This show was Sunday night at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville TN.
It was recounted that the very first Bela Fleck and the Flecktones performance was a TV show in Louisville KY and their second show was in Knoxville.
I first saw them at "EllaGuru's" night club in Knoxville's "Old City" (May 9, 1990 is indicated on the old ticket stub). The night club owner was Ashley Capps who now heads AC Entertainment, which promotes/runs shows all over the southeastern US and also puts on the Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester TN.
The 4 main group members are all consummate, virtuoso musicians, with each a "genre-breaker" on his instrument(s).
They have been and are once again the "tightest" combo I have heard.
Bela Fleck - banjo
Victor Lamont Wooten - electric bass
Roy "Futureman" Wooten - percussion / drumitar
and returning original member
Howard Levy on Steinway & Sons piano and harmonicas.
They played a mix of songs from the first 3 Flecktones albums as well as a few from the latest one "Rocket Science,"
with "spotlight" solos by each player through the course of the evening.
It is a joy to have Howard Levy back in the lineup. His utter mastery of the harmonica was perhaps on best display in his solo rendition of "Amazing Grace."
(Victor Wooten also has done a wonderful solo Amazing Grace" totally on electric bass in years past).
His piano playing adds something special to the mix as well.
Fiddler Casey Driessen joined in on a few numbers.
Roy "Futureman" Wooten did the vocals on "Sunset Road"
and near the close of the show announced that Bela had been nominated for more Grammys and in more Grammy categories than any other musician and had recently debuted a 35-minute "Banjo Concerto" with the Nashville TN Symphony, and that we would next have a treat of five minutes of Bela solo on acoustic banjo.
The first encore had Bela bringing his wife, Abigail Washburn (who just happened for once to be in the same town) on stage to sing.
Not sure of the actual song title but it seemed to perhaps be a religiously-based one and had "I Sing Because I'm Happy, I Sing Because I'm Free."
[ I wish Abigail and Bela had played a banjo duet together as well, but Abigail went of stage after the one song.]
The closing number was the crowd pleaser "Sinister Minister" started by Victor on bass, with Bela, "Futureman," Howard, and fiddler Casy Driessen all coming in, which had the audience up on their feet and dancing.
Don't miss them if they come your way!
