“We gotta remember and identify and know that the only thing we gotta fear with the craziness and the madness and some of the very difficult evil things that have happened, is not to be human, is not to be cooperative, not to be looking out for one another, but to be spreading the good stuff everywhere…” Midnight Oil’s (“the Oils”) Peter Garrett, in his preface to “Put Down That Weapon”, the band’s second single off of their seminal 1987 album, Diesel and Dust. Some 30 years later, lyrics from the song and the ideas that they invoke seem as poignant as ever. The band has been mostly off the scene as Midnight Oil since they dissolved in 2002, so with their 2017 reformation and world tour, they have made an unexpected return to much acclaim and excitement. I was a huge fan of that 1987 album as it blew up in the U.S. at the time, and I had never had a chance to see them perform live until this show at Fox Theater in Oakland on Saturday night. It was nothing short of incredible, and will certainly rank as one of my favorite gigs of the year. They are touring a lot in 2017 and crossing back to cities already visited, so I give my highest recommendation to turn out for one of these events…
