Bela Fleck And The Flecktones
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (Section 1)
Earth Jam
The set starts out with every member of the band coming out on stage one at a time. Some of the instruments I recognized and was familiar with, such as the saxophone, clarinet, bass, and drums. They introduced a variety of instruments that looked either homemade or sounded strange to me, like the electric banjo, drumitar, and synthesizers. There was a bit of scat vocals done by Victor Wooten as well. One thing I noticed in this song was the repetition. I think the bass line was constant throughout the entire four minute long song. The set looked very non-Western to me, especially the rugs that were laid down in the middle of the stage. Almost the entire song had a mixed meter and it reminded me of Dave Matthews.
My first impression of the song was a pleasant one. I really liked the sound because it was catchy and upbeat but still relaxing at the same time. I was under the impression that the banjo was supposed to represent a guitar that would normally be the lead instrument in a Western band. Bela Fleck had a really cool wah-wah effect on his banjo that really added to the texture of the song. One thing I didn't really care for was the cheesy, almost expected, designation of a solo time. Each one took there solos at a specific point in the song. I think I would categorize this song in the retro jazzy funk genre.
Lover's Leap
This song had basically the same instrumentation as Earth Jam with the introduction of a few new instruments. Those instruments were the steel drums and the English horn. I felt like this song was heavily influenced by Jamaican reggae because of the way the steel drums sounded with the other instruments. I noticed some call and response in this song with the steel drums and banjo and also with the English horn and the banjo. One western thing I heard in this song was the harmony, which kind of goes hand in hand with the heterophonic...
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