With their catchy pop tunes, Fountains of Wayne have long been known for appealing to a large swath of the population. Last night's (June 19) show on a muggy Atlanta night was no different. The Variety Playhouse was jammed with parents toting kids, and kids that dragged parents, Khaki pants wearing baby-boomers, and peppy teens ready to do some serious singing along. Touring behind a recent critically acclaimed record (Traffic and Weather) FOW tried out many of their new songs from the onset, "Yolanda Hayes" (a song about a lady at the DMV), and current single "Someone to Love" both got a warm reception with overhead handclaps and cheers from the crowd. Bassist Adam Schlesinger said, "I know it's a little early in the set, but were gonna get country on your ass" before launching into the mellow freshness of "Hackensack." After the ubiquitous "Stacy's Mom, the band and the crowd only had enough energy for a few more gems, sending the lively crowd of onlookers back into the warm Southern air content and full of catchy hooks that were sure to ring in their ears for the rest of the summer. DAMON SGRIGNOLI / PHOTOS BY JULIA NORMAN
We asked: FOW albums have titles referring to the life on the road. If you were able to go on your ultimate road trip what would it be?
Name: Stacey B.
Age: 27
Hometown: Port Orange, FL
Occupation: Human resources
"Mexico."
Name: Andy Morgan
Age: 27
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Occupation: Music
"New Orleans."
Name: Pete
Age: 23
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Occupation: Drummer for Gringo Starr
"Argentina."
Name: Hannah
Age: 26
Hometown: Asheville, NC
Occupation: Gringo Star's number one fan
"The mountains."
Name: Julie
Age: 18
Hometown: Atlanta
Occupation: Camp counselor
"Brazil."
Name: Ben Williams
Age: 18
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Occupation: CIA
"Tooling around Japan."
Name: Ivan
Age: 24
Hometown: Austin, TX
Occupation: Grad Student
"Madrid, Barcelona, and Japan."
Name: Melissa
Age: 23
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Occupation: Soon to be scientist
"Those tiny little island in South East Asia."
FOW rockin' the Variety Playhouse / Photo by Julia Norman
Frontman Chris Collingwood / Photo by Julia Norman
Drummer Brian Young / Photo by Julia Norman
