On Wednesday night, there was a great concert and nobody came.
Banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck and Grammy Award-winning bassist Edgar Meyer stopped by the Center for the Arts to play two one-hour sets of acoustic, and entirely instrumental, music.
Although Wednesday night's gig marked Fleck's sixth annual show at the CFA, only a little more than half the seats in the Mainstage Theater were occupied. In addition, there seemed to be a lack of UB students in the audience, as much of the crowd looked older than the average college student.
Despite the large number of empty seats, Fleck and Meyer mesmerized the crowd with not only their unparalleled talent, but their uncanny ability to communicate with each other through their music.
Coming onstage shortly after 8 p.m., the duo kicked things off with a rollicking roots number, with Meyer playing a simple rhythmic bass line while Fleck going off on run after run up the neck of his banjo. Fleck often played delightfully ahead of the beat for his solos. After a few minutes, the two would switch, with Fleck playing an easy rhythm while Meyer played an amazing solo on his stand-up bass.
Often touring with his band, The Flecktones, New York City-native Fleck has won five Grammy awards and has appeared on over 15 albums.
"When I'm not working with the Flecktones, I like doing something acoustic, something very different from the band," stated Fleck in the program notes. "I like the variety. It makes me a better musician. I feel more complete."
With an impressive resume, Meyer is a perfect musical match for Fleck. A prominent classical musician, Meyer has played bass with various popular artists, such as Hank Williams, Jr., Lyle Lovett, James Taylor and the Indigo Girls, among others.
Both artists' diverse backgrounds were on full display throughout the show, as they effortlessly traded beautiful solos back and forth.
During the short breaks in between songs, Fleck and Meyer would occasionally talk to the audience, but their banter was mostly simple chatter.
"We're going to play some tunes from all over," said Fleck. "This next one, we wrote together. And that's all I can say about that."
Together, Fleck and Meyer presented the audience an astonishingly eclectic song selection, playing bluegrass, jazz, blues and multiple classical arrangements.
With perfect acoustics, each song was so delicately powerful that the timid audience was reluctant to applaud, even after mind-boggling solos.
"The first set was pretty spectacular," said Eliot Sherman, a senior at Williamsville North High School. "Since they come from similar musical backgrounds, Edgar and Bela play well together on the fly. I saw Bela Fleck and the Flecktones at UB last year. The Flecktones are unreal, but it's good to see Bela's talent on its own."
Some of the most impressive highlights of the show included classical selections composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, a piece by Tchaikovsky and a few songs that were written by country/pop artist John Hartford.
Another high point of the show was when the duo played a canon, during which Meyer would play a round, and Fleck would mirror perfectly, always playing two measures behind Meyer.
In addition to the bevy of cover songs, Fleck and Meyer performed a decent number of their own tunes, including "Wooly Mammoth," which alternated between frantic and mellow sections, and the off-beat "Pile Up," during which Fleck played a stunning solo that sounded like it borrowed just a bit from Van Halen's "Eruption."
Even with many empty seats, Fleck and Meyer appeared genuinely happy to be at UB, as both musicians played with very comfortable body language throughout the show.
"I can't believe how precise and tight they were," said Craig Moskowitz, a senior media study major. "The way they can read off each other while playing so fast is crazy."
If UB is lucky enough to host Fleck (and Meyer) again, every seat in the CFA should be filled. Fleck's dazzling display of musical genius is something that should not be missed.
Unfortunately, on Wednesday night, it was.
