There may have been another act between the Revelators and Midnight Oil, but Hughesy's recollection only stretches as far as the psychobilly of Reverend Horton Heat which I enjoyed without being impressed enough to want to go out of my way to see them again.
Given Peter Garret's political career there probably won't be many more opportunities to see Midnight Oil live, and an hour-long festival set covered most bases without delving too far into the remoter corners of the band's catalogue.
There was a lengthy set-up process between Midnight Oil's set and Little Feat's first Australian appearance in twenty-six years and I spent most of it anxiously scanning the area around the agreed rendezvous for the other occupants of the town house. When it became obvious that they were somewhere backstage we headed towards the front and eventually wormed our way into a spot about three rows back in front of Kenny Gradney.
From the time the band hit the stage and kicked into a groove Hughesy was in seventh heaven, though I subsequently heard that there was substantial dissent in some sections of the crowd.
Having plenty of exposure to live recordings via Highway 95 I knew what to expect though nothing could have prepared me for Shaun Murphy's bit of microphone manipulation in the middle of It Takes A Lot To Laugh.
While I thought that the main set justified the decision to make the trip to Byron the encore was definitely the icing on the cake. Over the years I'd heard a recording of just about every incarnation of Dixie Chicken, but I'd never heard one quite like the close to thirty minute version that took the band right up to the midnight curfew.
After entertaining five-sevenths of the band at the town house for a Sunday brunch we were back again for the second Feat set on Sunday evening. While the second go didn't have quite the same je ne sais quoi as the previous night's set, I was still a very happy camper when the other occupants of the town house headed south for more shows leaving Madam and I to a leisurely Easter holiday in Byron.