Larry Keel: Beautiful Thing

Larry Keel's got this gravelly voice that draws your attention when he's playing, and he has this appeal to him that's clearly seen when he tells an audience they're beautiful.

It isn't a concert piece, but nor is it a comprehensive look at the musician, complete with tics and storm offs. It outlines a year with The Larry Keel Experience, and serves as an introduction to Larry and his band. It also introduces people to festivals and a form of music that many people here in the US don't hear very often, unless you live in the Southeast or are trendy and "in the know" about various music gigs.

One man says that Larry "will be a legend by the time he dies." Larry's also compared to Van Gogh, that his music isn't readily appreciated on the first listen. But I had a chance to meet the director of this film, James R. Gielen, and he told me that he was hooked when he heard Larry playing up at Baltimore. James was this hip-hop listening recent college grad who was skeptical at first, but he felt an instant connection to Larry and his music when he heard it, so that's why he decided to do the film.

The movie isn't perfect. It's a first-time effort, and some shots lingered, showing the spaces where Larry played instead of focusing on the man and the bad. It made me wonder if something else couldn't have been put there instead, since the movie's timetable is roughly over a year. That doesn't detract from the enjoyable music this movie provides.

***Overall***

I think it's fair to say that after watching this movie, you'll be interested in hearing more music from Larry Keel. He doesn't sound like anything you would typically associate as being "bluegrass" or traditional, and it's definitely appealing. As an added bonus, this movie shows 2 gigs each with Larry and guitar and fiddle legends Tony Rice and Vassar Clements. Check it out!

8/10, 4 stars out of 5