Midnight Oil’s mammoth farewell concert is one for the ages

Australia’s rock greats dazzled fans, fellow rockers, and even PM Anthony Albanese with an unforgettable farewell performance.

Midnight Oil bid farewell with an epic three-and-a-half hours of power and passion as they closed out their five-year reunion at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion.

A mammoth setlist of 40 songs drew from the very beginnings of their 50-year career through to this year’s chart-topping climate action manifesto Resist.

Watched by No.1 Oils ticketholder Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his partner Jodie Haydon, fellow rockers Jimmy Barnes and the Hoodoo Gurus through to more than 5500 of the party faithful, the band delivered a concert for the ages.

Peter Garrett and Rob Hirst of Midnight Oil perform at Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia. Picture: Don Arnold/WireImage

The ferocious energy of Peter Garrett, Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie, Martin Rotsey and Adam Ventoura was matched by a multigenerational audience committed to bidding the Oils an incendiary farewell.

Steam rose from the heated mosh pit which Garrett addressed in the second song, stopping to settle down an overexuberant dancer who was taking up too much space.

The One for the Road setlist struck a delicate balance between the myriad playlist wish lists of fans and the band’s own desires to offer up the team picks.

“Making sure we’re connecting with everybody,” Garrett said.

Peter Garrett and Rob Hirst of Midnight Oil. The band played for three-and-a-half hours and performed 38 songs. Picture: Don Arnold/WireImage

He gave the crowd a knowing smile when they opened with fan favourite Lucky Country and again when they launched into blasts from the pasts including Koala Sprint and Don’t Wanna Be The One.

Their latest chapter was represented by offerings from The Makaratta Project and Resist, with Dan Sultan joining them on stage to reprise his force-of-nature howl in Gadigal Land.

The fans kept the singalongs at peak volume for Beds Are Burning, The Dead Heart, Blue Sky Mine, US Forces and Power and the Passion.

It seems premature for the Oils to call time in their time on the stage when their songs couldn’t be more timely as Australia faces the Voice to Parliament referendum and the rallying cry for climate action.

They may not tour ever again but there’s little doubt the Oils will continue to use their voice for years to come.