... dirty 3 live in melbourne 1997 
by steve phillips
article written in january 1997
published in "sadness is in the sky magazine" issue 2

Date: 11 January 1997.

Location: Prince Of Wales Hotel, Melbourne.

Support Acts: The Xylouris Ensemble, The Scream.

Characters: The Dirty Three, The reviewer, the audience, George Xylouris.

Act 3, Scene 1: Warren Ellis announces the first song including this introduction:(Spoken with feeling)

“..and God descends from above and God appears in the shape of a ‘70’s actor named Elliot Gould who, you’re kinda lyin’ there thinkin’ that this is a match made in Heaven and then you find out it’s actually, Jim Morrison wearing a vinyl jacket and some curly hair. And you realise, you’re in fuckin’ hell. And to make matters worse Tiny Tim has united with him to perform a sort of Beat poetry ‘thing’ on ukulele while he reads his boring poetry and you know, you should have behaved yourself on Earth.” Audience: They know for some reason this man is a maniac and a genius, so they clap and cheer him. ’I Knew It Would Come To This’(or ’Come On Baby, Light My Fire’) is starkly beautiful and sees Warren attacking his violin with sheer intensity, plucking and using the bow to produce the sounds of sadness, and of awakening. (Wide angle shot to Warren Ellis crouching over his violin and to before spitting, his saliva hitting the stage roof.)

Act 3, Scene 2: ‘Hope’ with it’s brittle fragility and the incredible ‘Sue’s Last Ride’ follow. Warren: “This is a song dedicated to anyone tonite who came out a bit differently than last nite, and that is that they died in their sleep last nite and you are in fact dead or dying now. This is a song about a friend who died a little while ago and to anybody who may have lost somebody recently. This song is called ‘Sue’s Last Ride’ or ‘jeez, what a fuckin’ bummer that you died’”. The energy created by the three musicians during the latter is unexplainable, gaping mouths stand aghast as electricity is reborn. The reviewer feels overwhelmed, visions of Drop City’s ‘Apple Tree’ at the Armadale Hotel are recalled.

Act 3, Scene 3: Guests are invited on stage to contribute to the excellent ‘Indian Summer Song’ and the song featuring George Xylouris, takes on an inspired air. The inpenetratable Dirty Three backbone of Jim White and Mick Turner are casually, almost anonymously amazing. ‘I Remember A Time When You Used To Love Me’, ‘Everything’s Fucked’, the sorrowful ‘You Were A Bummed Dream’ see the audience inspired by the band’s effortlessness in soulfulness. It seems enough to make you cry at times. It’s enough to make Warren Ellis sweat excessively. The reviewer is reflective and melancholy by the time the Dirty Three announce ‘Suzanne’ by Leonard Cohen. Incredible version, but the crowd seems somewhat disinterested. The word ‘fickle’ should flash by. Shot of Warren, saliva falling from the ceiling an inch from his head. (Profile shot of the pensive Mick Turner)

Act 3, Scene 4: The reviewer kicks bottle-tops and cans on his exit from the room. Upon reaching his car, he breaks down crying in response to the huge emotional weight of the show. The words ‘the best band in the world right now’ should flash by.

CUT.

Roll credits.


Taken from SADNESS IS IN THE SKY issue numero 2.