Fountains of Wayne brings quirky power pop to the Cradle

All photos by Kevin Norris

Indie pop mainstays Fountains of Wayne rolled into the Triangle Saturday night for the first time in many years to warm up a large crowd of both very young and fairly old with their clever, catchy tunes.

Things got off to a rough start as the band had technical problems right away, and instead of stopping to fix things before starting, they butchered "I've Got a Flair." After the problem was fixed, the show quickly turned around as they rocked through some songs from their catalog including the dancey "Someone To Love" and the punky "Denise."

The band's latest album Sky Full of Holes was released by Haw River-based Yep Roc Records, which we likely have to thank for the band finally coming to the Triangle. The middle of the set featured a number of fantastic songs from the album, including the fantastic story song "Richie and Ruben."

Some audience members were invited on stage to play percussion during the catchy campfire tune "Hey Julie." The song received a warm reception from the crowd who vigorously sang along during the choruses.

After an acoustic break in the middle of set, the back closed things out fully electrified, with the classics "Red Dragon Tattoo," "Mexican Wine" and "Radiation Vibe." The latter included a classic rock jam session in the middle which included well played bits of Paul McCartney's "Jet," Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like We Do" and ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man."

After a short break the band returned for a five song encore which started out with the mellower tunes "I-95" and "Cemetery Guns" as well as a loungey version of the band's pop hit "Stacy's Mom." Some fans didn't appreciate the tame version of the song, but it was a nice take on a song the band would likely rather drop from the set all together.

They picked things up as they closed with two songs from their 1996 debut, "Survival Car" and "Sink To the Bottom." While frontman Chris Collingwood comes off as a bit of a curmudgeon on stage, the band put on great show (minus the opening song). Hopefully, they'll make the Triangle a regular stop on their tours from now on.

Carrboro's The Stars Explode opened the show with a fantastic set of pop rock tunes, mostly from their brand new album Between the Lines. The set also included a cover of Badfinger's "Baby Blue" which they dedicated to Fountains of Wayne.

Setlist
I've Got a Flair
Bought For a Song
Someone To Love
Denise
No Better Place
The Summer Place
Richie and Ruben
Valley Winter Song
A Road Song
Hey Julie
A Dip in the Ocean
Red Dragon Tattoo
Mexican Wine
Radiation Vibe (w/ classic rock medley)
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I-95
Cemetery Guns
Stacy's Mom
Survival Car
Sink To the Bottom

Fountains of Wayne






The Stars Explode