LAST LA SHOW OF ALL TIME WAS HIGH ON EMOTIONS AND ENERGY

Prolific Australian rock band Midnight Oil played their final LA show of all time at the Hollywood Palladium on Tuesday night to a packed out audience on the heels of their Resist tour. When requesting to photograph shows, I am excited for every single one that gets approved, however when I received an email with my credentials for this show, I was a few notches happier than usual.

While not being a huge avid fan of the band, their DNA is written into my very existence as far as music goes. My uncle took my dad to his very first concert at the age of 16 which was Midnight Oil back in 1990 on their Blue Sky Mining Tour. It was a peak in their career, taking place at the notable Arrowhead Pond Amphitheatre. This would prove to be an influential night in my dad’s experience, with him becoming hooked to live shows and music outings altogether. In my opinion, your very first concert can determine a lot of your future such as music taste, what you decide to spend your money on (concerts), and where you travel to.

I had my first concert experience back in 2012 with one of my dad’s favorite bands, James, which from then on I was also hooked to attending live shows and have a special place in myself for the band. Needless to say, you will never have a first concert experience again, so it was incredibly special to have my dad in attendance of the band that made him who he is today’s very last show in LA before they call it quits once more.

While at the show, photographers were not allowed to shoot from the photo pit like usual, so that was devastating as I had a plan of what I wanted to capture and what my edits would look like. Rather, we were placed at the very back of the venue, mixed in with the crowd which pushed some photographers to stand on stools and suitcases in order to capture some moments. I found an empty spot towards the left, while my dad made his way into the pit. At around 9PM, the band came on after opener Leah Flanagan’s intimate set.

Cheers flooded as they kicked off with latest record cut “Nobody’s Child” which acted as a sort of interlude into catchy “Truganini.” Frontman Peter Garrett towered over the audience, commanding everyone’s attention with his hypnotic dancing and fierce passion. I was in awe to experience something like it, with Garrett taking some time to discuss his disgust for situations harming the environment which most of their music is inspired by. The band had this smooth build up to favorite “The Dead Heart” with fans sining in unison “Do do do do do do dooo” with Garrett. There are few musical acts that have infused politics into their songs successfully, but Midnight Oil is arguably the best of the bunch.

Toward the end of the set, the band ended strong with hit after hit beginning with “Blue Sky Mine” followed by “Beds Are Burning,” a song wrongfully included in VH1’s One Hit Wonders of the 80s TV special. That song is part of my childhood so to see Garrett absolutely crush it, moving similar to Joy Division’s Ian Curtis was insane.

My dad, who bumped into Jack Black while in the pit, would text me sporadically to see my thoughts of what I was witnessing. During “Power and the Passion,” I texted him back saying it was super high energy and emotional on this level I haven’t felt at many shows. Midnight Oil played heavy hitter “King of the Mountain” during their encore after which Garrett and co. walked off but not before blowing kisses to the crowd, showcasing their gratitude. Before that however, they played “Forgotten Years” in which the chorus repeats “The hardest years, the darkest years
the roarin' years, the fallen years, these should not be forgotten years.” Those lyrics made my eyes water for more reasons than I can count: getting to experience my dad’s first concert with him at one of their last, thinking of all the turmoil and heartache that the world is constantly being berated with, and my mom’s last days in hospice. I was grateful to feel this emotion and it was definitely shared between myself, my dad, and the band as well who are calling off live shows after over four decades, but still promising more new music. Once we exited, my dad kept repeating, “Anyone who wants to be in a band, that’s the standard you should hold yourself to.” I couldn’t agree more. Check out the set list here!