Music Review: The Kelly Bell Band - Phat Blues

Aside from Pandora and the PBS channel, my musical horizons pretty much match what is acceptable for the preschool crowd.  So, when the hubby and I had the chance to go to the 44th Annual Maryland Seafood Festival without kids, watching a good concert wasn't even on the radar.

However, when I checked the listings and found a blues band starting, oh, about 10 minutes after we got there, I thought it would be nice to check out.  I love watching any live music.  And, after watching my fair share of kids entertainers and puppeteers at the mall, I'll sit through anything, especially if I don't have to chase after a few three foot groupies in the audience.

I was pleasantly surprised at the band that played.  So much so, that this festival, for me, will be remembered as the Maryland Phat Blues Festival, with seafood as a mere side dish.  The Kelly Bell Band, of Baltimore, was THAT good.

As we heard the strains of blues music playing and gathered to find a few seats on that clear sunny day, I was most impressed that this band was playing original music and no covers.  With funny one-liners, like, "I dedicate this next song to my ex-girlfriend, because I hate her...", lead vocalist Kelly Bell entertained the crowd with amusing social commentary and smooth, rich vocals.  Like an older, wiser Corey Glover, Bell's passion came through whether he was rocking out like Zeppelin or crooning like Lionel Ritchie.

Low and behold, the band that "didn't do covers" laid out an impressive juxtaposition of (but not limited to) BB King, Iron Maiden, The Commodores, Rick Springfield, Bo Diddly, The Jackson 5 and KC and the Sunshine Band. The passion for the music was clear as the band demonstrated a breadth of encyclopedic knowledge and deftly handled key changes, tempo shifts and whole, complete shifts in genre with sophistication and ease.

Covering Grand Funk Railroad's "We're An American Band", the Kelly Bell Band was a study in contrasts.  The six-piece multicultural ensemble included the lead vocalist rocking out his dreadlocks to a hard rock classic.  They looked nothing like the all-white Grand Funk, and yet, what they were doing was truly American - uniting different cultures, backgrounds and styles in a celebration.

This day was particularly memorable because it was also the tenth anniversary of 9/11.  While the Kelly Bell Band put on a great show with good music and lots of laughs, the final, tribute song was unpredictably fitting.  I'm sharing it here because Kelly Bell's a cappella rendition of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" should not be misread as some trite version of sorrow.

Those that only know the song as a punch line may not know the origins of the song.  An African American spiritual, the song is an ode to how suffering slaves looked forward to heaven, a much better place than where they were.  For those of us left to deal with the rubble left behind on September 11th, Kelly Bell's offering soothed our bleeding hearts with a salve of hope, as blues music was created to do.  Bell took a gamble on a song that might have been lost on most of his audience members.  But in the end, he shared his heart and allowed us all to grieve with the hope for a better tomorrow.