Midnight Oil

[Powderworks] Bangor Show Review from Paper

dbrunner@execpc.com dbrunner@execpc.com
Fri, 26 Apr 2002 10:50:42 -0500 (CDT)


The below review is from the Bangor Daily news.  Anyone have a first
hand review w/setlist?

http://www.bangornews.com/
By Dale McGarrigle, Of the NEWS Staff e-mail Dale
Last updated: Friday, April 26, 2002
Midnight Oil burns bright during concert in Orono


As the only community radio station in central Maine, WERU-FM finds
itself trying to hold out against a deluge of commercial stations.


So it’s only natural that the headliner for WERU’s 14th birthday party
was Midnight Oil, the activist Aussie band that’s long been a
supporter of underdogs.

Midway through the 75-minute show, charismatic front man Peter Garrett
even took time out to urge audience members to join or financially
support community radio.

“Reject the ideology of the big, booming rock station,” he added.

The quintet treated the 450 in attendance at the Maine Center for the
Arts to a 16-song journey through its 25-year career. The band opened
its 2002 U.S. tour in support of its new “Capricornia” album in Orono
and its members seemed energized by the warm welcome they received.

The bald, gangly Garrett was a mesmerizing sight. The imposing lead
singer would launch himself about the stage, often scattering his
mates in his wake. His arms flailed about as he stalked around. His
stream-of-consciousness patter, not always intelligible, would serve
to propel the band into the next song.

He was ably supported by guitarists Martin Rotsey and Jim Moginie,
bassist Bones Hillman and drummer Rob Hirst, both instrumentally and
vocally. Their long years together have honed them into a very tight
unit.

As expected, Midnight Oil played about half of “Capricornia,” recently
released in the states on the Liquid 8 label.

But they also dipped extensively into their catalog. In fact, it was
an older song, “Blue Sky Mine,” that brought audience members to their
feet, where most remained for the second half of the concert. Not
surprisingly, that song, along with “Beds Are Burning,” the group’s
biggest stateside hits, garnered the most enthusiastic responses
during the evening. Once motivated, the crowd reacted by dancing and
singing along, an unusual sight in the oft-staid Hutchins Concert
Hall.

The band exited the stage after “Forgotten Years,” returning for an
encore of “Tone Poem” and “Dream World.” Then they were off for good,
leaving the crowd wanting more.

In a perfect world, Midnight Oil should enjoy the success that their
fellow politically oriented band, U2, has gained. Surely, the fact
that Ja Rule, Linkin Park and Creed rule the airwaves while listeners
hunt in vain for Midnight Oil is surely another sign of the
apocalypse.

Opening the evening was American Indian musician Hawk Henry, who
introduced the audience to the Aborginal wood instrument, the
didgeridoo, with a set of 10 numbers.