Bonerama

The bones at the heart of this brash New Orleans renegade brass septet are of the trom variety. In fact, a quartet of trombones, joined by a sousaphone, electric guitar, and drum kit, are at Bonerama's disposal as the band members concoct their own peculiar take on the Crescent City brass band tradition. That includes a major dose of rock in addition to the vibrant funk and bop strains introduced by outfits like the Dirty Dozen a generation ago. For confirmation, Bonerama took home the best rock band trophy from the 2007 Big Easy Awards, despite a whole lotta extra stuff going on in their music. Their latest album, Bringing It Home, recorded live at Tipitina's, sports a thunderous run through Led Zeppelin's "Ocean" as well as blistering, dirty funk romps through the Beatles' "Yer Blues" and "Helter Skelter," complete with second-line and Fess asides. Sandwiched in between is a free-jazz-cum-rock-out version of Monk's "Epistrophy" and even a smart, original take on Beethoven's "Three Equale." Bonerama's raucous energy is hard to contain, whether the horns are riffing on bop or Satchmo, or blasting away behind Bert Cotton's vicious wah-wah pedal or lacerating licks. 18+.
Thu., March 27, 8 p.m., 2008