The Australians are in for a naughty, hard-core treat — The Dirrty Show is going Down Under.
Red Deer fans have one last chance to catch the erotic musical comedy of Melody Stang and Kayla Williams before the popular local duo take their 18-plus show to the Melbourne area for six months.
A Halloween concert will be held at The Vat on Friday, featuring acoustic and band sets by The Dirrty Show, as well as music by The Klamdaggers.
“It’s a little sad that this is our last show,” said Williams. But she and Stang also see leaving Central Alberta as an exciting opportunity.
Although their work/travel stint to Australia is temporary, The Dirrty Show may not come back to this region to stay as Williams and Stang have loose plans to tour in the U.K. and beyond. “We’re open to whatever happens in future,” said Williams.
The two women, graduates of the Red Deer College music program, decided the rest of the world is ready for The Dirrty Show after performing 11 shows in 12 days in Toronto last summer.
“It was crazy, we were playing non-stop,” recalled Williams.
The TO tour didn’t seem overly promising at first. Williams said they only managed to convince three Toronto club owners, who had never seen their show, that they were “not peddling vulgarity,” but singing in a funny and non-judgmental way about explicit subjects, including masturbation, sex acts and bodily functions.
(While Hairy Balls and The Titty Shake are among the few Dirrty song titles that can be named in this family newspaper, the musically talented duo is appealing enough to have played at local weddings and birthday parties.)
But after their first gig in Canada’s largest city, word of mouth began circulating and soon other musicians and comedians were approaching to ask if they could also play at their shows. Among their Toronto appearances was one at Yuk Yuks comedy club, and doing a show with various comedians who were next off to Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival.
Williams said, “It was amazing how open and supportive everybody was.”
The duo, who have a full-length self-titled album out and a new single being released, also took their act throughout interior B.C. last summer, where they met a lot of Australians. They told Stang and Williams their show would really go over well in their home country.
Apparently Australians are less uptight and more forthright, with fewer social “filters,” said Williams, who welcomes the chance to play somewhere new and escape Canada’s cold months in a warm place.
Stang also looks forward to making international fans. “It’s been suggested to us that it’s a huge market and the people are open-minded and liberal. ... It’s a chance for us to do something exciting.”
If there was any doubt about Aussies being ready for The Dirrty Show, it was expelled after the Central Alberta musicians saw a friend’s posting of a photograph from Down Under.
It was of a roadside billboard advertising a sex toy.
“You don’t see that in Alberta,” said Stang, with a chuckle.
There’s a $10 cover charge for the Halloween show at The Vat, either in advance from the venue or at the door. Everybody is invited to come in costume.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com