Postcards from Australia: Part 4

The Great Circle 2017 has finally returned to the place where it all began for Midnight Oil – in their hometown of Sydney.

Appropriately enough for a tour that included 77 incendiary shows, things ended with a bang. The final fortnight saw the band sparring with a former Australian Prime Minister, continuing their campaign against the filthy Adani coal mine and celebrating a victory for love over fear, all while battling the elements and a ‘season ending injury’.

Back to back shows on unusually cold nights in Wodonga and Hanging Rock plus a rowdy Melbourne Cup Eve gig two nights later at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl reached over 50,000 of the most vocal fans seen (or heard!) anywhere on the whole tour. Unfortunately things then took a nasty turn during an encore Bowl appearance when keyboardist/guitarist Jim Moginie took a tumble right at the end of the main set. In an attempt to protect his guitar during the fall he tore his hamstring tendon completely off the bone. For nearly 24 hours there was talk of the remaining shows needing to be moved into 2018 but Jim chose to delay necessary surgery and committed to doing the next 4 gigs fully seated and in considerable pain. Thanks again Jim!

All of this drama set up an epic return to Sydney on November 11 (aka Armistice Day). Former Prime Minister, Paul Keating, seized his chance to get back in the headines by calling the band “squatters” for performing two rock shows in a city park. Interestingly the classical music loving ex-PM had never complained when the same space was used over 50 times for opera and symphonies over the previous decades. The stoush was somehow appropriate given that The Domain was Australia’s hub of robust public debate for nearly a century but to rework a phrase that used to be well known in Australia, “these were the gigs that Sydney had to have”!

A comparatively intimate but particularly intense Monday evening show in Wollongong and a rainy third Myer Bowl on the night that Australian Marriage Equality received a thumping endorsement then set up last Friday night’s Grand Finale back in Sydney. This second massive Domain gig was packed with the band’s friends and family. Special guests Charlie McMahon on didgeridoo for “The Dead Heart” and Yirrmal on vocals for the indigenous classic, “Treaty”, made the night even more special given that the concert happened within sight of the place where first English settlement occurred in 1788.

From the stage the band could also see Sydney Harbour where they first unveiled this epic adventure aboard a boat way back in February. Since that time Midnight Oil has performed in 16 countries across 5 continents. They have worked their way though 106 different songs including 11 cover versions.

Alongside all the big gigs, Midnight Oil also did their bit for various causes. For example an evening set on The Rainbow Warrior in Rio, green European festivals like Paleo and Ostrava plus Great Barrier Reef fundraisers in Cairns and Fremantle were among the main tour highlights. Constant advocacy to #StopAdani throughout the Australian leg of the tour has helped bring focus to that important issue and the band’s support will continue post-tour by way of the funds raised through the benefit gigs and special post-show poster sales.

Behind the scenes more than 200 people have helped make this massive tour possible. Some have been part of the whole journey, others have only joined for a few weeks here or there but to each and every one of these individuals – from truck drivers to travel agents, from office staff to the band’s sensational road crew – the Oils say a heartfelt thanks for your tireless labour.

For everyone wondering what’s next … who knows?! However as one final piece of news we can confirm rumors that the Domain shows were filmed and recorded. Some of that material may be released in some form next year as a memento for those who were there and as a ‘next best thing’ for all those who missed out. Watch this space for more details.

But now the time has come; The Great Circle 2017 has officially come to a close. If you were one of the 500,000+ people who experienced this special tour then the Oils thank you one more time and hope you enjoyed this unforgettable experience as much as they did.

“As Midnight Oil neared the end of their massive eight-month world tour, all was right with the world.”

– Michael Dwyer, The Age

“As the band delivered song after song stamped on the DNA of the Australian soundtrack… the fans got louder to match the crowd and potently reminded everyone of every moment the Oils mattered in our lives. And why they matter now.”

– Kathy McCabe, Daily Telegraph

“They were superbly musical but with a contained relentless power. Occasionally we were taken on exhilarating whoopee-rides of excessive rock eruption. And by honouring their legacy, by committing themselves so firmly to being Midnight Oil, they assumed gravitas and dignity.”

– Peter Farnan, Daily Review

Wodonga 3/11