Do you remember Dick Van Dyke’s one-man band in “Mary Poppins”? Add a few decades of digital technology, lightning-fast percussive guitar playing and enough instruments to open your own music store, and the one-man show becomes Keller Williams.

Williams performed his one-man show Saturday to a crowded house at Liberty Hall. However, instead of tying drums and horns to every joint on his body like Van Dyke, Williams used a digital loop machine to create an entire band.

Williams sampled everything from PVC pipes to his own vocal emulations of drums and horns, layering them to create a unique sound. The technique is to record a short piece of a noise or riff, and then to play it repeatedly with the aid of a loop station. All of the sampling was performed live, making the music come more alive than one would sense if the loops had been recorded before the show. He had a guitar strapped on him at most times but had many other instruments around the stage to which he could navigate. His quick-witted and smooth improvisations let the audience know that this was a show he had never played before and never would again.

Williams danced around barefoot on stage, using his toes to trigger different samples as if he were a monkey. Moving from instrument to instrument and among varied musical genres, his superior skill was apparent, blending reggae and bluegrass. Some disco even snuck up a few times, but it was always uniquely his.

Williams’ attitude was distinctly light-hearted and fun. One couldn’t help but smile during “Celebrate Your Youth,” as he implored the audience to never forget to have a good time. A great rendition of his popular song “Breathe” was a crowd favorite, as was his final encore, where he sang Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” from start to finish, including all of the instrumental segments, with only his mouth and the help of the audience. Overall, the night was definitely worth my $18.50.

Teen Advisory Board member Caleb Powers is a senior at Free State High School.