Seeing the great fondness for Fountains of Wayne on this list, I recorded a
concert of theirs on SoundStage, which is on the Rave! Channel for satellite
users.  Rave is a terrific station for concerts, btw.

At any rate, I've always liked FoW pretty well, but not enough to play
repeatedly.  I've got all their cds, but in all honesty, I've never had them
in heavy rotation.  I like Someone To Love, Stacy's Mom (which I hear they
hate), etc. 

Obviously greatly talented group, just doesn't tickle me in exactly the
right spot.

So I watched this concert and was very surprised.  Technically, they were
awesome, as you would expect.  The thing that really caught me off guard was
their lack of apparent passion for playing their music.  They totally looked
like they were going through the motions, even though the audience looked
like rabid fans.

Not trying to be hyper-critical, but if I want to hear the music, I put on
the cd; if I go the concert, it is because I want to see the artist.  But
after the lifeless show I just witnessed, I'm less likely to pursue them
than I was before I watched.

They actually reminded me of The Cars in concert and that is not a
compliment.  Those guys looked like they were in pain when they played live.
FoW didn't look much more enthusiastic than Ric Ocasek.

Is that typical or did I catch them on a bad night?  Or maybe editing played
a role - there was hardly any banter in between songs and Chris Collingwood
sang every song with the exact same expression on his face, like he could've
been in the room by himself.  And horribly bored, at that.

Am I missing something in regard to their live show or is that typical?

Best,
Rick