HE'S stuck in Port Phillip Prison, that's what tortures Tex Perkins.
On Monday, Perkins imitated Johnny Cash's 1968 performance at Folsom prison, launching his Man in Black tour inside Laverton North's men's prison.
Christian bands aside, it was the first rock performance inside the prison's walls for nine years.
Home to some of Australia's most despised killers, the maximum-security jail sent sniffer dogs and members of the Tactical Operations Group to scour the prison gym before the show.
"I want to get out of here as soon as possible," Perkins said as soon as he arrived.
"I don't like these places - gyms. I don't mind prisons, I just hate gyms."
Asked if he thought the inmates would enjoy his show, Perkins said he didn't care.
"Buggers can't be choosers, I guess, as far as entertainment in here. If they don't like it, f--- 'em."
It wasn't the first time Perkins had been inside a prison.
"I spent a night in jail in Brisbane in 1980 and I was in Long Bay making an AIDS education video, an instructional video along the dangers of AIDS in prisons," he said.
A Cash fan since he was five, Perkins said prison authorities had not placed any restrictions on his choice of songs.
The set list included Cocaine Blues and Folsom Prison Blues.
"I'll be interested to see how they react to lines like, 'I killed a man in Reno just to watch him die'," Perkins said.
"I guess that was part of the reason Johnny did prison gigs in the first place, that he had songs about going to prison long before he actually went into prison - you know, played for them.
"So, I guess it was an inevitability."
Perkins got his first laugh from the green-clad inmates when he recounted that Cash had been a man of contradictions: a man who could love Jesus and cocaine at the same time - "at exactly the same time".
After the first set, performed with Rachael Tidd in the guise of June Carter, Perkins said the crowd was not the toughest he had played to.
"It's about the average Melbourne crowd, hard to impress," he said. "Try not to make eye contact - you know the Hoddle Street massacre fellow's here. I think Carl Williams is in the next show.
"I think it went well.
"All the equipment's still on stage. Nothing's been stolen and nobody's been violated. So everything's going to plan."
A prisoner, who could not be identified, said many of the guys had gone to bed early so they wouldn't miss the show.
"All of us were pretty much looking forward to it," he said.
"I know a lot of the boys were getting ready and sleeping early so we wouldn't miss it.
"To be honest, I would have [appreciated] any person coming in and performing. This is a show that we all look forward to and I guess it's good to see that people were willing to come in and participate with us."
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