Phil Keaggy

I got back about an hour ago from a Phil Keaggy concert. I’d forgotten what it was like to watch some perform in such a way that my gut level response was to burn my guitars because, hey, what’s the point? He was playing down at Park Cities Pres as part of the church’s Arts ministry. Free concert with free childcare. About half the set was Keaggy on stage by himself, the other half had a chamber orchestra accompanying him. Absolutely amazing stuff. I’ll have to admit that I’ve not really ever been a huge fan of Keaggy’s records. But I don’t hold it against myself. The guy cannot be represented on a CD… he’s a performer, and he comes alive in front of an audience.

9 Replies to “Phil Keaggy”

  1. A friend and I went to see Phil Keaggy and some other guitar person several years ago, and he was absolutely amazing in concert. I bought his “Time” cds after the concert, but you’re right – they just aren’t the same as seeing him perform live. I do like the Keaggy, King, and Dente CD “Invention”, though and would recommend that.

  2. I’m just a HUGE Keaggy fan. I happen to think that even beyond his obvious guitar skills, he’s one of the best songwriters in Christian music. Not ALL of it is great, but there’s enough great stuff he’s done.

    Anyway, to other comment baord readers: go find him at a performance near you.

  3. Keaggy is awsome. Especially when he does that looping thing. When I saw him once, he was playing this song with about 10 different guitar riffs looping, then he lifted up his guitar and sang into it. (I’m assuming there was a mic inside his guitar.) He did about two or three of those singing loops, then stood there with a goofy look on his face, with all this music still playing. It was hilarious.

  4. I was pretty impressed by the looping thing, too, when I saw Keaggy in Orange City, Iowa. If I recall correctly, he played the basic guitar part (rhythm), then tuned down the low E-string and added a bass track, then sang into the guitar and added harmony vocals, and then sang the chorus a few times while playing some lead — all without a hitch and without stopping.

    The tapping stuff he does is pretty amazing, too. A friend of mine has a Keaggy guitar instruction video. He shows you how to play some of his songs, but … well, he’ll show you the lick slowly, but it’s still pretty complex and fast and … well, suffice it to say: I’m no Phil Keaggy.

  5. Regarding Keaggy’s CDs, I should have added the disclaimer that “Beyond Nature” is one of my favorites. And I almost wore out my tapes of “The Master and the Musician” and “The Wind and the Wheat” in college.

  6. I’ve been looking for “Uncle Duke” for sooooooo long!
    Could anybody halp me to find it?
    God Bless!

Leave a Reply to Jay Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *