I first saw Bela Fleck & the Flecktones when they visited my college in the late-1990s. I had no real idea of what I was about to witness. Even with the risk of sounding cliche-ish, I witnessed geniuses. Pure geniuses. Ever since, I have always done my utmost to see them live every time they visit my town. Bela Fleck is amazing on the banjo (understatement of the century, thus far), and Victor Wooten is arguably one of the greatest musicians to ever play the bass guitar, if not the greatest bassist, period. What Victor does with a bass is, just simply, jaw dropping. If you haven’t seen Bela & Victor perform live before, do yourself a favor and go, as fast as you can, the next time they come to your town. It’s an experience like no other.
I originally wanted to post two Bela videos. Alas, I can’t find any good live footage of their Beatles cover “Oh Darling,” but you can listen to the slickest live version from their 1996 release, Live Art, here. Bela really belts it out after their instrumental jam. Very serious raw energy there. Thankfully, there are many versions of VIctor Wooten’s “Amazing Grace (Improv)” online. Do yourself a favor and check out as many as you can. You’ll get a sample of what I’m talking about, but nothing compares to seeing them/Victor live. Goosebumps. PURE GOOSEBUMPS …