10.08.2010 - Stephen Kellogg and The 6ers
October 28, 2010
Radio Radio
Indianapolis, IN
We couldn’t pass up seeing Stephen Kellogg & the 6ers at Radio Radio after experiencing their high energy performance when they were opening for Needtobreathe at The Vogue. You can’t beat a band with choreographed dance moves to a song, not to mention a bassist that also morphs into a tuba and keyboard player with a wicked Chris Farley impression. Incredibly entertaining, even beyond their musical talent. The crowd was a fairly young one, as most Radio Radio crowds tend to be.
Back to the beginning – Roy Jay was the first opener for the band. His music is reminiscent of The Eagles. He played a brand new song that they’d just written about 3 days before the show called “Loose Change”. It’s pretty cool to get to be the “guinea pigs” for these new songs with live artists. While Roy Jay’s music was good, we got a little bored after a while. The songs all seemed very similar, and there wasn’t much about the band that made them fresh and exciting.
Sara Watkins was up next – with a surprise guest – her brother Sean Watkins accompanying her on guitar. Sara and Sean used to be in the trio Nickel Creek. We saw both Sara and Sean perform with WPA – a kind of co-op band with Glen Philips, Luke Bulla, and Sean Watkins at its core. Sara switched between fiddle and guitar – the crowd seemed to really get into her fiddling, even requesting more of it at times. Sara played some great songs, like “Miss My Kisses”, a cover of John Prine’s “Same Mistakes”, and “Early Morning Rain”. She also interlaced a few old Nickel Creek songs into her set, playing “Somebody More Like You” and “Anthony”. Sara is a great fiddle player, and definitely gets the crowd into her music.
Stephen Kellogg and The 6ers then took over the small stage, which was a bit cramped with all four members on stage plus their slew of gear, which includes a neck rack full of colorful plastic kazoos, a tuba, and a keytar. You read that right kids, this is no ordinary band. Stephen Kellogg, unbeknownst to us the last time we saw them live at The Vogue with a view from the balcony, is one tall dude. It’s as if his genetics pre-destined him to be a front-man by making it impossible for him to fade into the background.
This band is amazingly good live. They’re super high-energy and really connect with their audience. I will say that I’ve listened to three of their albums in CD format, and honestly, something is missing. I just can’t get into their recorded music. Maybe they are the kind of band who would really benefit from putting out a live album. My advice - acquaint yourselves with their music via live show before listening to their albums. I think you'll get more out of it that way.
They kicked off their set with “Born in the Spring” from the album “The Bear”. Some other highlights that they did from this, their latest release, were the title track “The Bear”, as well as “My Old Man”, “Satisfied Man”, and “Maybeline”. The highlight for fans, though, has to be “Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts” – the song with a ridiculously catchy chorus and insanely “good” dance moves. Even if you hate their music, you’ll find yourself having a great time during their live performance of this one. But then again, I’m not sure anyone could see Stephen Kellogg and The 6ers live and dislike them. Their enthusiasm is infectious – I just think they need to find a way to transfer that into their recordings.
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