The Dirty Three

Ocean Songs has been described as The Dirty Three’s “magnum-opus” – their greatest work – which, considering they’re one of Australia’s most prolific bands, is saying a lot for the Don’t Look Back concert that was happening at Melbourne’s Forum Theatre on Thursday night. Last seen playing in Victoria at the glorious All Tomorrow’s Parties festival, The Dirty Three reminded everyone what a phenomenal live act they are, and it was no surprise that the night’s show was sold out. Adding to the grandeur was the fact The Dirty Three hadn’t just chosen any support act – they had The Laughing Clowns set to open the night.

Having also performed at last year’s ATP, The Laughing Clowns had emerged from a 25 year hiatus, so it was without doubt there were some eager members of the crowd waiting to see them once again. In the spirit of the Don’t Look Back series, Ed Kuepper, Jeffrey Wegener, Louise Elliott, Leslie 'Bif' Millar and Alister Spence set out to deliver History of Rock ‘n’ Roll Volume 1 in its entirety – a collection of ten tracks that no one was about to argue with.

From the early moments of 'Every Dog Has Its Day', two things were clear about this performance. To get the bad news out of the way, the first of these factors was that Kuepper wasn’t, nor was any member of the band, a serious showman. The set was all about standing and delivering the songs without antics. It was about the music and nothing else. Which leads to the second, much more important factor: the quality. This was one tight set, highlighted by Kuepper’s skilful playing and the often creepy, but always engaging tenor saxophone of Elliott.

'Ghost Beat' was like a walk through a possessed mirror house, Elliott’s sax as jarring as it was captivating. Their namesake track, 'The Laughing Clowns', 'Holy Joe' and 'Everything That Flies (Is Not A Bird)' were all peaks of the set, though Keupper’s vocals were often incomprehensible – one of the joys of rock n roll, of course. In their subtler moments, however, it was apparent The Laughing Clowns were competing against a rather impolite crowd, who seemed to speak over the likes of 'Clown Town' (though the song’s rowdy outro certainly put them in their place). Perhaps it was a crowd that preferred songs without lyrics…

The crowd were much more polite the moment Warren Ellis, Mick Turner and Jim White appeared, falling silent so that Ellis could easily hear individual voices from the crowd, who started up a short Q&A session. Certainly not the average way to begin a gig, several questions were happily answered, including one stupid one about playing their own music, to which Ellis replied, “We’ll be playing Supertramp’s Crime of the Century. This first song is 'Dreamer'”. All jokes were aside though as the opening notes of 'Sirena' sounded. And the magic began.

The Dirty Three made one thing very clear right from the beginning – they love to play these songs. Projected as silhouettes onto the Forum’s backdrop, the trio came alive as each song seeped from their hands into their instruments – and the crowd simply lapped it up, watching in silence.

Between tracks, Ellis took the time to speak with the crowd and share his stories and jokes. It was often difficult to differentiate between the genuine and the nonsense, but without doubt Ellis proved himself one funny man. There were promises for a shirtless album cover, many a quip about snorting glue and comparisons (albeit ones that were quickly taken back) between The Dirty Three and Franz Ferdinand. One of Ellis’ finest anecdotes was in his description of 'Distant Shore', which he described as the best kind of relationship, with the girl or guy you never have, which is “in the back of your mind, burning like a festering sore and making you feel good.”

As for the Ocean Songs themselves, there was not a single person in the Forum that would deny the sheer power of The Dirty Three’s songs live. There was of course forgiveness for losing the order of tracks at one stage (they’d had a few drinks in preparation), as all ten appeared over the course of ninety minutes. Among the great tracks, 'Sea Above, Sky Below' (not “Sky up my ass” as Ellis so politely put it) was complemented well with some eerie vocal effects directly into the violin pickup.

It seemed though, that the more time the trio had to build a song, the finer it all became. The ten minute 'Authentic Celestial Music' was certainly one such moment, with the climatic rise in tempo, volume and energy creating one of the set’s defining moments. And the crowd responded in kind. Later, the marathon that was 'Deep Waters' (a song Ellis described as simultaneously uplifting and sad) was equally, if not more stunning, as the crowd became no less than transfixed.

And then there’s the query of Ellis’ performing. It’s a tough job engaging everyone at a sold out theatre normally, but Ellis plays with his back to the crowd – which you might think would kill efforts. The way he moves to the music, kicks into the air and gels with White’s performance on the kit are all factors in the skill of Ellis, though, and he is without doubt one of the most intriguing Australian musicians to watch on stage.

If the pleasure of Ocean Songs in its entirety wasn’t enough, the trio returned for an encore. They had no choice – the crowd wasn’t budging until they did. The song that’s “kinda like 'Stairway to Heaven'” and “better than 'Eagle Rock'” ensued - 'Everything’s Fucked' and in an ironic piece of musical genius, everything was perfect. The Dirty Three are Melbournian and Australian music royalty and this hometown show couldn’t have been better.

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