When you’re holding on to the hope of one more great recording, you’re in luck! Check out Stephen Kellogg headlining The Bluebird Theater!
Making his return to Denver after more than a year-long hiatus, Stephen Kellogg dazzled the crowd with a set filled with songs new and old, requests, and stories galore. Fans lucky enough to attend the VIP were treated to an intimate performance on the floor of the Bluebird that featured two Sixers era songs, “My Sweet Charade” and “Oh Adeline”, mixed with a Q&A session that included some great insights into playing with new people, cringing at his old music videos, and more. My personal favorite story was about his daughter voting against her own song (“Oh Adeline”) in the first round of the fan-made 64 song March-Madness bracket. As legendary college basketball coach Bobby Knight would say, “You don’t play against opponents, you play against the game…”
When it came around to the main-show, there was nothing but joy in the room. Stephen Kellogg’s fans are devout, and I would consider myself among them. The sincerity in his songwriting is something that I covet in music. This carries over into his live show, which features his innate ability to command an audience both with his captivating music as well as his endearingly honest and quite funny storytelling. Drawing from the jamband playbook, no two set lists are the same, and his multi-decade career and taper-friendly policy has provided fans with an incredibly deep song catalogue to explore.
This evening, the first part of the set contained cuts off of his newest release, the highly acclaimed “Objects In The Mirror”. The second half was more driven by fan requests and older selections. As far as crowds go, this might have been one of the most respectful I’ve ever experienced at a show in Denver. This is a matrix (soundboard mixed with my audience feed), but if you listen to the quietest part of “Objects In The Mirror”, you can hear a pin drop. This was representative of the entire evening. The fans were 100% in with whatever SK was preaching, and it made for an incredibly intimate concert experience. That’s not to say there weren’t several high energy moments. The first single off of OITM, “Symphony Of Joy”, as well as “Gravity”, an especially ripping solo in “Father’s Day”, the epic chants of “Last Man Standing” and “Big Easy” all provided tastes of Stephen Kellogg’s knack for writing rocking Americana. “Big Easy” even featured both singer-songwriter Chris Coza and opener Pete Mueller on vocals for a raucous take on the anthemic Glassjaw Boxer tune. The evening was topped off with the band performing the classic Sixers era tune “See You Later See You Soon” unplugged in the center of the room. It was a beautifully visceral moment that blended the line between fan and musician as the crowd sang-out the chorus to end the evening. This song has been the closer for several shows this tour but likely took on a slightly more poignant meaning to Kellogg this evening, as his family that had been on the tour with him up to that point departed for their home back east. No one was saying goodbye, just “See you later, see you soon”.
Stephen Kellogg‘s set at The Bluebird was an unforgettable live music experience that is what I have come to expect from an SK show. An artist with an ability to connect to an audience on a deeply personal and genuine level through both his songwriting and live experience. From the primal urge to sing his catchy tunes, or the nerdy need to track set lists, or say… tape a show… SK’s music resonates with the whole spectrum of music lover in me, and it’s no surprise his music has managed to maintain its popularity over the years. It’s real, and real recognize real, as they say.
Stephen Kellogg | 2019-04-06 | The Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO
-= VIP Set =-
01. (VIP Set Intro)
02. My Sweet Charade[1]
03. (Banter)
04. Oh Adeline[1]
05. (Banter II)
-= One Set =-
06. (Main Set Intro)
07. Satisfied Main[1]
08. Milwaukee[2]
09. All The Love (That Comes To Me)
10. I Will Always Have Your Back (false start)
11. I Will Always Have Your Back
12. (Banter)
13. High Highs, Low Lows
14. Love Of My Life
15. (Banter II)
16. Objects In The Mirror
17. (Banter III)
18. Symphony Of Joy
19. (Banter IV)
20. Irish Goodbye
21. (Banter V)
22. Prayers[1]
23. (Crowd Request Banter)
24. Flower In Rain
25. Such A Way
26. 4th Of July
27. Gravity
28. (Crowd Request Banter II)
29. Father’s Day
30. (Banter VI)
31. Last Man Standing
-= Encore =-
32. (Encore Break Banter)
33. Right There With You
34. Diamond
35. (Guest Introductions)
36. Big Easy[3]
37. (Walk-Into-The-Crowd Noise / Banter)
38. See You Later, See You Soon[4]
Show Notes: This show was a part of the “Objects In The Mirror” 2019 Tour. Peter Muller Band opened the show.
[1] “My Sweet Charade”, “Oh Adeline”, “Satisfied Man” and “Prayers” were performed solo.
[2] “Milwaukee” contained “Roots And Wings” quotes.
[3] “Big Easy” featured Pete Muller (Pete Muller Band) and Chris Koza on vocals.
[4] “See You Later, See You Soon” was performed unplugged in the center of the room.
Taper Notes: FOB DFC Mics raised around 10′ PAS. The entire VIP set was recorded with the internal mics from a Zoom H4n Pro around 8′ from SK held around 5′ high. There is a slight crinkling sound coming from someone’s show program but it it doesn’t occur very often and isn’t very noticeable. For “See You Later, See You Soon”, the band came out to the center of the room, on the level in front of where the rig was setup. I also ran over to the band’s left side and held the same Zoom H4n Pro around 10′ from the band and 6′ high which I matrixed that with the AKG P170s which were technically behind the band. Thank you to Shady and Joe for the board patch!
Thank you to Stephen Kellogg and The Bluebird Theater for being cool with taping/sharing shows. Go see live music, and tip your bartenders! #spacetapes
LINK: https://archive.org/details/skellogg2019-04-06.AKG.P170.AUD.SBD.Matrix.flac16
