In the midst of dreds, Patchouli oil, other herbal substances and people who wiggled rather than danced, the one-man jam band, Keller Williams, entertained throngs of excited fans on Saturday night in Hartford, Conn.
The intimate setting of Webster Theater combined with leagues of devoted fans set the tone for the evening as Williams, barefoot, kicked off the evening, with a cover of Nirvana’s “Lithium.”
Screaming fans flipped out with Williams’ performance of The Grateful Dead’s “Scarlet Begonias,” Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,” Nickeltown’s “Scooby Doo” and Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.”
Williams played several instruments including guitars, acoustic drums, the keyboard, a xylophone, a Theremin and, yes, even a cowbell.
Looping the various instruments and vocals is a technique that Williams is quite celebrated for. Watching him time all sounds and various musical components, especially for the opening and closing interludes of Porno for Pyros’ “Pets,” is worth the price of admission alone.
Williams does not appear to use prerecorded elements which only add to the quality of his performance. Besides opening his mouth to sing, Williams can also make impressive sounds of percussions and horns.
Humor is obviously a huge feature of Williams’ performances. In a version of Ani DiFranco’s “Freakshow,” black and white footage of sideshow entertainers was projected onto the screen behind Keller. During the set break, the screen also displayed cats rolling around and a video, circa the 1980s, of fairies flying through the air.
To add to the playful nature of the evening, Williams sat down to the keyboard and began to play what seemed like a dramatic, theatrical piece. Fans cheered as this turned into a rendition of “Kielbasa,” by Tenacious D.
Throughout the entire show, the mop-top Williams always had an expressive grin on his face. He often looked to the audience to fill in lyrics to favorites such as “Bob Rules,” the song about the television show “The Price is Right,” and “Boob Job” in the encore performance.
As Williams does seem to do much of the performance himself, sound mixing is an essential element of the show. Williams does have his own soundboard on stage, but sound mixer Louis Gosain contributes some vocals and has a solo on the flugelhorn.
During the nearly three-hour performance, the first set had a better flow and a strong mix of Williams’ original tracks and singles of other artists. The second set featured many crescendos of instrumental riffs, assumingly signaling the end of the evening. But, Williams kept playing, a true testament to his stamina.
On his most recent album “Dream,” Williams collaborates with The String Cheese Incident as well as the renowned Béla Fleck, John Scofield, Martin Sexton and other talents.
Williams’ albums, all having one-word titles, are almost all light and fun. “Dream,” as mentioned by Williams himself in blurbs of the song booklet, seems more personal and it experiments with all types of vocals and instruments. Two great songs on the album are “Sing for My Dinner” and “People Watchin,'” which features the banjo, giving it a bluegrass feel.
There are several points during the actual performance in which Williams just plays the guitar and experiments with other instruments; the tracks “Cookie” and “Twinkle” on the album reflect the importance of beats and rhythms.
Williams’ live performance and album both offer his signature style but are comparably different.
If you listen closely to “Cadillac” on his new CD, you can imagine the intimate recording setting, as you hear a dog barking in the background and clear, vocal harmonies. During the show, it sounded similar to recording on the album, but more energetic.
Besides his obvious talent, Williams has a remarkable rapport with his fans. Both musician and fan played off one another’s energy. He connected with his fans through the offbeat visuals, his quirky mannerisms and lyrics.
If you cannot make it to one of his concerts in the coming weeks, pick up a copy of “Dream.” As we head into midterms, we could all use a reprieve from cramming the monotonous material of the past few weeks. Williams offers the sort of refreshment our brains are seeking.
Leave a Reply