Keller Williams is often described as a one-man jam-band. While at times that title has been used as something of a tongue-in-cheek tag, Williams truly possesses an incredibly layered sound. So on Stage, the first live offering to truly document the guitarist’s scope, Williams offers two distinctly different music platforms, while retaining a single, muscular voice.
Recorded on the west coast, in front of a seated crowd, Stage Left showcases Williams’ more mellow material, which ranges from originals like “Keep it Simple” to an eclectic string of covers. Layering bits-and-pieces of “Ice Ice Baby” into his take on David Bowie &Queen’s “Under Pressure,” Williams toys with the notion of human sampling, while on a fun run through “Rapper’s Delight” the guitarist uses his mouth as a musical means of improvisation. Similarly, on originals like “Dane the Freek,” Williams bounces between toys, adding bass, percussion, and a hit of mouth-whistle into his complex guitar loops. Perhaps jam-nation’s most underrated front man, Williams also weaves his brief vocal ramblings into spoken word performances, such as on the humorous “Blazeabago.” Yet, in this seated setting, Williams makes a conscious effort to focus on melody and tight vocal delivery, largely forgoing his extended one-man, jamband grooves.
In contrast, Stage Right is devoted to showcasing Williams at his most danceable moments. Capturing a series of east coast, crowded club dates, Williams uses his well-composed cuts to open up lengthy jams, such as on “Balcony Baby.” As on Stage Left, Williams also includes a series of eclectic covers, ranging from a medley of “My Sisters and Brothers” and “Boob Job” to Buffalo Springfield’s “For What Its Worth.” Nodding to his days as a Deadhead, Williams’ most poignant offering is a beautiful update of “Bird Song,” which blends gently into the mix of trance, folk, and jam which characterizes Stage.
Perhaps Stage’s most exciting offering, “Gate Crashers Suck” is a humorous recounting of the Grateful Dead’s disastrous Deer Creek run. Mixing in manic pieces of jam-rock, the track showcases Williams’ songwriting strength: the ability to turn ordinary moments into complex musical suites. Likewise, Stage is an excellent smorgasbord of current jamband styles, compacted into a singer-songwriter format.
