SXSW: Fastball at Aces

Granted, Fastball are a local act, but the audience is jazzed to see them all the same. And why not? There's a tendency to use SXSW as a launching pad for all the new exciting things you'll be listening to in the hot summer funtime.

If Fastball's opening number is any indication of the comeback they're hoping to make, then they're certainly going to do it with gusto, Thin Lizzy guitar solos and all. They bring with them to the stage a certain sense of professionalism as evidenced their use of the most effective opening number and the minutes spent tuning beforehand.

Tellingly, they slink into their second song with a little more swagger and a little less force. Due to sound problems, they've had to abandon any use of their keyboard and relegated it as a prop leaning against the wall in the background. Still, one wonders what sort of sublime beauty is going to be missed as a result during the quieter moments.

As a resounding answer, they begin to play "Out of My Head," probably their second biggest single. Keyboard or no, they are determined not to be stopped as the lead guitarist pulls off a sweltering solo. Having dispenced all keyboard doubts, they roll right on into funkier territory as they play their next song with just a hint of cheekiness. They may be the band with the worst haircuts, but tonight they are owning the moment as they slip from song to song, sometimes even seguing from one to the next.

Placed on a stage with a bar between them and the audience, the band takes a moment to chat up the bartenders and lose all momentum. Theis seems to work for them, however, as the next song smolders a little before taking off into their more familiar uptempo Fastball territory. Once familiar footing is achieved, they take it back to really familiar territory.

Opening the next song, the drummer fidgets with his kit as the technical difficulties are not quite finished for the evening. The lead guitarist, decked out in his leather jacket and some really nice spats, takes the moment to connect with the audience as he strums the opening chords of their once ubiquitous single, "The Way." All this despite the rest of the band's concerns over how much time they have left. With just this last song to go, they start out harmoniously before shifting from crunchy power chords to ambient solo time. Teasing out the end of the song for all they can, they end as they began: taking the moment for all its worth without excess.