I just got back from Lititz, where I got to play my guitar in a huge jam session. There were 125 or so of us, all playing our guitars in two songs for a nice-sized crowd. We played one of three parts in each song. I played the easiest part, since I don’t know how to play guitar much at all. In fact, my only guitar is a 12 string Fender acoustic with half the strings currently taken off to make it a 6 string (If you’re reading, Scott–yep, it’s the same one I bought in college with you). I was pretty happy to be able to keep to the music on the sheet (especially since I don’t read music). It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever performed with a musical instrument in front of an audience.
The second part was cooler, though. Phil Keaggy came out and played a full concert for us. He was awesome. I never knew a guitar could be played in so many ways. The coolest parts were during his extended jams. The guitar came alive in his hands. At times it almost seemed that the guitar was playing itself and Phil was just tending it. That’s a really cool place for a performer to be.
He was funny, too. His ability to go off on a tangent rivals my own–and that’s saying a lot.
Truly a great night.