Keller Williams, who performed to a sold-out audience at Ram's Head this past Saturday, is a floppy-haired music machine. Walking into the middle of a Keller set, winding your way through the sea of smoked-out Birkenstocks is all you can do to try to get a better look at the stage. As far as you know, you're coming to see just a guy and his guitar: your standard singer-songwriter. The sound coming from the stage, however, is much too rich, with too many instruments and vocal harmonies to be coming from just a guy and his guitar.
Herein lies the beauty of a Keller Williams show. There he is in his red T-shirt and khakis, bouncing on the balls of his feet, hair flopping and belly jiggling, fingers flying and eyes casually wandering. He reminds you of your eccentric, sort of geeky frat friend ... that one who plays the guitar really freaking well.
Emerging out of his nonchalant geeky-ness is a sound fit for any five-piece acoustic jam band. Self -taught at guitar since the age pf 13, Keller released his first album in 1994, when he was 24. Unlike your classic singer-songwriter, he employs live technology to make up for missing band members. On stage stand various instruments: His main guitars are modified 12-string acoustics, although he's also been known to use an electric guitar, a synthesizer and a Fender Jazz Bass.
He'll pick one up, play a lick and press a foot pedal, looping it, kind of like an acoustic DJ. Then he'll add a vocal riff, a bass line and a vocal harmony, looping these. Sometimes he'll move over to the vibraphones, play some chords on the keyboard or create beats with his fingers on a synthetic drum machine. In a Q&A on his Web site, Williams comments that much of his inspiration for such a full sound comes from "wanting to make people dance without having to pay a drummer."
And indeed, the people were moving to the beats. "It just makes me wanna dance!" my friend and fellow concert-goer Sophie Korn commented when we finally found a decent spot on the floor. To this, the short guy with a wool cap in front of us replied, "Me too, man! He's so sick!" The music is infectious and bouncy --- a kind of jam that's not too jammy -- a kind of jam you can dance to. And his lyrics add to the mix of entertainment. Often amusing, his songs are about anything from moving sidewalks to cookies to the meaning of life. "Life is like a roller coaster," he sings. "You get burnt in the sun while you're waiting to ride." Or "Life is like an ice cream cone, dripping down your hand."
He threw some covers into the mix as well on Saturday, delighting the audience with funky reggae versions of Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary" and tracks from Pink Floyd's The Wall. And Williams has been known to cover often, paying homage to the musicians he respects, such as Martin Sexton, Charlie Hunter and bassist Victor Wooten of
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, who is said to be his chief inspiration. His new CD, Dream, in stores Feb. 6, features all three artists; in addition to other jam band powerhouses like Bob Weir, Michael Franti and the String Cheese Incident. The fact that so many talented musicians appear on his new album is a simple testament to his gifted ingenuity.
He's more than eager to share the spotlight, and he did so Saturday night, with the Virginia-based bluegrass couple the Keels. He is Larry Keel, the bearded king of "flat-picking guitar," and she's Larry's wife, the hot blond on the upright bass. They added a great grass-roots feel to the mix, especially when Keller brought out the crowd-pleasing "Freeker by the Speaker" for the encore.
The second set ended on a truly euphoric note as we received a special message at midnight when Keller left the stage for the first time before returning for his encore.
"Hey guess what?" asked the big on-stage screen. There were some scattered "What?"s yelled in response.
"It's now officially Keller's birthday!" the screen said. Cheers and drinks were raised.
"Let's sing for him! Be sure to sound drunk and incoherent..."
This was not a problem. The crowd sang joyously and yes, rather incoherently, as Keller modestly returned. An adorable video of his daughter Ella was projected in the background as he excitedly closed with the song, "Celebrate Your Youth."
Though perhaps no longer youthful Keller Williams, 37 (on Sunday), definitely has reason to celebrate.
To hear some of Keller's commentary and self-described "mix tapes" tune into Baltimore's 87.9 WTMD on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. for his syndicated radio show, "Keller's Cellar." Or, go to http://www.wtmd.org for an online stream.
