{"id":763,"date":"2019-06-25T01:59:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-25T01:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/?p=763"},"modified":"2026-06-25T02:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:02:14","slug":"midnight-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/?p=763","title":{"rendered":"Midnight Oil\u2028"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

June 1988, Club 1235, Miami Beach, Fla.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a show done on a lark, partly because we didn\u2019t really believe Midnight Oil was playing a club on Miami Beach. I was in college at the time, home for summer break, back in the day when Internet was not part of the world, so we heard things from world of mouth. Midnight Oil at Club 1235? Really? OK then, let\u2019s check it out.<\/p>\n

At this point, Midnight Oil was on a sudden rise despite having been around for more than 15 years. Diesel and Dust<\/em>, from 1987, produced several singles (including \u201cBeds are Burning,\u201d \u201cDreamworld\u201d and \u201cPut Down that Weapon\u201d), and word got around the live act was something to see. Peter Garrett, the 6-foot-4, bald lead singer, was a whirlwind of energy any time he was on TV, whether singing live or being interviewed. And remember, the U.S. was under the spell of Australia in the mid- to late-1980s (Crocodile Dundee had plenty to do with that), so American audiences were quick to embrace the Aussie band.<\/p>\n

Did we walk up and get tickets? Sure did, and walking in was sort of a high school reunion, as there were many people we knew right away (I believe I was with my friend Karl, but I can\u2019t be too sure). If there was an opener I can\u2019t recall, there were no assigned seats, and I always wondered why they played this place. A spot down the way called the Cameo Theatre was much more used to concerts (I\u2019ll documents some of those show later), while Club 1235 was big for a club but not quite right for a music venue.<\/p>\n

It turned out well, though. The band was smart enough to load up the show with Diesel and Dust<\/em> songs, because what else did U.S. audiences really know? I heard \u201cPower and the Passion\u201d (from 1982\u2019s 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1<\/em>) on WVUM, but not much else filtered through from the band. But you know what, it didn\u2019t matter that we didn\u2019t know the songs \u2014 the Oils played with such verve and power it was hard to deny them their due. I distinctly remember the performance of drummer Rob Hirst, an original member who co-wrote most of the band\u2019s songs with Garrett and guitarist Jim Moginie, as one of greatness. The drums, it turned out, were hugely important to the band\u2019s sound, as Hirst\u2019s influence was the backbone to what gave the music a crackling urgency.<\/p>\n

\u201cDreamworld,\u201d my favorite Midnight Oil song, was as good live as I dreamed it in my mind. The song, about the destruction of Australia\u2019s coast from overbuilding, was as pertinent in Florida as it was Down Under. Garrett nearly shrieked \u201cYour dream world will fall\u201d at song\u2019s end to the roar of the capacity crowd. I always wondered what he thought of Miami Beach after hearing him play that song.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Dead Heart\u201d was another highlight, as was \u201cSell My Soul,\u201d \u201cArctic World\u201d and \u201cPower and the Passion\u201d. \u201cSometimes\u201d and \u201cBeds Are Burning\u201d brought the set to a proper end, though \u201cBeds Are Burning\u201d wasn\u2019t the highlight I expect most people thought it would be, proof of my theory that the audience\u2019s favorite song is not usually the band\u2019s favorite song.<\/p>\n

I woke up that morning not knowing I would see a show, and at the end of the day was witness to a memorable one. Sometimes, as the band sings, you\u2019re shaken to the core.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June 1988, Club 1235, Miami Beach, Fla. It was a show done on a lark, partly because we didn\u2019t really believe Midnight Oil was playing a club on Miami Beach. I was in college at the time, home for summer break, back in the day when Internet was not part of the world, so we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-concerts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=763"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":765,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763\/revisions\/765"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abandonedcouches.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}