Guest Blogger Rorye O'Connor writes about Keller Williams at the Bluebird tonight.
(Photo by O'Connor)
So Keller Williams doesn't really count as local music since he's from Virginia, but I had the opportunity to see him play at the Bluebird Thursday night and couldn't pass it up.
After doing a little research on the "one-man jam band" and discovering that he's well-respected and is actually touring with a pretty high-profile backing band, I decided to come on out to the 'Bird for some laid back jams.
Williams recently released the album "Live" with the assistance of Keith Moseley, bassist from The String Cheese Incident; Gibb Droll, guitarist for Marc Broussard; and Jeff Sipe from Leftover Salmon, all of whom are phenomenally popular musicians among the jam band set.
The band started playing at about 9:15, when the 'Bird was about half full. By the time Williams et al had finished two or three songs, there was a nearly impenetrable crowd filling the floor, bobbing their heads and dancing in that distinctive "jam-band fan" manner - just rocking out with no regard for how they look - and some of them do look weird. But I digress.
Williams had plenty of chances to use his Gibson Echoplex Digital Pro looping unit, tapping the foot petals with his bare feet. The distinctive style was really effective in creating a kind of building momentum in the songs in which he employed the looping.
Williams also did a lot of scat singing, briefly reminding me of Fred Flintstone with the bare feet, fluffy bowl cut and lyrics something like "yabba dabbo doo."
The crowd loved his improvisations, however, and cheered uproariously every time he sang into the mic connected to his guitar for that "my guitar is singing to you" sound.
While Williams' looping skillz were definitely cool, I have to say I was more impressed by Droll's abilities on the guitar. Much of the first set was chilled out and pleasantly low key, but Droll's guitar solos got the crowd, several of whom were adorned with neon glow necklaces, howling and stroking their own guitar strings made of air.
Much of the music had my toes tapping and my interest piqued, but I found it was music more for chilling out to on a lawn venue somewhere, rather than standing on a chair next to the speaker desperately trying to get some photos of the band over the gelled hair of the kid firmly parked in the first row stage right. I'm positive the attendee's of tonight's show would say it is music for anywhere, especially Jason Apple, a fifth-year senior who counted Thursday's show as his 20th Keller Williams show.
Apple confided to me over shots of 'lemon cookie' that Williams' music is incredible to him. "His music just runs through your body," he said.
And really, maybe I just don't get it yet. I'd rather you take his word than mine on Williams.
