Back in 2017 I was photographing a show of local Orlando bands and saw one who had this guitarist that blew my mind. A number of people nicknamed him “Ripper” for how well he ripped through his guitar riffs. I was introduced to this guitar player who I befriended and would consistently see him at various music shows. Eventually, this guitarist would go to break out on his own and standout as the rockstar I always knew he would be. That guitarist is Bobby Keller.
If you know Bobby then you know he lives for the music scene. It’s literally in his blood and he is constantly thinking about new creative ideas and how much he loves his guitars and his gear. He gets excited to try out new gear to see how it impacts his playing. More importantly, when Bobby has an idea, he goes after it with full force. About two years ago, Bobby Keller released his first solo song “Reign in Fire” with a beautiful video to accompany it. Many applauded the song, including Ultimate Guitar, Guitar World, and Loudwire. Bobby became nationally known and he continued writing and releasing more music. And then on January 6th, he was doing his debut live show at House of Blues Orlando. This was going to be a hot show.
That evening the crowd was already inside by the time I got to the venue. But, I did get the opportunity to see Bobby before I went in and there were so many people still outside that came over to say hello before they headed inside. In Orlando, FL, Bobby knows everyone. After getting my credentials I headed inside and it was a solid crowd of people for what was titled Orlando Rocks hosted by WJRR’s Native Noise show. And people were going to be treated to something special when Bobby Keller took the stage.
As we waited for Bobby, the crowd was already chanting “BOBBY! BOBBY! BOBBY!” and when he stuck his hand out from behind the curtain, there were huge screams. And it didn’t take long for that curtain to be pulled back and Bobby walked out on stage. This night, Bobby brought along a full band to round out his songs. Bobby (lead guitar) as expected had Ben Johnson (drums) with him as he did on the recorded songs. Also with them that night were Adam Phillips (guitar) and Tanner Keegan (bass).
Bobby started hot out of the gate with “Reign in Fire”. I already loved the song when it was first released. But, hearing it performed live was amazing. The song starts off somber and slow and just immediately rips your face off with Bobby’s amazing guitar riffs and Ben’s rapid-fire rhythm. Performing it live amped up all that energy and watching and hearing Bobby progress through the notes, you could tell he was born for the stage. His guitar-playing style is very active and emotive. His personality shines on the stage with his headbanging, his expressions, and that quintessential throwback of his head and guitar in the air pose. Pure Bobby Keller. Adam and Tanner’s addition to the live band beautifully filled out the song. Bobby was off to a great start.
That night he also performed his other two singles. “Perpetual Dreams” has such a beautiful sound. Ben plays hard and fast on the drums and Bobby compliments with a captivating guitar riff that includes some incredible speed metal transitions. Bobby’s skill is truly shown through the song. I really love the end of it where Bobby pulls it back for some softer, almost acoustic notes to close it out. Adam’s guitar riffs elevated this song to a new level too. He’s truly a talented guitar player. Tanner’s bass fleshes it out for the live stage. The other was “Light Bearer”. This song is heavier than the other two right off the bat. Ben’s drums are fierce and furious and I felt Bobby really lets loose during this song for some awesome heavy riffs. Adam’s guitars truly added to this song as he was rocking out during it. Tanner, who was a wildman on the bass all night, had it really going for this song. And while it’s a shorter song than his other, this song really had the crowd going and there was even a moshpit moving during it.
And Bobby had a few surprises up his sleeve performing never heard before songs titled “Aftermath”, “Overcome”, and “Into Oblivion”. And each one was just as good as his singles. The live debut wasn’t without some slight hiccups that night as there were some sound issues that had to be addressed during their performance. Bobby even promised to run show back again at some point so the fans could hear and technical issue-free evening. Honestly, even with those small issues, Bobby and his band were absolutely phenomenal. As I stated before, Bobby was born for the stage and rockstar is in his blood. Bobby’s performance reminds me of Steve Vai on metal. Truly rocks. I can’t wait for his next live performance.
If you want to check out Bobby Keller’s music and merch head over to https://www.bobbykellerofficial.com/. His setlist that evening was:
- Reign in Fire
- Aftermath
- Perpetual Dreams
- Overcome
- Into Oblivion
- Light Bearer
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