Yesterday I visited a place I had never been, saw something I had never seen and heard something I had never heard.

Lakeway is a community on the shore of Lake Travis, west of Austin. Basically built around a golf course, there isn't a straight piece of road in the place. Lakeway Resort is on a hillside overlooking the lake, which means you have to negotiate all the hilly, curvy streets to get there. Good thing I had a GPS with me, or I would never have found the place.

The resort is beautiful, of course. The centerpiece, and the place where the show was held, is the large three-tiered swimming pool. Imagine three long, rectangular pools stacked one on top of the other, overlooking the lake. The stage was set up between the pools and the lake, making it quite an interesting sight.

I got there fairly early; early enough to see the band setting up on the little stage next to the hot tub. The idea of Fastball playing next to the Hot Tub made me chuckle (a joke only hardcore Small Stars fans will get). As the band went through their sound check, I noticed Miles playing a few licks from "Wind Me Up." I thought that was interesting. They then ran through "Always Never" without the bass (Bruce's bass hadn't arrived yet). I also noticed that Miles and Tony were wearing swimming trunks. Sure enough, as soon as the sound check was done, they took a quick dip in the pool to cool off.

Bruce's bass arrived just in time for a quick tuning, then the band came on to start the show. By this time, the weather, which had been hot, muggy and overcast, turned into hot, muggy and rainy. Thankfully, the shower was light and brief, and didn't affect the start of the show.

By showtime, the pools were pretty crowded. I wonder if the guys had ever played in front of a couple of hundred "half-naked people" as Tony commented. Those of us not in the water were relegated to a few rows of chairs set up along the side of the stage (across from the hot tub). Surprisingly, despite the strange angle, the sound was pretty good. I was seated stage left, and since the majority of the people were toward that direction, the main speakers were pointed in my direction. Hey, I didn't complain.

This was one of the most enjoyable Fastball shows I've been to, and I wasn't even drinking. Everywhere you looked, people were relaxing, beach balls were bouncing and kids were running around. This was clearly a party atmosphere. The guys were loose and having a good time, too. But that doesn't mean the music suffered. In fact, this was one of the best played shows I've seen. Rather, it seems that they felt free to improvise more, turning some songs into all-out jams and throwing us a curve every now and then.

The first curve ball came just four songs into the set, when they launched into "Wind Me Up," with its unmistakable intro. So that's why Miles was playing it during the sound check! That was something I had never heard before. It's a tricky number, with all those time changes, and Tony did get caught once. They quickly recovered, though, and I think they did a great job on it.

Later during the show I heard bits of "I've Got A Feeling," "Electric Avenue," "Tequila" and even "Gypsies Tramps And Thieves."

Tony broke a string during "Always Never." Fortunately, he had another guitar handy, so it only took him a few minutes to get the replacement. It interrupted the flow, though, and threw Miles off for just a bit. So naturally he improvised with a whole new guitar solo. It was great. When Tony got back, they just picked up where they had left off.

Even "The Way" took on a new life, as Tony decided to prolong the silence after the first guitar solo, taking a sip of his Dos Equis while the crowd cheered. Miles started a new guitar riff, and eventually they picked up the song and finished it off.

And everywhere, it seemed, the guitar solos were longer and more interesting.

During "The Keys To Your Heart" the wind picked up, the sky grew dark, and drops started falling. By the time they had finished the song, it was pretty clear the clouds were about to burst. Sadly, the show had to end. They hurried off the stage as the crew covered up the equipment. I hauled ass to my car just in time to avoid getting soaked.

I smiled all the way home. This is why I love this band.

Fastball
August 17, 2008
Lakeway Resort & Spa
Lakeway, TX

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

01 All I Was Looking For Was You
02 Little White Lies >
03 Fire Escape
04 Wind Me Up
05 She's Got The Rain
06 You're An Ocean
07 Vampires
08 'Til I Get It Right
09 We'll Always Have Paris
10 Out Of My Head
11 Always Never
12 The Modern World
13 Don't Let Me Down
14 The Way
15 The Keys To Your Heart (The 101ers)