Oils Gig Reviews

Equinox, Easter (March) 97

On a bright and sunny Saturday morning our intrepid team of Oils fans set out on a journey. Travelling across to the Northern side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (the other side of the known sane world according to krustyfries) we arived at the Macquarie university for the Equinox festival. The line up included Finiscad(Aus), The Porkers, Sprung Monkey(Aus), K's choice(Belgium), Mark of Cain(Aus), Local H (US), Mark Seymour (Aus - of Hunters & Collectors fame), The Fauves(Aus), Blink 182 (US) Skunkhour, Skunk Anansie (UK), TOOL (US), MIDNIGHT OIL (AUS).

With this line up we saw some impressive performances by K's choice, Mark of Cain, Mark Seymour (who played solo H&C songs acousticly including Hoil Grail). Also the machine like sound which was bellowed out by TOOL was fantastic.

After this musical warm-up, the oils then graced the stage and pumped out a phenomenal sounding set, including the much talked about new track "Sandwiches in my mind". Also an added bonus of half naked men and women dancing with fire on stage (to Eye Contact) which prompted Pete and Rob to rip their own shirts off and join in the jamboree. And in fact, we were rather worried at the end when Pete motioned as if he was going to remove the little that remained - those lovely tartan trousers (although maybe it was Rob who should be removing his trousers - that lime green was really bright - almost as bright as Bones' hair, but Bones' hair is no longer green). The lighting was unusual for the oils - including a disco style strobe on Rob. This looked totally unreal (and you didn't see it!) - it looked liked he had several arms & multiple sticks. A very pumped up performance - thanks guys! 8)

After the show, we saw Gary Morris (band manager) shining a red laser into Rob's eyes during an MTV interview (was he the masked red laser bandit of previous shows?) - Rob had a few choice words to say about this, much to the amusement of all who were watching. Catching up with Bones after the interview, and having made a few sly comments about his hair & the similarity between him and David Bowie (especially at Newcastle when he wore that $6- op-shop jacket), Adam asked for a lighter, to which Bones responded by sticking his face in Adam's motioning Adam to take the cigarette out of his mouth (what an offer!). Adam contemplated keeping this as a momento, but Bones convinced him not to, reminding Adam that in a few years "it would be worth (hmmm...he thinks about it).....nothing!".

Anyway, your reward for reading through this essay is the set list. Talking about the set list - we must mention THE FONT of the set list (this being an all important issue in the performance of any band on stage). For those who have not seen previous set lists, they were previously printed in Arial (all capitals). However, a revolution has occured, it now seems to be written in a variation of Benguiat Frisky (still caps lock) - is it a special Oils font? We sincerely believe that this has had a positive impact on the attitude and performance of the band on stage. If you are lucky enough to view the set list at future gigs, you may wish to post your comments on this! The set list follows (unfortunately in a normal font only, although for those who are interested, Kristy will scan this to her web page for your aesthetic pleasure):

• Only the Strong
• Cold Cold Change
• Don't Wanna Be the One
• White Skin (Black Heart)
• No Time for Games
• In My Mind
• Sins of Omission
• When the Generals Talk
• Sell my Soul
• Blue Sky Mine
• Eye Contact
• Back on the Borderline
• Surf's Up
• Warm Babies
• Dreamworld
• Hercules
• Encore: Read About It

Hope you enjoyed the review, If anyone would like to buy Bones' cigarette butt, Adam is currently taking bids. He may be contacted through Krusty or Kies (as he is yet to subscribe - he is currently rather computer illiterate - unlike Bones who has now joined the ranks of the Net Heads - look out for him in a Cyber Cafe near you!)

Kylie, Krusty Fries & Adam - Powderworkers