Wow. I couldn't believe it when I checked out the Fountains of Wayne website and saw they were touring. I knew I had to find a way to get to one of the shows. I called a few friends up and we decided to make the 2 hour trek to Peabody's in Cleveland to see them. I was so psyched about seeing FOW that I really didn't think much about the opening band. I did check out the OK Go website before the show and tried to watch the video, but it was too slow so I stopped. I was blown away by their show. They had such a high level of energy without being too stupid. Damian reminds me of a more in control Craig Nicholls from The Vines. The whole band was exciting to watch, whether it was Tim singing falsetto while wailing on the bass or touring keyboard/tambourine-guy Burleigh dancing around, there was always something interesting going on. By the way, my friends and I were about four people from the stage for OK Go's set. They had a great mix of rocking out, interesting witty lyrics, and bandly banter. They did what every opening band should do: make you want to go out and buy their CD and want to see them again live.
FOW is one of my favorite current bands, so I was stoked as hell when I found out they were touring. As I said earlier, we drove all the way to Cleveland (from the Columbus area) to see them. After OK Go finished up, some people moved around and we ended up being one person from the stage. I could have literally reached up and touched Chris. It was amazing. Actually, I wouldn't have been able to touch him because he's a very tall man. Their set blew me away. It had all the songs I wanted to hear "Leave the Biker" (my personal favorite), "Utopia Parkway," and "Denise." The only song I really wish they would have played and didn't was "Lazer Show," but I was by no means disapointed. They played three or four songs from their upcoming album that sounded great. Two songs that stood out were "Bright Future in Sales" and "Stacy's Mom Has Got It Goin On." Usually I don't like it when a band plays songs that I haven't heard yet, but it was different this time. The songs were so good they made me want to go out and buy the album. They closed the show with "Sink to the Bottom" (I think). Right after they left one of my friends reached up and took three pics from the pic holder on the microphone. Do I feel bad about this? Nope. I've got a FOW pic, even if Chris didn't use it, it's still cool. By the way, Jody looks like a true rock star, a combination of Keith Richards and Jimmy Page. As a whole the band was tight and performed amazingly. They didn't quite have the energy of OK Go, but their music is also a lot more mellow. This very well could have been my all time favorite concert.
My Fountains of Wanye and OK Go Pics
