Oils Gig Reviews

Manly Leagues Club, Sydney, 24th July 1998

Midnight Oil, that stalwart of Australian rock, is dead as we know it. The show was Australian from beginning to end which is typical Oils. From the surfing movie 'The Biggest Wednesday' to the (Tasmanian) Pale Riders and the intervening stand up "comedy" of Steddy Eddy then to the politically inspired Midnight Oil, the show was nothing if not screaming support for local acts (even if little talent was involved). The Oils themselves were in fine form, and are still the stage presence that they have always been, but they have tried to go off in a new direction and gotten themselves lost.

The Oils started up where the 20,000 Watt RSL tour left off - complete with poker machines and that spinning wheel with their past songs on it. The crowd really got into it when they played one of the old favourites straight away in 'King Of The Mountain', but I knew something was different when we heard 'Blue Sky Mine' before the half hour was up; usually it is left as an encore or at least the penultimate song. The Oils went off with 'U.S. Forces' which was easily the crowd's favourite on the night. About half way through the concert they left the stage, the set was changed and the lights were turned back on to reveal the Redneck Wonderland backdrop. Like me, most of the crowd was familiar with only the two singles from the new album: 'White Skin, Black Heart' and 'Redneck Wonderland' and even these didn't get a very big reception. Anyone who has heard the latter knows already what most of the album is like; this music is a step into the unknown for Midnight Oil and it shows. Perhaps for a new band this music might be palatable, but it's just not what we have come to expect from the Oils.

This music takes away from the soft Australian rock sound that we think of as the Oils, they have dabbled in heavy distortion and (gasp) electronics that give them a techno sound. In particular, the rendition of 'Power And The Passion' which they did as the final song of the night, had people looking around at each other wondering what had happened. The crowd had stopped movin' and moshin' and a half hearted 'Oils' chant went up before the crowd left bewildered.

R.I.P. Midnight Oil 1978 - 1998

Simon Holding Channel V