Midnight Oil played in Wollongong at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Wednesday. Here's what Mitchell Jennings thought of the show ...
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This reporter was a whole lot younger when Iva Davies explained the enduring appeal of the Icehouse anthem Great Southern Land.
Released in 1982, the ballad returned to prominence, like most quintessentially Australian songs, around the Sydney Olympics.
According to Davies, the focus on the landscape and "enduring sense of place" kept its appeal perennial as it was "not distracted by any transitory factors." He also said in that interview that he'd love to be able to write songs as powerful as those of Peter Garrett.
There are few things more transitory than the politics of activism. By that logic, Midnight Oil should have been fairly flash in the pan. Yet here they are, after 50 years, playing sold out shows on their final tour - aptly dubbed the Resist tour.
True to form, the accompanying album Resist is an unashamedly political treatise, perhaps even more so than their previous catalogue given they paid their strictly musical dues almost half a century ago. They've earned their fair share of soapbox rope.
They began the Wollongong leg of their tour to a big-screen montage of causes, some as new as Black Lives Matter, others old enough to have fired their messaging since their first album in 1978.
The focus of their 13th album has shifted to reflect more contemporary issues, specifically climate change, but the full set list was enough evidence of the fact they were addressing environmental issues long before they were cool.
The lyrics of Barka-Darling River seem eerily prophetic given the devastating floods currently gripping Northern NSW. The collection's centrepiece is an anthem in three parts something akin to Bohemian Rhapsody in its tempo and melodic changes.
It draws directly on Garrett's time as Federal Environment Minister. There's no shortage of politicians who only tell us what they really think on leaving politics, but few have ever done so as powerfully the Oils' frontman.
Songs from Resist were peppered through the set including the titular We Resist, Nobody's Child and Rising Seas. Reef, on live debut, was introduced with an evisceration of the "dinosaur, delinquent, vandals" letting one of the world's natural wonders fall to environmental ruin.
It was everything you'd expect from one of history's greatest protest bands. What's most striking about their latest show is how readily their most famous tracks, plenty written more than 40 years ago, reflect current times.
In the international shadow cast by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Short Memory could easily become a global anthem were it released today.
It was notably absent from their set, the Ukrainian flag and "best, heartfelt and supportive wishes to the Ukrainian people who understand the true meaning of freedom" instead featured as a backdrop to Put Down That Weapon
Likewise, amid the ongoing fight for constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, Beds Are Burning and The Dead Heart are as relevant today as they were when released on Diesel and Dust in 1987.
Blue Sky Mine, US Forces, Forgotten Years and, of course, Power and the Passion hit with the same force as if they were only written yesterday. They could've been and, in politically fractious times, it takes just one Midnight Oil show to walk away enraged at the state of the world. And to know that's OK.
For a younger generation, it's not too difficult to see how, many moons ago, so many people walked into a pub rock show and walked out with a freshly awakened political consciousness.
Whether it be Indigenous rights and recognition, conservation causes, or nuclear disarmament, the Australian rock band continue to bring pressing issues in from the fringe and into the mainstream.
That they can still be doing as much so many years after their emergence speaks to their place in the Australian music pantheon.
In that vein, At the Time of Writing becomes one of the most powerful songs of their current repertoire. The band members - sadly minus long-time bassist Bones Hillman who was honoured midway through the show - are all nearing 70 years of age.
The song, an acknowledgement that their generation has failed those that follow them on climate change, best typifies the Oils's final lap. Their music and lyrics remain as relevant as ever, the need to 'resist' more important than ever, but their time is limited.
Their final concert tour, acknowledges the fact they've taken things about as far as they can. It's time to pass the baton, but their music will stay relevant long after they're gone.
The Oils now head to Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin, Cairns, the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Canberra, then circle back to Sydney on April 21. Further details are at: https://www.frontiertouring.com/midnightoil
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