MIDNIGHT OIL UNLEASH THEIR POWER AT TERMINAL 5

There’s a time and place where social justice, activism, politics, and music intersect in a swirling maelstrom. I imagine that place exists in a sea of red brick colored sand where lighting strikes turning the sand into glass. And in that glass you can see five men ready to hurl themselves into the nexus where those aforementioned forces exist. Their power waiting to be unleashed when the screams decrying injustice get loud enough. After all, bands like Midnight Oil don’t every truly go away, because in our world they’re always needed, and always relevant. And they brought their battle to a packed Terminal 5 (T5).

Opening up for the Oils, was another defiant Australian outfit, The Living End. This trio has been making music since the 1990s and they play with a ferocity you might not find in bands decades younger. This is pure psychobilly punk rock. A corona bottle being shaken up and blasted into your face – something lead singer/guitarist Chris Cheney literally did to the front row audience towards the end of their set.

The Living End

Cheney has a 50’s greaser meets 70’s punk look to him, the kind of look that packs a snarl. Just like the band’s sound. And while Cheney is shredding and howling, bassist Scott Owen is defying gravity, riding the top of the body his upright and somehow not toppling over. And not to be lost in the shuffle is drummer Andy Strachan, who flicks his wrists while smiling like a madmen, and pounding the drums with the intensity to match that grin. The Living End was a wrecking ball of speedy licks intent on demolishing anything in its path.

The Living End

The Living End could’ve been headlining T5 on any other night, but on Monday they had to give way to that rereleased force of nature called Midnight Oil. Years and years ago, as a little kid in fifth or sixth grade, I learned that music could be a force for more than just moving your feet and pissing off your parents. I learned it could be a history lesson, it could be storytelling, it could be a plea for justice, or a lantern to help illuminate the plight of the disenfranchised, the displaced, and the occupied. And I learned all that when the music video for Beds are Burning made its way onto the television in front of me. Midnight Oil has been singing about all that and more for decades now. If you had never heard of them before, you might be inclined to think lead singer Peter Garrett and the rest of the band had written all their tunes specifically for the plights of today.

Midnight Oil

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These musicians have made their living being a horn for something bigger than themselves and by somehow never coming off as pretentious or holier than thou. And on this night they sounded their clarion call loud and clear for the whole of T5 to hear. Garrett, when he wasn’t performing his trademark jerky and disjointed dance moves, and singing the choruses that had the whole audience joining in, was bringing that fury and wit to talk about the political and social situation in the States. And you know he’d have plenty to wax poetic about – from the current President (just look at the shirt Garrett was wearing) – to the horrific events that took place at Charlottesville. It was almost as if Garrett was the combustible engine fueled by the injustices surrounding him – each one causing another explosion to push his performance to a different level.

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Midnight Oil

MO

And if the Oils were just about rallying against the evils in the world – the band would be welcomed – but when coupled with the timeless rock anthems they’ve developed – they become a necessity. The band put on a fervent 22-song greatest hits show – saving the most popular tunes (Beds Are Burning, The Dead Heart, The Forgotten Years, and such) for last. But when they’re throwing classics like Short Memory and Is It Now? at the audience you’re not likely to hear any complaints. And threw in a cover of London Calling to commemorate the birthday of the late, great Joe Strummer. The Oils are only recently reformed after a prolonged absence – but with everything going on in this country and the world over – it feels like they’ve never been more needed. And, on this night, as long as you need some folks willing to sing truth to power – The Oils left no doubt that they’ll be there.