Despite the slushy late-winter weather settling in around North Collinwood, the Keller Williams KWahtro lit up the Beachland Ballroom with warmth and funk. The show featured a nice blend of intricate jamming and tightly rehearsed arrangements, part and parcel of the Keller scene.

Drummer Rodney Holmes caught my attention the most throughout the show, deftly carrying the rhythm as the strings swirled around him. 

“You catch that those rhythm changes? It fucks with me,” a bearded gentleman told me toward the end of the show. The KWahtro was definitely rearranging some of Keller’s old tunes, keeping keen listeners and dancers on their toes. 

The Accidentals opened the show, and — Wow! — they threw down a titanic, bass-heavy set. “Taxman” into “Tom Sawyer” was a really cool pairing, with the latter being performed in an extremely psychedelic vein. 

When the chance arises next, go see them.

This article appears in Mar 2-8, 2016.

Eric Sandy is an award-winning Cleveland-based journalist. For a while, he was the managing editor of Scene. He now contributes jam band features every now and then.