Dirty Three
Date: April 8, 2003 Out Last Night In a word, the Dirty Three concert in Montreal was perfect. Warren's incomparable charm as a frontman, stunning musicianship, impeccable sound quality, a fantastic crowd, a very full set, great song selection, and even a strong showing by the opening band . . . flawless. Montreal band Quinimine got the late night underway. They took the stage in front of a crowd that had mostly settled into a seated position on the floor of the Cabaret. As it turned out, the impromptu seated arrangement was very well suited for the Quinimine's delicate, quiet songs. I was very impressed by how respectful the audience was (a sharp contrast to the concert that I had seen the previous night); and singer/guitarist Gary Jansz voiced his appreciation for the crowd, as well. The respect was well-deserved, as Quinimine delivered a beautiful performance. Everyone took to their feet in anticipation of instrumental geniuses, the Dirty Three. I had seen Warren Ellis before, as part of Nick Cave's stripped-down tour and as part of the full Bad Seeds experience, and I had also read of his wild stage presence with the Dirty Three. Nonetheless, I was still unprepared for just how charismatic he is as frontman for the band. From his flamboyant, dramatic posturing--punctuating his speeches with broad hand gestures and throwing his head back to spit into the air--to his dynamic performance style--twirling madly about the stage, one foot kicked back, wielding his violin--Warren was a force throughout the night. Particularly impressive was his skill at the microphone. When I had seen Warren play with Nick Cave, he had given few signs that he could hold court over the audience with such confidence. In fact, he never really even faced the crowd during the Bad Seeds set in Toronto and he shrugged off the encore of Cave's second solo show in San Francisco. With the Dirty Three, though, he delighted the crowd with his rambling, profane song introductions. Given that he was playing in Montreal, Warren decided to start the night with a hilarious introduction in French, setting the stage for comic interludes to come (the early portion of which were delivered with a faux French accent). The introductions themselves are really something that must be experienced live for full effect. As an abbreviated illustration, picture Warren stepping to the mic with a wry grin and intoning, "This is a song . . . abooooouuuuut . . . [finger thrusting forward for emphasis] . . . finding yourself dead in the back seat of a car because you had way more fucking fun than anyone else on this particular evening. This is called 'Sue's Last Ride.'" Other highlights included Warren introducing "1000 Miles" as a song about getting in a car and riding like fuck ("which, if you left here, would probably leave you somewhere very cold," he noted, in response to the unseasonably late snowfall) and his description of a dreary Sunday morning ("that cold cup of coffee just isn't doing it for you"), which led to an incredible rendition of "I Really Should've Gone Out Last Night." Warren's skills as a frontman were also evident in the way that he responded to the audience, many of whom took the pauses in his oration as an invitation for participation. One great moment came when he said that a song was about "being chased" and a girl asked, "Chased or chaste?" After a pause, Warren agreed that it was a good question and concluded, "This is a song about being chased . . . with a girl following." Sure, he had a hard time remembering petty details such as the names of his albums and which albums the songs were from. And yes, he did introduce two songs as "She Has No Strings." However, such lapses only added to his charm. Naturally, all of these interludes were merely icing for the music; but I am describing them in such detail because they illustrate just how perfect the concert was; even the pauses in between songs were a treat and they led from one flawless performance to another. The Dirty Three played a very long concert, covering material from throughout their career. From the beautiful sadness of songs such as "Sea Above, Sky Below" to the gentleness of "Hope" to the sharp dynamics of "Some Summers They Drop Like Flys," every song cast a spell. The band displayed an incredible range throughout the night and even within individual songs, such as "Sue's Last Ride," with its sad opening and fierce conclusion. With Warren the undisputed frontman, the rest of the band was content to stay in the background. Guitarist Mick Turner and tour guest Zak Sally, of Low, were particularly unobtrusive, standing at the side of the stage. Mick even looked bashful when Warren did put the attention on him with a song introduction. ("This is a song about Mick Turner--that's Mick Turner over there on guitar--a song about Mick Turner coming up to you in an airport and saying, 'Man'--well, no, he doesn't say 'man,' he just says, 'I just saw James Brown.' And you realize that yoooouuuuu . . . you are not funky.") Despite his unassuming nature, Mick was fantastic; and Zak was a welcome addition. Drummer Jim White also failed to seek the spotlight, but his fascinating drumming captured my attention. With a shifting array of sticks and fans, the placement of various percussion instruments atop his snare, and an incredible ability to produce a huge sound from a tiny drum kit, Jim made me feel guilty for having overlooked his skill until now. The insanely frantic finish to "Sister, Let Them Try and Follow," with its sustained, complicated attack, was jaw-dropping. It was also great taking in his look of concentration as he carefully preserved the beat during the lead-in of the epic "I Offered It Up to the Stars & the Night Sky," in which Warren utilized an echo effect to layer multiple violin sounds. Another welcome surprise was that this concert was one of those shows that left me with a greater appreciation for the band's latest work. Each song drawn from She Has No Strings Apollo was as welcome as those taken from the band's older output; and the new album sounds that much better to me now. There is no greater praise that I can give to the concert than the feeling that took me in the midst of "I Really Should've Gone Out Last Night": there is nowhere that I would have rather been at that moment than at the front of the Cabaret, experiencing a flawless performance from one of the best bands in the world. <--Prev (Matthew Good/The Dears) | Next (DJ Vadim)-->Return to Concert ListReturn to Main Page |