Oils Gig Reviews
Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane, 17th August 2000
Who would have thought... Midnight Oil at a concert Hall? One of the sole survivors of the 80s pub rock scene in such sumptuous surrounds? Australia's leading socio-political music makers deep in the heart of the establishment? Surely it's just...well, wrong.
Guess again. Midnight Oil's Concert Hall gig easily rates as one of their most breathtaking performances in this scribe's book and, from all accounts, plenty of their loyal fans concur.
It seems you can take the Oils out of the pubs but you can't take the pub out of Oils' fans. As the crowd waits for Garrett and Co. to emerge, a sole voice, then a chant, echoes across the Concert Hall's cambered ceiling : "Oils...Oils!" Soon enough the lights dim, and the Oils open with 'Spirit Of The Age', a thunderous blasts of beats heralding their arrival.
"We hope you're really comfortable out there," Garrett smiles, stopping to muse over Midnight Oil's evolution from red dirt to dirty pubs to QPAC. "We like to put ourselves in different situations."
'Short Memory' proves an early highlight, its driving rhythms belying the accoustic setting courtesy of Hirst's ricey drumming and Bone Hillman's earthy bass. Here, and indeed, throughout the whole night, the faultless guitar work of Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey reveals its true colour. So often buried in the huge wall-of-sound the Oils deliver live, it shines through in radiant splendour.
Acoustic versions of 'Blue Sky Mine', 'Diesel And Dust' and 'Beds Are Burning' uncover the often hidden beauty of the songs' guitar lines and just how effectively Moginie and Rotsey combine as players.
That said, there's nothing even remotely "unplugged" about the Oils performance. Those songs they do perform accousticly before amping up rock like the proverbial. Such stinging renditions of now-popular favourites prove how well the Oils have aged. So too, their fans, some of whom leave their seats - probably the best they've ever had for an Oils gig - to dance in the aisles.
The Concert Hall setting also provides an opportunity to immerse in the lyrics as they're served up. Garrett's delivery of 'Beds Are Burning' resonates both in sound and meaning. That song's call for conciliation between all Australians - indigenous and introduced - seems even more timely, a staggering 13 years on.
"The Last Of The Diggers" is another early highlight, so too 'Tell Me The Truth', especially when Hirst throws down his sticks, moving from his percussion kit to his mainstay as the whole set kicks up a gear. Chris Abrahams excells as a guest keyboardist, Garrett remarking "His keys jump more than the false teeth of a retired Gold Coast real estate agent". Touche'!
'King Of The Mountain' and 'Say Your Prayers' blast out in epic style, but it's 'US Forces' that sticks out like a speck of gold. Dedicated to what Garrett calls true Aussies -the lifeguards, youth centre workers, greenies -it soon has the audience singing along, word for word. 'Redneck Wonderland' wraps up the set proper, Garrett dancing with more conviction than a whirling fairy-floss machine.
Pete, Moginie and Abrahams return for a heart-wrenching version of 'In The Valley' but it's what's to come that marks the occasion witha an indelible stamp - 'Power & The Passion' and 'Read About It'.
'Power & The Passion' causes the crowd to rush the stage as Hirst dishes out a pulsating, tectonic roll. A few beats later and the whole joint's on their feet. The Oils keep opening the throttle wider, pausing breifly to take a snapshot of the crowd on 'Bonescam' bfore erupting into 'Read About It'. Devastation ensues.
As powerful as the music is, Midnight Oil's message rings home with equal impact. The Oils have, and always will, say what most normal, fair-minded Aussies think. Even those that don't get it stand the chance of learning something in the presence of such strong convictions. Some 25 years on, the Oils still have the power and the passion to cahnge lives.
Matt Connors Time Off magazine