Midnight Oil

Spring has sprung, so naturally the night we went to see Midnight Oil was the coldest night of the year. So far this winter has been warm and wet – the wettest on record – in New Zealand. Why am I telling you this? It’s a matter of gig logistics. Going to any kind of performance is easier in the summer, you just rock up in your t-shirt and shorts. In winter, you’re going from an extremely cold environment to one that gets extremely warm very quickly, as the heat thrown off by thousands of bodies, and also the lighting rig, heat up the interior. How to dress for that? Fortunately we were seated so could put our coats under the seat, but many people were sitting in thick outdoors coats throughout, and as for those downstairs in the mosh pit, what did they do?

This gig has been rescheduled twice. Originally planned for September 2021, then for May this year, it has been affected by the country’s Covid response. Also, fortunately, the venue has changed to the Michael Fowler Centre, which has much more comfortable seating than the Opera House. Just as a reminder, New Zealand is still officially in Orange traffic light setting, so we were supposed to wear masks throughout the performance. Ha ha, didn’t happen. We arrived in plenty of time, queued to buy a new t-shirt, grabbed a drink then found our seats in the upper gallery.

First on was support act Liz Stringer, who also sings as backing vocalist to the band. She’s released 6 albums in Australia, but only broken through with her most recent, First Time Really Feeling. She does a lot of explaining her songs, and the songs are quite long, so she only played four. And that was quite enough for me.

Liz Stringer

At 9 o’clock, the lights dimmed a second time, and the Oils came out fighting with King Of The Mountain, to get the crowd going. The set list contains a lot of new material, as they’ve released two works over the last couple of years: The Makarrata Project, a mini-album featuring collaborations with First Nations artists; and Resist, their final(?) album, released earlier this year. They also played some obscure album tracks from earlier in their career, so the set was very different from last time we saw them for the Great Circle tour in 2017, where it was all pretty much Greatest Hits. Also, we had a much better view of the stage this time, and were able to fully appreciate Peter Garrett’s trademark manic, spasmodic dancing style. Halfway through the set, Rob Hirst came out from behind his drum kit when they slowed down for a couple of acoustic guitar songs – In The Valley and Luritja Way – and the band performed from the front of the stage. We had a little dramedy for Blue Sky Mine, as MOGP* Dan was pulled up on stage…he’d been holding a sign that said “I’m a drummer, can I come and play drums on Blue Sky Mine?” They didn’t let him drum, but they gave him a tambourine and gave him strict instructions to stay in time!

The main set finished with Beds Are Burning and Forgotten Years, then a three-song encore ensued, starting with We Are Not Afraid, from the latest album, then Read About It and Hercules.

We finished up and re-donned our outdoor clothing for the walk to the car, and got home about 11:30. Is this the last time we’ll see them? They’ve packed it in twice before, and come back twice, so maybe not?

 

* Member Of (the) General Public