Oils Gig Reviews
San Franciso - 1994
Midnight Oil still burns with a fierce and fiery light, fueled by political passion and a feel for the pulse of fundamental rock and roll.
Sunday night at the Fillmore Auditorium, the Australian band roared through 21 songs in 105 minutes, turning up the heat in the venerable nightclub and once more proving that you can't judge a band by its albums. Midnight Oil, like many others, is vastly more powerful and entertaining live than on CD, and frontman Peter Garrett's impact can only be fully appreciated in the flesh -- that is, what there is of it. The cadaverous Garrett, who is 6-5 with a shaved head and skin so pale one wonders if he's ever been outside, may look like a zombie on a two-day leave, but he is one of the most charismatic and compelling singers around.
He is surrounded by first-class musicians (drummer Rob Hirst and guitarist/keyboardist Jim Moginie deserve special mention) who have worked together since the mid-'80s, and also has a sizable body of work to draw on. Put this incendiary band in the legendary Fillmore, and it's like tossing a match onto a bone-dry California hillside.
Luckily, Midnight Oil's performances don't burn down anything but the house, which was full and completely appreciative of the fact that Midnight Oil was playing such a small hall. On its last trip through, the band headlined the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, which holds about eight times as many people as the Fillmore -- and was also sold out.
But, as Ariel Black pointed out, Garrett and friends found themselves all dressed up for WOMAD with no place to go when that concert tour was cancelled, and so decided to play a club tour instead. Those who managed to get into Sunday night's show could only be thankful for the slow ticket sales that doomed the 1994 version of WOMAD, because it meant that they would get to see a juggernaut of a rock and roll band in a very special setting. Not only is the Fillmore much smaller than the usual Midnight Oil venues, it is also crammed to the ceiling with the spirits of rock and roll legends -- and the memories of those legends in concert.
Midnight Oil now has played the Fillmore twice, and both shows were marked by unrelenting rhythm, solid guitar work andjust enough melody to sing along with. The band's incredible energy, superb musicianship and passionate devotion to its message combine to make it one of the best live bands working today. This latest show was simply more proof, if more proof was needed, that Midnight Oil can light up even a Sunday night without striking a match.
the lizard king
Review found on CompuServe