48. Power and the Passion – Midnight Oil

Cockatoo Island. Never went, but listened to the whole damn thing on Triple J, back when they did that sort of thing. They were an immense band, but by the time I started going to shows they seemed to be playing around the world rather than at home, so I never got the chance. And then Peter went to parliament, the band was on an endless hiatus, and then I left to play around the world. That was that, I figured, there’s always stuff you miss out on as you move through the world.

And then, way later than I thought possible, they announced they were coming to play in London. But aren’t they old? Wouldn’t they suck? “Come on cobber, we’re going” said Michelle, or words of a similar sentiment, and then I had no excuse, we were going. I played them for a couple of days before going, and when I met her in the bar at Victoria I had a few questions to ask.
“1. Garrett can’t sing.”
“Well…”
“But that’s good, because neither can anyone else, so he makes it easier for us to sing along with them. 2. How the hell did they become popular anywhere outside of Australia? How would anyone else get them?”
“Yeah, I can’t understand that either.”
“3. What you drinking?” And then they did this, and everyone sang along, and I still couldn’t understand why (apart from there being a lot of Aussies in the room). But as for the song, which one to choose? Best of Both Worlds with that amazing freak out in the middle, or Kosciusko because of that driving bass and the memory of walking to the top of Australia all those years ago, or Truganini for the moment Peter turns into Bob Dylan? No, it’s probably got to be Power, even though I can't find the real clip shot under the Kings Cross railway that I used to commute to work on, for that amazing drum solo and the best horn section moment the Hunters never played for themselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYAH008TxfQ