Fountains of Wayne at Appel Farm 6-03-06

(And finally, the final chapter of our Appel Farm Arts & Music Festival saga...)

My admiration of Fountains of Wayne goes far beyond (and before) Stacey's Mom.

It was a little movie, "That Thing You Do!" that made my husband and I aware of the songwriting talents of FOW's Adam Schlesinger.

If you've seen this film, you know that the title song (written by Schlesinger) is insidious. You will not be able to resist singing along. You will not be able to remove it from your head. Ever. (In part because it's played at least 50 times through the course of the film.)

In fact, just seeing the above photo will have this tune stuck in my brain the entire day.

Adam Schlesinger seems to have a particular talent for writing unbelievable hooks.

Happen to hear of the Click Five? My kids are totally obsessed with their CD -- especially the single "Just the Girl" written by...

...none other than Adam Schlesinger.

(Hmmm...matching suits just like the guys in That Thing You Do! )

Actually, the Click Five has a whole Beatle homage thing going on, as evidenced by their moptops and their music videos.

(Click Five figures into the end* of this post in case you're wondering why I'm bothering to include them here.)

Anyway, Fountains of Wayne is the greatest. The songwriting duo of Schlesinger and leader singer Chris Collingwood are the heart of the group.

I could go on & on about why I love these guys' catchy, witty songs. But instead, I present the first verse of Fountains of Wayne's "Mexican Wine" as evidence:

He was killed by a cellular phone explosion
They scattered his ashes across the ocean
The water was used to make baby lotion
The wheels of promotion
were set into motion

AND NOW -- THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR -- FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE AT APPEL FARM!

FOW on stage (dusk made all our FOW photos blurry, but you get the picture.)

You can see the vastness of the crowd over my shoulder...

My husband and I had just put together a tentative-from-memory setlist for FOW's Appel Farm show when I found on a post the Fountains of Wayne messageboard that not only confirmed my list but provided a review. (Thanks, scottiei.)

Radiation Vibe
Mexican Wine
Denise
Barbara H
Janice's Party
Red Dragon Tattoo
It Must Be Summer
Hackensack
Hey Julie
Leave the Biker
Stacy's Mom
Maureen
Joe Rey
Bright Future in
Sales
Sink to the Bottom
---------------------

ENCORE:
Half a Woman
I've Got a Flair

Although scottiei was correct to say that most folks stayed firmly planted on their blankets even as Adam encouraged them to mosh, there was a contingent dancing along the sidelines during the entire show (as the above photo shows) and my kids couldn't resist jumping up themselves and heading off to the shoulder (our blanket was along the side anyway) sometime around "Hey Julie."

There was one uninhibited lady in front of us who stood up to dance early on -- she boogied like the middle-aged woman she was (Look, I can't dance either, but at least I restrain myself in public) and we loved the g-clef tattoo on her upper back. I said, "Music teacher" to which my husband responded "Choir director" Either way, she was enjoying herself, to which I give a big thumbs up!

A couple of Moms couldn't help but run up to dance in front of the stage during "Stacy's Mom" -- but they both had "got it going on," so all was okay.

Appel Farm photo from FOW website -- attributed to scottiei -- gives one a better idea of the crowd.

We did join the rush to the stage during "Joe Rey." My two girls and I all pogo-ing along. (While husband kept his dignity...)

Family fun! (Even when I had to cover my little one's ears during Bright Future in Sales' "I'm gonna get my sh*t together...")

I think it was Adam Schlesinger who said this was probably the first mosh pit ever at Appel Farm.

What else? Adam told the crowd that he himself was a camper at Appel Farm during his youth (in the early 70s?) Very cool.

Our oldest daughter really wanted to hear, "Utopia Parkway;" the youngest was somehow hoping for FOW to play a version of "Just the Girl*." I told them they could shout out their requests between songs (Hey, it could be cute if a kid's doing it) but of course they didn't have the courage to (I never do either in these situations.)

Even though neither of their favorite songs was performed, a great time was had by all! And believe me, these grade schoolers are a tough audience.

We hoped to grab some autographs after the show. (All our earlier FOW CDs were autographed at the 2004 'XPN festival, but I had Out-of-State Plates in hand, and the girls had their shirts.)

Chris and Adam eventually came to the fence at the side of the stage. There was a very large contingent of teeny-boppers crowded along the fence, and the guys stayed on the other side signing stuff.

One young person asked Adam, "How do I get to be famous like you? " To which he responded good-humoredly something along the lines of, "What do you want me to do? Teach a master class?"

We were being polite, so we didn't stand a chance of breaking through the young groupies.

And then, the guys had to go. As Adam turned to leave, my usually-not-into-these-things spouse yelled out, "Adam! Adam! Can you sign my girls' shirts?" Which Mr. Schlesinger was cool enough to do. But he didn't have a sharpie and had to borrow a red roller-ball-type pen from another fan.

You can just barely make out "Adam" on the orange shirt -- maybe why he didn't bother with his last name.


Got him to autograph our CD too.

As he signed, I told him Adam that our youngest had wanted to request "Just the Girl" and he said FOW didn't record the song themselves because Chris thought the song was too young for them. (Younger than "Stacy's Mom"?) At last, I was able to make a comment to an artist that didn't make them inwardly cringe! Mark this date on your calendars, boys and girls!

All in all, it was a great day! I'm sure our girls will remember it for the rest of their lives. I know I will.

And now -- equal time for Chris Collingwood! Photos from 2004's WXPN Singer-Songwriter Weekend: