FoW roll call

Originally posted by Rob_Gee_a.k.a _Guiny:
Actually i didnt think the response for "Stacys Mom" was as loud as at least four of their other songs, cant tell you which songs cause i didnt know one song by them.

It's true – I was astounded at the crowd's singing along to about four "Welcome Interstate Manager" album cuts - "Hey Julie" and "Hackensack" being two of them. I was on the second level, and folks all around me – young and old – were singing all the lyrics.

It's interesting, having seen FoW five times, how they vary in their energy and 'commitment' to a particular show. I thought this one was right in the middle. One show for "Utopia Parkway" at the 9:30 was phenomenal, and their last show (the second of three supporting "Welcome….") was really good. A guy who was with me saw them in Seattle a couple months ago and said they were absolutely on fire.

I enjoyed the cheesy medley too, though they do it at every show (still, how can you not love a little slip into Foreigner and Steve Miller…).

Way worth the $15 ticket price, though.

Oh, c'mon. How is "stacey's mom" any less cheesy than anything Steve Miller or Foreigner ever did?

Originally posted by Bags:
I enjoyed the cheesy medley too, though they do it at every show (still, how can you not love a little slip into Foreigner and Steve Miller…).
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Don't forget ZZ Top.

It was an excellent show.

Leona Ness was "OK" but she was better than Badly Drawn Boy when I had to walk out on him, so those who saw her open up for BDB earlier last year, at least got something for their bucks.

FOW were *en fuego*… I knew about half the songs, mostly the new album, but all of it was accesible. Crowd as definitely all ages. Club probably made no money on booze. Everyone buy an extra drink at the next show.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, leaving the show there was a woman passing out flyers for the DADA show at the state theater 3/13. I remembered seeing her at the last Dada show… they are kinda similar to FOW with the poppy harmonies and goofy lyrics, but more musically talented and much deeper. Recommended if you liked FOW.

FYI, I also noticed at this show how many of their songs start out, in the first couple of bars, sounding like Simon & Garfunkel songs. Maybe it's because I saw S&G at MCI, but it was pretty uncanny sometimes (but just for a sec…).

Washington Post, Feb 24

Fountains of Wayne

Giving voice to office park peons and wanderlusting travel agents, the suburban explorers of Fountains of Wayne charmed a sold-out 9:30 club Sunday with their power-pop tales about hope and helplessness out where the Wal-Marts grow.

Led by frontman Chris Collingwood and bassist Adam Schlesinger, the New Jersey quartet (plus a keyboardist for the show) packed 19 songs into a 75-minute set, and each blissfully hooked-out number, shimmering with Beach Boys harmonies and arena-sweet guitar breaks, sounded like a hit. FOW might rib the little man as well as root for him – see the rockin', razzin' "Bright Future in Sales" – but they always give even the lowliest temp reason to smile.

Dipping generously into its three deliriously catchy albums – including newest prize "Welcome Interstate Managers" – the band sha-la-la'd through such jangly crowd faves as "I've Got a Flair," "Red Dragon Tattoo" and "No Better Place." The Simon and Garfunkelesque "Hey Julie" turned into a clock-puncher's singalong: "Working all day for a mean little man / With a clip-on tie and a rub-on tan."

MTV staple and Grammy nominee "Stacy's Mom" was given swaggery edge by oft-mugging guitarist Jody Porter. And lest anyone think these guys don't know of what they speak, they extended a take of "Radiation Vibe" with snippets of Foreigner's "Double Vision," Kansas's "Carry on Wayward Son," Steve Miller Band's "Jet Airliner," and ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" – admitting that they, too, have spent a lot of time aimlessly cruising from one 7-Eleven to the next and drowning out the monotony with vitally uncool classic rock.

– Sean Daly

And for you, Balls (sounds like a nice show…):

Mary Lou Lord

"I'm used to playing in the subway," Mary Lou Lord said with a grin from Iota's stage on Sunday night. "Or anyplace else I'm welcome." While she got her start as a solo busker in the Boston T system, Lord has since grown comfortable playing with a full band. At Iota she was joined by members of New York's Gingersol, who opened the show with a harmony-packed set reminiscent of the Gin Blossoms.

Lord's set began and ended solo, her folky soprano accompanying her acoustic guitar, which resisted nearly every retuning attempt. Lord filled the empty spaces with self-deprecating banter, consistently charming the crowd amid shouted requests before she played her first chord.

About a third of her 90-minute set previewed songs from her upcoming album, "Baby Blue," most of which was written by longtime collaborator Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond. Lord is known for playing other people's songs, and most of her set consisted of covers (ranging from Irish rockers the Pogues to indie-rock superstars Guided by Voices). Because she's so successful at selecting and interpreting the songs of others to fit her own life, these meshed smoothly with the few originals she played.

Although most of the set was upbeat, Lord got a little misty-eyed when talking about her friend Elliott Smith, who died late last year. Years ago, they had played on the street during the South by Southwest festival in Austin, surrounded by friends from the Kill Rock Stars label, which gave them their start. She dedicated to Smith's memory a tearful version of Bob Dylan's "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go," a well-chosen end to a night of perfectly selected songs.

– Catherine P. Lewis