For the first time in 19 years all of the original Flecktones were together again publicly last night at the Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater. Bela Fleck, Howard Levy, Victor Wooten, and Future Man are all astounding musicians on their own, but when they come together as Bela Fleck & the Flecktones the synergy is incredibly powerful and results in something completely new. Is it jazz, electric bluegrass, fusion, funk, or world music? Yes, and more. Music critics started calling it blu-bop for obvious reasons upon release of the first Flecktones album, 1990’s Bela Fleck & the Flecktones. The debut release garnered a Grammy nomination as did the group’s sophomore release, Flight of the Cosmic Hippo (upon which the first cut was “Blu-Bop.” Both of these releases were recorded live-in-the-studio.
No one has taken the banjo further than Bela Fleck. We can talk for hours about whether he’s the world’s best, but if not he’s absolutely in the top five as evidenced by his 20 Grammy nominations (and eight wins). One thing’s sure: No one—I mean nobody—has reinvented the sound of an instrument more than Fleck has the banjo. From his earliest bluegrass work in New York and Kentucky, to his tenure in New Grass Revival and Strength in Numbers, to crossing paths with Howard Levy at the Winnipeg Folk Festival that planted the seed that became the Flecktones, Fleck’s playing has been technically brilliant and consistently virtuosic.
And, with the possible exception of Jaco Pastorius, no one has done anything anywhere near as extreme as what Victor Wooten does with the four- and five-string bass. Winner of five Grammies, Wooten has been named bassist of the year by Bassist magazine three times (he’s the only bassist ever named more than once). Surprizingly for this show, Wooten didn’t play either of the Yin Yang Fretlesses, his main basses; instead he relied on the Joe Compito Fretless five-string.
As for Roy “Future Man” Wooten, what can you say about someone that’s so totally uncategorizable he has to create his own instrument—the drumitar, a MIDI trigger device played with his fingers. Except this is a new drumitar for Future Man. It’s not painted and it sounds somewhat different than the original. Future Man has also invented the RoyEl, a musical instrument based on the periodic table of the elements and the golden section.
The Wooten brothers’ mom, Dorothy, died 25 July—a short nine days before their incredible performance. Dorothy Wooten was a fixture at Victor’s Bass/Nature Camp.
Then there’s Howard Levy. Without question, the best performing diatonic harmonica player on the planet, finding new limits for the instrument, Levy’s played with everyone from Ken Nordine to John Prine. Levy’s also a most excellent pianist and composer. Levy left the original Flecktones lineup in 1992 and was replaced by woodwinds and saxophone player Jeff Coffin who left for the Dave Matthews Band in 2008. Levy returned to the Tones in 2009. More than anything, Levy’s role in the Flecktones is that of provocateur—forcing the others to explore new spaces in the music. Fleck has called him an “instigator” and that clearly hasn’t changed.
Last night’s show was jaw-dropping and a complete contrast to the last time the Tones made an appearance at the Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater. Where the August 2007 show was lethargic and badly paced, focusing mostly on newer material, last night’s reprise was energetic and almost perfectly timed. All but two of the numbers (“Prickly Pear” and “Bottle Rocket” from Rocket Science) were from the Tones’ first three albums for Warner Brothers. Howard Levy is indeed back. And this tour is allegedly in support of the quartet’s latest release, Rocket Science. This release is the best from the Flecktones in a long while—every bit as good as the first three Warners releases.
You knew it was going to be a show to remember when Fleck opened with his pre-war Gibson banjo instead of the Deering Crossfire. He moved to the Deering soon enough and things got weird, as has always been normal for a Flecktones show.
The crowd was typically cross-genre diverse. The sit-down suburbanites were there with furniture (please, please leave it in the McMansion garage next time) pursuing the jazz angle. The frat boys were there to make the scene. And the third-generation hippie kids were there because, well, it was the Flecktones.
I’ll try to get a full setlist from someone more responsible, but for the time being the highlights for me (in no particular order) were “Prickly Pear,” “Blu-Bop,” “Bottle Rocket,” “Flying Saucer Dudes,” “Sunset Road,” and “Big Country.” Saving the best for last, the two encores, “The Sinister Minister” and “Flight of the Cosmic Hippo” were just plain stunning.
Nick Wosika has a nice slideshow of photographs from the show for City Pages.
Finally, although I didn’t see him—but I dang sure heard him—Richard Battaglia’s mix was stellar.
Update: Wednesday, 10 August 2011 11:20AM CST: Here’s the setlist:
Gravity Lane
Nemo’s Dream
Prickly Pear
Howard Levy Solo
Life in Eleven
Victor Wooten Solo
Flying Saucer Dudes (with Casey Driessen on fiddle)
Sunset Road
Future Man Solo
Sweet Pomegranates
Big Country (with Casey Driessen on fiddle)
Blu-Bop
Bela Fleck Solo
Falani (with Casey Driessen on fiddle)
The Sinister Minister
Flight of the Cosmic Hippo
And here’s David Lawrence’s audience recording using Nevaton MK49s from front row center.
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