An Evening With Keith Green

The wind was howling and the rain was coming down like crazy as we traveled to Conestoga High School near Lancaster PA. But that was OK, me and my buddies were on our way to see Keith Green in concert. I guess I was with my buddies (dateless), because I was still in my Bill Gothard stage of “when you see a pretty woman don’t look at her, but rather be as if you are dead to her”. Kind of hard to get a date with advice like that. HHmm… but then again, if I was in my Bill Gothard stage what was I doing at a Keith Green concert? I guess I was in my “backslidden” BG stage. Anyway, we got there nice and early so we could get great seats. And along with that something happened that we never expected, but it was one of the thrills of my 19 years.

As we stood inside the schools common area, (many others were not so lucky, they were outside braving the storm for the lines were long), we could hear Keith doing his sound check and various familiar piano riffs in order to get things just right. As we heard him, he also was hearing the tremendous clapping of thunder and raging storm going on outside the high school. It must have concerned him to have his guests outside in such a storm, because before we knew it, the doors swung open to the auditorium, and the concert promoter and his staff just started telling everyone to go on in. “Keith is concerned about this storm and doesn’t want people standing in it”, they said . So everyone came in and besides getting to see Keith Green in concert, we got to see him do his sound checks.

We got GREAT seats. I mean I was second row, fifteen to twenty feet away from the piano. Out waltzed Keith Green, full beard and those curly locks..just like those pictures on his albums. He saw me and my buddies and motioned to us, “Hey guys, come on up here for a minute, I need your help!” Wow! My heart started pumping, wide eyed, we leaped up to the stage. It seems Keith did not like the set up. He wanted to be closer to his audience. We helped him move that beloved piano to the edge of the stage, and a few other pieces of electronic equipment and speakers. He graciously thanked us as we moved back to our seats…the seats that was fifteen to twenty feet away from the piano…now were seven to ten…max…. With the piano angled favorably in my direction so I could see both Keith and the ivories. Ohhh what a night this is going to be!

I took in the next two hours like my one year old son Sean takes in his day; endless amazement, astonishment and awe in the environment he finds himself in. He played all the familiar songs , You Put This Love In My Heart, Because Of You, When I Hear The Praises Start, So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt, Song To My Parents (I Only Want To See You There)… His fingers just flew across they keyboard.
I mean.. I never saw anything like it in my life. Singing away… a quick microphone adjustment or a nudge of his clunky watch back up his arm with his one hand while the other hand never missed a beat. I sat in amazement. I still do.

“La,La,La,La…La,La,La,La …..if you soften your heart….”

{{{Candleman98}}}