You can vote on your favorites in the Linux Journal 2002 Reader’s Choice Poll. If you don’t use Linux, it might not make much sense, but you never know, you might learn something while you’re there.

I went to a free Midnight Oil concert sponsored by a local radio station and although I’m not a big fan, I had a great time. A group called Dropline opened and were so-so. They sing Graduation Day which you might have heard on the radio, although it’s not very similar to the rest of their music.

Midnight Oil came out after a minute or two of cows mooing, over and over again. The only reason I can think of is that their new album has a cow-like figure on it. Once the mooing stopped, the band began and the crowd cheered wildly. I don’t remember all the songs they sang, but the essentials were there, like Beds are Burning and Redneck Wonderland. The lead singer’s dancing was, shall we say, unique. A less confident person would not dare dance like a possessed puppet, so I give him credit for his willingness to look foolish.

The drummer played a kick butt solo. He even started whacking a ribbed metal cylinder a few times, then returned to his drum set. He had a neverending supply of drum sticks, so he launched one or two into the crowd at the end of each song. During one song, he kept throwing one at a crash cymbal, having it bounce off (some got a lot of distance). At the end of the concert he chucked the remaining ones onto the stage. The whole night was a lot of fun, made even better with a price tag of zilch.