Lucky number five.

October 9, 2017.

Club Cafe, Pittsburgh, October 5.
I always take a selfie in front of the stage.

  I got to see Fastball five times this year. FIVE times. What can I say? I fell in love really effin' hard and fast. The band is the soundtrack of my year, and I love sharing this with friends, family, and anyone who is willing to take it all in with me. Now I'm completely crashing from this rush of passion, excitement, thrill, and pure bliss. There are no remaining tour dates, and I'm left to reminisce and reflect on the intimate three shows I attended the second half of the year, two shows within the past four days.

  The last show is a close tie to being the best show this year. I convinced my dad to go out on a Sunday night with me because I try quite hard to impress him, and I knew that he'd get more than he expected with Fastball's live performance. I got him hooked on Colin, and now he's getting reeled in with Fastball. He knew the hits before me, obviously, but he had never seen the band live. I was on a mission to get him to the show and to experience the absolute brilliance that is the "rock & roll pop harmonic thrill seekers" I'm deeply passionate about.

  He. Was. Stunned. Completely in awe and impressed; his words, I swear: "I'm impressed!" He was so excited, he was already asking when the next show in Chicago will be. He even enjoyed all the new songs from "Step Into Light." I win. :)

  Tony's masterpiece below is fantastic, which oddly reminds me of my dad because he's not too pretty once you reach the nitty gritty, plus because of a few other bits.



  This year has been a fantastic year for music, and getting the chance to share it with new and old friends and family makes life so much better. And, it's not even over yet! I'm traveling to DC for a Colin show with my cousin, possibly going to a fifth show the following weekend. My friend is taking me to her favorite artist, Josh Ritter. I'm praying for Vertical Horizon tour dates to appear and also wishing Gin Blossoms books a show in the Midwest for the "New Miserable Experience" tour. (VH and GB have new albums to release soon!)

  It's been an even better year that I got to find a new band to add to my list of favorites. Not only does Fastball have an array of enjoyable tunes, other songs make me go beyond the surface and challenge my own creative writing to be more concise and to have a more diverse vocabulary. Beyond that, Miles, Tony, and Joey are downright talented playing their respective instruments. Watching that part of the show alone is enjoyable and jaw-dropping. I may seem obnoxious and over-excited; my anxiety makes me think others are judging me or are thinking I'm doing it for attention. That's not my intention at all. I've given up on hiding who I am, for the most part.

City Winery Chicago, October 8.

  I've been a little down and teary-eyed because I don't know when I'll see the Fastball gang again (and I won't see my dad until Christmas; that's probably the actual reason), but I'm grateful the band toured heavily this year so I could attend as many shows as I did. I leave you with one of my favorite songs played a City Winery Chicago, which was not originally on the setlist. I gasped so loud when Miles responded to the request with a yes. :)