Victor Wooten Dazzles In Evanston
By Katie Karpowicz in Arts & Entertainment on May 27, 2014 7:00PM
Photo: Katie Karpowicz/Chicagoist
Last December Chicagoist spoke with the Wooten brothers about their joint tour, which hit Reggie's in the South Loop. After scheduling conflicts kept us from getting to the show, we knew we had to catch the iconic bass-playing Wooten sibling Victor at SPACE in Evanston this past holiday weekend.
Victor Wooten has had ample success as solo artist and member of various bands but it's his role as a founding member of Bela Fleck's Flecktones that has brought him the most exposure in his three decades of playing. As eclectic as the Flecktones are and Wooten's career has been, it was no surprise his solo set kept the sold-out audience on its toes Sunday night. Highlights included the rarely performed "Flex" off 2008's Palmystery, the jazz-pop crossover "Love Is My Favorite Word" off his 2012 project Sword & Stone and the lovable and quirky "My Life" which dates back to 1997's What Did He Say?
At 49 years old, Wooten is nowhere near putting a cap on his career but he is seemingly growing better with age. His talent justifies every bit of showmanship and playfulness the bass virtuoso works into his sets. From perplexing fret tapping to live looping that is simply impossible to follow, Wooten's concert last Sunday was as fun as it was mentally exhausting.
What's most impressive is Wooten's commitment to reinventing what has already been done on the bass guitar. While many players feel graduating to a five- or six-string bass is the only way to expand their array of tricks, Wooten mostly stays true to the classic four-string instrument and continues to find ways to bring new sounds to light. Sunday's set even saw him on an acoustic standup bass for an arrangement of the jazz classic "Summertime."
We didn't get the full Wooten force on Sunday night (though Victor's guitar-playing brother Regi is a part of his currently touring band), but that didn't stop us from getting the beautiful and bold show we were hoping for.