Midnight oil: The Great Circle World tour
After a period of stagnation in the latter half of April, it was time to reemerge in the month of May. This night was a highly anticipated one with a band I’d didn’t think I’d ever get to see. And that’s how I found myself at Webster Hall on a rainy and windy Saturday night at the Midnight Oil concert.
But my first contact with the Oils came by accident. On one particular Sunday morning in college, I was channel surfing and landed on VH1 Classic. In the 11AM hour, it was The Alternative and it had come back from commercial. I then heard the opening of Beds Are Burning and as the song went on, I sang along. After it was over, I went in search of the album it was on, 1988’s Diesel & Dust. Not long afterwards, I visited the Tower Records at Lincoln Center in the midst of it’s closure and found the last copy of D&D they had and played it over and over again. As a result, my CD is deeply scratched. But between that and finding a copy of their best of compilation, 20,000 RSL, I became a fan of theirs. I was drawn in by their fierce live presence and their uncompromising beliefs in issues such as the environment and aboriginal rights.
We move forward about seven years from there to earlier this year. I had found out that the Oils were going on tour and a North American leg was part of it. The NYC stop would be at Webster Hall on 5/13. I tend to be on every mailing list for every venue and band I like. With the presale code in hand I jumped on the opportunity the morning of 2/23 and got my ticket. To no surprise, the show was sold out two hours later and a second date the next night which would eventually sell out was added. I felt a bit of guilt afterward. My friend and then colleague Shaquanna is a massive fan of 80’s music but I didn’t know she liked Midnight Oil and didn’t mention the shows till after the fact. I did this in a purely selfish move to end my streak of attempts to get tickets here and fail the previous four times. I had no luck with shows from Noel Gallagher, to Muse, Metallica & Green Day. I had succeeded here and I was excited for the night to come.
And Saturday night came, wind and rain. That wasn’t going to stop me from enjoying myself. I made it into Manhattan and arrived at the 14th St & 3rd Ave stop on the L train. Walking three blocks, I would see the sign at the corner of East 11th Street. After security, I made my way up to the balcony in time to check out the opening act, an all girl band from Brooklyn called Boy Toy. Their set was 30 minutes with a 30 minute break after.
At 9PM, the lights went down and the band emerged to a loud cheer. The opening to the last track from Diesel & Dust, Sometimes started the night on a high. I could tell at the end of that song the night would be memorable as it was during the entirety of their two hour set. The intensity was matched in front man Peter Garret’s banter among which he called out the skeptics of climate change and reminded us how our secretary of state is the most important person in the world. The set would end with two more entries from Diesel, Beds Are Burning and Dream World. The encore began with a cover of John Lennon’s Instant Karma, followed by their songs Sell My Soul and a blistering version of the song Forgotten Years. There was a second encore, the drum and horn heavy, Best of Both Worlds. As the song ended, the cheering was deafening but everyone went home happy. Me, I went home happy, sweaty and sore from the hip downwards as I somehow stood up the entire show. But tonight proved why the Oils were and are so beloved. It’s a shame that Beds is the first thing that comes to mind, the band are so much more than that.
I needed that release, that only live music can give. It’s comforting to know that after a rough week all of the stress and sadness of life briefly disappeared. But that’s what keeps me coming back, the sense of joy in every note, lyric and song. Hence the live being the first word in the phrase, I feel so alive at concerts. There’s a lot more to come in the months ahead and I can’t wait!
