Fountains of Wayne jammed Sunday night at the 9:30 club, bringing back the nostalgic rock sound of the early 1960s. Through catchy sing-along tunes and clever storytelling, Fountains of Wayne appears to enjoy not being taken too seriously on stage.
The band is currently wrapping a European and U.S. tour, promoting its critically lauded album, "Welcome Interstate Managers." In reference to the complex and wordy Alanis Morrisette-esque album and song titles, lead singer Chris Collingwood said during the encore, "We try to think up the most awkward names for our songs."
The four band members and an extra keyboard player whipped up a chill "No Better Place" with guitar effects and tambourines. "Barbara H" started off with a clever "Ice Ice Baby" intro, and while the guitar breaks and wakka-wakka sounds were fun, the vocals were somewhat drowned out by the lively sound of the band. The introspective ballad "Hackensack" was moving and featured good levels of harmony and falsetto.
"Hey Julie" was a fan-favorite; the whole crowd appeared to be singing along to this storyteller/folk-style song with additional percussionists.
The backup singing of band members Adam Schlesinger and Jody Porter during "Stacy's Mom" was breathy, sensual and naughty and the guitar solo was red hot. "Stacy's Mom" is perhaps the novelty song of 2003, inching past Kelis' "Milkshake" and Junior Senior's "Move Your Feet."
Enthusiasm
Immediately after the addicting guitar solos in "Mexican Wine," which the band added is the next single, Collingwood said, "for our next video we have someone even hotter than Rachel Hunter - Drew Carey."
The audience was in unison on the lyric "I'm gonna get my sh** together" for the track "Bright Future Sales," which was fast, clever and lively.
The band went on to play its first single from 1996, "Radiation Vibe." They finished up their set with the Steve Miller Band cover "Jet Airliner," and continued with a cover of ZZ Top. The band concluded with a three-song encore including "You Curse at Girls."
Some of the vocals seemed weak and not completely balanced with the live instrumentals, but overall the evening - which included opening acts Robbers on High Street and Leona Ness - was a laid-back, feel-good time.
