Wow! Back home the Oils were at their energetic and acerbic best in the Hunter Valley in October, delivering raw powerful rock with a not so subltle message, exhorting us to save our planet and save our species (morally at least) from further destructive acts.
We’re at Hope Estate. It’s Saturday 21 October and we were about to witness the much anticipated – and much hyped – return of Midnight Oil to the stage. I write this post on the day of the culminating Oz event for the Oils, the concert in the Domain in Sydney, Saturday 11 November. Which will be mega, as they play to their home town crowd.
We were back in the Hunter too. The Doctors and the Rock Chick, who has been my partner in crime in lots of adventures. We’ve been to many gigs over the years – who could forget Led Zeppelin in 1972? We were young, single and fancy free, but now at least we’re single once more and still very much fancy free!
After a world tour that took them to venues in both hemispheres, Midnight Oil were back home and back in form!
The weather behaved – a classic Hunter Valley spring night – cloudless, inky black and starry.
Hope Estate was packed, with a capacity crowd usually only seen for uber celebrity rock acts like the Stones or the Boss. The crowd spanned the ages, mums and dads, little kids, grandads and grandmums, and loads of Gen Xs who grew up on the music. The Gen Ys seemed a little mystified with the rock star reverence that their parents were showing as iconic song followed iconic song.
The band played for a non-stop 2 hours. So much energy on stage! Rob Hirst’s drum solo was exhilarating, so much Power in his drumming with so much undoubted Passion!
But it’s front man Peter Garrett who is the riveting performer onstage. His voice, punching out the lyrics, his literally huge presence, and his Joe Cocker like disjointed strutting across the stage, are what Midnight Oil are all about.
And we are left in no doubt about the message. The Oils may not directly directly influence politics, but it’s clear that their huge following may just be the ones to start off that process of social change.
Peter, your music speaks so much louder than your politics…
Set List Saturday 21 October
Redneck Wonderland
Read About It
In The Valley
Stand in Line
River Runs Red
Truganini
Hercules
My Country
When the Generals Talk
Short Memory
US Forces
Kosciusko
Only the Strong
Put Down That Weapon
Beds Are Burning
Blue Sky Mine
Forgotten Years
Dreamworld
Encore:
The Dead Heart
Power and the Passion
Best of Both Worlds
Encore 2:
King of the Mountain
The Quirk and the Cool 