I suppose you could call me a critic. I consume things, be it music, video, or literature, and many other things besides, and then write my rather biased opinion on them. Not only do I write the opinions, but I have the gall to actually put them on the internet for people to read. I, dare I say so myself, have very good opinions so this all works out very well. Unfortunately, there is a downside. Fewer things are really, truly impressing me over time. Even fewer are really giving me that feeling of childlike innocence that transports me from the here and now and into timeless sphere of no worries or regrets.

Yet the reason I am writing this review, three years after its release, is that Phil Keaggy in a live setting does that for me. He removes me from myself. Wraps me up completely in his universe for the duration of his set and makes me feel like life will be just fine after all. He doesn’t achieve the same effect on CD. Keaggy has released some very good albums (see Acoustic Sketches for an example), but they don’t have the otherworldly aura that his jaw dropping live show incites.

I have had the extreme pleasure of seeing him live five times. Nothing can touch it. His ease and grace while doing something completely impossible with an acoustic guitar is unmatched by anyone. He is certainly no slouch on the electric guitar, either, and can tear it up with the best of them. But it is the acoustic where Keaggy’s innovation and individuality comes out. Never is it as apparent as during a live show. Philly Live! is the next best thing to actually being in the crowd at a Phil Keaggy concert. It has some upsides that make it appealing, but a few negative aspects as well.

The biggest upside is the how most of the angles are close and comfy. You’re not buried half way back in a crowd, trying to make sense of what he is doing with the guitar. With the close shots of the DVD you can see what Keaggy is doing to produce the sounds. You can see early on how he uses a looping software to layer riffs to create complex and intricate patterns. Whereas the first time I saw him live I didn’t realize until halfway through the concert that not all of the noises were being created on the spot.