Sometimes I wonder where you are, probably in L.A. That seems to be where everybody else ends up these days

Based on my calculations, last Thursday's Fountains of Wayne show was my fourth. Also, it just might have been was the best. The House of Blues (07/03) show a few years ago was...meh. Uninspired, kind of flat, just 'off.' However, we didn't give up. The show at the Wiltern (05/05) was pretty good, much better than the one at HOB at least. Next, they opened for Squeeze at The Greek Theatre (08/07) and were FANTASTIC!

Okay, if you made it this far and have no clue who I'm talking about, you probably heard a FOW song in a holiday ad in 2008. "Valley Winter Song" was used in this L.L. Bean commercial. Ah, yes, now you know who I'm talking about, right? They joked about the ad, as their song is really about how depressing the winter in New England is (I've heard it's about Seasonal Affective Disorder) and now it's supposed to make you want to buy slippers!

This recent appearance was at Largo 2.0* and the 'acoustic' set of their infectious pop songs, in combination with such a kick-ass venue did make it the best yet. I was pretty impressed by the openers, Mike Viola and Kelly Jones, who meshed well with the headliner. I get annoyed when that doesn't happen and the audience doesn't get pumped up for the main act.

The guys were relaxed and quite solid. They treated us to several new tracks, including a "road song" with a line about not singing it as well as Steve Perry (which made me laugh out loud), as well as crowd favorites from their catalog. The slow-tempo version of "Stacy's Mom" that they did was hilarious! A few audience members joined the band on stage to play percussion on "Hey Julie," and they all looked like they were having a blast.

This was the closest I'd been to FOW and I have to admit that it was fun to have such a great view of the talented lead guitarist, Jody Porter. He is an amazing musician, but in some ways seems like he doesn't fit in with the rest of the group. The other guys have sort of a preppy/nerdy/hipster/dorky vibe, whereas Jody is all rock 'n roll and quite quirky. I got the impression he's kind of shy too as he didn't join in the banter until later into the concert. Once he did though, he was pretty funny.

So, as usual, I am now obsessing on Fountains of Wayne and listening to nothing else. This is my typical pattern after seeing a great live show. If my calculations are correct, it will go on for just about the rest of this week.

[Fountains of Wayne @ Largo 1.22.09]

*Largo 2.0 is just my silly nickname for 'Largo at The Coronet.' I miss the original, but the new venue is a great place to see an intimate show.

You Don't Have To Be A Man-Ho

A few weeks ago, E was browsing the Largo calendar online and noticed an event called The 1st National International New Zealand Day. Knowing that Flight of the Conchords have played the venue quite a few times (none of which I'd been to, dammit!), including the weekend before when we were in San Diego, he had a feeling they might be part of this Kiwi celebration. I immediately called for tickets.

$20 souvenir mug. Proceeds went to charity. I got the last one too, suckas!

There's something you should know about E and that's the fact that he is usually right. I'm not just saying that-it's a fact. So, yes, the Flight of the Conchords were absolutely part of the Largo show and in fact were the hosts. They were on stage several times and treated us to many new songs that I can already picture as hilarious vignettes in the upcoming season of their HBO show. Let's just say that Jemaine may need to prostitute himself for some creme brulee.

Other acts included Bo Runga, Bic Runga, and Greg Johnson. We've seen Bic perform a few times and her sister, Bo, is just as talented. Greg was great too. One of the best parts of the show was Rhys Darby in his dual role of stand-up comedian (himself) and band manager (Murray). He played Murray off stage and did such things as call the guys in for an "emergency band meeting," complete with roll call. It was hilarious! He also did a small portion of his stand-up act, which is pretty side splitting.

All in all, we had a blast and are still talking about the show.