Iconic Australian rock band Midnight Oil played the first of two intimate gigs as a "warm up" before they tour Europe.

General admission ticketholders could be seen lined up outside the theatre on Lawrence Hargrave Drive by mid-afternoon, eagerly waiting to secure a spot by the front of the stage.

"We would go to the ends of the earth for these guys, we just love them," said Sandra Patterson who was at the front of the line. "We've been outside the doors since about midday."

She and husband Nathan had traveled from Yulara, near Uluru in the red centre. Though both have traveled Australia numerous times to see their favourite musicians and activists.

The pair originally met at guitarist Jim Moginie's first solo gig in Katoomba in the early 2000s.

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"Thanks for coming out and being quick off the draw," frontman Peter Garrett said as he greeted the crowd, before voicing his distaste for the federal election result and ticket resale websites like Viagogo.

When the first release of tickets went on sale early April they were snapped up in minutes. But it wasn't long before some ended up on Viagogo with asking prices from hundreds into thousands of dollars.

However, dedicated fans knew to sit tight and wait for a trickle of tickets to be released quietly online over the coming weeks, with the last small batch going on sale just hours before the show.

There were even tickets available at the door which made Bulli resident Adam Nellies' year.

"I'm like a golden ticket winner," he told the Mercury.

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The bald-headed fan's enthusiasm never waned throughout the two-hour performance, which seemed as though he was possessed by the spirit of Peter Garrett himself.

The fan could be seen dancing - arms flailing, body jerking - from one side of the theatre to the other near the back of the room, the smile never wiped from his face.

Although they called it a warm up, Garrett, Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie, Martin Rotsey and Bones Hillman were on fire after just a few songs in. They played their biggest hits, and a new song written by Jim Moginie called Tarkine (in reference to the cool temperate rainforest and wilderness in Tasmania's northwest).

Meantime, it wouldn't have been an Oils show without political messages. Garrett often airing his concerns for Australia throughout the show.

"All of the things we've been writing about for many, many years, all the things we've sung about, all of the things we've got involved in ... which were so important remain important for us," Garrett told the crowd.

"And now they're literally up for grabs in this country of ours, so we're going to be out there singing about it, talking about it, activating about it, joining in others about it.

"Because we're not going to allow the stupidity of ... right-wing people to destroy the approach this country needs to go on."

It comes as drummer Rob Hirst confirmed earlier in the year the group would be stepping back into the studio.

"We've been talking about recording again for years but The Great Circle Tour in 2017 was such a positive experience that it made us even hungrier to get back to making new music together," Hurst said at the time.

"It's a bit early to know what might come out of it yet - we're just looking forward to getting back into that creative mode."

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Midnight Oil will play a few acoustic songs at the 1 Million Women LoveEarth Festival at Carriageworks on Saturday, before heading to Canberra's Royal Theatre on Monday. They'll also make an appearance at the Big Red Bash festival in Birdsville, QLD.

The Oils will kick off their extensive European tour at the Apollo in Manchester on June 9.

www.midnightoil.com