The Click Five und Fastball

Energetic. Captivating. Inspiring. These are just three words that could be used to describe a live performance from The Click Five. Starting as a college band playing at nearby venues, the boys soon found themselves recording demos and touring locally when they caught the eye of a talent scout. In 2005, the band released their debut album, not knowing that this would be the first of three albums they would see materialise within the next five years. Their most successful single, “Just The Girl”, was featured in the well-known movie “John Tucker Must Die”, starring Brittany Snow and Sophia Bush, and maintained its spot as the No. 1 most-downloaded song on iTunes for over two weeks. Standing in a crowd of screaming fans, the first thing to catch the attention of any viewer’s eye is their smart suit and tie ensemble, complete with matching mop-top haircuts. But this sharp visual image is quickly altered when Kyle Patrick races to the front of the stage, throwing himself into a vigorous guitar solo, while Joey Zehr strikes his drum kit and flips his hair like there’s no tomorrow. I felt my stomach spin with excitement as the wave of fans I was now a part of rose and fell with the band as they jumped to the blaring beat of “Jenny”. As the night ended and they gave one last strum of their guitars and a wave goodbye, I stood for a moment, taking in the thrilling atmosphere and knowing there weren’t many artists that could match a night like that.

Fastball has been steadily touring for their entire career, riding on the seemingly endless high from 1998 when 'All the Pain Money Can Buy' went platinum. They've played venues large and small and seem to have finally hit their middle ground in the last several years. I had the chance to catch Tony Scalzo and the band a few years ago at a hole in the wall venue in St. Louis called Two Cents Plain (now The Crack Fox). I wasn't sure what to expect from the show, and was only moderately familiar with a few of their pop-charts songs like 'The Way' and 'Fire Escape.'

I was blown away with the professionalism and quality these guys continue to put out in their live sets. The crowd was full, but not uncomfortable, and there was a definite feel of nostalgia in the air for the guys that had, arguably, one of the biggest hits of the late 90's with 'The Way.' The band was really upbeat, and you can tell in the way they perform and interact with the crowd that they still love what they do, and haven't lost any of the passion that got them to the big time.

This is a fantastic, laid-back show for anyone who wants to knock back a couple of beers and hear some good alternative-rock, and get taken back to the hey-day of the alternative/pop scene.