Dirty Dozen Brass Band

They never did add up to 12 nor neglect their laundry (as far as I know), but the Dirty Dozen have always taken the brass band part of their moniker seriously. Their alternately raging, chortling, bristling horns revitalized and revolutionized New Orleans's brass-band tradition by stirring bop in with Crescent City street smarts and mightily funking up the rhythms. Several decades on, the upstarts are now New Orleans institutions in their own right. It's been two years since the Dozen's last CD, but that was a doozy: a startling interpretation of Marvin Gaye's landmark What's Going On (Shout Factory) in its entirety with such guests as Bettye Lavette and Chuck D (ranting on the title track). The context then was the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which, unfortunately, is still relevant. Factor in the widespread national disarray in the waning days of Dubya's eight-year debacle and it becomes downright prescient. Which still leaves ample room for second-line booty shaking. 18+.
Sat., Oct. 11, 8:30 p.m., 2008