Written By:  Meghan Barich

Edited By:  Rosemary A.W. Roberts

First things first, I have to make two disclaimers: 1) I am not an expert on basses—stand up, guitar, fretted, fretless or any other variety. I will do my best to provide some juicy tid bits from this show for those of you that geek out on instruments and whatnot. 2) I attended Indiana University – Bloomington and experienced a significant case of nostalgia driving down from Indianapolis to catch Victor Wooten at The Bluebird. This nostalgia often causes a heightened level of enjoyment and bias for any and all things in Bloomington, especially for wildly talented musicians like the Victor Wooten crew.

In order to get a good show experience at The Bluebird, you have to claim your space and hold your ground. It’s not the most fan-welcoming venue with pillars and tiers challenging your eyeshot at every corner. I scored a second tier spot with a clear view of Victor Wooten in an Indy 500 t-shirt and didn’t budge. I had never seen him perform before and quickly discovered that seeing him on the electric upright bass was just as relevant as hearing his masterful string play. 

Wooten was joined on stage by seven other talented musicians, including Krystal Peterson on vocals; Anthony Wellington on bass and keyboard; Steve Bailey on bass (6-string fretless among a few), keyboard and a trombone he hadn’t played in 35 years; JD Blair on drums and bass; Derico Watson on drums; and Dave Welsch on trumpet, keyboard and bass.  The chemistry and respect among each of the artists was apparent from the jump of the show. The funky, soulful ability of the group—horns and all—filled the room with the second song “Brooklyn,” a tribute of sorts to the guys who built Wooten’s Fodera bass guitar. 

I knew it was going to be fun times when I heard the funky beats of Rufus and Chaka Khan’s version of “Tell Me Something Good” coupled with Wooten’s never-ending grin as he thumbed his 6-string. I always enjoy seeing musicians enjoying what it is they’re doing up on stage, and mutual respect and appreciation among these musicians was apparent on The Bluebird stage. This tour features a mash up of Wooten’s recent two-album release Sword and Stone (instrumental) and Words and Tones (vocal). But Wooten and crew mixed in more legendary covers like Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.” 

The next legendary cover came right after Wooten introduced the entire band with details about each musician’s unique instruments and abilities. The crowd, which likely included knowledgeable Indiana University School of Music students, gave ample cheers for Steve Bailey who is playing the whole tour on a 6-string fretless bass (this is when the disclaimer becomes relevant.) I have no clue what that means, but the crowd seemed pretty jazzed up by the mention of it. Bailey took center stage and led the group through a beautiful and bass-filled cover of The Beatle’s “Here Come the Sun.”

I was pretty blown away watching Victor Wooten play every inch and string of his bass. His hands moved in ways I’ve never seen and it was plain impressive. I even bought a t-shirt that says “Bass” on the front and “It’s not a fish” on the back. I don’t usually buy concert merchandise, but MJ that ran the merch table was just too cool and helpful to not indulge. 

I left the show with an “hmm” to ponder after Wooten’s lecture of sorts regarding video recording and reposting online. He packaged his message by sharing a story of learning a gospel song from his mother and her siblings. They would only teach him the tune after he understood the sacred quality of the song. Wooten said that he tries to maintain a similar level of respect for the music he produces and would prefer people only share short clips of the shows online. “This is our livelihood—how we feed our families.” A man has a right to say what’s on his mind, especially about his fine-tuned and skillful music; and hopefully the audience will respect his request. Supporting musicians as electrifying as Wooten and his band is a wonderful way to thank them for sharing their talents with us; and they definitely provide some top-notch entertainment!