Still burning brightly, beds ‘n all
Midnight Oil – 02 Brixton Academy, London, 13th June 2019
Midnight Oil – 02 Brixton Academy, London, 13th June 2019
Most people remember Midnight Oil from the band’s 1987 international smash hit 'Beds Are Burning.'
That danceable slice of agit-pop rock, which asked "How can we dance while the world is turning? How can we sleep while the beds are burning?" became an unlikely anthem that Summer and threatened, briefly, to thrust Midnight Oil into at least the lower ranks of rock’s premier league.
The band had seemingly come from nowhere but the reality was quite different – Midnight Oil spent years perfecting their live show in the bars, pubs and clubs littered up and down Australia’s West Coast.
As contemporaries of AC/DC, Jimmy Barnes and Cold Chisel, the band had to learn fast how to entertain a room full of beered-up Aussies; so by the time the international charts beckoned in 1987 Midnight Oil was already regarded as one of the most ferocious live acts on the planet.
But there is much more to the Midnight Oil story than
Aussie pub rock.
Few bands have been more committed to political and social causes than the Oils (from Aboriginal rights and climate change to industrial pollution and political corruption) and vocalist Peter Garrett spent years as an Australian MP for the Labour Party (he was also President of the Australian Conservation Foundation for ten years).
When the band split in 2002 (as Peter Garrett wanted to become more active politically) few thought the Oils would ever tour again.
The odd gig for a charitable cause in the years that followed teased and tantalised the loyal fans, but when the band announced a full reunion in 2017 incorporating a World Tour it was met with thunderous approval from press and public alike.
The 2017 shows in England were a resounding success; thousands of Aussies descended upon the Hammersmith Apollo to sing along to every word of every song they had grown up with.
The band had lost none of its extraordinary power on stage but we all walked off into the night afterwards, shirts sweaty and ears ringing, thinking that was surely the last time we would see them.
But fast forward eighteen months and the return of the Oils, this time to first, Manchester, and now London as part of what the band are calling the second half of their Full Circle reunion tour.
Opening with their 1987 minor hit 'The Dead Heart' (the follow up to 'Beds Are Burning'), with its "doo doo doo" sing-a-long phrase, it was clear the almost entirely Antipodean crowd were up for a good sing song.
The number opened with Rob’s Hirst’s thunderous kick drum, setting the tone for the whole evening as the band’s conductor, marshalling the group with his muscular, dynamic drumming.
The band then rifled off a string of their (Australian) hits including 'Power and the Passion' from their brilliant 1982 album 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.
On stage the six-and-a-half foot tall Peter Garrett cuts quite the frenzied figure (all jerking arms and longs legs, striding across the stage almost in a trance-like state with eyes bulging) while around him the band rip into their catalogue of sing-a-long political pop-rock gems with typical attack ('US Forces' and 'Don’t Wanna Be The One' being particular highlights).
Guitarists Martin Rotsey and Jim Moginie gelled perfectly (Rotsey held down the rhythms with a crunching Stratocaster as Moginie spat out deliciously chewy licks from his Les Paul) while Bones Hillman’s suitably rock solid bass was a perfect companion to Rob Hirst’s power drumming – Midnight Oil in full flight is quite a sight to behold, and the band took off on a few occasions at the 02 Brixton Academy.
The excellent 'Truganini,' with Peter Garrett’s harmonica bursts seemingly blowing the roof off the Academy, and the catchy chorus-heavy 'King of the Mountain,' are especially popular as the band headed towards a low-key acoustic middle section.
With all five members stage front, the band encouraged the audience to sing along to 'Short Memory' and 'Lujita Way,' though one could sense the crowd keen for the boys to plug and let rip again – which they soon did as 'Kosciusko,' from 1985’s Red Sails In The Sunset, started acoustically before morphing into the crashing, angry guitar fest that it always was.
The Oils have one great trick up their sleeve, and that is ability to write tunes with interesting arrangements.
So despite the punky demeanour, heavy guitars and eccentric front man, you can sing along to every word, and still remember the tune four of five songs later.
The band ended the main set with another string of (minor hits) including 'Blue Sky Mine' and 'Sometimes,' before launching into an extended 'Beds Are Burning.'
The band came back on stage twice, first to tear through 'Forgotten Years' (every Australian in the house belting out the chorus as if their very life depended on it) and then to end the night with the downbeat, acoustic 'One Country.'
It was another song that demanded the crowd’s vocal participation but one that was perhaps too lo-fi an ending for what had been a dynamic and thrilling concert, full of heart-thumping, brain-feeding rock music of the most exciting kind.
Bands like Midnight Oil don’t seem to exist anymore.
Time was there was a Clash or an REM (who were hugely influenced by the Oils) in every record collection; before long the Midnight Oil too, will be extinct.
Whilst grateful for these recent unexpected returns, we should cherish them now while we can.
Adam Norsworthy
FabricationsHQ
That danceable slice of agit-pop rock, which asked "How can we dance while the world is turning? How can we sleep while the beds are burning?" became an unlikely anthem that Summer and threatened, briefly, to thrust Midnight Oil into at least the lower ranks of rock’s premier league.
The band had seemingly come from nowhere but the reality was quite different – Midnight Oil spent years perfecting their live show in the bars, pubs and clubs littered up and down Australia’s West Coast.
As contemporaries of AC/DC, Jimmy Barnes and Cold Chisel, the band had to learn fast how to entertain a room full of beered-up Aussies; so by the time the international charts beckoned in 1987 Midnight Oil was already regarded as one of the most ferocious live acts on the planet.
But there is much more to the Midnight Oil story than
Aussie pub rock.
Few bands have been more committed to political and social causes than the Oils (from Aboriginal rights and climate change to industrial pollution and political corruption) and vocalist Peter Garrett spent years as an Australian MP for the Labour Party (he was also President of the Australian Conservation Foundation for ten years).
When the band split in 2002 (as Peter Garrett wanted to become more active politically) few thought the Oils would ever tour again.
The odd gig for a charitable cause in the years that followed teased and tantalised the loyal fans, but when the band announced a full reunion in 2017 incorporating a World Tour it was met with thunderous approval from press and public alike.
The 2017 shows in England were a resounding success; thousands of Aussies descended upon the Hammersmith Apollo to sing along to every word of every song they had grown up with.
The band had lost none of its extraordinary power on stage but we all walked off into the night afterwards, shirts sweaty and ears ringing, thinking that was surely the last time we would see them.
But fast forward eighteen months and the return of the Oils, this time to first, Manchester, and now London as part of what the band are calling the second half of their Full Circle reunion tour.
Opening with their 1987 minor hit 'The Dead Heart' (the follow up to 'Beds Are Burning'), with its "doo doo doo" sing-a-long phrase, it was clear the almost entirely Antipodean crowd were up for a good sing song.
The number opened with Rob’s Hirst’s thunderous kick drum, setting the tone for the whole evening as the band’s conductor, marshalling the group with his muscular, dynamic drumming.
The band then rifled off a string of their (Australian) hits including 'Power and the Passion' from their brilliant 1982 album 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.
On stage the six-and-a-half foot tall Peter Garrett cuts quite the frenzied figure (all jerking arms and longs legs, striding across the stage almost in a trance-like state with eyes bulging) while around him the band rip into their catalogue of sing-a-long political pop-rock gems with typical attack ('US Forces' and 'Don’t Wanna Be The One' being particular highlights).
Guitarists Martin Rotsey and Jim Moginie gelled perfectly (Rotsey held down the rhythms with a crunching Stratocaster as Moginie spat out deliciously chewy licks from his Les Paul) while Bones Hillman’s suitably rock solid bass was a perfect companion to Rob Hirst’s power drumming – Midnight Oil in full flight is quite a sight to behold, and the band took off on a few occasions at the 02 Brixton Academy.
The excellent 'Truganini,' with Peter Garrett’s harmonica bursts seemingly blowing the roof off the Academy, and the catchy chorus-heavy 'King of the Mountain,' are especially popular as the band headed towards a low-key acoustic middle section.
With all five members stage front, the band encouraged the audience to sing along to 'Short Memory' and 'Lujita Way,' though one could sense the crowd keen for the boys to plug and let rip again – which they soon did as 'Kosciusko,' from 1985’s Red Sails In The Sunset, started acoustically before morphing into the crashing, angry guitar fest that it always was.
The Oils have one great trick up their sleeve, and that is ability to write tunes with interesting arrangements.
So despite the punky demeanour, heavy guitars and eccentric front man, you can sing along to every word, and still remember the tune four of five songs later.
The band ended the main set with another string of (minor hits) including 'Blue Sky Mine' and 'Sometimes,' before launching into an extended 'Beds Are Burning.'
The band came back on stage twice, first to tear through 'Forgotten Years' (every Australian in the house belting out the chorus as if their very life depended on it) and then to end the night with the downbeat, acoustic 'One Country.'
It was another song that demanded the crowd’s vocal participation but one that was perhaps too lo-fi an ending for what had been a dynamic and thrilling concert, full of heart-thumping, brain-feeding rock music of the most exciting kind.
Bands like Midnight Oil don’t seem to exist anymore.
Time was there was a Clash or an REM (who were hugely influenced by the Oils) in every record collection; before long the Midnight Oil too, will be extinct.
Whilst grateful for these recent unexpected returns, we should cherish them now while we can.
Adam Norsworthy
FabricationsHQ