‘One For The Road’
Live Review by Ian Jessup From The Hordern Pavilion
October 06,2022
So
You got the blues
The evening
Wore out your shoes.
It’s hard to believe Midnight Oil are finished.
Australian music’s conscience for more than 45 years took their final bow at the Hordern last night, playing a massive 3.5-hour standalone gig for 5,000 diehard fans.
In one of music marketing’s greatest understatements, the ticketing website simply said: “an extended set of Oils classics”. After a blistering opener of “Lucky Country”, Peter Garrett elaborated on this by promising the faithful “a very beautiful, a very sweet, a very long night”.
And oh my god did they deliver. It was the gig of a lifetime, playing 40 songs across all 13 albums – including three encores.
I reckon PM Anthony Albanese, a huge fan, would rate it above winning the federal election!
Very hard to pick out highlights, but a haunting stripped back version of “My Country” – with just Jim on piano and Peter singing – got me welling up big time.
“Surfing with a Spoon”, “Cold Cold Change”, “Stand in Line”, “No Time for Games” and “Don’t Wanna be the One” were among many that blew the roof off.
Plenty of lesser-known tracks in there too, and the sweet vocals of Leah Flanagan and Liz Stringer added even more feeling.
I took the two most amazing women in my life (wife and daughter), and a school parent mate who had his own raucous Oils tales to tell from 1979 and 1982.
There were cheers, beers and lots of tears as it hit home this really was the end of an era. And how it hurts: it felt like we were saying goodbye to royalty actually worthy of such a title.
At 7pm we dared to dream it would never end, but at 10.45pm the house lights finally came on to the soft voice of Gurrumul and it was over.
I’ve already written so much about what the Oils mean to me that I’m struggling to find the best words for this ‘eulogy’.
So forgive me, friends, for I fear the eloquence escapes me today. I’m elated, I’m exhausted, and I’m a bit empty.
Mick Jones of The Clash said: “Rock n’ roll means so much more to people; it enriches the culture. Also, it inspires people; there’s no half-feeling.”
Politically the Oils speak for me, for millions, in matters where we have no real say. The “Sorry” suits at the Sydney Olympic Games closing ceremony are one of the all-time great acts of subterfuge.
Sadly, I still see much support for the monarchy
I hear the Union Jack’s to remain.
Namatjira’s still in custody, Truganini’s still in chains.
No end to the hostility, no stranger to brutality.
My country going wrong.
And being the democratic unit that they are, I wonder how the heck they decided on the final set list… and the final song (Forgotten Years). It was going to be hard to please everyone, and there were still dozens of favourites that didn’t get a run.
The Oils have never done anything by halves. Total professionals who always give 100%. How can it be that pushing 70 they are at the peak of their musical powers?
Suffice to say no one can touch them when they’re on fire – which is pretty much every time they play.
Drummer Rob Hirst is the beating heart, lead guitarist Jim Moginie the soul, singer Peter Garrett the voice, bassist Pete Gifford/Bones Hillman/Adam Ventouri the legs pumping, and rhythm guitarist Martin Rotsey the skin that holds it all together.
I’ll miss Jim’s squeaks, squarks, squawks, squeals on lead and those delicious upstrokes.
I’ll miss Martin’s rollercoaster riff rides.
I’ll miss Rob’s phenomenal energy on the skins.
I‘ll miss that rumbling bass that carries you through their stories. Adam Ventoura played the concert of his life, nailing every note. What a story for his kids and grandkids – he has had to learn 94 Oils songs in the 18 months since being drafted in to replace the dearly missed Bones.
I’ll miss Peter’s incredible presence and his powerful voice – as salient, as sentient and as strong as ever.
Thank goodness for YouTube. You can see their two most memorable 80s shows on there: Live at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre (1982) and Oils on Water (Goat Island, 1985).
Some early shows were so hot, so loud that the band kept oxygen canisters backstage.
While they are too old to match the incredible energy of those fertile years, their gigs are still dynamic and full of the passion that helped elevate Green politics to national prominence and wake up the youth of this sleepy backwater.
They were never interested in the cultural cringe, or appealing to the bogan masses, or toadying to the record companies, or making music for purely commercial purposes.
At the same time they held up a mirror to our own iniquities without ever compromising, remaining a distinctly and unique Australian voice on the local and world stages.
Thank you for everything, Midnight Oil.
Set list here: Midnight Oil Concert Setlist at Hordern Pavilion, Sydney on October 3, 2022 | setlist.fm
