VIDA BLUE
"THE ILLUSTRATED BAND"
OCTOBER 14, 2003
61:34
1/The Illustrated Band (McConnell) 12:24
2/Charmpit (McConnell) 24:06
3/You Don't Know (McConnell) 4:21
4/Little Miami (Reputation) (McConnell, Yeomanson) 20:48
Mercedes Abal - Flute, Vocals
Lazaro Alfonso - Percussion, Vocals
Russell Batiste - Drums
Oteil Burbridge - Bass
Tomas Diaz - Percussion, Vocals
DJ Le Spam - Turntables, Sampling
Page McConnell - Keyboards
John Speck - Trombone
REVIEW
by David Jeffries
Vida Blue never felt like a side project, but a real band with its own funky, electro-injected style and only sonic hints of each member's "other" bands (Phish, the Allman Brothers, and the Funky Meters). Tape traders can tell you the gigs have been getting better and better, and the band's debut album pointed them in the right direction. Their second full-length, The Illustrated Band, makes for a funky good-time listen, but it's not the big payoff one would have hoped. Pieced together from jam sessions with the already multi-genre Spam Allstars, the album bridges Vida Blue's top-notch jamming with Spam's lively Afro-Cuban textures. It has more than its fair share of good ideas but they rarely pay off, and the whole thing feels like the first set of the night (a time when a lot of jam bands spin their wheels before delivering a driven and focused second set). Keyboardist and Phisherman Page McConnell handles production, giving so much of the spotlight to the Spam Allstars one has to wonder why they don't get a big credit on the cover. McConnell is actually the least heard on the record, leaving Vida's Oteil Burbridge and Russell Batiste with more airtime than previously, and numerous solos from Spam flutist Mercedes Abal appear throughout. DJ Le Spam pulls out some fitting samples, but it never turns into a frenzied scratch session. Things really pick up on the closer, "Little Miami (Reputation)," and if the rest of the tracks were as well-constructed it would make the album a winner. Sometimes it sounds like it's going to turn into Miles Davis' On the Corner without the grit, other times Mongo Santamaria's Watermelon Man. With so much funk, Latin jazz, and scratching being executed so well and with plenty of heart, it's hard not to like the album while it's playing. A little more to latch onto would have warranted repeat listening.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jesse Jarnow
The Vida Blue is Phish keyboardist Page McConnell's first solo project. When Phish decided, after 17 years, to take an indefinite hiatus, McConnell was undoubtedly the least prolific bandmember in terms of both composition and extra-curricular musical activities.
Nearly a year after the break began, McConnell traveled to New Orleans, where he convened with the Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge (a mainstay on the jam band scene Phish helped ferment) and Funky Meters' drummer Russell Batiste. McConnell had known Burbridge for over a decade, as Phish had often shared bills with the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Burbridge's seminal early-'90s band. Batiste and McConnell had first come into contact while working on a track for Get You A-Healin', a benefit album, with Phish bassist Mike Gordon and others.
The trio improvised a good deal of music, which ranged in tone as McConnell experimented with acoustic pianos and various synthesizers. Turntablist DJ Logic joined them for a session. Ultimately, the band latched onto an electronic sound, not entirely unlike the New Deal. McConnell shaped some of the material into songs, adding lyrics, and the band's self-titled debut was born.
The band played their first live shows in late 2001 in Burlington and New York. At the latter performance, on New Year's Eve, they were joined by Phish's Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon. The Vida Blue began to tour in earnest in early 2002, playing small clubs and theaters throughout the country, often playing with younger jam bands (such as the New Deal and the Slip).
"THE ILLUSTRATED BAND"
OCTOBER 14, 2003
61:34
1/The Illustrated Band (McConnell) 12:24
2/Charmpit (McConnell) 24:06
3/You Don't Know (McConnell) 4:21
4/Little Miami (Reputation) (McConnell, Yeomanson) 20:48
Mercedes Abal - Flute, Vocals
Lazaro Alfonso - Percussion, Vocals
Russell Batiste - Drums
Oteil Burbridge - Bass
Tomas Diaz - Percussion, Vocals
DJ Le Spam - Turntables, Sampling
Page McConnell - Keyboards
John Speck - Trombone
REVIEW
by David Jeffries
Vida Blue never felt like a side project, but a real band with its own funky, electro-injected style and only sonic hints of each member's "other" bands (Phish, the Allman Brothers, and the Funky Meters). Tape traders can tell you the gigs have been getting better and better, and the band's debut album pointed them in the right direction. Their second full-length, The Illustrated Band, makes for a funky good-time listen, but it's not the big payoff one would have hoped. Pieced together from jam sessions with the already multi-genre Spam Allstars, the album bridges Vida Blue's top-notch jamming with Spam's lively Afro-Cuban textures. It has more than its fair share of good ideas but they rarely pay off, and the whole thing feels like the first set of the night (a time when a lot of jam bands spin their wheels before delivering a driven and focused second set). Keyboardist and Phisherman Page McConnell handles production, giving so much of the spotlight to the Spam Allstars one has to wonder why they don't get a big credit on the cover. McConnell is actually the least heard on the record, leaving Vida's Oteil Burbridge and Russell Batiste with more airtime than previously, and numerous solos from Spam flutist Mercedes Abal appear throughout. DJ Le Spam pulls out some fitting samples, but it never turns into a frenzied scratch session. Things really pick up on the closer, "Little Miami (Reputation)," and if the rest of the tracks were as well-constructed it would make the album a winner. Sometimes it sounds like it's going to turn into Miles Davis' On the Corner without the grit, other times Mongo Santamaria's Watermelon Man. With so much funk, Latin jazz, and scratching being executed so well and with plenty of heart, it's hard not to like the album while it's playing. A little more to latch onto would have warranted repeat listening.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jesse Jarnow
The Vida Blue is Phish keyboardist Page McConnell's first solo project. When Phish decided, after 17 years, to take an indefinite hiatus, McConnell was undoubtedly the least prolific bandmember in terms of both composition and extra-curricular musical activities.
Nearly a year after the break began, McConnell traveled to New Orleans, where he convened with the Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge (a mainstay on the jam band scene Phish helped ferment) and Funky Meters' drummer Russell Batiste. McConnell had known Burbridge for over a decade, as Phish had often shared bills with the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Burbridge's seminal early-'90s band. Batiste and McConnell had first come into contact while working on a track for Get You A-Healin', a benefit album, with Phish bassist Mike Gordon and others.
The trio improvised a good deal of music, which ranged in tone as McConnell experimented with acoustic pianos and various synthesizers. Turntablist DJ Logic joined them for a session. Ultimately, the band latched onto an electronic sound, not entirely unlike the New Deal. McConnell shaped some of the material into songs, adding lyrics, and the band's self-titled debut was born.
The band played their first live shows in late 2001 in Burlington and New York. At the latter performance, on New Year's Eve, they were joined by Phish's Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon. The Vida Blue began to tour in earnest in early 2002, playing small clubs and theaters throughout the country, often playing with younger jam bands (such as the New Deal and the Slip).