Horns of Buru Style.

Toussaint Liberator & Buru Style's total nuclear funk eradicates the ego and leaves only an ass-shaking, joy-filled husk behind. I wouldn't be surprised if, in the wake of their show at the Main Pub this past Friday, people were showing up to work drunk, high, and smelling like sex. Damn.

The humongous band specialized in the kind of reggae-soul-funk blend usually associated with Boston. It's rare to see around these parts; as far as local peers go, only Northampton's Leah Randazzo Group comes to mind, and even they place more emphasis on jazz style. Buru Style's stabbity horns and minimalist guitar get huge mileage out of very small phrases and ideas. Meanwhile, Toussaint Liberator (who used to front international icons Soulive) sings, toasts, chants, and generally exhibits effortless magnetism. (Favorite lyric: "I'm a soldier, travelin' through time/My mission is to open up the eyes of the blind.") And Bill Carbone quietly masterminded the entire performance from behind the drumkit. He was always counting the next song off before the applause has subsided for the previous one, never losing his cool in the face of the most turbulent funk.

It was wonderful to see the Main Pub so thoroughly packed for the show, since large band sizes can often make touring cost-prohibitive. The Buru crew was able to assemble their audience out of disparate groups. College students (they have a huge Wesleyan following), hipsters, and the Main Pub's typical "insurance exec by day, hippie by night" crowd all found something to love in the music. And it's a small wonder, considering the way the band seamlessly shifted from genre to genre. From lover's rock, to dub, to James Brown soul, Buru's style was pluralistic while remaining black-centric. If you want to see what the fuss is about, you can catch Buru Style locally on Nov. 20 and Dec. 11, when they'll be at Middletown's awesome Fishbone Café.

In the bluegrass world, Firebox's Sunday night event is making Hartford a well-known name. The crowd is full of devoted fanatics and fellow musicians, many of whom were invited on stage to perform alongside hosts Nick Novia and Joe DeLillo. Their band, Big Apple'achia, tore through a set of ripshit bluegrass at warp speed. Blistering, people. We're talking tempos commonly found in death metal and hardcore electronic music. And yet their faces remained serene, their forearm muscles stayed unstrained — dammit, they seemed downright comfortable hurtling along through bluegrass hyperspace. The mind scrambles to digest banjo and mandolin solos plucked at such tempos; the feet tap and scramble in sympathy.

The crowd was so enthusiastic, and the musicians were in such a deep groove, that the event ran almost a half-hour past its usual stopping point of 8 o'clock. (I would highly recommend that anyone planning to check out the event make reservations. I only saw one stage-area table free up over the whole night.) There were wonderful peaks and valleys to the set, including quiet pieces that permitted conversations, and technical wizardry that made me halt in mid-sentence. Kudos to Firebox and the organizers for creating that rare place where you can see quality music at an amazing bar/restaurant for no cover.

Saturday: A massive bill of aggressive rock takes over the WindhamARTS Annex. Featured bands include Know Knothing (punk), Sea Of Bones (doom), A Trillion Gallons Of Gas (heavy rock), 1/2 Shaved Yak (math metal), Stone Titan (psychedelic metal), Apocolyptic Youth (experimental metal), and the hilariously named David Carradine (hardcore). (866 Main St., Willimantic; Doors at 7 p.m.; $7; all ages.)