Victor Wooten & the Wooten Brothers – Dakota – Minneapolis, MN – April 4th, 2023

By Patrick Dunn 1 year ago

Review and photos by Patrick Dunn

Just weeks after making an appearance at the Palace Theater as a featured performer on Cory Wong’s Power Station tour, Victor Wooten was back in the Twin Cities, this time with his family band at the Dakota on April 4th. It was great to see such a good turnout for both performances and encouraging to see such a diverse range of enthusiasts in attendance for a show that would not cleanly roll up under any mainstream genre. While there are always some first timers invited along to the party, I would speculate that most of the audience had some history with seeing the Wooten Brothers perform live and you can bet there were more than a few working musicians in the mix, most notably being New Power Generation bassist Sonny T.

Victor has played the Dakota numerous times over the past several years with various lineups, but it felt extra special to see him back together with his brothers on this celebrated stage. The musical connection they’ve forged by learning how to play while growing up together is immediately apparent and has developed into a unique approach in their performance style. For this show, Victor got things rolling with an unconventional groove in 11/8 and brother Roy instinctively knew just where to join in with a funk driven beat that beautifully established an old school vibe. Joseph tastefully sprinkled in some brass stabs on synth to conjure up what in this town we affectionately refer to as the Minneapolis sound. Oldest brother Regi came in over the top to provide the missing component – some blistering solo lines on his weathered blond Strat dialed-in to an edgy tone that made me think of Janet Jackson’s Black Cat.

This formula was applied throughout the set, which mostly was freestyle in nature and felt a bit like we were witnessing how a garage jam session might have gone down in the early days. There were also some tunes with a more clearly defined song structure like Thank a Soldier, which nicely demonstrated why they refer to Joseph as the “hands of soul, voice of gold”. His spirited solo on keys using a patch I’d say resembled a piccolo was really outstanding.

It was fun to see Roy in a more traditional role for those who know him best as “Futureman” from the bluegrass quartet Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. For that gig, he does not sit behind a drum kit, but rather plays a SynthAxe instrument he customized and calls the Drumitar. Victor even commented playfully, “Many of you clapping for Roy tonight had the nerve to think this man can’t play an acoustic drum kit”.

Victor also spoke proudly of Regi with the highest regard, making it known that he was the original force behind these talented brothers and thus appropriately referred to as the Teacha. The level of mastery he has accomplished on the guitar is quite amazing to observe. Another important component to the evening’s introductions was remembering brother Rudy who grew up playing saxophone with the band. Although he is no longer among us, their efforts on stage were offered up in his memory, which also appears to be a part of the inspiration behind reuniting for this tour.

Victor got a chance to cut loose late in the set, which was one of the evening’s most anticipated moments. While continuing to deliver on groove, he started to also incorporate some lead and solo phrasing. His creative runs ran the gamut from simple feel driven melody lines to exquisitely complex patterns. Victor made a point to incorporate an impressive range of techniques that were sure to dazzle any 4-string enthusiasts able to appreciate their level of difficulty. He also delivered on style, pulling off a 360-degree spin without affecting the stationary position of his signature Fedora bass. The audience absolutely ate it all up.

With all that had been offered up to this point, I could have gone home satisfied. It turned out my favorite part of the show was only just about to be uncovered. Victor shared the most incredible story of how an industry insider had reached out to let them know he was in possession of a little piece of Wooten Brothers family history. Turns out he had a cassette tape of an early demo the boys recorded and had basically forgotten was even in existence. In addition to being a valuable find, it was now an extra special keepsake as it documented a chapter of their careers that included them playing live with brother Rudy. While it sounds like some of this material may be available at some point down the road, we were gifted with a sneak peek at 3 of these foundational tunes. The surprise performance of Get Down, Let’s Dance, and What We Like to Do was filled with so much energy and joy that for me it was nothing short of extraordinary and became the shows finest moment.