Chaos has more impact if encountered in the midst of order.
L’Orkestre des Pas Perdus, the veteran Montreal nine-piece, serves up a
smooth opener to establish sanity, then takes turns calling it into
question. Every wind instrument you know is usually blowing. A
designated few keep time while the rest go off, sometimes in the same
key, sometimes not. If they all wind up on the same page, it’s as if
the hand of God or Frank Zappa led them to this place. Project Nine is
all danceable if you have an imagination, but “Gastro Funk,” with
gargling, muted trombone and psychotic sax has the potential to get a
club DJ either fired or sainted.
This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2009.