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Posted: May 2nd, 2009
Opening band The Sixers also steal the show
by Kenneth Fibbe
Photography by Chelsey Engel
The musical hall was packed with the stereotypical late-20s to mid-40s modern rock Toad followers on this first Saturday in May. All of them were anticipating a memorable night in what was The Wet Sprocket’s first concert in the Pittsburgh area since 1997. And Toad didn’t seem to let them down.
The set list was filled with expected songs from the acoustic-strumming Glen Phillips: “Fall Down”, “Walk on the Ocean,” and “All I Want” to name a few. In absence of new music, Toad has developed a strong cult-following of loyalists who embrace the idea of rocking to their oldies but goodies – (which was clear in the way they shouted song requests in between songs). Some stood and danced briefly to their favorite songs, and others grabbed their friends and clapped along in a retrospective “remember-the-time-in-college-when-we-used-to-rock-this-song-at-our-parties?” alt-rock groove.
It was not a great concert for those expecting song innovation, flashy lighting, or mind-blowing creativity, but that isn’t what Toad fans want. One audience member summed it all up perfectly: “I am glad they don’t have any useless jibber jabbering or talking. They just play. I didn’t come here to see them talk.” But the night wasn’t completely absent of crowd interaction. He did call one outrageously excited fan on stage to help sing the spoken word of “Butterflies.”
And while Toad fans were satisfied with their reunion with Glen Philips, they were also treated to an opening act that is worthy of noting: Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers. They took the audience through the road bumps of both their bands history and the trials and experiences of their lives. It was comedic, thought-provoking, and genuinely good-willed music that was channeled through the tunes of three men, three mics, and a delightfully diverse blend of instruments (including an accordion and a broken tuba). Their passion for playing music naturally manifested itself through their deeply rooted songs about everything from family passages to lessons from their own tribulations while playing gigs in small venues and steak houses.
It is probably safe to say virtually no one in the audience had heard of them when they first introduced themselves. Fast forward 40 minutes and they had the crowd participating in a corny, yet hilariously entertaining Sixers-dance that required arm circling and invisible knob turning. It was whole-hearted fun that ran the audience through a ringer of chilled-out melodic inspiration and charm. They exited with soaring crowd applause; enough so that had they not been an opening act, they would have surely entered back for an encore song or two. It was a double-feature night and the crowd made both bands know that neither group should wait so long to return again.
Kenneth Fibbe is a graduate print journalism student at Point Park University in Pittsburgh. He has been writing music reviews for collegiate publications since 2006, most frequently as editor-in-chief of The View newspaper at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, KY. His first concert was They Might Be Giants in 2000, and he has attended countless shows since then. From Poison and Brad Paisley to Less Than Jake and The Backstreet Boys, Ken has been enjoying and writing about live performances in just about every genre of music imaginable. He also has bachelor degrees in Mathematics and Business Management, and has contributed news stories as a freelance writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be contacted at kfibbe@pointpark.edu
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