Thank goodness they’re back.
Midnight Oil is a band that many have never heard of… until you sing, “How can we dance, When our earth is turning; How do we sleep, While our beds are burning?” And then everyone knows them.
The funny thing is, despite forming in the 1970s, they are as relevant – indeed, more needed, now than ever.
On May 31st they brought their live show to Seattle’s Moore Theatre as part of their Great Circle world tour. This is their first tour since they officially disbanded in 2002, when lead singer Peter Garrett left the band to focus on his role as a politician in the Australian parliament.
Thank goodness he’s back in music.
Many of the Oils’ most popular songs were written as a form of activism: for the environment, for the rights of indigenous people, for the rights, really, of the people on this amazing planet. And, while many were written in the ‘70s and ‘80s, both their words and sentiments feel more timely than ever. Nor did this fact escape the band, as Garrett interjected brief hits of politics throughout the show. Of particular note was the t-shirt he bared during “Kosciusko,” which noted that, “To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men.” For their activism alone, for the message in their songs, the Oils are a band worth checking out.
However, assuming for a moment that you, dear reader, don’t pick your musical idols based solely on politics: get thee anyway to a Midnight Oil show; the band (still) freakin’ rocks. Despite a 15 year hiatus and the fact that they are all in their 60s, they put on a scorching show, as one imagines they might have done in the bars north of Sydney back in the day. As always, the focus of the show, beyond the incredible songs and musicianship, was the near-spastic and entirely captivating dancing of (64 year-old) Garrett. However, it wasn’t merely the spectacle of this bald giant flailing around the stage; the band played an incredibly tight set of 24 songs, many raging with intensity, and through nearly all, one couldn’t help but feel the joy the band members appeared to be feeling being back on stage together. It was the perfect kind of show: a group of people doing what they love together, making amazing, and amazingly intense, music.
Most of the show was comprised of fairly driven rock songs, including, of course, their biggest hit, “Beds Are Burning,” as well as other highlights from their catalog (including “Sell My Soul,” “US Forces,” “The Dead Heart,” and “Blue Sky Mining, among many others). For most songs, the band stuck fairly closely to the original, with a few notable, beautiful exceptions. Their version of “My Country” was heart-rendingly gorgeous, their voices shimmering beautifully over the lone piano. Somehow the lack of other instruments served to elevate the song to something almost religious in nature. Similarly, “Kosciusko” began with just two guitars, and all voices, which set a beautifully melodic foundation before drummer Rob Hirst brought in a thunder of drums before Garrett intoned to, “Call off the ultimatum – no, don’t turn away…”
In short, Midnight Oil remains one of the best live shows out there. Go for the politics, go for the music, go for the spectacle. But – go. Their message, and their existence, is more important than ever.
Thank goodness they’re back.
