I honestly thought this day may never come again. It's been 19 years since I last saw the Oils (a hometown gig at the Ming in 98 - with my mum!). Then they retired just after I should of seen them with Regs in 2002. But now they're back. And even that didn't guarantee anything. I forgot about tickets going on sale and Atlanta had sold out before I got the chance. A few weeks later I found a ticket for the Silver Spring show and bought it before working out how to get there. Fortunately a free United ticket made it easy to get to DC. So here I am! OILS!
Boytoy had an unenviable task of opening to a crowd dying to see the Oils again. However, they handled it magnificently! Their surf/rock sound was sharp and the 3 ladies from Brooklyn made the crowd forget why they were there for 45 minutes. Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl was my favorite of the night. Loved the no bass sound of their set. Hope to see them come through Charlotte soon.
I could not have asked for a better venue to see the return of the Oils than the Fillmore in Silver Spring. I was up front in front of Bones and had a clear view of stage and the audience. When they started the set with Profiteers and Progress I thought we were going to be in for an old school night. The kind all Aussies who grew up on Head Injuries and Place Without A Postcard would want. But we're in the US, and they have a different set of favorites here, and Midnight Oil were very accommodating to that. Blossom & Blood was great but then there was a lot of slower stuff, like they were catching their breath. It was not until the last third of the set, when they fired up Power & The Passion, that I was back into it fully. Beds Are Burning set the crowd alight (no pun intended) and Blue Sky Mine closed out the main set. The Dead Heart and Dreamworld was a great encore, but they weren't finished as they came back, much to the delight of the sold-out Fillmore and played Tin Legs and King Of The Mountain, which got the best reaction of the night.
Don't get me wrong, it was worth the flight to DC, the traffic to Silver Spring, and the shitty accommodation near the airport to see one of my all time favorite bands. But remember, my dad had been playing Midnight Oil in our house for 40 years, and I loved all that early stuff. As it is, a band with a large catalog can only play so many songs. While I'd have killed to hear US Forces, Stand In Line and Don't Wanna Be The One, I think I'd have to head back to Australia to do so. Great to see them back. Hope they continue to tour - and maybe play at the Fillmore in Charlotte next time instead.
The Crap Facts:
This is my 420th concert.
The Fillmore is the 119th venue I've seen a concert.
Silver Spring is the 51st city I've seen a concert.
Maryland is the 15th state I've seen a concert.
This is my 226th concert in the USA.
Boytoy are the 492nd band I've seen.
This is my 6th Midnight Oil concert.
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