mog.com

The eclectic and gritty sounds of Keller Williams ‘ the WMD’s will be coming into town Friday night to play what should be an energetic and uplifting night of musical delight at the Calvin Theater in Northampton.

Keller, the master of the loop station and the one man show, will be taking a different approach to this performance, utilizing the WMD’s to create a fresh new style never before heard by many of Keller’s fans. This is an especially exciting event since this newly formed all star-group is currently riding the waves of success in style, seemingly at the pinnacle of their musical careers.

This past summer, they debuted at Bonnaroo and other big-name festivals around the country. They’ll more than likely be rocking out hard, breaking it down and then rocking it hard again without warning throughout the evening.

Despite the possibility that there will be an absence of a loop station and Keller’s normal array of wacky toys, it’s expected that Keller’s head will be bobbing from side to side and his hair will be bouncing as usual. Dancing fans will likely be grooving, and it’s bound to be an extremely open and friendly atmosphere, a feeling reflected by the vibes of the music.

The WMD’s consist of Keith Moseley on bass (The String Cheese Incident), Gibb Droll on guitar (Marc Broussard), and Jeff Sipe on drums (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Trey Anastasio, Susan Tedeschi, Phil Lesh). Keller will be playing guitar and quite possibly an array of other random instruments as he tends to do. He has an incredible knack for creating wild, quirky dream-like music. He has a wide range of original material including songs such as “Butt Ass Nipple,” “Spun,” “Tribe.” and “Bob Rules.”

Keller also plays covers with his own breathtakingly original spin on things. He doesn’t really have any limits or restrictions when it comes to remakes. He will take on any challenge and he usually stumbles upon magic simply by following his own path and creating a unique style that can’t help but make you smile.

A few artists he’s been known to cover are The Grateful Dead, Michael Jackson, Green Day, The Allman Brothers Band, Guns ‘ Roses, Bob Marley, Phish, Led Zeppelin and Umphrey’s McGee. Intricately re-woven show tunes such as The Pink Panther and Scooby Doo theme songs are also fair game in this wild carnival-like affair.

Expect Keller and the WMD’s to play mainly original Keller songs reworked in an original quartet format. His original material is extremely entertaining, lively and uplifting, and this time, rather than jamming with himself over layers of his own clever loops, Keller now has friends to share the stage with.

One song of his rightfully named “Port-a-potty” is about his experience falling in love with a dreadlocked angel “in the Port-a-Potty line of some show.” He wrote a song for his dogs, Earl and Sheeba and has been known to show footage of them in the background while playing it. One song called “One Hit Wonder” is extremely witty, stating “Oh to be a one hit wonder that would be oh so superb, oh only for 15 minutes or so, in and out nobody gets hurt.” After that, he jumps straight into a beautiful and delicately orchestrated guitar solo. Apparently “over play is the only way.”

Keller is in fact not only an incredible musician but a poet and comedian as well. His lyrics are always clever and oftentimes outright hilarious. His music was brewed up in a stew with just the right balance of spice and flavor. His intentions of dispersing smiles and causing hips to shake worldwide are a righteous cause and expect the talented WMD’s to feed off this amazing energy while at the same time reflecting it back on Keller himself. But in the words of Keller, if you really want to understand his music “just focus on the bass.”

Tickets are $25 and the show starts at 8 p.m.

Matthew Solomon can be reached at [email protected].