the review where I compared them with\u2014gulp\u2014The Beatles<\/a>\u2014the truth is that Fastball still has a bit of that vibe going, with yin-yang songwriting tandem Zuniga and Scalzo trading lead vocals while Shuffield steadies the ship with a muscular backbeat.<\/p>\nFor this live outing, captured in March 2023 at The Saxon Pub in the band\u2019s hometown of Austin, Texas, the trio is augmented by guest keyboardist Dave Schultz. While he doesn\u2019t have much to do on straight-ahead riff-rockers like \u201cFire Escape,\u201d Schultz adds valuable color and momentum on numbers like \u201cHummingbird\u201d and Scalzo\u2019s ebullient \u201cYou\u2019re An Ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n
The evening\u2019s setlist mixes and matches nicely, pairing fondly remembered album tracks like the thrummy \u201cWarm Fuzzy Feeling\u201d and the driving \u201cDamaged Goods\u201d with classic hits like \u201cOut Of My Head\u201d and a sprinkling of more recent fare. In the latter category, 2019\u2019s pulsing \u201cThe Help Machine\u201d is a standout, given a passionate reading, along with 2009 single \u201cAll I Was Looking For Was You,\u201d an earnest four-on-the-floor entreaty that disarms with sincerity. <\/p>\n
The boys, who\u2019ve always shown a keen appreciation for the classic, pull out a surprising nugget here with a ringing, pounding cover of The Doors\u2019 \u201cTouch Me.\u201d It\u2019s a fun warmup for the big finish, which starts with an energetic reading of megahit \u201cThe Way\u201d\u2014a bouncy number that\u2019s actually a ghost story\u2014complete with audience singalong. The night closes out with driving rocker \u201cSooner Or Later,\u201d a fine showcase for the entire group\u2019s slightly shaggy, ever-friendly brand of head-bobbing power-pop.<\/p>\n
Fastball is a survivor of the early 2000s alt-rock implosion that cost dozens of notable acts their record deals, but has persisted through two decades since because they can: they\u2019re terrific songwriters and, as demonstrated here, energetic and charismatic performers. Will Smashed Hits<\/i> change the world? Magic eight ball says: very doubtful. But it sure oughta get your ass out of your chair.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":34961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6028],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-46833","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-fastball","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46833"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51867,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46833\/revisions\/51867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46833"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=46833"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=46833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}