Fountains of Wayne’s free mini-show at NYC’s Apple Store Soho last Friday was billed as an "acoustic set," but that didn’t stop three out of the band’s four members from plugging in their amps. "This is what we call playing acoustic: We have one acoustic instrument," bassist/songwriter Adam Schlesinger deadpanned with a gesture toward lead singer/songwriter Chris Collingwood’s guitar.
Oh well. It was a great show anyway. True to the acoustic spirit, at least, the setlist leaned heavily on Fountains’ softer material — no "Stacy’s Mom" power chords to be heard. Transitioning from the Nashville twang of "Fire in the Canyon" to the sublime Beatle-isms of "Yolanda Hayes," from the heartbroken "Hackensack" to the irrepressible "Red Dragon Tattoo," the band took us on a quick shuffle through their catalog’s strummier moments, plus a healthy helping of Schlesinger and Collingwood’s between-tune bons mots.
Another band might have felt uncomfortable playing in such an obviously branded space, but Fountains didn’t seem to mind; in fact, the Apple trademarks peeking out from every inch of the venue made an apt backdrop for their songs’ constellation of consumer-culture references. Others have criticized the Apple Store for its "antiseptic" feel, but on Friday night that felt just right — as if all 150 of us in the audience had crowded into the world’s biggest iPod to hear a very special playlist.
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Another journalist might have felt uncomfortable disguising a commercial puff as a concert review….
I was there, too! You forgot to mention the annoying 12 and under crowd sitting in the row in front of me AND the mega-FoW grandmother fan. Interesting bunch of people there. The show was good, but my boyfriend and I wished they had played longer. We were seriously expecting it to be a full-hour set. Instead, we got about 20 minutes. Understandable, though, as Chris’s voice sounded a little squeaky. Some lozenges were in need.
I was there also, and it was a great 25 minutes/8 songs. Anyone go tonight to Webster Hall?
Ang, I don’t mind that this was a puff piece, because this group should be HUGE (If I could make the text bigger here, I would). Everyone out there, go to your CD store, or to your favorite online outlet and get yourself a copy of “Traffic and Weather”. It’s a really fun time. And while you’re at it, get a copy of “Welcome Interstate Managers”, one of the best albums of the last five years. You’ll find new stuff to like about it for about a year, and it should inspire you to go out and get the other albums. Buy it now, thank me later.
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i think that stacy’s mom is an awesome song
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