Review of Midnight Oil: 1984

Just saw this. An exhilarating snapshot of the Oils performing onstage. Candid shots of young adults attending concerts with at times dubious 80s hairdos (oh the eighties!), where the energy on stage and in the rapturous crowd oozes off the screen, like frontman Peter Garrett's perspiration. An at times mesmerising look at a band that connected hugely with its live audience - during a time when the nuclear arms race made the future feel at times very uncertain, and during the time of Garrett's first foray into Australian politics. From the interviews w young people you can see how engaged they were with the band and how they felt the band spoke for them. The movie gives viewers a chance to feel the dynamic energy of their live 80 s performances. There are few interviews, but the lack of narration is almost immersive. You get taken along on tour with them, in the early days when the band set up their gear themselves, and the support crew was small but dedicated. Lots of gaffer tape! A candid after concert glimpse shows band members sitting down with cups of tea, not quite the 'rock and roll' aftermath of a live show that you might imagine (!) Fans will love the music and the concert footage. But worth viewing for anyone interested in this point in history and the impact the Oils had on the political landscape of the time.