 |
  
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
|
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
| Home
Subscribe About Us Features News Album
Reviews
|
Phil
Keaggy
Elim Gospel Church Lima, N.Y. Nov. 2, 2002, By L. David Wheeler “You know, I didn’t have this kind of fun when I was a young musician,” Phil Keaggy said, after delivering a kinda bluesy, kinda skiffly version of “A Sign Came Through the Window” in the Elim Gospel Church auditorium. “I had to grow down.” That wasn’t just a self-effacing “short joke” from the diminutive virtuoso — arguably the finest guitarist in the history of the CCM industry. Keaggy was indeed having plenty of fun during his Nov. 2 concert at the Lima, N.Y., church, to judge by the sizable smile that keep crossing his face. Some guitarists tend to wince and grimace when they solo, to let you know this is all very, very hard. By contrast, the more improbably intricate Keaggy’s riffs — the more laws of physics and anatomy his fingers seemed to break as they appeared everywhere on his fretboard at once— the wider his grin. Keaggy’s good time was infectious, no small feat considering a fair portion of the material that night was drawn from his more contemplative, meditative albums like Phil Keaggy and Acoustic Sketches, along with a few old favorites and some inspired covers. No “John the Revelator” or “Strong Tower” anthems tonight — though a spirited “True Believers” closed the show — but lots of Phil’s characteristically superlative instrumental wizardry and rich, warm tenor. Here, a nod to his Irish ancestry with the Celtic flavoring of “Beneath the Blood-Stained Lintel” and Glass Harp’s “Shades of Green,” there, a bit of an African rhythm to kick off “True Believers.” Over here, the hipster talking blues of “Duct Tape Universe”; over there, the lullabyish reading of “Spend My Life With You” (an audience member’s called-out request from Keaggy’s "Ph’lip Side" days). And a faithful, chord-for-chord reading of lamented Beatle George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun.” Amidst it all, Keaggy kept a personal connection with his audience, sending out a whimsical birthday wish to a friend in the crowd (“Kenny Sill is 50 now/Stand right up and take a bow/Half a century —wow”) and commenting with delight when a couple walked to stage right, held each other close and began to gently sway to “You Have My Heart.” (“If someone wants to dance to one of my songs, it makes me feel pretty special,” he said.) After opening with the instrumental “On Second Thought” (from _Acoustic Sketches_), Keaggy reached back to 1969 for “What a Day,” — “a song of memories and friendship and hope,” in his words, as well as many a Phil-fan’s sentimental favorite. Other highlights included a rocking treatment of “Salvation Army Band” (True Believer); a meditative reading of “Chalice” (Inseparable); the off-kilter tune about a similarly off-kilter cosmos, “Duct-Tape Universe” (Uncle Duke); and a sensitive rendition of compatriot Randy Stonehill’s “Who Will Save the Children,” a segue for a Compassion International appeal. The second set was heavy on instrumental pieces and Keaggy’s arrangements of classic Christian verse (H.A. Ironside’s “Maker of the Universe” from Phil Keaggy, Robert Herrick’s “Litany to the Spirit” from Inseparable). It also showcased some diverse covers: Van Morrison’s “When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God”; Jesus-music pioneers Malcolm & Alwyn’s “Fool’s Wisdom”; and, of course, “Here Comes the Sun.” Phil didn’t depart much at all from the Beatles’ arrangement, but set amidst the devotional tenor of many of the evening’s songs, it was easy to hear Harrison’s “sun” as its homonym: “Son, Son, Son, here He comes ...” At core, the Elim concert wasn’t just a fun time; it was an exploration of joy — deep joy, the kind that doesn’t depend on happiness. The kind that recognizes a loving, divine hand even amid — especially amid — pain, which it knows is transforming ones life into a chalice. Perhaps that’s the secret to Phil’s longevity and popularity: Guitar wizards abound — though he’s got most of them beat — but seldom are such proficient hands joined to such a humble heart, active mind, sensitive spirit and willing smile. “What a day,” indeed. SET LIST
|
|
|
|
