Not your typical breakfast food

Tonight's concert at Hotung Cafe ostensibly might be better suited for a different on-campus eatery. Sponsored by AppleJam and featuring Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers as well as Fuzz from Deep Banana Blackout, this collection of breakfast-food names should be dislodging stuck bagels from the toaster at Dewick or dishing out the scrambled eggs at Carmichael, not playing rock music at Hotung.

This, however, is no typical dining hall experience. Kellogg and Co. know a lot more about music than the scowling card-swipers and Bon Jovi-listening dish-washers of Tufts' dining halls. Kellogg's style of "classic folk rock" mixed with his propensity to put on a "comic act" promises to be "not your traditional concert," his manager, Steve Bursky, said.

Bursky emphasized that "Kellogg shows are always kind of a party," which is exactly what attracted AppleJam to the group in the first place. Explaining the choice of Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers to headline AppleJam's first show of the year, co-president Loni Carp said that their shows are "full of energy, and the guys look as though they are having so much fun when they are up on stage that you have fun as well just watching them."

AppleJam is a student organization that books creative artists for the Tufts community. The group is all about fun, and it doesn't specialize in one particular genre of music. Instead, they aim to "bring a wide variety of music that will appeal to everyone and introduce people to new music that will expand their musical collection," Carp said.

Carp hopes that the small venue of Hotung will offer concertgoers more interaction with the bands than they would have in a larger setting.

In fact, the small Tufts caf?© should be the perfect place for Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, who are growing in popularity in colleges all along the East Coast. Kellogg honed his charismatic stage presence working for local clubs in his hometown of Northampton, Mass.

The Sixers are actually a three-piece band, made up of Kellogg on guitar and vocals, Keith Karlson on bass, and Brian Factor on drums. The three cite among their influences Jim Croce, Cat Stevens, and Led Zeppelin, a bizarre mixture that makes more sense once one attends the group's eclectic shows - performance styles range from folk to "80s metal" to, "on a good night, even stand-up comedy," Bursky said.

Of course, the band is not all about wacky stage antics. Their latest album, Bulletproof Heart, is a mature and polished release. It deals with themes of loss and heartbreak so eloquently that you don't realize you're crying as you bob your head along to the catchy melodies.

One of the pieces, "Scorpio," uses clever metaphors to express distaste for fickle women. The band layers the lyrics with sophisticated piano-playing to make the song sound almost celebratory, instead of angry.

"See You Later, See You Soon," varies between gloomy lyrics like "no one understands me like the whiskey on my breath" and silly ones like "see you later alligator" in a song that laments the lost innocence that comes with growing up. This idea of shared childhood, despite its sad overtones, reinforces the idea of the friendship of the three bandmates.

The camaraderie among the members of the band (all of whom attended UMASS Amherst, though at different times) extends to the opening act. Fuzz is an old friend of Kellogg's and played guitar on one of the duo's former side projects, All Stripped Down. Fuzz may be better known for being the guitarist for funk band Deep Banana Blackout. In the spirit of friendship and friendly responsibility, Fuzz may be dragged on stage again tonight to help Kellogg out with guitar.

Though neither could predict what exactly will happen, both Carp and Bursky affirmed that it will be impossible not to have a good time at tonight's free show at 10 p.m. Even concertgoers used to moody, glowering rock stars will not be able to pass up a chance to see an old group of friends having fun on stage.

Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers will also be performing at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston on February 26th.