Vida Blue

July 20, 2002

The Majestic Theater

Detroit, MI

Vida Blue seems to be a band steeped in nostalgia. If you don't already know, the person, Vida Blue was a dominant and sometimes flamboyant pitcher who played mostly for the Oakland A's in the 70's. Vida Blue the band is a super-trio made up of Page McConnell (Phish), Oteil Burbridge (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Allman Bros.) and Russell Batiste (The Funky Meters).

McConnell put the band together about a year after Phish went on hiatus. Their music continues the nostalgia hinted at with their name. Naysayers might call it funk-lite, but I prefer the moniker ambient-funk. McConnell's vintage keyboard sounds lead the way, supported by Burbridge's rubbery bass lines and Batiste's forceful drumming.

The band pulled into the Majestic Theatre in Detroit Saturday night and seemed to win over the sweaty crowd of mostly Phish fans. The band s originals are spacey compositions that relay heavily on electronic sounds from McConnell's bank of keyboards. McConnell is an unlikely leader. He looks like an unassuming college or high school teacher and not much like he should be fronting an inter-racial jamband, but it is hard to argue with his talent. Freed from the shadow of Phish, McConnell's quirky, but intriguing take on music is becoming clear.

They opened the show with "Most Events Aren't Planned" which also leads off their debut album. McConnell is not known for his vocals, but he handled the singing adequately the whole night. However, most of the band's original material relies more on the members playing and interaction than their vocals.

The band's originals were mixed a healthy dose of odd covers including "Cars " (Gary Numan), "Sheep" (Pink Floyd), "I Just Kissed My Baby" (The Meters), "Jealous Guy" (John Lennon), and "Fly Like an Eagle" (Steve Miller). McConnell finally acknowledged his Phish heritage for the encore of "Cars, Trucks and Buses ", which is a jazzy instrumental that McConnell wrote from Phish's 1996 album, Billy Breathes. Nostalgia was definitely on hand for the event, but none of the band seemed to be looking back, but rather, looking forward.