touch with the present”, but it was truly uplifting to see more than 5,500 people, coming together and raising their voices to the Lord! The three of us sung in full voice, and so was the stranger who sat to my right. And as we left, each person was chatting happily with their companions, re-living their favorite moments from the concert. Conversations that you don’t hear all that often in a public space anymore. But as we were nearing the end, I leaned over to my wife, and whispered ’Watch this, this is going to be a super spreader event’, and low-and behold, I’ve got a full-blown flu/cold now, but hey! It was worth it!
To hear some of Keith & Kristyn Getty’s music on Spotify, just search for the Getty’s, it’s a nice introduction to Praise & Worship if you’re unfamiliar with the genre.
Published by