It's Almost Summer Already? Q101 Jamboree 1998 Fastball A Concert Review Next Up: Spacehog Or: From the Beginning	May 23, 1998 The New World Music Theatre Tinley Park, IL A Review and Photos by The Dude on the Right

I get to the World a little before the gates open, and as I look at the crowd, the perpetual thought of “getting old” comes to mind again.  What the hell am I doing here?  I’m only sporting one piercing, my jeans aren’t oversized, and I’m still grateful that it’s necessary to have a wristband to buy beer else I might be getting myself into trouble talking to some young lovelies.  But as the day went on I figured my downfall – I love music – and most any style of music.  It really takes a lot to get me to not like a band, and live I guess it just comes down to performance.  So, send me all of the hate mail you want, but I’ll warn you right now that short of what I have heard on the radio, I don’t know a lot about a lot of the bands that I saw.  Yea, I hear ya, “What kind of damn reviewer are you?  Go back to listening to your classic rock station you old fart.”  Well, “Pppfffffft” to you!   Here’s the day as I found it, as I liked it, as I sometimes didn’t like it, but mostly as I looked up waiting for rain.  But in the gleam of a partly sunny sky came the first band of the day, opening up the second stage for the early arrivals, and that band was Fastball.

My first impression of Fastball was that, well, for no better way to put it, they all looked constipated.  Up there opening they kind of had grimaces on their faces, just sort of going through the motions, not really trying to connect with the crowd.  I’m starting to worry that this was going to be a really long day, but just hoping that it was taking a little while for the band to wake up.  It was like “Come on, guys, have some fun up there,” especially since their style of rock lended itself to being a fun rock-and-roll type band.

Listening to them, rather than watching them, I sort of started to enjoy them more as they reminded me of some Springsteen, even some John Cougar, but with a little bit of an alternative edge thrown in.  But every time I looked back at the band I was waiting for a spark, and I think it was that first body-surfer that provided it.  I could almost see the band in unison look at each other and think something like “Hey, they like us!”  It was either that, or in unison they all took a dump in their pants relieving that constipation part.

In any case, they started a little talking about State Street in Chicago, and a lot more smiling and moving around, and Fastball finally got me to take notice a little more.  They didn’t have a whole hell of a long time to play, and I don’t know if they have that much material to play anyway, but they did finally seem to realize that one in the afternoon isn’t too early for a band to have some fun, and just as I’m starting to enjoy them, sadly, the one consistent part of the day began – trudging over to the other stage to get ready for the next act before the band I’m starting to like is done.

Oh well, Fastball did a pretty decent job of opening up the day, even though it took a little while for them to get going.  I’ll be looking forward to seeing them one evening when their rested, and it’s ONE THUMB UP for Fastball.
 

The Bands
The Main Stage	The Second Stage
Spacehog Ben Folds Five Creed Scott Weiland Barenaked Ladies Soul Asylum Foo Fighters	Fastball Eve 6 Harvey Danger They Might Be Giants The Specials