By: Mary Ellen Aldrich, Arts & Culture Editor
Bare feet, high energy, contagious rhythm and a lot of talent. Keller Williams, a one man band, performed at Aura in downtown Portland as part of his Fall Tour 2017 on Oct. 7. The conglomerate gathering of people was evidence of Williams’ ability to touch upon many flavors of music, including jazz, folk, electronica, funk and a few other genres. The set began with a dim light upon the center of the stage, highlighting Williams’ few musical instruments which included a loop pedal, guitar, a stool and a microphone.
The time span between that first light adjustment and Williams actually stepping on stage was drawn out long enough to make the crowd antsy with anticipation. Williams’ bare feet and the neck of his guitar were the first to appear from the edge of the curtains. The audience, previously in a hush, was sent into an excited uproar with a single strum from Williams’ guitar. And with that, the night of good beats, curious lyrics and a great time began. After the first couple of songs, Williams’ stopped to address the crowd with “Hi everybody, I love you all, I appreciate you. That is all.” then the music returned to full power.
Williams’ songs range from deep and meaningful lyrics to surface level humourus jokes. With lyrics like “If I’m goin down, I’m goin down singin” from his song The Big One, a song about if he ever had a stroke and doing everything he wants to before time runs out, Williams’ can take a serious topic and write a song that simultaneously has deep meaning and humor. This is a rather stark contrast to his song Missing Remote which is literally about how he lost his television remote one time when he put the remote, instead of the mayonnaise, into the refrigerator. It took him three days to find the remote.
Williams often danced to his own music while playing on stage, adding another layer of energy and intrigue to his already phenomenal performance. The crowd, which included a bunny-costume wearing individual, danced, and many sang along, the entire evening.
Keller Williams has been at the music gig for about twenty-five years. He’s partnered with other musicians, bands and groups over the years, and will continue to do so. He has a few portions of his tour coming up in which he’ll be working with different musicians. But he always goes back to his original group: his voice, his guitar, his loop pedal and his bare feet.