Fountains of Wayne

It's fair to wonder sometimes how a band that relies so heavily on the controls it can impose in a studio will transfer their sound to a live setting. Fountains Of Wayne's signature big guitar pop sound might cause that sort of worry, but fear not. In concert, the band is an incredibly reliable, fun show worth checking out any time the group is on tour.

Indeed, if radio hits like “Sink To The Bottom”, “Red Dragon Tattoo”, and the ubiquitous “Stacy's Mom” don't make it clear, Fountains Of Wayne are actually pretty gifted musicians, and that really comes into focus at their live shows.

The band's mainstays—Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood—sound as if they've been doing vocal harmonies together most of their lives, which is likely fairly true. The rest of the group is tight as a drum as well.

The setlist almost always includes the hits mentioned above, but surprisingly the biggest crowdpleasers on a given night are some lesser-known songs like “Bright Future In Sales” and “Denise”. The band's obvious gratitude and comfort with their audience is also a big part of Fountains of Wayne shows, with the group frequently dragging folks from the audience onstage to sing along or help with bits of percussion.