While we’ve focused our first few columns on some more widely distributed offerings, we couldn’t turn down the opportunity to feature a beer from the small Asheville, NC-based Craggie Brewery that was brewed specifically for the afro-beat act Toubab Krewe (who also called Asheville home), that they’ve cleverly dubbed Toubab Brewe. Deriving their name from local North Carolina history, the Craggy line was a trolley line that ran from downtown Asheville northward, the brewery has been committed to its strong community ties and brewing its two signature beers Battery Hill and Swannanoa Sunset, as well as rotating seasonal offerings since 2007.

Toubab Brewe,  is the latest in the line, an unfiltered Bavarian-style lager that utilizes local organic and seasonal ingredients and is truly a collaborative effort between Craggie and the band. The partnership extends just beyond brewing the beer, as with each keg sold of Toubab Brewe the brewery will donate $5 to Instruments 4 Africa – a non-profit selected by the band which works to preserve music and arts in Africa.

Why You Should Drink It: If you live anywhere in the greater-Asheville area you’ve got a leg up on everyone as Craggie is pretty much a local affair serving their beer at their public house, and distributing to bars around town – I was lucky enough to have two ad-hoc bottles sent my way. Being an unfiltered, Toubab Brewe pours slightly hazy with a rust color and thin white foam head. This extremely easy drinking, light-bodied beer has a crisp, slight dryness about it and it recommended for fans of German-style lagers.

Brewer’s Description: A Bavarian-Style Zwickel Beer. Organic Munich and Pilsen malts are bittered with Organic Hallertau Tradition. This unfiltered Bavarian lager is crisp and malty with a slight hoppy flavor. ABV 4.2%

Availability: Seasonal, on tap, in growlers or kegs

Have you tried Craggie’s Toubab Brew? Leave your thoughts about their latest offering in the comments section below …

Let’s see what else is happenin’ as we start the week…

• Lollapalooza returns to Chicago’s Grant Park on August 7-9
• State of Mind shares pictures of Electron w/ Mike Gordon in VT
• Jambase reveals more details on Toubab Krewe’s new live disc
• The LA Times examines Branford Marsalis’ brand new project
• Pop Matters looks at how the downturn has effected music mags
• It’s List Time: Get Back names the ten best bootlegs of all-time

If you check out the message board of nearly every jamband, you’ll see each band’s fluffers and haterz debating the effect Phish’s upcoming return will have on their favorite artists. Some think the Phab Phour’s comeback will prevent fans from traveling to see other acts, while others argue that Phish 3.0 will bring more fans to the Jamband Table. Ray Waddell of Billboard thinks the return of the Vermont quartet will help revitalize the scene.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bob Dylan – Tangled Up In Blue 11/12/1996

3. anodynefilms – Anodyne shares rare clips of the Allmans, Black Crowes, Blues Traveler and even a couple of Howard Stern.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Blues Traveler on the Dennis Miller Show – All In The Groove

4. WidespreadPanicMusic – Widespread Panic’s official YouTube channel offers news clips and videos from recent shows.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Widespread Panic – Contentment Blues 04/25/2008

5. LazyLightning66 – As you can probably reckon from the name, LazyLightning features tons of Grateful Dead videos. But he also uploaded a bunch of awesome videos completely unrelated to music.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Grateful Dead – Bob Weir Karate Man/Hideaway 06/21/1989

6. Silverchair97 – This guy has uploaded 397 videos, mostly of Phish, to his incredible YouTube channel.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Phish – Weekapaug Groove 03/31/1992

7. theboggster – Here we’ve got world’s hottest fiddle player Ann Marie Calhoun’s YouTube Channel. Let’s hope she continues to cover all of our favorites.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ann Marie Calhoun – Ripple

8. GrooveTV – GrooveTV’s YouTube channel and website features incredible pro-shot videos of jam favorites. These guys really hit their groove in the mid ’00s, but hopefully they’ll get more up soon.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Fareed Haque Group – Helpless 4+20 Carry On 07/05/2003

9. Umvideo – Umphrey’s McGee pioneered the podcast, and they were also really quick to start a YouTube channel of their own. Unlike other bands who have since started channels the umvideo channel is often updated with fresh content.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Umhprey’s McGee – Example 1 02/29/2008

10. Aviewofyou – A View Of You captures the independent spirit of the live performance experience providing the chance for self-discovery, reminiscence and sharing through music, comedy and the arts. Or at least that’s what they say on their site.

Click here to view the embedded video.

RAQ – Beauregard February ’05

11. Thebreakfastarchive – The Breakfast is another band that keeps their YouTube channel stocked with fresh nuggets.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Breakfast – Rush 03/22/2008

12. moboogievids – Our friends at MoBoogie upload their fun interview vids and performance clips from their loft in Colorado. MoBoogiemama et al are prolific as fuck, with over 200 videos uploaded thus far.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Toubab Krewe – Maliba 04/02/2008

13. videojay68 – Head to Video Jay’s channel for a nice selection of bluegrass, jam and rock vids.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ween – Take Me Away 09/23/2001

14. woodstock109 – Woodstock109 focuses almost exclusively on Gov’t Mule vids, and he’s got quite a collection of them.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gov’t Mule – Mountain Jam from Tail of Two Cities DVD

15. scotiadave – Look no further than Scotiadave’s channel for classic southern rock vids.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Allman Brothers Band “In Concert” 11/02/1972

16. splaif – Splaif focuses on Grateful Dead vids, but isn’t afraid to throw up videos from other artists.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bob Marley and the Wailers – You Can’t Blame The Youth 10/24/1973

17. JamBaseBackstage – The fine folks at JamBase have been setting up backstage at festies across the country to capture interviews for their YouTube channel.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Backstage with JamBase: Apollo Sunshine

18. FrantiV – You can always find out exactly how Michael Franti’s feelin’ by checking out his YouTube channel, which features videos of the Spearhead frontman.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bus Breakdown in Barstow : FrantiV Episode 05

19. Ethandeitrich1 – Ethan’s channel contains tons of videos from the Grateful Dead, the DSO, The Band and plenty of other classic rockers.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Jerry Garcia Band – Sittin’ In Limbo 03/01/1980

20. Scifidelity – Let’s finish with the official YouTube channel of SCIFidelity Records. As you can imagine, this channel features videos from all the different SCIFidelity artists including Keller Williams, The Disco Biscuits and the Greyboy Allstars.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Keller Williams and the WMD’s – Turn Indifference 11/16/2007

Did we miss any YouTube channels that you frequent? We told you our favs, now leave us a comment and tell us all about yours…

Idolator responded by bashing The Daily Swarm for being a shill/front for a buncha publicity firms among others. It was totally like an episode of The Hills. We’ve given those blogs enough attention for now, so let’s check out a few others:

• Kudos to Band of Horses for turning down Wal-Mart
• Philly Festival?: Live Nation and C3 Promotions square off
• The Police win Billboard Tour of the Year
  
• Rolling Stone chooses Liam Finn as an artist to watch in 2008
• Does anyone doubt Led Zeppelin will play more shows?
• Largehearted Boy has already started compiling 2007 Year-End Online Music Lists
• Andy Gadiel addresses the community about Ben Chambers’ departure from TLG
• Rock Music Daily devotes Mule Mondays to Grace Potter
• Toubab Krewe announces a four night New Years’ run

Finally, Paul McCartney tells Billboard that The Beatles are finally going digital next year. We’ve heard that one before.

Avett Brothers (can you guess which two are the related Avetts?):

Disco Biscuits:

Tea Leaf Green:

MSTRKRFT (lotta buzz about these guys putting on a sick set):

Cat Power:

Indie-jam rockers moe.:

moe’s Al Schnier signing the Greening Banner:

Echo Project Artwork:

Toubab Krewe:

Perpetual Groove (a band much better than its name implies):

Thievery Corporation:

“What are ya doin’, pickin’ up trash?” –O’Banion:

MarchFourth Marching Band:

Common:

Barrel House Mamas:

Louis XIV:

Dead Confederate:

Scissors For Lefty (great band name!):

Telepath:

The Greenskeepers:

The Hiss:

God Is An Astronaut:

The Frequency:

Headcount Volunteers Meeting:

• Click here to view the rest of Dave’s 87 best photos from Saturday
• Click here to view the photo gallery from Friday — Day One
• Click here for Dave’s excellent Hardly Strictly Bluegrass gallery
• Remember to check back for full galleries from Saturday and Sunday

Toubab Krewe has one of the most unique sounds in the game. Take a rockin’ jamband and add liberal doses of West African instruments to get an idea of what the Krewe sounds like. There are even elements of groove in their music that would make MMW jealous. Recently the Asheville-based band embarked on a lengthy fall tour that will cross the country and back by the beginning of December. One of the first shows on the tour took place at the Lucas School House in St. Louis, and a taper by the name of Scott T. was kind enough to upload this show to the Live Music Archive.

I first saw Toubab Krewe briefly at the Langerado music festival in March, and while I totally got off on the interesting instrumentation, I was most impressed with the guitar skills of Drew Heller. Heller always keeps it interesting by dropping a mind-blowing run of notes when you least expect it. Check out the first few tracks of this recording to see why Heller is so vital to their sound. Also of note is the percussion playing of Luke Quaranta, who keeps the crowd moving by laying down groovy beats. Toubab Krewe is currently in the Midwest, where they will play Davenport, IA and Lawrence, KS this weekend. Check them out if you are interested in hearing something completely different.

RAQ 09/14/2007 DAUD [FLAC, MP3, STREAM]:

Photo by Jonathan Healey

RAQ has racked up a ton of miles this year, and right now they are absolutely killing it every night. The Vermont quartet headed to the beautiful Stone Church in New Market, New Hampshire this past weekend for a two night run. Friday started out as a typically tight RAQ show until the boys dropped a cover of Frank Zappa’s Andy to end the set. When the band returned for the second set they proceeded to play a whole set of classic FZ tunes spanning his entire career. Well, actually somewhere in that set they slipped in the Inca Road’s-like jam from their original Carbohydrates Are The Enemy.

Andy Murray taped and transferred the show onto the Archive, so we can all hear their heady interpretations of Zappa’s tunes. Of particular note is their spot-on covers of Dirty Love and I Am The Slime. RAQ followed up the Zappa set with Whipping Post and then a ripping version of Hannah, with Loose serving as the meat of a Hannah sandwich. These guys are hitting their stride, and we hope they can keep it up through their cross country fall tour, which continues through the end of November.

Perpetual Groove 09/15/2007 SBD/AUD Matrix [FLAC, MP3, STREAM]

Perpetual Groove is another band that has just started a lengthy fall tour, however the PGroove boys have just finished their first extended vacation in over six years. The Athens via Savannah band spent the weekend bidding farewell to the legendary Ziggy’s nightclub in Winston-Salem, NC, where they headlined the Last Supper Festivities that celebrated the closing of the club.

A matrix recording of Saturday’s show has been uploaded to the Archive, and it sounds divine. PGroove’s performance showed off nice improv chops that must’ve kept the crowd dancing the whole evening. Brock Butler’s guitar playing continues to improve; he does a nice job leading many of the jams and keeping his bandmates on their toes. Stand out tunes include Mr. Transistor plus the amped up Mayday > and Everything encore. PGroove has taken to calling their current tour the Serious Business tour, and the shows are living up to the billing.

What have you been listening to this week? Let us know with a message below…

• Bob Dylan with Elvis Costello and Amos Lee (kickoff: 9/16)
• Gov’t Mule with Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (kickoff: 9/3)
• Jesus and Mary Chain adds five West Coast dates (kickoff: 10/20)
• The Hold Steady and Art Brut plan a massive tour (kickoff: 10/21)
• The same goes for Toubab Krewe — huge tour (kickoff: 9/8)
• Regina Spektor announces a 26-show tour (kickoff: 9/19)
• Morrissey unveils a U.S. tour of multi-show residencies (kickoff: 9/21)
• Umphrey’s McGee adds some dates after Echo Project (kickoff: 10/16)
• No joke, Tesla reveals a full slate of dates (kickoff: 8/28 at Lupo’s)

I’d see at least one of each, which may explain why I’m both tired and poor, though unlike the poem, not exactly yearning to breathe free. Just tired and poor.

Turn It On Again (1980)
No Son of Mine (1991)
Drum Duet / Los Endos (1976)

Other news from around the rock world this week:

• Getcha tour dates here: The Slip have a busy June planned, and Toubab Krewe also has a busy start to their summer
• Derek Trucks played In Memory of Elizabeth Reed with the Wynton Marsalis Septet at Lincoln Center this week
• Spin and Rolling Stone are fighting over Amy Winehouse
• That Truncheon Thing has mp3s of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot demos
• Gothamist’s guide to outdoor shows in NYC this summer
• moe.’s Al Schnier and Chuck Garvey talk guitars
• The NY Times review of the Arctic Monkeys at the Hammerstein
• Girl Talk’s Greg Gillis has quit his day job and is going on tour
• The first installment of Burning Oak’s Summer Camp 2007 Artist Series
• Newmradio shares a tune from the Quincy Jones/Bill Cosby album
• Summer tour dates from The Cat Empire and The Mooney Suzuki
• Keith Richards is shopping a book — Gawker “obtains” excerpt
• Weirdest pairing of the summer? The Fiona Apple/Nickel Creek tour
• Classic alternative suicide songs
• Felt Forum > The Theater at Madison Square Garden > WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden
• Neeko pointed us in the direction of Jesse Jarnow’s Marc Ribot interview

Anyone out there hitting up some live music this weekend? Anything good? Leave us a message below and tell us all abooot it…eh?

The best parts of Jam Cruise are all the sit-ins that occur between the artists. We’re setting the over/under on Warren Haynes sit-ins is 6…per day. Other only-on-Jam Cruise experiences include multiple workshops, panel discussions, and all sorts opportunities to interact with all the musicians on board. Look for another batch of artist additions a week before reservations open to the public on June 4th. Prices begin at $899 for quad occupancy and do not include airfare. The full lineup follows below:

Warren Haynes, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Funky Meters, Yonder Mountain String Band, Galactic, Dark Star Orchestra, Soulive, Toots and the Maytals, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Everyone Orchestra conducted by Matt Butler featuring Jon Fishman, Steve Kimock & Jeff Coffin, Perpetual Groove, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Lotus, New Monsoon, Toubab Krewe, The Motet, DJ Harry, and special guest Karl Denson

Previous Lineups (w/ archive links where available):

Jamcruise 1 (January 6th – 10th, 2004): Galactic, KDTU, Keller Williams, The Disco Biscuits, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Particle, Peter Rowan’s Crucial Reggae, Umphrey’s McGee, Bill and Liza, Mofro, Jerry Joseph, DJ Z Trip, Rob Wasserman, Ming + FS, Tishmango

Jamcruise 2 (January 10th – 14th, 2004): Galactic, KDTU, Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade, The Disco Biscuits, YMSB, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Particle, Rebirth Brass Band, The Codetalkers, Hackensaw Boys, RAQ, New Monsoon, DJ Motion Potion, Rob Wasserman, Mark Karan, and DJ Medi4

Jamcruise 3 (January 6th – 10th, 2005): Galactic, STS9, Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade, Umphrey’s McGee, Keller Williams, KDTU, Aquarium Rescue Unit, Zilla, Jazz Mandolin Project, The Disco Biscuits, Remarkable Elma Kramer, Ozomatli, North Mississippi Allstars, Robert Walter’s 20th Congress, Peter Rowan and Tony Rice, Garaj Mahal, The Duo, Mofro, Tishmango, Perpetual Groove, DJ Medi4, DJ Harry, DJ Omen, DJ Logic, and Leslie Halpert

Jamcruise 4 (January 7th – 13th, 2006): Gomez, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Digable Planets, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Galactic, Umphrey’s McGee, Keller Williams, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Remarkable Elba Kramer, Zilla, Honkytonk Homeslice, Elastic Mystic, Steve Kimock Band, Liza Oxnard, Fantastic 4, Umphrey’s McGee, New Monsoon, Gabby LaLa, Hairy Apes BMX, Critters Buggin’, Les Claypool, Michael Franti and Spearhead, The Lee Boys, Garage A Trois, Brain Damaged Eggmen, Everyone Orchestra, DJ Diplo, DJ Lorin, Boom Bip, Papa Mali, Souleye and Sleepyhead, Similak Chyld, and Scott Law

Jamcruise 5 (January 2nd – 7th, 2007): Umphrey’s McGee, Michael Franti, Garage a Benevento, Railroad Earth, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Bassnectar, DJ Le Spam, DJ Afro, Derek Trucks Band, Drive-By Truckers, Galactic, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Los Amigos Invisibles, Tea Leaf Green, Perpetual Groove, ALO, New Mastersounds, Hot Buttered Rum, Zero, Greyboy Allstars, Deep Banana Blackout, The Disco Biscuits, Burning Spear, Deep Banana Blackout, Perpetual Groove, Yonrico Scott Band, Scrapomatic, The Stanton Moore Trio, DJ Logic, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Luther Dickinson, JJ Grey, Paterson Hood, Eric Krasno, George Porter Jr., Jeff Austin, Fuzz & Carrie, Oteil Burbridge, and Brock Butler

Have you been on the Good Ship Jam Cruise? Let us know about your experience by leaving a comment below….

But 10KLF continues to come up with a net full of quality stuffs. Check out the seven latest acts to sign onto the already-packed roster:

Galactic
Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen
Toubab Krewe
Dubconscious
Kaki King (Big-Time HT Seal of Approval for Kaki)
Green Lemon
New Primitives

Call me craisins, but I’m thinking that aside from Bonnaroo, this might be the best lineup going this festival season (at least if your musical tastes match up with mine). I’d hesitate to say there’s any real eclecticism here, but there is something for everyone. Those seven additions join this lineup, already in progress: 

Bob Weir & RatDog, Trey Anastasio, Umphrey’s McGee, moe., Gov’t Mule, Keller Williams, The Disco Biscuits, The Tragically Hip, Zappa Plays Zappa, Little Feat, The Derek Trucks Band, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, The Everyone Orchestra, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Particle, Blueground Undergrass, Outformation, The Lee Boys, Big Organ Trio, Pnuma Trio, Trampled By Turtles, WookieFoot, God Johnson, GypsyFoot, Smokin’ Bandits, Bump, Mr. Blotto, Madahoochi, Stealin’ Strings, Rhinestone Diplomats, Kinetix, Down Lo, Unity, The Burnin’ Smyrnans, The Heavy Pets & Moses Mayes

Now, how the fuck do I get out of the wedding I have that weekend?