On stage, finally!

Yesterday - D-day. The big day was finally here! We kick-started the day with a band briefing on the train towards Sydney, a good time to iron out the setlist and discuss some of the final details of the performance. Following Catechesis and a hurried lunch, all of us except for Janice, went back out to the suburbs to rest a while and change.

A couple of hours later we were back on the road - the distances here are impressive. It took over an hour to get to Tumbalong Park, the newly (and beautifully) refurbished harbour area where the docks previously stood. The first band, an American alternative rock outfit, was already playing.

Preparing for the gig took very much the usual course: tagging for admission backstage, a time of prayer and a call from the assistant stage manager asking us to go back stage - it was already 8.30 p.m.

We took to the stage in a confident mood. The audience was your typical WYD crowd; loud, pumped up and looking for a good time. The Maltese KDZ contingent turned up, Maltese flag and all, as did our Gibraltarian friends, not a minor detail for us. I really feel we gave a good performance, one of our best thus far, tight musically and also mentally. In addition, the excellent crowd response and the vibe on stage made our 45 minutes slot seem half that. Soon we were playing our last song - Jars of Clay, calls for an encore had to be refused; it seems the sound man wanted to get an early night ...

Off stage we mingled with the crowd, I love this bit of our gigs because to me Salt is a shared experience. Before signing some albums and taking photos we met up with some rapturous student whose school we'll be visiting next week in Victoria...but that's music for the future, no?

p.s. If you wish to get a glimpse of us in Oz search 'Salt (Malta)' on You Tube and on our Facebook page.

The band Salt is in Australia for the World Youth Day events.