Joyful and triumphant

Last Saturday, I did my first public performance with the Glory Bound Groove Train. It was not in a pub, as promised, but a proper Christmas mass (sort of). Leichhardt Community Church held a fundraiser for Cambodian orphans of HIV/AIDS with the coming together of four local congregations of different denominations. It was a small but beautiful church, filled with people, many of whom were performing themselves over the 2-hour long event. The prepatory email from choirleader beforehand noted: "Will it be daggy? -yes. Will it be fun? - daggy IS fun." I enjoyed this sentiment.

Ben got quite anxious in the lead up. Neither of us had spent any real time in a church for a veeery long time, not for anything other than weddings or funerals anyway. I got weirdly excited about it. I've actually never attended a Christmas mass, and this one was going to be mostly carols! I told him he didn't have to come if he was uncomfortable, but he was steadfast, and determined to stay for at least our second stint - the choir sang at three different points during the night.

We had to learn "Prepare Ye The Way of the Lord" on the fly when we arrived. Fortunately it has only one line, and being an alto, my part was the melody which I already knew. After asking for peace on earth and good will to all humanity, the carols began. Such a small but resonant building filled with powerful voices was quite overwhelming. Other performers contributed. There was a bluegrass trio, three precocious brothers playing guitars and belting out self-composed Christmas songs (like Hanson, if they were John Williamson's kids), some soloists. We got up after this to do "Out of The Depths" - a solemn, majestic hymn-like song, "In The Morning" - a more uptempo call-and-response number with the lovely Lisa taking solo position, and "Soon I Will Be Done" - a proper gospel spiritual with hand clapping and a good old "ohhhh" hollered in the middle for good measure. It was magical. Ben said that some people actually walked into the church off the street because they were lured by the singing. As we sang the opening number, I could hear the voices swelling and soaring around the room. Was what I was feeling a response to the music, or to the whole experience? Religion is a touchy issue at best, and having not kept more than a private vigil to it since my Catholic school days, I couldn't help but try to interpret the emotion. However, I've been known to get blubbery listening to the likes of Hot Chip sometimes ('One Life Stand' is actually really powerful, okay??), so I tried to just go with it and not get bogged down in logic for a change.

After that Mic Conway got up and did an insane mix of ukulele, vaudeville, magic tricks and tap dancing. I could not believe my ears when he did a performance piece on an evolutionary race. This really was progressive religion (and thank God for it). I was absolutely entranced by the whole thing and wondered how a guy who had won an ARIA award was now singing "Puttin' on the Ritz" inside a small community church. Brilliant.

More carols followed, more soloists, an offering and a prayer, then we returned to the altar to sing our last two songs: "Trouble in my Way" - another call and response with the basses taking the coveted solo, and finally "Every Time I Feel The Spirit". I was scared our clapping was going to steer us all over the place (rehearsals have been hit and miss) but we kept it together and closed on a high. It was such a fantastic thing to be a part of and I was so proud of us all. Even Ben said he'd enjoyed singing along with the carols.

All that prolonged singing in a range higher than I'm used to made me a bit woozy and I had to go straight home rather than stay for the supper after the show. Ben and Crunk came to collect me and I was fast asleep within about 10 minutes. Must have been all that cleansing of the soul.