She’s almost an addiction – just like a new recording of Stephen Kellogg performing at The Soiled Dove Underground!
Coming back to Denver for, as he put it, “like the sixth time in 18 months” – Stephen Kellogg returned to the mile-high city bringing with him a new band, a new album, and with all that – a new batch of songs. His new album, “Keep It Up, Kid”, will be released on December 2nd, 2022 however fans who pre-ordered the record should already have the vinyl to spin, and based on the number of fans singing the new songs, it is safe to say many came prepared.
Those who were fortunate enough to go to the VIP set were treated to an intimate Q&A session as well as an equally chummy performance of a duo of fan-requested songs. It opened with an intimate performance of one of Kellogg’s most heartfelt songs, “Satisfied Man”. A song about his values and his personification of satisfaction. The second song, which was requested by me, was a song from 1998 called “The Way She Is”. I’m not going to lie – this was one of my personal highlights as a fan for almost 20 years. The VIP set was recorded with a handheld Zoom unit, but I was fortunate enough to be seated right smack dab in the center so the recording I think came out pretty well. Rarely do I inject too many personal anecdotes into these recaps but please indulge me:
Since 2017, I have been requesting SK perform “The Way She Is” when I could catch him in Denver. It’s a song from a record he released called “South Of Stephen”, which he seldom plays these days. However, it was the song that got me into his music. During the Q&A he described the song as “a song that feels a certain way”. The first time I saw SK live he was actually subbing-in at the last second for Howie Day, an artist I was very into at the time (and still am – check out Howie Day at the Soiled Dove from last year). Howie Day was supposed to be opening for Guster but had some issues that prevented him from being able to play the show. This led to Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers replacing him literally the day of. I was immediately skeptical as I had come for one artist and now a completely different unknown-to-me one was performing, however, the skepticism melted away as he opened with a spectacular full band cover (this was in 2003 – so the Sixers era) of Ryan Adams’ “Oh My Sweet Carolina”. The set was short, only three more songs (“Days” – complete with a pop-hits-of-the-day medley, “The America Song”, and “As Good As It’s Been”) but I was hooked. I went home and checked to see if he was on the Internet Archive, and sure enough, he was taper friendly. The first show I streamed was 2003-06-04 at The Fez in New York City. It opened with “The Way She Is”. That started my fandom which has continued for decades later. The set is filled with great old SK6ers songs but that particular version of “The Way She Is” has followed me throughout my life. I’ve performed it myself and still love to play it when I pick up my acoustic. Something about the chord changes in verses and the chorus – the melody – it’s haunting and hopeful. I guess you could say I dig this song.
Enough of that show, back to this show – on my request, Stephen Kellogg performed “The Way She Is” – a lullingly romantic homage to the nuance of someone and how they are. It’s difficult to hide my joy on the recording because Kellogg calls it out directly. While it was endearing, to say the least, I fanboy’d out very hard.
Once the main show started fans were treated to a video montage highlighting the many highs of Stephen Kellogg’s career. It featured interviews with fellow musicians and fans of his music such as singer-songwriter Josh Ritter and O.A.R frontman Marc Roberge, which had one of my favorite descriptors of Stephen Kellogg, dubbing him a “Musician’s musician”. The band then came out to start things off with a take on “High Highs, Low Lows”. Fans expecting to see Stephen Kellogg come out to lead the band were then surprised to see him walk out through the crowd while singing the tune. As he maneuvered his way through the crowd, he was not shy to interact with fans, multi-tasking a selfie and shaking several hands, before making his way on stage (almost tripping on the stairs up) to join the band. They then went into the first single and namesake of the new record “Keep It Up, Kid”. The song selection had a solid variety of new songs and more familiar fan favorites – keeping up with the tradition of varying setlists. “Sweet Sophia” was sans its original piano melody in exchange for new member Danny Black’s dazzling fingerpicking which sat well with the roots and strings vibe. During the sole fan-request period SK performed an old-fan-favorite “Anthem Of Discovery”, a song so good they recorded it three times! They also performed a cover of the Bill Withers classic “Lean On Me” which featured a verse and harmonies from both Boots and Danny as well as Boots on the banjo. It was one of the most poignant and stirring performances of a set filled with impassioned and effecting moments.
The set then closed with a fruitful batch of fan favorites – a backward ride down the timeline of popular SK songs: First up was the new tune “To The Ones Who Need It Most”, which came through vibrantly in a live setting and is an instant classic. The anthemic chorus bursts through with the ringing glory of the simple exclamation “Love”, which hits right in the emotional fist-pumping soft spots. Next up was “Objects In The Mirror”, a song that is its own time capsule of history and emotional reflection. The encore then featured the most streamed SK song, the melodiously rootsy “Lost & Found”. The band then closed with their ode to ephemeral goodbyes, “See You Later, See You Soon” which also featured opener and Denver local Chris Koza on accompanying vocals. Upon . Upon reflection, it was a strong finish in a set full of high, highs and not a single low, low.
Few artists are able to relate to their fans on as genuine of a level as Stephen Kellogg. His music is a dose of honesty, humility, and a deep reverence for the essence of life. He sings about the things he knows—his family, his experience as a touring artist for over two decades, and his imperfections—and packages these themes into songs that provide their own intrinsic guidance to a life that is as imperfect as the rest. And he wants you to know that’s OK. He is an artist that understands the importance of the live experience and what it means to his fans – respectfully performing a completely new show every single night. On the best of days, Stephen Kellogg delivers all this in a single night, and his most recent stop in Denver was no different.
Stephen Kellogg | 2022-10-26 | The
Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO
-= VIP Set =-
01. (VIP Set Intro)
02. Satisfied Man
03. (The Way She Is Intro)
04. The Way She Is
05. (“The Way She Is” & QA Banter)
-= One Set =-
06. (SK Career Montage Intro)
07. High, Highs and Low, Lows[1]
08. Keep It Up, Kid
09. Sweet Sophia
10. I Could Forgive
11. 4th Of July
12. Live To Love Another Day
13. Last Man Standing[2]
14. Anthem Of Discovery
15. (Banter)
16. It Goes Fast
17. Start The Day Early
18. Lean On Me (Bill Withers cover)
19. Milwaukee
20. To The Ones Who Need It Most
21. (Thanks & Merch Banter)
22. Objects In The Mirror
-= Encore =-
23. (Encore Break Banter)
24. Lost & Found
25. See You Later, See You Soon[3]
Show Notes: This show was a part of the “Keep It Up, Kid 2022” Tour. Chris Koza opened the show.
[1] “High, Highs and Low, Lows” featured Stephen Kellogg on vocals only as he sang with a wireless mic walking through the crowd.
[2] “Last Man Standing” lyrics were changed to “Gonna be the last one” in almost every instance.
[3] “See You Later, See You Soon” featured Chris Koza on additional vocals and percussive shaker.
Taper Notes: The VIP set was recorded using the ZOOM H4n Pro internal mics set at 90 degree configuration in my and my wife’s hand (we would hand it off if SK moved to either side). I was front row center for the VIP set performance but SK would move around at times so there are some very slight phase issues at times but nothing that makes the recording unlistenable. For the main set, the audience mics were setup FOB DFC at table 333 mics raised around 7′ PAS. The board feed came from a USB thumb drive. Thanks to Shady and FOH Chris for the board feed and mix! !
Thank you to Stephen Kellogg, Shady, and The Soiled Dove Underground for being cool with taping/sharing shows. Go see live music and tip your servers/bartenders! #spacetapes
ARCHIVE LINK: https://archive.org/details/skellogg2022-10-26.StudioProjects.C4.MKII.cards.AUD.SBD.Matrix.FLAC16bit
