I got to see Phil Keaggy in concert again recently, and, just like the other four times I've seen him live, by the end of the night I had wept at least once and my face was cramped from smiling. Are there other guitarists as technically capable as Keaggy? Mmmm probably. Are there any who play as beautifully? Nope. His creativity and sensitivity are a gift from the Spirit of God.
Setting up the pedals - these were actually borrowed, with the exception of the multi-switch Line 6 box in the left of the photo.
This was taken during the playing of "Legacy", in which Phil changes on the fly from a C tuning to C minor. A video (not from this venue) is posted below:
Phil employs looping techniques, usually with his JamMan processor. He didn't bring the JamMan along this time, instead opting for the Line 6 pedal he's getting ready to stomp in the photo above. In the video below, you can watch Phil playing "Shades of Green" using lots of looping, two capos, a shaker, and even some tiny cymbals!
The missing digit. Imagine if he had all ten fingers . . .
The acoustic guitar of choice for Phil is from Olson Guitars. They are handcrafted by one man, and prices start at $12,500. One of the guitar's features is the super strong laminated neck which is both functional and beautiful. You can see it in the final picture of this set below.
The volume swell technique. With a stray finger adjusting volume with each note, Phil gets some cool Ebow type effects with just the volume knob. The video below will show him doing a little bit of this coolness:
