I’ve had a great summer of combining work with play. First it was my trip to NYC to visit The New York Times, where I was able to see Better Than Ezra, Old 97’s (twice) and the Lemonheads. This past week, I went to Boston for the annual gathering of journalism and mass communication educators, the AEJMC conference, but was lucky that many fine bands were playing during this visit as well. Arriving on Tuesday afternoon, I headed over to the Paradise Rock Club to see Fastball, who happens to be opening for 90’s spectacle Sugar Ray right now. Fastball, who is out promoting their latest Little White Lies, was tight and rocked the crowd, who sang along loud and often to their hits. Sugar Ray was entertaining, with frontman Mark McGrath enthusiastically leading the crowd in sing-a-longs as well, not only to their hits “Every Morning” and “Fly,” but also to recorded tracks of Journey, Guns N Roses… you name it. More party than concert, cheesy… yes, yet oddly compelling.
Next up, my images from the Paul McCartney show…
Fastball – Fire Escape
Fastball – Seattle
Sugar Ray – Fly
Holy smokes there is a lot of content here today – Guess I’ll grab a few beers and settle in.
Thanks for the pics and vid of Fastball, and the kind words. I still have hope that Fastball will get noticed again and get their due. What’s so wrong with catchy pop songs? The radio today seems to be filled with screaming and moaning that you can’t possibly sing along with. Give me more Fastball!
Peace,
Tim