Oils Gig Reviews

Mercury Lounge, New York, 6,7,8th December 1997

A certain level of excitement can be expected when a major music act plays at a tiny venue. And when international superstars Midnight Oil played at the 200-person capacity Mercury Lounge in one of three sold out New York City dates, the energy level could have provided enough power to service the entire Big Apple.

The five piece Australian outfit clicked on a level few could possibly hope of achieving. Best known in the States for their top 20 1988 hit "Beds Are Burning", this song actually incited the least excitement in both the crowd and the band. Lesser hits such as 1993s "Truganini", 1990s "Blue Sky Mining" and "Forgotten Years" and 1984s "Power And The Passion" were what drove the crowd wild, and lead vocalist Peter Garrett seemed to feed off the crowd's energy and excitement.

The audience at the Oil show was much different than at the traditional concert. Although packed in a tight area, there was no moshing - people were dancing and stomping in place, literally making the entire Mercury Lounge shake. And when Garrett would have a monologue in between some songs ("I don't have too much to say tonight," he first said, "which makes our drummer quite happy"), the crowd immediately dropped any conversation, enabling Garrett's imposing presence and voice to tower over everyone.

But although Garrett the orator was a welcome change from the "Hi New York, do you want to rock?", most fans came to hear the music. The track selection consisted of songs from the band's recently issued 'hits' compilation, "20000 Watt R.S.L.", along with four selections from a forthcoming 1998 album - two of which have been included on "20000". One of the new tracks, "What Goes On", was dedicated to the recently-departed Michael Hutchence. The chemistry, raw power and enthusiasm of all the band's members astounded even this jaded concert-goer, and re-inforced my faith in successful groups retaining their love of live performances.

It's a rare group that can generate the same level of enthusiasm for their songs after 20 years - and even more difficult to find acts that can produce new, robust songs after that time. Tonight, Midnight Oil placed themselves in that class.