Oils Gig Reviews

Bunbury Recreation Centre, Bunbury, 1st August 1998

Well, I managed to get to a show, despite my fears that my holidays would get in the way. It involved leaving the Karijini National Park in WA's north west on Thursday morning, driving about 700km, to just south of Meekatharra and camping there for the night. Friday morning, about another 450km to my home in Geraldton. Then Saturday 650km from Geraldton to Bunbury for the show. But it was worth it!! (as always)

They were playing in the local basketball stadium, which gives rise to concerns about sound quality, but it was fine for me. Love that Biggest Wednesday video!! The oils went off, naturally.

Had prime position as always, front row, slightly left of centre, to be dead in front of PG, and with a great view of the best guitarist in Australian rock history. This would have to be the smallest crowd I've ever seen the oils in which was great - didn't get any bruises or broken ribs from being crushed against the fence.

I managed to get a set list from Rocco on the lighting desk...
Dreamworld
E-Beat
Only The Strong
Wheel - No Time For Games
Truganini
Wheel - Powderworks
White Skin Black Heart
US Forces
Blue Sky Mine
Best of Both Worlds
The Dead Heart
Morph

Comfortable Place on the Couch
Seeing Is Believing
Safety Chain Blues
The Great Gibber Plain
What Goes On
Cemetery In My Mind
Concrete
Redneck Wonderland

Drop In The Ocean
Power & The Passion
Beds are Burning

Highlights: the wheel spins couldn't have been better! A bunch of us at the front agreed before the show to call for "No Time for Games" if the hand came up, but we didn't need to, it came up by itself! Then to get Powderworks on the second spin was even better (they needed a few seconds to get sorted for that one!)

The Redneck stuff was fantastic live, especially Seeing is Believing and Cemetery.

Martin looks a lot more comfortable playing a guitar than he does playing keyboards (Drop in the Ocean). That song looked really funny, with Martin and Jim on the keyboards at the back, Peter was sort of out in front by himself, like it was a cabaret band or something!

I absolutely LOVED this new version of power and the passion!!! Even though I'm not at all a fan of drum machines and techno shit, this song was great!! And I see Rob's old corrugated outback water tank has been superseded by the domestic hot water system, complete with tap hanging out the side. Still plays great.

And finally, the award for sweatiest Oil of the night goes to Bones, who gave it 150% all night, and was drowning in his own perspiration by about the fifth song.

All in all, one of the best Oils shows I've been to! Even Jane went off, although she wasn't prepared to brave the front row crush.

Anyone got any tapes of a Redneck show yet??