LIVE: PETER GARRETT & THE ALTER EGOS – Perth, 28 Feb 2025

LIVE: PETER GARRETT & THE ALTER EGOS – Perth, 28 Feb 2025
The East Perth Power Station, Perth, Western Australia
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
Photography by Luke Baker

Peter Garrett seems to be revelling in his revisited rock star persona, 2025 style. One of Australia’s most successful musos with Midnight Oil, he made the move into politics and spent nine years compromising his ideals before giving that away as the mug’s game it is and forming a new band: The Alter Egos.

You may recognise a couple of faces in the band: guitarist Martin Rotsey stood alongside Garrett in The Oils, and backing singers May and Grace share a “family resemblance” as he calls it, being his daughters. Heather Shannon from The Jezabels features on piano and keys, Evan Mannell on drums and Rowan Lane on bass.

First up is Maatakitj, a Noongar songwriter from WA’s south whose blues-tinted roots n’ roll went down a treat.

Featuring a set of mostly solo songs – and them mostly pulled from latest album The True North – as well as a handful of Oils cuts to excite the faithful, giving Garrett plenty of opportunity for his unique staccato dancing skills to be on show.

That’s not all he’s renowned for, of course. A passionate activist and flag waver for the environment and Indigenous rights, he has plenty to say about the pillage of the country by politicians and mining companies – starting with an early quip which caused much media furore in the days which followed.

“One of the pathways to sanity… is to get down and dirty and love rock n’ roll… pretend we’re dancing on Gina Rineheart’s grave.”

Sure, it’s slightly unsavoury to wish anyone dead – even Rineheart, a woman who has all the compassion and sensitivity of Jabba The Hutt – (and I absolutely do not think that’s what Garrett was saying) but seeing Labour Party politicians rush to criticise Garrett for the comment taken entirely out of context (as usual) and defend the mining billionaire and all-round ‘orrible person shows their true colours a week before the important state election. Traditionally the Liberal Party are in league with the mining industry, while Labour defend the rights of the people, but apparently in 2025 Premier Roger Cook and Co don’t care who know how deeply they are in Big Mining’s pockets.

More importantly by far is the music. Garrett appears inspired and invigorated, new songs such as the atmospheric and thoughtful The True North, It Still matters, The Archetype, Permaglow all standing strong alongside Midnight Oils tracks Feeding Frenzy, the punky blast of Section 5 (Bus To Bondi), Lucky Country and classics Beds Are Burning and Blue Sky Mine.

A round of applause is owed to Perth Festival for not only hosting the show, but for re-invigorating the decades-derelict East Perth Power Station into what Garrett calls a “funky post-industrial” space where 1100 fans can enjoy this show, whilst dozens of locals and families enjoy a snack and a drink in the unticketed areas of the complex. It’s a forward-facing, exciting use of the long-languished space and it’d be great if something like this could be ongoing.

Garrett recalls long-ago Sunday sessions at Fremantle’s Sandgropers venue and then launches into a long spiel about the bizarre and troubling state of world politics.

“The convicted criminal running the United States does not have our best interests at heart,” he notes astutely before observing that Ms Rineheart was at Trump’s inauguration table, and possibly the Texan-born CEO of Woodside, and that this is a “profound moment in history… we cannot sit on the sidelines. We’re way past mincing words and being polite!”

Most present, thank goodness for good sense, cheer his advice that Trump-style politics will emerge in Australia’s federal election in the next couple of months, and that we need to “get ready to fight them.”

Resistance is useful: remember that, folks.

Wearing an anti-Woodside tshirt he returns for an encore which starts with the world premiere live performance of their cover of World Party’s God On My Side before finishing with two Midnight Oils favourites: Don’t Wanna Be The One’s frenetic burst of energy and We Resist’s mellower come down.

Tonight’s show was about music, art and passion – and for Peter Garrett that includes political commentary. No matter what the clickbait shark media or the kowtowing brown nose politicians say, Garrett’s opinions and observations are always insightful and accurate and very welcome to those of us who share disdain and disgust over the plundering of the planet for greed. Frankly, I’d pay to listen to him talk more about it, not less, and I hope he always will.

Set list:

Feeding Frenzy (Midnight Oil cover)
Homecoming
Innocence Parts 1 & 2
Human Playground
Section 5 (Bus to Bondi) (Midnight Oil)
The True North
Paddo
Last Frontier (Midnight Oil)
Meltdown
Lucky Country (Midnight Oil)
It Still Matters
Hey Archetype
Beds Are Burning (Midnight Oil)
Permaglow
Blue Sky Mine (Midnight Oil)

God on My Side (World Party)
Don’t Wanna Be the One (Midnight Oil)
We Resist (Midnight Oil)

 

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries