Last night, Victor Wooten and his band absolutely killed at The Funk Box in Baltimore, MD.

The band was comprised of Regi Wooten (guitar), Joseph Wooten (keys), Derrico Watson (drums), MC Divinity (vocals, alt bass), Anthony Wellington (second bass), J.D. Blair (drums/percussion) and, of course, Victor Wooten (bass). I had never seen Derrico play before, but he was amazing. He started out the show by himself by just laying down a thunderous groove. Regi was his usual self, Joseph's playing has become a bit more restrained (which is a good thing), Divinity's performances have gotten stronger since the last time I saw her play and Victor was, well, Victor. J.D. didn't play a kit tonight, because the stage was too small to support two kits. That should change at the 9:30 club on Wednesday night.

One of the things that I was most looking forwards to for this show was seeing Anthony play on his own. Tonight, Victor introduced Anthony and let him have a long, extended solo. Anthony played very well; his solo was very tasteful with great phrasing. After he was done, he gave a very touching and heartwarming thanks to his wife. She's a great lady, and they are a wonderful couple who very much so deserve each other.

The structure of the show was interesting; there was no opening band. Instead, about halfway through, Divinity played three or four songs, and Isaiah Washington came up for a tune. Regi and Joseph also had a solo piece on their own.

Some highlights of the show:
1) Victor stopping the show in the middle of a song and asking the audience for a time signature to play it in (7/4 was discarded, as they did that last night). They ended up playing the verses in 11/8, the chorus in 4/4, the first solo in 4/4 and the last solo in 11/8.
2) J.D. just goofin' around, having a great time.
3) The funk medley after Regi's solo.
4) Victor's looped solo as he slowly built up the phrase one note at a time on each iteration of the loop.

If you ever get the chance to catch Wooten playing live, I'd recommend it — particularly if you like funk and jazz. If you're a bass player (like I am), it's just about a religious experience.

I had never been to the Funk Box before, but I really like this club. It's very small and intimate, with great acoustics. I'd absolutely love to play there someday.

-- Update --
Anthony Wellington has put up his review of the show