Midnight Oil

*Favorite Live Band*

Midnight Oil is the only Australian band that really matters. For fifteen years, the "Oils" have managed to live up to the promise put forth on the first line of the first song on their first album (the song "Powderworks" from the untitled "blue" album (1978)), where singer Peter Garrett exclaimed "There's a shit storm coming."

Garrett's thoughtful lyrics are almost diametrical to the powerhouse Oils sound. The dual-guitar assault of Martin Rotsey and James Moginie (who also doubles on keyboards) was originally patterned on the infamous Australian underground band Radio Birdman, and the additional elements of Bones Hilman on bass and Rob Hirst on drums help make the Oils the definition of potent rock.

Along with a reputation for taking on progressive political causes in their songs and actions, the Oils have also earned a reputation for explosive concerts. In 1992, a long-awaited live Midnight Oil release hit the stores as Columbia Records attempted to appease fans between the studio releases Blue Sky Mining (1991) and Earth and Sun and Moon (1993). Scream In Blue is successful (for the most part) at capturing the live Oils sound, but the release fails to recreate the intensity of an Oils performance. Perhaps this is because the album excerpts songs from a handful of shows between 1982 and 1991, the pace of a live concert is never established. Another problem with Scream In Blue is that some of the selections are "studio-fied" with obvious studio post-production work. Nonetheless, the album stands as a reasonable testament to the power of an Oils performance.

Fortunately for dedicated fans, there is a good selection of Midnight Oil radio broadcasts and audience recordings that present the band in a straightforward live context. From early gigs at Sydney's Paramatta Park in 1980 and 1981, to a special one-off set at the "Streetscene" in Los Angeles in 1985, to the "Earth Day" concerts of 1992 and 1993 in New York, and more, the Oils' live career has been well-preserved in trading circles.

Prior to their first U.S. release in 1983, the Oils released three full albums in Australia: the blue album (1978), Head Injuries (1979), and Places Without A Postcard (1981). The earliest live recordings of Midnight Oil are from the Paramatta Park shows of 1980 and 1981. Both of these shows were broadcast on JJJ, Sydney's independent station.

These early Oils gigs reveal that the core "sound" of the band was in force from the get-go. When the two guitars aren't trading riffs on songs like "No Reaction" and "Stand In Line," the keyboards pick up the slack on songs like "Section 5 (Bus To Bondi)." There is a hint of things to come on songs like the high-energy "No Time For Games," "Cold Cold Change," and "Borderline," but the Oils' sound was still in its infancy, and there were a few rough edges yet to be worked out.

With each successive studio release, the Oils been able to implement a masterful application of studio technology to refine their incendiary, anthemic, dual-guitar driven powerhouse. When former-Who producer Glynn Johns worked the controls on the Oils on the album Places Without A Postcard, he shaped and refined the Oils' "sound" into a distinctive hybrid of the best of all the band's influences.

There are no live Oils shows from 1981. Perhaps this is because the band went right back to work in the studio to produce what became their first "breakthrough" effort, the album called 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (known as "10 to 1"), released in 1982. There were several Australian radio broadcasts from 1982 and 1983 that feature material from 10-1 extensively. Although it was during this period that the Oils earned a reputation for their no-nonsense approach on songs like "Read About It" and "Only The Strong," the older material held its own in the live setting on songs like "Brave Faces" and "Knife's Edge."

Keyboards continued to be an important component of the Oils' sound. The usual concert opener from this period, "Outside World" (from 10-1), represents the "other" side of the Oils' sound. On this and songs such as "Armistice Day," "Scream In Blue," and "Wedding Cake Island," the Oils crafted an alternative to the amplified assault their louder songs represented.

In 1984 the Oils made their first tour of the U.S. while "Power and the Passion" was getting radio airplay, and for awhile the Oils were "the next big thing." Only two complete shows have surfaced from this first U.S. tour, the best of which was taped at Montezuma Hall in San Diego.

The thousand or so fans who attended this performance got an unforgettable dose of the Oils. The set featured many of the most powerful songs from the Oils up to that point songs like "Written In The Heart" (from Places Without a Postcard ), "I'm The Cure" (from the Bird Noises 12"), and a rare live version of "Shipyards of New Zealand" (from 10-1). The show was also memorable because the Oils brought along a didgereedoo player, Charles McMahan (front-man for Gondwanaland Project), who joined them for an encore that included one of the most powerful takes ever of the Oils' ode to capitalism, "Stand In Line" (from Head Injuries).

The period between 1984 and 1985 found the Oils in one of their most fruitful periods. They released the Species Deceases 12" and the Red Sails In The Sunset album, and they hit another peak in their no-nonsense high-energy career. A videotape surfaced from this period of a performance in the middle Sydney Harbor on "Goat Island." The show took place to celebrate JJJ-FM's tenth anniversary, and it may be the most intense Oils performance in my collection. Words fail to describe the power of the band and the beauty of the setting. This show even gets mentioned in the liner notes for Scream In Blue.

Later that year, the Oils toured the U.S. opening for UB40. Although UB40 was still producing political reggae at this point, the concert billing was an odd match which didn't allow the Oils to present their music under the best circumstances. The UB horns did join the Oils on "Power and the Passion," but the indifference of the crowd was somewhat discouraging for the band and its dedicated fans.

They did play the occasional headlining concert though, and selections from one show at the Hollywood Palladium were featured on an "in-concert" radio broadcast. My favorite recording from this period was made later in the year by a fan at the "Streetscene" in Los Angeles. The Oils flew out to play this free concert, and the energy for this performance was intense. the crowd was virtually uncontrollable as the Oils tore through a 45 minute set that included "Read About It," "Progress," "Only The Strong," "Short Memory," and "Best Of Both Worlds." The crowd was so over the top that Peter Garrett had to quiet the band during "Power and The Passion" until a sense of order was restored! I wish I had been there.

The Oils laid low during 1986 and 1987. Actually, they were touring the Australian outback and playing for Aborigines, gearing up for what eventually became their top-selling album Diesel and Dust. The world tour began in New Zealand, and the set they played in Christchurch was pretty much the same as they would play during their entire U.S. and European tours, featuring just about the entire new album with a rare version of "I'm The Cure" (from Bird Noises) the only selection played from before 10-1.

When the Oils began their tour of the U.S. in April of 1988, they were riding high on the popularity of "Beds Are Burning" and "The Dead Heart." Never have I been to an Oils concert before or since where the crowd was so familiar with the material or so appreciative. As I mentioned, the set pretty much stayed the same throughout the tour, but they still had some surprises in store.

Although just about every show began with "Bullroarer," they varied the second song of the set from night to night. Sometimes it would be "Progress," sometimes "Gun Barrel Highway" (a song excluded from the U.S. release of Diesel and Dust), sometimes "Lucky Country." The best recording from this tour was made in Chicago, where they even played a cover of Elvis Costello's "What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding."

At the end of 1988, following their European tour, the Oils returned to the U.S. for a series of dates called the "Return To Big Mountain" tour, where they shared the bill with the Aboriginal group Yothu Yindi and the native-American group John Trudell and Graffiti Man. The tour was in support of indigenous people's causes, and not only introduced many people to the equally powerful music of the opening bands, it was also by far the best show I've seen the Oils play.

It was two years before the next album Blue Sky Mine was released, and another world tour was launched in support of the album. As the singles "Blue Sky Mine" and "Forgotten Years" moved up the charts, the Oils launched another U.S. tour. Because they had acquired a large following after Diesel and Dust, the turnout at the show I saw in Berkeley was strong, as was the performance. Unfortunately the larger crowds included many more people unfamiliar with any songs other than the hits, so the ability of a dedicated fan to enjoy the entire show was hampered by those who talked in-between the handful of songs they recognized. The sameness of shows from this tour was also somewhat disappointing.

Now it's 1993, and it's been three years since the Oils toured the U.S. People on the East coast are fortunate to have had the Oils play the "Earth Day" concerts of 1992 and 1993, but other concerts have been few and far between. A radio special in April premiered Earth and Sun and Moon and featured interviews with several members of the band as well as some live selections culled from a recent performance at a club called Wetlands, in New York City.The Oils also made their first live TV appearance in the U.S. when they played two songs on Saturday Night Live "Truganini" and "My Country." They also appeared on MTV's "Unplugged" for a special acoustic performance that included an incredible rendition of "In The Valley" (from Earth and Sun and Moon). As these performances, the Wetlands show, and an audio tape of the 1993 "Earthday" concert indicate, the Oils have not lost any impact in the live setting. They may have toned down the "issue" orientation of their music, but they still present their unique sound in a potent way.

As of this writing another Midnight Oil tour is planned for July. Will this be the year you finally raise your political and musical awareness at a Midnight Oil concert?

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