News

Auckland 9/9

Spark Arena 9/9

Photo: Megan Moss

Spark Arena, Auckland 9/9

Spark Arena, Auckland 9/9

Photo: Megan Moss

Spark Arena, Auckland 9/9

Spark Arena, Auckland 9/9

Spark Arena, Auckland 9/9

Photo: Jim Moginie

“Auckland Space Needle, howling in the cold night.” – JM 9/9

Photo: Jim Moginie

“After the quakes. Hope springs eternal. An amazing city in an art led recovery.” – JM, Christchurch 11/9

Photo: Jack Howard

Christchurch 11/9

Photo: Jim Moginie

“Hirst as a blur. He moves fast. Nothing new there.” – JM, Christchurch 11/9

Photo: Jack Howard

Horncastle Arena, Christchurch 11/9

Christchurch set list 11/9

Photo: Alex Grant

Horncastle Arena, Christchurch 11/9

The Great Circle 2017 came to a close in the Northern Hemisphere this week, bringing the band’s total performances to an even 50 gigs so far this year. But they clearly aren’t resting on their laurels. Firstly, the band made their first ever appearance in South East Asia with a whistle-stop visit to Singapore before landing back in L.A. for one night at the famous Greek Theatre. Aptly enough for a warm summer evening, they performed “Love Life” (from the “Lasseters Gold” CD in The Overflow Tank) for the first time ever onstage. Two nights later at New York’s Terminal 5 they premiered “Heart Is Nowhere” (from the same disc) and also busted out a previously unheard cover of The Clash’s “London Calling” to celebrate the birthday of the late Joe Strummer. In Montreal they gave another Blue Sky Mining outtake – “21st Century Human” – its first live airing; perhaps helping to inspire some onstage dancing by audience members later in the show. The following nights in Toronto and Cleveland saw the Oils do very rare performances of “Can’t See Reason” and “Koala Sprint” respectively before their final tour surprise in Minneapolis where they covered Warumpi Band’s anthem “From The Bush”.

Other highlights of this tour leg included a day off at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland (where “Beds Are Burning” is enshrined as one of the “500 Songs That Shaped Rock & Roll”) and sharing stages with fellow Aussies The Living End and The Smith Street Band plus honorary Aussie Matt Good.

After a week back at home Midnight Oil heads to Aotearoa – their first visit there since 1995 – before finally starting their eagerly anticipated homecoming tour exactly one month from now.

Photo: Maclay Heriot

The Greek, Los Angeles 8/19

Photo: Maclay Heriot

The Greek, Los Angeles 8/19

Photo: Maclay Heriot

The Greek, Los Angeles 8/19

The Greek, Los Angeles 8/19

Terminal 5, New York City 8/21

Set list at Terminal 5, New York City 8/21

Photo: Jack Howard

Rob’s shirt post performance 8/21

Photo: Jim Moginie

Montreal soundcheck 8/23

Photo: Jim Moginie

Backstage in Montreal 8/23

Photo: Jim Moginie

“Cocktail time” – Jim Moginie 8/25

Photo: Jim Moginie

“A tale of two drummers: a joy having TLE on this leg of the tour, they are the Fab Three” – Jim Moginie 8/25

Photo: Jim Moginie

“View from the stool, Toronto” – Jim Moginie 8/25

Photo: Jack Howard

House of Blues, Cleveland 8/27

Photo: Jack Howard

A present from Glam Doll Donuts, Cleveland 8/27

Photo: Lesley Holland

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 8/28

Photo: Jim Moginie

“Johnny and June Cash’s bus, Hall of Fame Cleveland” – Jim Moginie 8/28

Photo: Jim Moginie

“Rob and Ringo. Peace and Love.” – Jim Moginie 8/28

Photo: Jim Moginie

“Goosebumps with John Lennon’s Gibson J160 E up close. Used on ‘I Feel Fine’ (the first feedback ever recorded), wrote the songs for ‘The White Album’ in India, used on ‘Give Peace A Chance’. This machine kills fascists.” – Jim Moginie 8/28

Photo: Jack Howard

Dump Trump, Minneapolis 8/29

Photo: Lesley Holland

Midnight Oil, The Living End and Jack Howard after the final North American show, Minneapolis 8/29

AUSTRALIA: With less than two months until the homecoming leg of THE GREAT CIRCLE 2017 World Tour, the first Midnight Oil tickets started shipping to Australian fans today. To coincide with this moment the band have a few big surprises.

Firstly, Midnight Oil will play a third and final concert at Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne on Wed 15 Nov. Special guests will be The Smith Street Band and The Teskey Brothers. Pre-sale tickets available from noon AEST Tue 8 Aug via the band’s mailing list – sign up via www.midnightoil.com/mailing-list. Pre-sale password / info will be sent out at 10:00am AEST Tue 8 Aug. General public on-sale at noon AEST Fri 11 Aug.

Secondly, as part of ongoing anti-scalping initiatives, Midnight Oil and Frontier Touring have just announced a STRICTLY LIMITED final release of extra tickets for nearly all of the local shows that were previously sold out. Some of these tickets will be available immediately via the usual online ticketing outlets. Visit www.midnightoil.com/tour-dates for details.

The Oils have also allocated a small quantity of tickets for sale via select independent music stores to encourage fans to visit these retailers who do so much for Australian music. Record store tickets will go on sale from store opening today until sold out – you’ve just got to stand in line! Please see the show-by-show info at www.midnightoil.com/record-store-tickets for all the specific store details.

Last but not least, Midnight Oil will play an intimate performance in Far North Queensland during early October to help draw extra attention to the plight of the Great Barrier Reef. Fans should listen to their local Triple M station over coming weeks to learn more about this unique event and get their chance to win free tickets.