San Antonio really is lame. Yes, I live here, and believe me I wish it weren't true. That's why I spend so much time in Austin. I'm not making excuses for my fellow San Antonians. But it does explain a lot about last night's Fastball show at The White Rabbit.

The whole idea of Fastball playing a show at The White Rabbit seemed a bit incongruous. The White Rabbit used to be a haven for up-and-coming indie rock bands but over the last several years it's become a hangout for young punk metalheads. The bands that play there are usually second-rate local metal bands. Still, I did see Spoon there a couple of years ago, so they occasionally have good music.

The night began strangely when, as Nese and I approached the gate, a guy standing outside asked us, almost in a whisper, if we had a pack of Camel Cigarettes. Were we supposed to know a secret password or something? We, of course, said "no" and he directed us to the ticket booth. Once in the courtyard, there were Camel Cigarette ads and booths set up all around. Turns out the concert was sponsored by Camel. Who knew?

We got there late enough that we missed the first opening band, and only had to endure half of the second one's set. The third opener was actually not terrible. Still, I was glad I had earplugs on me (and an extra set for Miles when he walked in).

Fastball came on stage around 11:15, as Led Zeppelin's "In The Light" played on the PA. As the overhead music faded, Bruce went right into the bass intro to "Little White Lies." The sound was boomy and bassy, as might be expected from a place like The White Rabbit. Still, the sound guy did a great job of balancing things out. From there they went straight into "Fire Escape," which brought a round of applause from the audience once they recognized the song. The rest of the set was a nice mix of old hits and new songs. Highlights were a rousing rendition of "She's Got The Rain," a great guitar duo on "Don't Give Up On Me," and really great versions of "Always Never" and "Mono To Stereo." I really like those two new songs.

I sound like a broken record here, but I can't say enough about Bruce Hughes' contribution to this band. His bass playing is impeccable and his vocals are amazing. Sometimes he just fills out the sound, and other times he expands it and enhances it. He has truly been a great addition.

This show was definitely one of the more interesting Fastball shows I've seen. There was more improvisation and ad libbing from the band than usual. "The Modern World" started with Miles on vocals solo for the first verse, Tony joining in on the second. Even "The Way" was given a new twist with an extended guitar intro. It's always interesting to see the crowd reaction when they start playing this one. It usually takes them a while to realize what it is; as recognition sets in, people suddenly start clapping and cheering. In this case, one couple even started dancing in the middle of the floor.

Near the end of the set, Miles announced that he really didn't feel like putting his guitar down, going off stage and then coming back to do an encore. Instead, they would assume we wanted an encore and just play through. The pseudo-encore started with "Soul Radio," which sounded really good. The set list showed "Get Yourself Together" and "Crawling From The Wreckage" after that, but some kid came up to the stage and requested "Freebird." Miles refused to play it, but much to everybody's surprise, instead launched into Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark." The rest of the band followed suit and they pulled it off. It actually sounded great. Afterwards, Miles told me had had heard the song on the way down to SA and, although he loves the song, he hates the arrangement, and had always wanted to do it himself.

So, why was it lame? First off, the crowd was rather small. A small crowd can still be a good crowd, but San Antonio crowds are notoriously quiet and unresponsive. With the exception of a few die-hard fans, who were up against the stage, dancing and clearly enjoying themselves, most of those present were standing around or wandering in and out of the place. It's a shame, really. It's hard enough to get good music in San Antonio. When we do get a kick-ass band like Fastball to come do a show, and they get the reception they do, it further cements our reputation as a musical dead zone. It's not very likely Fastball will be playing The White Rabbit again any time soon.

Oh, well. At least Austin is only 80 miles away.

Fastball
June 27, 2008
The White Rabbit
San Antonio

Tony Scalzo - Vocals, guitar
Miles Zuniga - Vocals, guitar
Joey Shuffield - Drums
Bruce Hughes - Bass, vocals

01 intro (In The Light recording)
02 Little White Lies >
03 Fire Escape
04 She's Got The Rain
05 You're An Ocean
06 Vampires
07 Rampart Street
08 All I Was Looking For Was You
09 Out Of My Head
10 Lou-ee Lou-ee
11 Don't Give Up On Me
12 The Modern World
13 Always Never
14 'Til I Get It Right
15 The Way
16 Mono To Stereo
17 White Noise
[pseudo-encore]
18 Soul Radio
19 Dancing In The Dark (Bruce Springsteen)