Five Eight which play Crowbar in Ybor City, Florida on May 9, 2025.
The miracle of Five Eight goes beyond the ebullient smile and live show Mike Mantione brings to the stage; it’s a wonder that the band is even still around.

Drug addiction, mental health and stints in and out of psych wards nearly derailed the Athens, Georgia power-pop favorite, but it remains standing. A new documentary by Marc Pilvinsky (“Weirdo: The Story of Five Eight”) captures the journey, and will screen as a part of this Tampa concert, and post-film Q&A.

The movie, according to our sibling publication Orlando Weekly, “is an encyclopedic documentary that charts the trajectory of the band from impish loud fast rules thrashers to the august artists they are now.”

Fresh off a new single, “Take Me To The Skate Park,” expect Five Eight—whose members remain best friends despite all the turmoil—to lean heavily on a forthcoming new album, Help A Sinner, already in the can and looking for a label home.

Tickets to see Five Eight at Crowbar in Ybor City on Friday, May 9 (Five Nine) are still available at $16.

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Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...