Victor Wooten and his band dazzled a crowded house at the McDonald Theater on Monday night.
Mark McCambridge Emerald
Wooten
continued from page 5
noise, the band rejoined and broke
into a cover of “Purple Haze” fol
lowed by “Iron Man.” I’m pretty sure
Regi was actually having a seizure
and making it play the guitar.
It’s joyous to see a group of mu
sicians having so much fun in the
act of creation. Victor and Regi
recklessly flipped, swung and
tossed their instruments — at one
point playing each other’s simulta
neously. Watson gave the funniest
merchandise pitch I have ever
heard by working the word into his
10-minute solo as if it were anoth
er drum to hit. There was such a
light-hearted air to the perform
ance, it was like sitting in on
a practice session, except with
light effects.
But for all of the flash and fun, the
highlight of the show was Victor step
ping on stage alone for the encore.
He created a hypnotic melody and
looped it before taking the opportu
nity to talk about Martin Luther King
Jr. on his national holiday.
Victor spoke calmly, saying King’s
dream hasn’t yet been achieved,
and we all need to continue working
for it.
Now, I’m not the crying type. But
when Victor struck the first har
monic notes of “Amazing Grace,”
tears welled up. After a touching
speech, his impassioned and lively
reworking of this gospel was at once
a call to action and an assurance —
like a mother saying, “Everything
will be all right.”
Had the show ended there, there
would have been no complaints. But
for the grand finale, the band re
joined Wooten and got the whole au
dience singing along: “People. Show
your love, good people.”
I walked away from the theater
feeling as if my head had fallen
asleep from over-stimulation. But
I was smiling like a baby for no
good reason.
Contact the Pulse columnist
at masonwest@dailyemerald.com.
His views do not necessarily represent
those of the Emerald.
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