CAJUN-BRASS ROCK | Dirty Bourbon River Show
Thurs. April 16
9 p.m.
$10/adv., $12/door
The Pour House

It’s rare when a band’s own description of their music doesn’t cover all of the bases, but when you read “New Orleans Big Brass Circus Rock Music” on the Dirty Bourbon River Show’s website, that’s not even the half of it. Imagine a world in which Tom Waits suddenly acquired a near-operatic vocal range to go with his low-fi growl. And now imagine he decided to take the staggering, closing-time stomp of his early records, throw in some New Orleans-style brass, bring in Dr. John on piano, and then assume a sort of glittering, sleazy cabaret-singer persona. Add a bit of reggae skank for good measure. That eccentric mix of sounds may be a lot to think about, but it accurately sums up the music of Dirty Bourbon River Show. Their hot-off-the-press album Important Things Humans Should Know is the aural equivalent of watching an experienced booze-hound walking down the street after a bender. There might be some off-balance moments here and there, but things more or less stay on course. This impossibly chaotic sound is somehow created by five people, and in over nine albums they’ve remained a loose-limbed but cohesive group of players. On stage the band is a whirlwind of showmanship and musical skill. Whiskey is poured, balls of fire spring forth, instruments are switched, group chants and stomps are created, and a flurry of musical styles are tossed at the farthest wall to see what sticks. —Vincent Harris THURSDAY