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| From | Jocelyn Geboy <smussyolay@yahoo.com> |
| Subject | Re: American Hi-Fi VS Fountains of Wayne |
| Date | Wed, 10 Sep 2003 13:26:04 -0700 (PDT) |
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~~~i promised myself i'd write this before i read
anyone else's replies.
rick, i saw FOW on tour, too. i think i posted my
pseudo-review. i don't know if i said it, but at
several points, i seriously considered yelling out,
"could you guys consider cracking a smile?" and then
afterward mike bennett says, "man, they were having
the most fun i've ever seen them have!" oookay!?!?
and to be honest, the reason i didn't yell it out, was
that i was standing front and center (ben lee had me
hold his lyrics for 'surrender') and i thought, if
chris doesn't find this funny, i will shrivel up and
die from the glare i will get.
saying that, however...
i just don't know that i ever would expect them to
sign autographs or work their own merch. it's not
like they are playing small small clubs at this point.
i don't know that that's necessarily part of the
deal. that most certainly would be an incredible
bonus. but unless a performer is playing a very small
club (schuba's for those familiar with chicago), i
just can't even remotely go there. even with a club
attached to a bar, i think, well, maybe if i can
approach them if they leave the stage, i can get an
autograph. but, i guess i don't expect an autograph
signing session, per se. even if they are the
friendliest band in the world on stage.
case in point: rhett miller. he is really personable
on stage. but, at the show he played at the abbey, he
wasn't sticking around to sign autographs, in fact, it
was pretty much out to the bus for him. now, i *had*
brought my copy of catcher in the rye for him to sign,
and sort of sidled up to him and asked him if he'd
sign it. he was gracious and caught the 'rollerskate
skinny' reference. but, it wasn't like he was
entertaining tens of fans.
it also seems like you drive a shitload of hours to
see FOW... did you drive as far to see american hi-fi?
curious if that made a difference.
as far as disliking or liking a band based on their
stage/real life persona/demeanor, i have to say... for
me, it depends on how extreme it would be. mostly, i
try to separate the music from the person. of course,
i wish FOW was more 'into' the performance and the
fans. but, i just LOVE their music and all three
records. it doesn't really detract. does the fact
that the members of frisbie genuinely like their
audience and talk with their fans help give a new
nuance to their music (i.e., help me feel like i have
a sense of where the music comes from)?? of course it
does. and that's all the better. but, if they all
told me to fuck off tomorrow, it wouldn't change how
much i love all the music they make.
my ten cents,
jocelyn
--- Rick Bilous <rickbilous@yahoo.ca> wrote:
> I don't go to many concerts, not as many as I would
> like to anyways. However, I made a point of seeing
> Fountains of Wayne this July in Seattle. I was so
> pumped to see them, but after the show I was left a
> bit disappointed - musically, the band was solid,
> very professional BUT, they weren't very friendly.
> In fact, they made a point of stating how they hated
> being on the road and couldn't wait to get home.
> There was no witty repartee, nothing. It seemed like
> they couldn't wait to leave. In fact, once the show
> was over, they were gone. They didn't work their
> merchandise booth at all, (they left the opener, Ben
> Lee, to work the whole booth by himself), no
> autographs, nothing. Now I ask myself, was it really
> worth a 10 hour drive to see them? Don't get me
> wrong, musically, they really impressed me - Jody
> Porter is one helluva guitar player, but I honestly
> don't like them as much because of that live show. I
> talked about this with a few other people, and they
> say that the guys fro!
> m FOW are
> shy, but I think it's more than that. Shyness is
> usually charming, these guys couldn't really be
> bothered.
>
> Now, tonight I saw American Hi-Fi, a band that
> auditeers seem to look down on (now if American
> Hi-Fi aren't "power pop" then I simply don't know
> what is). They of course, had their peak a couple of
> years ago with "Flavor of the Weak", and now aren't
> quite as popular, so they have went through the
> whole media attention thing. But, I swear, the band
> were the coolest, nicest guys I think I have ever
> met. They played at a small college in Calgary
> (small audience), and there were some technical
> difficulties (lead singer Stacy Jones' guitar didn't
> work). They made the most of it, they had a lot of
> fun, tried to educate the college kids (playing
> covers of Redd Kross and Lemonheads songs), and were
> very self-effacing. They had a few beers with the
> fans after the show. It was a very nice experience
> compared to the Fountains of Wayne show. I have to
> say, that I now like American Hi-Fi MORE, and
> Fountains of Wayne LESS after all this.
>
> My question is, should it be necessary for Fountains
> of Wayne to be nice, charming? Should they be
> working the merchandise booth after the show? Should
> they be signing autographs for the fans that came to
> see them? Or, are they "too big" for this sort of
> thing now? Is their job just to play a show?
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
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