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Aussie icons celebrate on tour: Oils Stir "Rabid" Fans

(Original article online here)

Touring from Newcastle to Adelaide, Midnight Oil are celebrating the release of 20,000 Watt RSL, a compilation album featuring 16 favourites from their last 10 albums.

Using passion and perserverance, Midnight Oil have created a stage over the last 20 years where music has become a calling point for dialogue and action on pressing social issues.

"They've always maintained a stance and not swayed from it." Skunkhour drummer Michael Sutherland said. "They always put their money where their mouth is, and have always been staunchly political."

Skunkhour will be touring with Midnight Oil, featuring their usual funk hip-hop, road-tripping, drum-punding sound. And they are psyched with the opportunity to perform with Midnight Oil again.

"They're great. They're an Australian icon band," Sutherland said. It's great for us to tour with them. Their professionalism is second to none."

Midnight Oil is not the back seat, rest easy music that can sit softly in the background. it calls for change and leaves those who actually listen to their lyrics with a sense of responsibility.

"I don't think it's something I don't all their fans realise," Sutherland said. "Some people just come along to hear the songs. Sometimes the lyrics and sentiments of the songs wash over them a bit.

Sutherland reckons the release of 20,000 Watt RSL will bring out an older generation of fans. "Ever since 1978/79 Midnight Oil has had a cult following. It has calmed down for a while," he said. "But this release has brought out the old crew and they are pretty rabid fans."

Sutherland foresees a shift in the concerts because of this. "Playing in front of that crowd will be different. We toured with Midnight Oil in North Queensland before they released this greatest hits album. There were a lot of young people who had heard of Midnight Oil and came along because they knew they were big, but they didn't know exactly what they played. So this time the audience will be expecting all the hits, and it will a slightly different affair. I'm sure they'll be playing some of their new stuff too." Sutherland said.

Rumour has it that Midnight Oil will have a wheel on stage with their greatest hits listed. A turn of the wheel will determine each song of the night.

With a heightened level of spontaneity and top-notch performances, it promises to be a good evening.

From Illawarra Mercury, by

(Note: this article has not been approved for reproduction.)