Midnight Oil first comeback gigs here in Canberra

Selinas! Now there’s a blast from the past. A lot of dirty deeds done there.

Jim Jones said :

Ah man – there’s some good stuff here.

. Slayer is also an unforgettable experience – the most recent time they played, the mosh pit was a genuinely scary place to be.

I went to my first Slayer gig back in the 90s at the Hordern. This pair of devotees/idiots were actually carving “Slayer” into their forearms ( ala a recent album cover)with razors downstairs in the blokes toilets just before the boys hit the stage.
I only went to see Suicidal tendencies as support however Slayer ended up blowing me away.

Oh yeah, the Oils would be alright I suppose. H&C at Selinas in the 80s is hard to top though.

I guess I’m too young for early Genesis and King Crimson. I grew up watching ELP in Montreal Stadium.

One of These Days (I’m going to cut you into little pieces) is one of the greatest driving songs ever.

Some of poor Syd’s solo stuff was very freaky. “Vegetable Man where are you?…..”

Jim Jones said :

Van Der Graaf are cool, but it’s really Amon Duul II that are doing it for me at the moment – awesome stuff. King Crimson will always be my faves though.

A man of taste. This morning in the works car I had “The machine that cried” by String Driven Thing blasting the doors out. The finest ever prog/folk album.

farnarkler said :

Sorry PB but PF is the one and only prog rock band. Comfortably numb is without equal.

Floyd were prog lite / pop prog from “wish you were here” on. (MY mate Roy does vocals on WYWH)

Pink Floyd – Animals was progressive.

Best Syd Barrett song IMHO – Bike.

I wish TISM would do some more gigs. They’re last gig at ANU was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been too. Funny too.

Talking of King Crimson, which we’re not meant to be but I will anyway, the new Wetton/Downes is out next month. It’s not their best work – certainly not as good as the last Asia album- but not bad at all.

At the risk of holding myself up to ridicule, I like the Scissor Sisters version of Comfortably Numb…

Ah man – there’s some good stuff here.

I saw Carcass only a month or two ago! They were solid, although they paled in comparison to Meshuggah, who played the night after. Some of the earlier Rollins Band gigs were surprisingly good. And I saw DRI once and will never, ever forget it. Slayer is also an unforgettable experience – the most recent time they played, the mosh pit was a genuinely scary place to be.

Forget about Pink Floyd as ‘prog’ – they haven’t been prog for a long long time (since Syd left I reckon). No way is ‘Comfortably Numb’ a prog song.

Van Der Graaf are cool, but it’s really Amon Duul II that are doing it for me at the moment – awesome stuff. King Crimson will always be my faves though.

farnarkler said :

Sorry PB but PF is the one and only prog rock band. Comfortably numb is without equal.

Sorry farnarkler, but early Genesis, King Crimson, and even Frank Zappa would all probably say that Comfortably numb is not even progressive. It’s in AABA format. Prog rock is ABCDEFG….
btw, The Wall is without equal. I love how end of side 4 loops back to start of side 1.

sorry, back to the topic now.

I hope Rob Hirst is up to playing the Power and the Passion drum solo!!

> Iron Maiden (1984 on the Powerslave tour in particular

I was there….amazing show, brilliant even.

Back on topic…tickets on sale Monday apparently..through ticketek.

Sorry PB but PF is the one and only prog rock band. Comfortably numb is without equal.

The best Sabbath show I ever saw was on the Headless Cross tour, with Tony Martin on vocals.

Iron Maiden haven’t released a decent studio album since 1999 – the last two have had their moments, but not enough consistency to be regarded as classics.

My top ten live acts:

Iron Maiden (1984 on the Powerslave tour in particular), Judas Priest (anytime between 1983-1990), Anthrax (1986-1992), Husker Du (anytime), Carcass (around the Heartwork era), Circle Jerks (mid eighties), Magnum (anytime), Kansas (with Steve Morse on guitar), Garth Brooks (stop laughing at the back), Kiss (before the endless farewells)

Best prog band ever were Van Der Graaf, saw them once, still lsiten to them and Peter Hammill if the mood takes me.

I’ve been listening to a lot of the old prog stuff lately (King Crimson, ELP, Amon Duul II, Can and and those crazy krautrock bands), and actually saw Adrian Belew not too long ago at a kickass little gig in Sydney.

Jim Jones said :

Pommy bastard said :

My God, we agree on something Jim!

Well if you’re a fan of Dio and Sabbath there might be some hope for you yet.

I agree with AngryHenry on the Maiden front though – they had a period of crappiness (during Blaze Bayley’s tenure), but their last three albums have been outstanding.

I used to be a fan of metal, back in the classic age. I’ve seen all the greats, Zeps, Purple (the classic line up, plus other variations,) Sabs, Priest, Dio, Rainbow, Whitesnake, etc etc ad nauseum, you name em, I’ve seen em, plus many of the greats of Prog rock.

More into Opera these days though.

> TISM would blow Midnight Oil of stage any day.

As fun as TISM were…aren’t we talking about “live” bands?

Dio & Sabbath….would have loved to have seen them. Iron Maiden I saw…at the Canberra Theatre, fantastic.

realityskin said :

imarty said :

What about the Spies (v Spy v Spy).

+1 !

+2 – but that’s for the period before they went a bit Christian.

TISM would blow Midnight Oil of stage any day.

Wait, wait, backtrack – when and where are the Screaming Jets playing?

Pommy bastard said :

My God, we agree on something Jim!

Well if you’re a fan of Dio and Sabbath there might be some hope for you yet.

I agree with AngryHenry on the Maiden front though – they had a period of crappiness (during Blaze Bayley’s tenure), but their last three albums have been outstanding.

> INXS at Bruce Indoor Arena back in 88.

I loved that gig..it was amazing. Still rate the Oils above that though. 🙂

When oh when will tickets be on sale!!!

imarty said :

What about the Spies (v Spy v Spy).

+1 !

And The Radiators 😀

What about the Spies (v Spy v Spy). IMO one of the best live bands of the 80s.
Yeah sure, all the others mentioned were good also but I was into the Spies and Oils.
If we’re bragging, then Queen with Freddie, actually, that’s it.

nothing on ticketek website as yet, only for sound relief…

Oooh, do want tickets. Politics shmolitics!

Pommy Bastard the Oils were great live but nothing compared to Roger Waters at the O2 last year or The Police at Twickenham or even INXS at Bruce Indoor Arena back in 88.

It appears that the Oil’s website posted the message about the Canberra Theatre before they’d actually booked the venue, or in the middle of changing venues.

Which would explain Canberra Ticketing not knowing about it…

Oils website now says:

“MIDNIGHT OIL TO PERFORM TWO SHOWS AT ROYAL THEATRE NATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE
24.02.09

On Thursday 12 and Friday 13th March, Midnight Oil will perform two shows only “Up Close In The Capital” at Royal Theater National Convention Centre before their show on Saturday at Sound Relief. For details and tickets go to http://www.ticketek.com.au or call 132 849.”

Nobody would be more aware than Garrett himself of the compromises he’s made since he entered politics -and the irony of Garrett the politician singing those Oils lyrics.

But, he’s had the courage to risk the embarrassment do it anyway for a worthwhile cause, and good on him for that.

.

SWEET AS!

so going to that!

Band Aus live band?

Both Inxs and Oils were very early in their gestation when I saw them live at Noosa I think it was. (Saw Skyhooks and Split Enz’ last gigs BTW – brag.) But for my money the best Aus act was Icehouse. Best o/s act – Pink Floyd by a country mile.

More power to Garrett for doing this. Hard to criticise him given he isn’t (directly) going to make anything out of it and it’s for a good cause. And I think it will be good for him to remind people of his talents and passion (and maybe himself?) because I think he’s been very poorly treated and made to look very bad by this government.

If the prices aren’t outside the budget (as most tickets seem to be these days) I’ll be trying to get there.

Jim Jones said :

Pommy bastard said :

justbands said :

Meh..leave the politics aside. The Oils were the best live band in Australia, perhaps the world .

Possibly in Aus, but not anywhere outside of Aus.

Not even in Oz.

They were good, but they weren’t that good.

My God, we agree on something Jim!

AngryHenry said :

Hey Pommy…

Thankfully for me Black Sabbath and Dio were already old when I was in my youth.

Lucky you, they weren’t for me!

But you cannot deny the power of Maiden, they are like a fine wine, they keep getting better with age, and I suggest you check out their new albums before you dispute me on that.

NWOBHM? Not my cuppa, metal light.

I wonder if his speechwriter has to pen his banter and lyrics (with suitable government ‘vision’ included of course).

OK, maybe I should have added “in my opinion”. It’s music though, that should have been a given.

Madame Workalot said :

Would be grateful if someone could post on here when tickets become available – I’m pretty keen.

(And if it’s me, I’ll post!)

According to the Midnight Oil mail list powerderworks, tickets on sale Monday morning

Wonder if DEWHA staff will get free tickets?

Do they have to do a function brief for him on what he will be doing where and whene tc.??

Hey Pommy…

Thankfully for me Black Sabbath and Dio were already old when I was in my youth. But you cannot deny the power of Maiden, they are like a fine wine, they keep getting better with age, and I suggest you check out their new albums before you dispute me on that.

Madame Workalot, I am green with envy.

I tell you one band from my youth that are still as axciting as ever SLAYER!

But all I can really say is the old addage that ‘it is better to burn out than fade away’ is definitely true in most cases.

I think Midnight Oil’s heydey isn’t so far away that they wont put on a great show. And it’s a great move to put on a few practice gigs down here before the big show on the Saturday we’re lucky!

Pommy bastard said :

justbands said :

Meh..leave the politics aside. The Oils were the best live band in Australia, perhaps the world .

Possibly in Aus, but not anywhere outside of Aus.

Not even in Oz.

They were good, but they weren’t that good.

justbands said :

Meh..leave the politics aside. The Oils were the best live band in Australia, perhaps the world .

Possibly in Aus, but not anywhere outside of Aus.

strange tenants and allniters were also very very hot live…

jimmy and the boys.

the saints. died pretty. the angels.

this is a pointless argument. oils were good live, ’nuff said.

Best Australian band? For my money, Hunters & Collectors playing a small room.

> Hmmm, the Sports or the Sunnyboys

Yeah….but nah. OILS! 🙂

Meh..leave the politics aside. The Oils were the best live band in Australia, perhaps the world….& they never stopped being good either. The last time I saw them was at the East Coast Blues & Roots fest 6 or 7 years ago & they were just as good then as when I saw them in the 80’s. I can’t wait.

Nooooow I’m in power, I’ve lost my passion……..

Useless pollies give the nod, it’s a set back for your country.
Gunns’ woodchip mill above board, cheque in bank, who could ask for more…..

Will be interesting to see how many people they get at this gig. Canberrans tend to be a bit lacklustre at concerts…

Wonder if DEWHA staff will get free tickets?

AngryHenry said :

What’s so sad about seeing the music you enjoyed when you were younger and the bands you loved if they are still in good form?

I saw Black Sabbath with Dio last year, and Iron Maiden and both of them reigned supreme over any of the newer artists around today.

I saw Ozzy too but he only just passed the grade, poor dude.

I always come away feeling a bit existential when I do that. All the bands of my youth are nowhere near as exciting as before, and most seem to want to play jazz. (Ick!)

Even watching old leather lungs (Dio) gave me a slighly queasy feeling…

Die young, die young
Cant you see the writing on the wall?
Die young, gonna die young
Someone stopped the pain

Please!

Will be interesting to see how many people they get at this gig. Canberrans tend to be a bit lacklustre at concerts…

Slightly OT, but I saw Iron Maiden in NZ on the weekend – awesome show, awesome crowd.

(Sorry, just wanted to brag :-P)

supported by:

gunns, and rose hancock?

i heard that, too, al – didn’t crack me up as much as you. i rekkun most of their playlist now would be nostalgia, wouldn’t it? or they could do some non-controversial covers, like, ‘c’mon baby light my fire’, ‘[burn baby] disco inferno’, madonna’s ‘burning up for your love’ and the boss’s seminal ‘i’m on fire’…

There was a funny interchange between Ross solly and Louise Maher on 666 this morning.

Ross wondered whether Garrett would have to get his playlist approved by the PM.

Louise wondered whether the band could actually put together 20 minutes that wouldn’t get Garrett sacked.

Well it cracked me up.

PS: cruel but funny Evil.

folkie said :

Does any one know who is supporting them?

Gunns?

Jim Jones said :

AngryHenry said :

What’s so sad about seeing the music you enjoyed when you were younger and the bands you loved if they are still in good form?

I saw Black Sabbath with Dio last year, and Iron Maiden and both of them reigned supreme over any of the newer artists around today.

I saw Ozzy too but he only just passed the grade, poor dude.

Yeah, you’re right. I think it’s my own aging that has got me sad.

Dio was absolutely freaking awesome – one of my faves of all time. And Maiden were absolutely top notch (on this subject, there’s an Iron Maiden covers band playing at the Basement on 6th March who are supposed to be awesome – this is like a week before DiAnno plays the Basement.

Ozzy is truly a sad figure now though.

Isn’t Dianno playing the Basement in June?

folkie said :

Does any one know who is supporting them?

It’s being sponsored by this lot I believe; http://www.zimmer.com.au

I called Canberra Ticketing and they are still in the process of sorting this out but they suggested that you sign up to their Tip Off newsletter as it will be announced on there as soon as they have it sorted.

I really want to go!

He’s not doing very much in Parliament so he should have plenty of time for the
past-Midnight Oils.

Does any one know who is supporting them?

Yeah, I think we should criticise Garrett for raising money for bushfire victims.

My comments were not about criticising Peter Garrett for doing this show. I was criticising the Labor Party for making him Minister for the Environment, then removing him from the two environmental issues that matter in today’s Australia.

I will get to one of these shows if I possibly can.

AngryHenry said :

What’s so sad about seeing the music you enjoyed when you were younger and the bands you loved if they are still in good form?

I saw Black Sabbath with Dio last year, and Iron Maiden and both of them reigned supreme over any of the newer artists around today.

I saw Ozzy too but he only just passed the grade, poor dude.

Yeah, you’re right. I think it’s my own aging that has got me sad.

Dio was absolutely freaking awesome – one of my faves of all time. And Maiden were absolutely top notch (on this subject, there’s an Iron Maiden covers band playing at the Basement on 6th March who are supposed to be awesome – this is like a week before DiAnno plays the Basement.

Ozzy is truly a sad figure now though.

What’s so sad about seeing the music you enjoyed when you were younger and the bands you loved if they are still in good form?

I saw Black Sabbath with Dio last year, and Iron Maiden and both of them reigned supreme over any of the newer artists around today.

I saw Ozzy too but he only just passed the grade, poor dude.

Mick said :

Awesome. I am there.
Midnight Oil on Thursday Night.
The Screaming Jets on Friday Night.

An Aussie Rock double header!

Would have been a great weekend back in the late 80s or so I reckon. I find it a bid sad now though.

I hope they play ‘The Dead Heart’, best Oils number ever.

Awesome. I am there.
Midnight Oil on Thursday Night.
The Screaming Jets on Friday Night.

An Aussie Rock double header!

A sell out would be appropriate.

julz said :

Fancy paying to go and watch a Minister sing. Eeeewwww…..

People do it at Church all the time.

Fancy paying to go and watch a Minister sing. Eeeewwww…..

Politicians might be busy people but they do have spare time just like everyone else.

At least the guy is using his to do something productive, like get the band back together and raise some money for the bushfires. I dare say with the Oils on the bill they’ll pull a large crowd and raise a fair bit too.

What have you done lately?

Would be grateful if someone could post on here when tickets become available – I’m pretty keen.

(And if it’s me, I’ll post!)

Peter Garrett; more sell out gigs since he stopped playing with Midnight Oil…

I wonder if Garret has started to make squelchy sounds in his old age…

The first live gig I ever went to was the oils at Revesby RSL… maybe I’ll go for old time’s sake…

Yeah, I think we should criticise Garrett for raising money for bushfire victims.

Pfft, yeah cos trying to run the government’s environmental policy agenda isnt really keeping him busy enough.

Well, you have to remember that he is the Minister for the Environment, UNLESS it has anything to do with either Water or Climate Change, which arguably leaves pretty much nothing. Occasionally they throw him a unpopular issue like a pulp mill, where he can’t win no matter what he says.

Personally, I’d go back to dancing like a Meth Addict to.

Pfft, yeah cos trying to run the government’s environmental policy agenda isnt really keeping him busy enough.