I’m the son of an immigrant. My mother came to this country from Australia when she was eighteen years old with the same hopes and dreams as most immigrants…the search for a better life.
I’ve never been to her home country, but I’ve always recognized that in me are Aussie roots. One way I’ve connected to my ancestry is through the music of Midnight Oil.
A band that is pro human rights, staunch environmentalists, equality for women, and currently anti-Trump. They took a fifteen year hiatus while the lead singer, Peter Garrett, pursued a career in politics in Australia so that he could make a positive difference in his country from his strong beliefs.
But now the band is back on a world wide tour, and damn if I wasn’t lucky enough to see them at the historic Webster Hall in New York City.
The power inside this arena seemed to come from the electricity in the air. Everything was super charged with excitement, all anxiously awaiting to see if the band was the same after such a long absence.
As soon as they took the stage, any naysayers were silenced, as the Oils lit up the hall, rocking and sounding better than ever.
The chants of “Oils!Oils!Oils!” reverberated in my ears long after the show ended. Peter’s swaying body, flailing arms and piercing voice echoes in my head to this day.
It was epic.
