The smaller ensemble of Chandler's 9-piece technicolor extravaganza from Boston, the Philharmonette will make your heart flutter. George Carlin and NRBQ are among their staunchest longtime supporters, and appear both on the last album, "Llama Rhymes", and on their latest, "Tarnation & Alastair Sim." Other longtime fans include Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, and Bruce Springsteen, not to mention a diverse selection of relatively recent converts like Of Montreal, Ween, and the Story.
"Tarnation" is the first CTP release in five years, which is what we're celebrating with this gig at Mo's. The album makes up for lost time in a big way with forty-eight (yes- 48!) tracks of utter insanity, including magnum opuses like "I'm Chandler's Butterfly", complete with sitar, mandocello, and 4 drum kits; the afro-pop influenced "Vasco Da Gama", which features about 50 vocal tracks; and the Prince-inspired “Dance Godammit” (not to mention a “heavy”, gothic, minor-key version of “Brown Eyed Girl” that could very well bury that one once and for all.)
“...playful original songs that mix mind-bending wordplay with jazz, shimmering rock, and horn-fuelled R & B.” -John Donohue, New Yorker
"A keenly entertaining blend of the Ringling Bros. and Ra...[that] puts the harm back in Philharmonic." -Jim Macnie, Village Voice
“Dixieland romps, twisted Mardi Gras marches, sweaty 60’s rock, smoky torch songs, and occasional novelties that sound somewhere between Randy Newman and They Might Be Giants, all with hilariously offbeat lyrics. The world would be a better place if Travis would only visit more often.”
- Sam Hurwitt, San Francisco Express
"... a strange, wonderful, totally distinct ode to musical mastery and nonsense... imagine Andy Partridge of XTC and Beat poet Gregory Corso, wandering between Saturn and New Orleans to sit in with the Sun Ra Arkestra... at once simple, abstract and wondrous to behold."
-Ed Bumgardner, Winston Salem Journal
“Dixieland, pop, avant-jazz, rock...and fully over the top.” - Jim Sullivan, Boston Globe
"...[CTP's] gleeful tendency to ignore genre boundaries -not to mention the musicians' preference for goofy costumes -evokes New Orleans. Elvis Costello-like pop songs, avant-jazz vamps, novelty pieces, and way off-beat lyrics factor into the wildly inventive mix."
-Keith Spera, Times Picayune (New Orleans)