Fountains Of Wayne- First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN June 13, 2007

Ten years ago, in June, I happened to be in the Twin Cities for a pair of concerts I was fortunate enough to get tickets to. I wrote about this trip, Lots To See In Minneapolis and St. Paul where I posted excerpts from the MPR's The Current Fakebook series featuring Laura Lindeen's book launch concert held in the amazing Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul. Laura was promoting her memoir, Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story, which included her time living in the Minneapolis music scene of the late 80's and 90's. At the time, Laura was married to Paul Westerberg which of course peaked my interest and to accompany readings and a live on stage interview, music guests performed during this book launch/reading/concert event. Guests included, Mark Olson (of the Jayhawks and Creekdippers), Marc Perlman, Steve Wynn, Westerberg and a two song reunion by Lindeen's former band, Zuzu's Petals. As it happens, I didn't buy the book, but I did borrow it from the library a couple summers ago and it was a very interesting read. Kinda glad I waited because I became much more familiar with Zuzu's Petals before I read the book and I knew Laura and Paul had since split (sad to hear).

The other concert I mentioned, but failed to follow up with on "the next post", was Fountains of Wayne on June 13, 2007 at the First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. What I remember most about the show was that it was hot and humid and pressed together tightly in the crowd standing on the floor of the club. The Broken West opened and they were fantastic! Their debut album, I Can't Go On, I'll Go On, is a great album and was on heavy rotation at work and on my iPod. They put on an energetic set of brilliant power pop, a perfect pairing with Fountains Of Wayne. I recorded their set as well, if anyone is interested.

If you've ever been to the First Ave (at least in 2007), they roll down a screen in front of the stage to screen short films and video while the band sets up behind the screen. It caught me off guard when a recorded Traffic and Weather intro began before they launched into I've Got Flair. I don't think I missed much of the intro, but it gets tricky when the lights go out and I have to tweak settings on my recorder. Another reason why a mini flashlight is a must have to carry when taping. I suffered a near recording mishap when I saw Paul Westerberg at the Guthrie Theatre in 2002 when the lights went out at the beginning of the concert and I couldn't see my recorder (mini-disc recorder back light stays on a very short time) and I had to unplug the mic and crawl on the floor down the aisle to the the lights on the stairs to adjust the settings. Embarrassing and stupid, always carry a flashlight!

Remembering back ten years, I recalled what a great live band Fountains Of Wayne are. Though they don't boast the most visually stunning stage show, they play to their strengths. They keep the banter light and funny, they have a cool casual persona about them even with Jody's "rock star swagger" and they delivered a great set of music. Despite the commercial over-saturation of their "hit", Stacy's Mom, Welcome Interstate Managers is a classic album. Every song has a memorable hook and it's their most consistent effort yet. The album they toured in 2007, Traffic and Weather has definitely grown on me through the years and it was exciting to hear some of the tracks live.

About a month ago I was listening to another FOW live recording and it suddenly dawned on me, what happened to my recording of FOW when I saw them in 2007? I realized I never actually transferred the show from mini-disc to my hard drive or at least burned a disc from it. The other concert I saw in the Twin Cities that weekend (Laura Lindeen) was apparently my immediate priority and I apologize for taking so long to post this show.I dug up the disc and replaced an old corroded battery out of the mini-disc player and gave it a listen. A couple weeks later I uploaded the concert. The sound is pretty good considering the crowd I was standing in and despite the surrounding chatter I'm happy with the recording. I've never seen another live recording of the show and my version has never been shared (or heard by anyone but me) or traded anywhere until now.

Note: The poster pictured at the top of this post I bought at the concert. That too was almost forgotten as I've yet to get around framing it. Don't get too excited, it's signed by members of the band, not Fountains of Wayne, but the openers, The Broken West. They were more than happy to sign the poster, nice guys!
Enjoy!!

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Share, but don't share in mp3, keep it lossless.

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
June 13, 2007
AUD MASTER

Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Sharp MD-MT90> ADS Instant Music> USB>
Nero Soundtrax> Wav> Direct Wave MP3 splitter> FLAC> rar

01. I've Got A Flair
02. No Better Place
03. Denise
04. Someone To Love
05. Fire In The Canyon
06. Hackensack
07. Hey Julie
08. Strapped For Cash
09. Yolanda Hayes
10. Mexican Wine
11. I-95
12. It Must Be Summer
13. Stacy's Mom
14. Radiation Vibe
15. Survival Car

Encore
16. Traffic And Weather
17. Red Dragon Tattoo
18. Leave The Biker

Encore 2
19. Half A Woman
20. Valley Winter Song
21. Sink To The Bottom

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE- 2007-06-13 First Avenue, Mpls, MN Master FLAC. rar