Yep - to my knowledge, that’s exactly where they got their name. They thought is was funny and surreal sounding and somewhat surprised when people wondered if there was a (homo)sexual connotation intended - to my knowledge they had no such intent.
And saramamlana - we expect a full report - I hear they are great live.
Damn! I didn’t know people thought there was a (homo)sexual connotation. Some people just see sex everywhere they look, don’t they?
FOW, the store, was used a few times as a location on The Sopranos. Someone associated with the show was a fan of the band and aware of the store. The setting was right for the show, so what the hey…
Anyone familiar with the Candyskins? A nice UK band that never really went anywhere. I see a lot of similarities between FOW and the 'skins on some songs. Particularly “No Better Place,” "Little Red Light, and “Bought for a Song.” Are FOW and the Candyskins under a common influence, or is FOW a fan of the 'skins? Just curious…
Woooo!!! I had such a good time! This was my first time seeing FOW, and I’d never have really thought of them as a band to rock out to until tonight.
Ben Lee opened (no, we didn’t see Claire Danes), and he is adorable! Looks like a hobbit! He introduced one song by saying it was like a prom song, and he wanted a couple to come and slow dance on stage with him. This boy and girl who were about 16 got on stage and danced and it was so cute, and at the end of the song Ben gave them a really big (and kinda long) hug. I will now seek out more music by Ben Lee, he was fun on a stick and has a charming Australian accent. w00t.
And now FOW! I didn’t even really know what they looked like…but the lead singer looks like David Hyde Pierce sorta. And the guitarist on the left side of the stage looked like Angus Young of AC/DC. Good times. DHP lookalike hung a baboon doll from his microphone, which the bassist called ‘Vidal Baboon.’ They played a lot of new stuff and old songs that I didn’t know, but the ones they played that I did know were Denise (we were gonna have a fit if it didn’t get played, and it was 3rd), Hat and Feet, Radiation Vibe, Troubled Times, Leave the Biker, Red Dragon Tattoo, Sink to the Bottom, Go Hippy (the closing number). The new songs they played that I recall the names of were Mexican Wine, Hackensack, and Stacy’s Mom.
COOL: getting a spot pretty close to the stage
NOT COOL: paying $8 for a tiny midori sour
Questions? Comments?
Thanks for the report Saramamlana - I am jealous that you got to go.
Did the play the songs as on the CD, or did they modify them by stretching them out longer, changing the arrangements, introducing different stuff, etc.?
Did it sound like the CD - were they artistically strong enough and the sound system good enough to capture the CD’s sound?
Did they play “A Bright Future in Sales” the rockin’ second track on their new album? It seems like it would be amazing live. How about “Hey Julie” the one that starts like it is a combination of “Get Back Jack, Do it Again” by Steeley Dan and “Me n’ Julio Down by the Schoolyard”?
Any patter from Chris Collingsworth - the DHP-looking singer? How did he come across - smart? funny? Zero Charisma?
Give us more info!
When Blink 182 guest programmed a video show here, they played Wembley. I thought it was alright.
saramamlana: Yeah Ben Lee’s pretty cool. Try and get some of the stuff he did with Ben Kweller and Ben Folds udner the name the Three Bens. Really good stuff.
Oh my! So many questions!
Every song sounded just as it was on the albums, that was cool. They didn’t really stretch or modify any songs except for ‘Go Hippy.’ It was the closing number and they just kept going on and on, going off the stage one by one (till it was just bassist and drummer). That was pretty cool.
I don’t think “Hey Julie” was played, and “Bright Future in Sales” might’ve been played but I’d have to hear it again to know (since I don’t yet have the new album).
Chris Collingsworth is simply adorable. He of course commented that it was good to be back in NY. He held up a little hand-held video camera and had us all say “hi, Shirl!” to his mom, afterwards saying “that was so cool!” There was some song they were about to do (I forget which) where he was futzing with switches or something before it, while the rest of the band kept repeating the intro bars, and Chris comes on the mic and goes “that’s our old hit, ‘tuning.’” He was charming, definitely.
Any other questions?
blink blink AND I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THIS?!? Ben Folds owns me. I’m on it!!
You may have to try… alternate means of obtaining these tracks. As far as I know, they were only available on an ep sold on the Three Bens tour.
Picked the CD up yesterday. Great stuff!
FoW has always been great at empathizing with the common cube-dweller. “Hey Julie” is so real-sounding it had my wife looking in the CD cover to see if his wife’s name is actually Julie. I told her I didn’t know if it is, but obviously the song isn’t autobiographical anyway because he doesn’t have a desk job. She replied, “Oh yeah, I guess not.” 
That’s the sign of a well-written song in my opinion.
saramamlana - thanks for the update; wish I could’ve gone.
slacker - a couple of points:
I couldn’t agree more about “Hey Julie” - even the name they (Adam and Chris are the songwriters, IIRC) - Julie works in the rhyme scheme - “Hey Julie, look what they’re doin’ to me” and the name is a very New Jersey-sounding name (I do NOT mean that in a negative or positive way, just that I know a lot of Cathy’s, Lori’s and Julie’s from NJ).
I haven’t done a lot of research, but I do think that FoW kind of dropped out of music for a bit after Utopia Parkway and one or more of them may have had cubical-type jobs. But I am not sure - either way, their ability to capture what it feels like to be in that type of job is amazing. Kind of like a more thoughtful, less-comical version of Dilbert.
Word, WordMan. “Hey Julie” is definitely one of their best.
Of course, no discussion about FoW and the plight of the cube-dweller would be complete without mentioning “Sick Day” off of their first album. I grew up on a steady diet of the Smiths and Morrissey, and I think that song is almost too depressing even for me.
Back to the newest album - I love “Stacy’s Mom.” I told the wife if we have one I want to name our daughter Stacy now. 
The real Fountains of Wayne store was also featured in the Another Toothpick episode of The Sopranos from season 3. Charles Dutton played a local cop who gave Tony a speeding ticket. He gets him fired from the job, and at the end of the episode, Tony awkwardly bought a fountain from him at the store.
yes, but no. I like both FoW and Odds, but I don’t really think FoW sound like anyone. Odds sound more like Costello/Squeeze/Jangle pop, whereas FoW sound …well, unique.
But now that I think about it, I had to pick a band FoW sounded like it would be the Odds. But its sort of like saying New Order sounds like Depeche Mode…the only reason they do is because they’re so much more different than everyone else, if that makes sense.
FOW will be on Letterman Monday.
Continuing the hijack, might I suggest www.the-bens.com. All kinds of neat info about the tour, along with recordings from some of the shows.
From their web site:
The Fountains appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman has been rescheduled for July 30th, check local listings for details.
The video for “Stacy’s Mom” is pretty damn hot. Plus the song is very catchy, though a bit reminiscent of something (it could just be another of their albums, so that’s ok). So maybe they’ll break through this time…
(And the other new video last week was from Guster, so that rocks.)
Wouldnt you know , the universe has conspired to make me wrong, yet, again. There are plenty of tracks on WIM that sound a lot like the Odds…it seems like they changed their style merely to make me wrong 
In any event, it is probably better than their eponymous album, but slightly worse than Utopia Parkway. It doesnt have any tracks I want to skip yet, like on the other 2, yet doesnt have the standout songs like on Utopia.
Saw them live in Minneapolis last week. Great show, sounds like it was the same set list. Bright Future in Sales was played in the middle of the set. Chris said the song was about what he was doing 6 months ago. Then Adam chimed in that Chris had won Temp-of-the-Month for two straight months last winter.
Bump!
OK, it’s been a while, but I got it off Amazon in the end - all the Dublin CD shops were being useless. Anyway, here’s my take.
First listen: some really good tunes, and a bit of dross. Slightly disappointed.
Second listen: those tunes are really catchy, aren’t they, and the lyrics are fantastic.
Third listen: I’m having problems knowing which amazingly memorable riff to hum. And the poignancy and simplicity of the lyrics is getting to me.
Fourth listen: I seem to know all the tunes and half of the words of the songs already. And I love it.
Not only that, but mrs jjimm, who has a diametrically opposed musical taste to me, can’t get enough of it either. She even buttonholed friends of ours last night and forced them to listen to it.
It’s not my favourite album of all time, but it’s bloody good, and now I’m going to buy their entire back-catalog. I love the breadth of style pastiches, and the emotion conveyed simply and effectively in very prosaic subjects.
Recommended.