Matt Wertz/Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers
The Staint, Asbury Park, NJ - February 16, 2005

We were in for a night of rootsy acoustic rock, witnessing Matt Wertz show off his singer-songwriter characteristics, and Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers show off their new Universal Records debut.

Our evening began in a sparsely filled nightclub, our favorite dive in Asbury Park, NJ, that features all our favorite artists — Matt Wertz and Stephen Kellogg are no exception.

We got to hear Kellogg and his band warm up and my first description of his sound — we'd only heard him once solo, pre-Universal — was that his songs have this road trip air to them. They make you feel as if you're driving along Route 66 in a classic convertible.

I was soon taken down Interstate 85 (which runs through the South) when Wertz, a Nashville native, opened up. His guitar strums were rhythmic and rootsy, and his songs remind me of John Mayer in Kentucky — he keeps the qualities of the sensitive singer-songwriter alive, but lets his Southern roots creep in. He's got a wonderful quality of passionately getting into his song playing, while exuding the meaning of his lyrics through his soaring voice.

He also went into a touch of Bob Marley, which flowed nicely into "Red Meets Blue", in which he sang, "She distracted me with her beauty, leaving me wanting more." He closed with "Marianne," and Dan and I were pleased to see Wertz for the first time.

When Kellogg and the boys came in, they kicked off the gig with "Jolene." Honestly, it's not my favorite song, and I wished he'd chosen another track. But the rest of the set made up for it, as he played "Anthem of Our Discovery," one of our favorite tracks. It was cool to be a part of the new album release, since it had only come out the day before. It was nice to see Kellogg kick off his long tour so close to the release date of the new CD — it added some excitement to the performance.

That's the feeling I get with all Kellogg's songs, but hearing the band live, and hearing him with a band brought on a new sense — that the Massachusetts singer-songwriter knows how to rock out. The repore between this band got better as the night went on. They had fun while they were belting out the band's sometimes-twangy acoustic rock hits.

A lot of the songs were some of my favorites from Lucky Eleven. But Kellogg played his tracks with a new twist — the live improv including song interludes and snippets from The Killers, Def Leppard, Peter Gabriel, Kansas, and of course Bon Jovi (Hey, if he didn't do a little Jovi in NJ, I'd be disappointed.)

And then he played "Such a Way," a song of his that has always gripped me. Hearing it live, watching Kellogg sing the sweet tune...it was absolutely stunning. This song will definitely be one of his hits on the new album. "As Good as It Has Been" was splendid live as well. He even threw in a fun version of "Thirteen," pulling a few gals on stage to dance with the guys in the band. You know to recreate the 8th-grade dance and all. Poor Keith was left alone, strumming his guitar, singing the chorus for what seemed like forever while the other three (including a new electric guitarist) got to sway with some live ladies. During a rhythmic guitar spotlight, the guys performed some choreographed jumps on stage (but not Brian the drummer, he sat in the back, keeping the beat rockin?.)

Watching these guys have fun, watching them succeed made the performance fun, interactive, and exciting.

Everything was just...moving. And fun to rock out to. Dan and I are very excited to see these guys stepping out into the non-indie world...going forth. We wish them all the best.

Reviewed by Kristen Fischer
DiscoveringArtists.com