We will never know: you can’t undo what has been done.

At the end of an energetic set and two encores, the fire burned hotter to experience Garrett back with the Oils (as planned for 2017).

The second encore said it all: band members made their way back on stage, with drummer Peter Luscombe reigniting the fire with a distinct drum beat. Even before guitarist Martin Rotsey (yes, he of the Oils) hit a note, the sell-out crowd was surging to the front of the stage and laying down the chant  “do-Do-do-Do-do-do-do.”

Garrett grabbed the mic and broke into “We don’t serve your country, don’t serve your king”, lifting everyone to that promised land, the place where music takes over our spirit, crosses boundaries, unites us for the love of the vibration.

The Dead Heart, first released by Midnight Oil in 1986, triggered all those emotions of younger, wilder, more innocent times.

This wasn’t a political party.

That guy on the stage wasn’t a politician.

That guy was determined to convince us he was one of us.

Tonight he was.

Garrett and his six-piece band, featuring Rotsey, Luscombe, additional guitarists Mark Wilson (bass) and Abbe May, keyboard player Rosa Morgan and back-up vocals from two of Garrett’s daughters,  May and Grace, were touring on the back of Garrett’s new solo album, A Version of Now.

There certainly was an air of familiarity, even comradeship, as Garrett referenced the shared experiences he’d had with this crowd of the same vintage as him. “I got prawns in Budgewoi tonight,” he said midway through the set. “I’m king of the world.”

The setlist was intriguing, mixing songs off Garrett’s album with some other gems and only a select few Oils songs.

Kangaroo Tail was the opener, almost punk-like in its delivery. No Placebo followed, in the same vein, but even closer to the trademark vibe of the Oils.

Only One was an original, but it was an uncomfortable fit.

Garrett conversed with audience in his distinctly direct delivery, expressing genuine enthusiasm for being back on the road and playing music again.

He covered a few other artists, acknowledging their contribution to the Aussie music scene - Ego Is Not a Dirty Word by the Skyhooks, Back to the Wall by the Divinyls, Thou Shalt Not Steal by Kev Carmody and Free Your Mind by American band En Vogue.

And he drew raucous applause for the Oils songs - Section 5 (Bus to Bondi), from the band’s second album, Head Injuries, in 1979; and I Don’t Wanna Be The One, from Place Without a Postcard in 1981.

A few of the new songs were outstanding, in an Oils kind of way: Homecoming, a driving melodic number, enhanced significantly by the sweet backing vocals of the Garrett sisters and some ripping riffs by Rotsey; and Tall Trees, a perfect Oils-type of song.