I went to see
Vida Blue this evening with
Ryan. It was the first of a very good set of concerts coming into town this week -- tomorrow is
Alejandro Escovedo and Thursday is
John Mayer with
Guster opening.
I went on the recommendation of Jason from PATF. He's a Phishead, and said it would be great. I was a little skeptical however because I had never been to a jam-band event before.
I really liked the opening band - The Slip. They had the long instrumental and heavy percussion attributes of a jam band but also had a more rock twinge to add to the mix.
As for Vida Blue? I was somewhat disappointed, because they seemed to be lacking something. I think the problem was the minimalist make-up of their trio (keyboards, drums, and bass). They needed something more, perhaps a guitar or horn. I was impressed with the talents of Page McConell, but generally a keyboard doesn't cut it as a lead instrument. You have to be as talented as Jimmy Smith to pull that off, and that is a mighty tall order.
I also really enjoyed observing the other people there. They all seemed to be jam band veterans. I particularly enjoyed watching the white rastafarians dance. The dancing was the same regardless if a up or down tempo song was being played; it was almost as if the music wasn't really necessary.
So in the end it was interesting, but not something really moved me.