ChrisC
Well-known member
Now you are going to tell me Men at Work are retired too.
Midnight Oil
- Thread starter ChrisC
- Start date
Now you are going to tell me Men at Work are retired too.
Or, worse yet, Lubricated Goat!
Saw Midnight Oil on "the Pier" in NYC in the summer of 85 (Red Sails tour?) in a relentless, drenching, warm thunderstorm. The show opened in a driving rain with a just a red spotlight on Peter Garret, in a defiant and menacing stance, from low and behind him. Very dramatic. After the show, the scene on the subway headed downtown to the PATH stations was pretty funny, with hundreds of drenched concert goers, many with melted colored hair dye having stained their faces and clothes, leaving puddles all over the subway cars.
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I don’t know. I wasn’t a massive fan but Midnight Oil are another sorry. I was obsessed when 10 to 1 came out. I was 10 at the time. Since then I’ve seen them live over 25 times. I saw them on the Sunshine Coast as part of their farewell tour. They rocked just as hard as they did in the 80s. Very impressive for 70 year old blokes.
@Patrick might chime in with his view on their final Sydney performance.
jasoncapecod
Well-known member
nah nah....greatest band to come out of is AC/DC...the Bon Scott era is unmatched... 
oh i forgot Olivia Newton John ..seriously
oh i forgot Olivia Newton John ..seriously
No question AC/DC are awesome. My mate who is older than me was a glassy at a hotel in Melbourne where they played every Thursday night to about 20 people when they first kicked off.nah nah....greatest band to come out of is AC/DC...the Bon Scott era is unmatched...
oh i forgot Olivia Newton John ..seriously
My wife is an Olivia Neutron Bomb fan.
nah nah....greatest band to come out of is AC/DC...the Bon Scott era is unmatched...
oh i forgot Olivia Newton John ..seriously
Can't argue with that, although IMHO, Malcolm Young was the more interesting guitarist in the band, cranking out one killer riff after another during the band's heyday and beyond.
He gave a full report on his site, I believe. Maybe he can repost.
My go-to Oils show over the past few years is their July 2019 gig at Birdsville. Very cool how the clip combines cell phone footage from a dozen people at this unique venue in the bush as it transitions from sunlight to darkness. As noted, it turned out to be Bones' final gig, love his Telecaster bass. Solid setlist but missing a fave tune (Brave Faces, here it is a couple years earlier in Brisbane).
0:00 The Dead Heart
6:49 Bullroarer
11:39 Dreamworld
15:35 Ned Kelly Was King
19:33 Truganini
24:10 Whoah
27:56 Stars of Warburton
32:38 No Time for Games
40:08 Treaty (with Busby Marou)
42:44 Luritja Way
46:38 Short Memory
52:52 US Forces
57:02 Kosciusko
1:02:03 Warakurna
1:06:32 Redneck Wonderland
1:09:39 Jimmy Sharman's Boxers
1:16:09 Beds Are Burning
1:21:03 Blue Sky Mine
1:25:09 Hercules
1:29:35 Read About It
1:33:50 Tin Legs and Tin Mines
1:38:20 Power and the Passion
1:45:10 Forgotten Years
1:49:34 Bakerman
1:50:20 Best of Both Worlds
1:54:14 One Country
It took Martha Wainright's poignant Magic cover (timed to Scottish actor Peter Mullan exiting stage left into the New England night to his demise) to make me realise that I may have been underestimating Olivia all these years. Let me know what your wife thinks about it.
I didn’t realise Midnight Oil had such an international fan base. I am surprised you know of their more ‘obscure’ songs like Brave Faces.
I became a fan as a kid because of their music and then began to appreciate and respect their environmental and social and political message even though they sit further toward the progressive end of the political spectrum than I generally do. I’m curious if they made a name for themselves in the US because of their politics more so than their music?
It’s snowing in the Aussie Alps now. Visitation numbers and accommodation bookings are well down in Australian resorts this year. Our nation is battling a cost of living crisis because of increased mortgage costs and increased rent costs. Snow holidays are the first thing to be sacrificed if a household is hurting I guess.
We’re not avid television watchers so no nothing of Pharmacy but she liked the rendition of one of her favourite songs.
Patrick
Well-known member
They only hit it big here once Diesel came out. Playing the Montreal Forum twice. That popularity didn’t last long.
10 to 1 album is the first one to reach North America; still off-radar. I first saw them during Red Sails tour in 1985 at the Spectrum in Montreal (1,200 capacity). I believe it was their 3rd Montreal show at that time. I surprised, but before I went to Australia in 2022, I found out that I hadn’t missed a show in Montreal since that 1st show I saw.
Diesel tour 1988: Verdun Auditorium (5,000) then Montreal Forum (16,000).
Blue Sky 1990: Forum again.
1993: outdoor show with a bunch of bands with Tragically Hip headlining.
2001: back down to Spectrum again.
2017: played Place des Arts (3,500).
Resist tour, played Toronto and I was in Chicago at that time, so I didn’t really see that tour. Initially I was planning to see the Canberra show on Oct 1, but then they announced they were going to add two special shows in each Melbourne and Sydney. (One playing all of 10-to-1 in its entirety, the other a mixte of all albums).
2022: once it was announced I decided to see both unique shows instead. 10 to 1 being an important for me also, so I saw that show in Sydney’s Luna Park on Sept 28 plus the Final show on Oct 3. So I skied then drove to stay 2-3 nights in Sydney before returning to Jindabyne the weekend then ending my trip with the last show and a few days around Sydney. Last day of the ski season in NSW was on holiday Monday Oct 3. Vic areas were closing on Oct 2.
Set list from the 10 to 1 show: I included IG links I posted from both shows.
Midnight Oil Setlist at Big Top Luna Park, Sydney
Get the Midnight Oil Setlist of the concert at Big Top Luna Park, Sydney, Australia on September 28, 2022 from the One For The Planet Tour and other Midnight Oil Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
www.setlist.fm
Definitely one of the most memorable shows I’ve seen since I started going to concert in 1977. I’ve seen Oils 9 times, other real memorable show are the 1985 and the 1st show in 1988 plus that 10-to-1 shoe at Luna park.
INXS also had a following. Nick Cave.nah nah....greatest band to come out of is AC/DC...the Bon Scott era is unmatched...
oh i forgot Olivia Newton John ..seriously
And I won’t even mention Air Supply, Kylie Minogue. Men at Work.
Now you’re mentioning a fellow Montrealer with her brother and mom and aunt, Kate and Ann McGarrigle.
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The Oils broke stateside in 1982 with 10, 9, 8, 7 through then-new MTV and the Power and the Passion video, in which Peter Garrett caught everyone's attention with his Frankenstein dance. I then bought the previous album Place Without A Postcard with Brave Faces.
I suppose that their leftist agenda didn't hurt amongst young people; however, MO's popularity was due mainly to catchy songs and powerful live performances. That said -- even though I may agree with a fair amount of what they're saying, I find that overly strident political messaging in music gets old quickly and they often cross that line. In short, I listen to them for their consistently strong material, not the progressive lyrics.
I only saw them twice: in western New York on the 1988 Diesel and Dust tour and then their infamous 1990 guerilla appearance in front of the Exxon Building on 6th Avenue!
Not many people can make that claim. I’m jealous.
Patrick
Well-known member
The first Midnight Oil show I saw at the Spectrum was recorded for Canadian TV. I have it somewhere on a Beta tape. (Also transfer it on DVD 20 years ago).
The song was edited down to fit into 60 minutes format of the show, so most comments between songs were removed and maybe a few songs.
The song was edited down to fit into 60 minutes format of the show, so most comments between songs were removed and maybe a few songs.
I watched this for the first time a couple of years ago and watched it again over the weekend. It’s a great show. It leaves out what is definitely a top three song for me though.
Only The Strong is a vicious song, perfect as a concert opener. The sole tune I like more from that album is Short Memory with its creepy vibe: "Conquistador of Mexico, the Zulu and the Navaho, the Belgians in the Congo: short memory" -- brilliant lyrics.
As mentioned in the interview segments above, they were only supposed to play one song and then quickly depart (similar to how the Rolling Stones did it in 1975); however, the NYC police liked them and allowed a mini set. The tune Progress is a longtime fave of mine.
I had Species on high rotation as a 13 year old.
@jamesdeluxe
I was talking to a mate and fellow avid Oils fan last night and I mentioned you caught them at the Exxon building.
Was that merely coincidence? You worked nearby at the time?
I was talking to a mate and fellow avid Oils fan last night and I mentioned you caught them at the Exxon building.
Was that merely coincidence? You worked nearby at the time?