by Chantel Malin
Stage One at the Fairfield Theatre Company presents: "Keep It Up, Kid" Tour on December 29th, 2022, in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Stephen Kellogg played a very special hometown show at StageOne at the Fairfield Theatre Company in Fairfield, CT on December 29 to close his "Keep It Up, Kid" tour in support of his new record of the same name. Hailing from Fairfield County, Kellogg is something of a local legend, and has a long standing tradition of closing out the year in his home of Southern Connecticut - this year as an acoustic duo with guitarist Danny Black. Despite starting off the show with a video clip detailing the numerous lofty praises across his 20+ year career - including Grammy nominations, touring with some of the greats, and being touted "the best singer-songwriter you're not listening to" - Kellogg quickly made it known that he has his feet planted firmly on the ground and that this was going to be a family affair. Starting from the back of an already small and intimate venue, he sang through "High Highs, Low Lows" while making his way to the stage, stopping to say hello and hug a few fans. He then introduced the audience to his notepad titled "A Life," which included things such as "marriage," "forgiveness," "legacy," "work," and more - all of which are titles of chapters from his 2020 memoir "Objects in the Mirror." These titles were on slips of paper he drew out of a hat over the evening to direct the performance in a completely organic manner. The "parents" prompt connected to the title track of the likewise titled record released alongside his memoir, a reflection on his life growing up, the complexity of his parents' lives, and how they informed his own existence. The "kids" prompt gave us "It Goes Fast" from Keep It Up, Kid, released only a few weeks before the concert, and is a heartfelt contemplation of how quickly his four daughters have grown up. Aptly following was "Sweet Sophia," a song penned with his band Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers in 2007 for his eldest daughter who - now sixteen years old - joined her father on stage to play the piano. Before playing the Sixers' song "4th of July" from 2007's Glassjaw Boxer, Kellogg had his tour manager, Shady, personally deliver his "Mantras / 7 Rules for Life" handout to every member of the audience, which included gems of advice such as "the truth is never a bad idea" and "you are enough," a fitting introduction to a song about gratitude and finding joy wherever you are.
Kellogg began the encore with "To the Ones That Need It Most," a jubilant extension of love to - well, the ones who need it most, even if they're also the hardest people to love. Having an audience full of people exclaiming the simple message of "love, that's all we need, all we need is love" set up the perfect atmosphere to end the night and the year on a positive note. Kellogg closed the show with "See You Later, See You Soon," with his four daughters Sophia, Adeline, Noelle, and Greta - also known as S.A.N.G. - joining him to sing harmony, with Adeline's solo on the second verse receiving perhaps the loudest applause of the entire evening. A singalong of "see you later, see you soon / see you later, alligator" reassured us all that it won't be long before Kellogg is back in town playing another show.
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