Illusion of Words

Phil Keaggy Concert

So I actually spent $20 to go watch this guy play. It’s not just him actually, it’s along with his band (Glass Harp, I think) and Randy Stonehill. I went by myself, since no one else would spend 20 bucks to listen to him play. Anyway, it was pretty awesome. In the first part, the band played, some rock-ish songs which allowed Phil space to do some soloing on his Les Paul (through a Vox AC30, I believe). It was ok, I mean, Phil Keaggy is awesome just noodling on the guitar, but I was waiting for a solo acoustic set.

Which he did play, first “In the Light of Common Day”, the first song on his Beyond Nature cd, a really nice song. The second song - yes! - Salvation Army Band, which was the first song of his which I saw on Youtube, and it pretty much blew my mind away then. On stage he didn’t really play it as long and as crazy as I’d have liked, but still it was awesome. His techniques and looping skills are just amazing. Very entertaining, especially when he does his own drum beats (on the guitar, complete with a scratch sound), and effortlessly twists the tuning peg to play the bass line for the loop.

Then Randy Stonehill came out to play a bit. He can’t play the guitar as well as Phil, but he made up for that with his humorous song, “Shut De Door”, which was simply entertaining. Then afterwards, the band came out and played again. At the end, everyone applauded Phil and Randy back on stage to play one more song.

So it was awesome. (yes, you realize that I haven’t spoken much about the band, but I will presently). The band was not all that great. I mean, the songs were cute and standard stuff, but quite forgettable. Ok, so each player on stage was awesome in his own right - the bassist, drummer and rhythm guitarist, but I think most everyone in the audience that night was there for Phil Keaggy, including me. Which was why I was quite disappointed when he only played two solo songs.

Despite paying $20, instead of the regular $15 (because well, I didn’t buy it earlier), I actually caught them rehearsing in the hall. We were wondering if we could go in, and the cameraman waved us in. So in we went, sat down and watched the band rehearse, then left when they finished. The funny thing was, during the concert they were just as relaxed as the rehearsal, joking in between sets and asking, “what key?” as if it were an impromptu session. Randy was the one talking most of the time, actually, being funny (and not-so-funny sometimes, but no matter, the audience laughed all the same).

So pics - from the rehearsal only because during the concert I was only 20 minutes early and had to sit in the middle (distance from stage), at which point would make taking pictures practically useless. A lady was sitting besides me during the concert, and at the intermission she asked me why I was here. Like, what was a young person doing here because she had been a fan of Phil’s music for the past 30 years and well, obviously I wasn’t even around then. I said I was just here because Phil Keaggy is awesome on the guitar. Which was perfectly true. Even just noodling around in between songs, his hands fly up and down the fretboard. I can’t ever play half as well, or even a quarter as well as he can, which makes it kind of sad, but God gives different talents to different people. And while Phil Keaggy probably could’ve become world famous alongside the best guitarists of all time had he not gone into Christian music, I think ministering for the sake of the kingdom of heaven will always, in the end, prove to be worth far more than fame and Grammy’s on earth.

Just a couple of youtube vids: first one Phil Keaggy doing Salvation Army Band (he didn’t do it as long and as awesome as on the video, but close).

Randy Stonehill singing ‘Shut de do’, in which he keeps joking. Of course, during the concert I was at, his jokes were a bit different, but kind of similar. A bit.

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