The Devil went down to Melbourne and he got a heckuva lot more than he bargained for. Dirty Three came together on the bad side of town, and their instrumental, country-rock cacophony could make the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse bolt in fright.

The source of Dirty Three's teeth-grinding sound is the violin of Warren Ellis, which sounds something like Charlie Daniels on acid, and at Whelans last Friday he wielded his ultrasonic weapon with the manic fervour and animated passion of a Tasmanian dust devil.

Dirty Three's live set is a rootsy, psychedelic jam session, drummer Jim White spreading out the rhythm like dirt on a backwoods trail, guitarist Mick Turner cranking up some loose, locomotive riffs, and Ellis tearing deep into the heartland with his wailing violin. It's not always a pretty sound, but it's often intense, sometimes emotional, and - in a few unguarded moments - awesomely inspired.

Ellis performs mostly with his back to the audience, allowing the crowd to see his sinewy shoulders work as he sweeps up and down the fiddle's fretboard. In between songs he half turns to the crowd and delivers an entertaining introduction to the next tune, taking us down the dirty back roads of his thoughts and giving us a glimpse into his wayward world view.

There's no concession to commercial pop values on the band's current album, Ocean Songs, but Indian Love Song, a chemically-treated extended finale, could well be The Private Psychedelic Reel for the y'alternative set.