Though tickets were still available as of yesterday morning, by 10PM Webster was a sea of mostly middle-aged bodies, on hand to take in the live style of quintessential power pop gurus Fountains Of Wayne. Traffic And Weather may not be up to snuff with Fountains Of Wayne or Welcome Interstate Managers, but it does have its moments — and the band’s near perfect setlist (sadly, no “Red Dragon Tattoo”) dug catalogue-deep and aimed to please. On hand for the evening’s festivities were our everpresent indie rock celebs Albert Hammond, Jr. and the ubiquitous Iha (stop stalking us, James), and a three-man horn section whom FoW brought out to blow from “Strapped For Cash” through “Mexican Wine.” Chris’s voice was shot from some strain of illness, so Jody had us sing the hook of second encore “Bright Future In Sales.”
Actually, this was round two with FoW for us this week; we caught ‘em rock the Apple store in SoHo Friday night. Was a short set there, couple of tunes they’d repeat at Webster (“Hackensack,” “Yolanda Hayes,” “Joe Rey”) — and at both shows, a very psyched crowd. (Also, the sound system at Apple is amazing. Why did we not know this? Feel stupid for missing that Rapture show way back when.) Take the jump for more pics, setlist supplies, and vid of the crowd-enhanced “Bright Future In Sales.”
“Bright Future In Sales”
FULL SETLIST
01 “No Better Place”
02 “Denise”
03 “Barbara H.”
04 “Someone To Love”
05 “Fire In The Canyon”
06 “Hackensack”
07 “Hey Julie”
08 “Strapped For Cash”
09 “Yolanda Hayes”
10 “Mexican Wine”
11 “I-95″
12 “It Must Be Summer”
13 “Stacy’s Mom”
14 “Radiation Vibe”
—-
15 “Traffic And Weather”
16 “Joe Rey”
17 “Sink To The Bottom”
—-
18 “Bright Future In Sales”
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sadly i only know “Stacy’s mom” but wish i coulda seen iha and hammond
The Bright Future in Sales video won’t work! Youtube says that it’s private.
sorry Allison! should work now.
they’re opening for the squeeze us reunion shows
Very cool set list- I wish I could’ve been there!
TeesMyBody.com $7.99 T-Shirts
just fyi, it was a three piece horn section, and the only played from “Strapped for Cash” to “Mexican Wine”
I was pretty happy that the crowd enjoyed songs like “Radiation Vibe” and “Denise” over “Stacy’s Mom.” I still miss the rock out version of Radiation they used to play. They would go into some obscure 70s or 80s rock song during the break. I’ll never forget Chris singing “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Twilight Zone.”
Man, I forgot all about “Sink to the Bottom.” What a great song.
FYI, they also played “Traffic and Weather” to open the first encore, so make that 18 songs altogether.
WTF. People listen to this band!? Stereogum, what has happened to you lately?!
Hey Stereogum, I hear Pink is going on tour this summer. Be sure to run a full feature on it, complete with a half dozen photos and a YouTube link. Also, make sure one of the photos is of the setlist, because we can’t just take your word for it.
hahhahahahaha lame
dude who just commented on pink (timberwolf)…
do you know anything about songwriting? fountains of wayne do it far better than most ‘pop’ groups putting out records. also, they have an ethic behind their pop aesthetic that pink doesn’t really seem to have.
also, your sarcasm not only falls short of being effective, but nonetheless, it is an open forum and people are bound to be assholes.
congratulations!
more pics of both Fountains and Robbers on Fresh Bread
Who are you, Paul McCartney? Fountains of Wayne is not good pop songwriting. Go back to the suburban shopping mall with this bullshit. The lead singer of this band looks like Art Alexakis’s metrosexual little brother.
And by the way, putting an exclamation point at the end of a sentence doesn’t make it good sarcasm either, you homo! (See!)
timberwolf,
your crap pop music references are ridiculous.
and the fact that you said ‘homo’ makes me believe that you rely on techniques of degradation that belittle those who may not think, feel, and act exactly as you do.
and, yes, i am paul mccartney.
so, why aren’t fountains of wayne good pop songwriters? let’s open this discussion up, because i’ll be the first to admit that their level of relevance to the ‘indie’ scene has fallen a bit as they get older, they retain the pop sound that is meant to retain a certain convention in order to hook listeners in.
if anyone agrees with timberwolf (great name, by the way) why? if anyone agrees with me, why?
Adam Schlesinger is one of the great power pop songwriters of our time. FOW are nothing like Pink. People who think this is fluff probably discovered them with “Stacy’s Mom,” which granted is not their best song, but that chorus is pretty undeniable. Dig a little deeper.
Hey Timberwolf, how exactly does the lead singer’s appearance factor into his ability to create great pop music? Apparently you place more value on physical traits. Kind of like singers who name themselves after the color of their hair. Best stick with judging people’s looks rather than trying to identify great musical compositions.
FoW are basically the best power-pop band out there, with undeniable songwriting skills. Comparing them to Pink is totes ridic, as is the Everclear ref. With musical touchstones like that, though, I’m not surprised the dude doesn’t get it.
That said, the new album kind of eats it.
What a great show that was. Too bad they only played for 70 minutes. There were a bunch of songs I wish they would have played. Hopefully they come back again soon
“totes ridic”
Hilarious. Did you learn that phrase at your high school cheerleading practice or your sorority meeting?
I was just wondering if you all have heard the song “Stacy’s Mom.” If you have, and you like it, maybe you’re a complete dipshit. Again, just maybe. I don’t know you, but you may want to consider it. Either that or you’re 35 and are still impressed with James Iha.
When Collingwood is hoarse, he sounds just like “Weird” Al Yankovic.
That is NOT a bad thing, motherfuckers.
It was a great show! Thank you for preserving it for posterity.
lol w/e