While Phish was ending its musically-epic fall tour at John Paul Jones Arena, in Charlottesville, and while the world was being introduced to The Naked Guy, a new music venue prepared to greet guests for the ‘Official Phish Aftershow, with Toubab Krewe.”

Truly integrating two disparate musical genres into a third doesn’t occur all that often.  And when it does, it’s often lopsided in favor of one genre – over another.  It’s unbalanced, and noticeably so.  But when an organic musical marriage does happen, it can be like dynamite.  Happily, such is the case for Asheville, North Carolina’s Toubab Krewe.

They’re a posse of Asheville artists who play with the sort of spunk, meticulousness and joy that should be bottled and sold at some obscure roadside stand by a secret guru. The mystical, tribal and always fascinating Toubab Krewe have the ability to stir those emotions that you thought you may have lost, without singing a single phrase in any language.

On November 13^th, I was all set to see the Toubab Krewe play the B.Side Lounge in Boulder.  I headed downtown early, hoping to catch the band after sound check.  I'd been corresponding back and forth with their tour manager for a few weeks, and after agreeing to review the band's new album, Live at the Orange Peel (due to be released on Nov.