Live Review & Photos: Fountains Of Wayne, Soul Asylum, Evan Dando @ State Theatre 10/1/13

Review by: Jim Testa
Photos & Additonal Comments by: Lazlo

(click on photos to see full size)

It seemed as if the Fates aligned to whisk me away to New Brunswick in the company of BlowUpRadio.com honcho Lazlo so that we could both enjoy an evening of Nineties nostalgia at New Brunswick’s stately State Theater. Of course, Lazlo and (especially) I are old enough and yet still active enough in the music scene that Fountains of Wayne, Soul Asylum, and Evan Dando don’t seem nostalgic so much as part of the fabric of our rock ‘n’ roll lives. Each act feels like an old friend whom you might not see all the time, but immediately reconnect with whenever your paths cross. For much of the audience at the State Theater though – a less than sold out crowd largely consisting of middle-aged suburbanites whom, one suspects, don’t spend much time listening to new music or standing for hours in smelly clubs anymore – this bill represented pure nostalgia: A pleasant visit back to a simpler, gentler time when you could still hear good music on the radio and the most important thing on the minds of Republicans was a little white stain on a pretty blue dress.

The Lemonheads started coming to Maxwell’s as a snotty punk-rock trio back in the Eighties, and I’ve watched Evan Dando’s career unfold (and self-destruct, and then resurrect itself) first hand ever since, so let’s just agree that it’s nice he’s washing his hair regularly now and doesn’t fall asleep on stage anymore. And to be perfectly honest, he’s never sung better in his life. But singer/songwriters (in my book, anyway) need to come onstage not just with songs but with a personality, and Dando’s stage presence makes earthworms seem interesting by comparison. Except for a quickly mumbled “thank you” between songs, he never addressed the audience, never introduced a song, never provided any sort of context or history or insight into any of his material; he just sang song after song. And since the Evan Dando songbook doesn’t exactly rival Led Zeppelin II in terms of popularity, frankly I didn’t recognize anything in the set except for “My Drug Buddy” (sung, I should add, without a note of irony) and his Nineties alt-rock hit, “Into Your Arms.” Lazlo knew a few more songs and said that the lack of patter didn’t bother him; I was bored.

Lazlo: I thoroughly enjoyed Evan Dando's alt-country vibe, and it was a nice touch that he included his cover of Victoria Williams' "frying pan" (a song which he covered on the original Sweet Relief album).

It hardly needs pointing out, but there are now 50% fewer original members in Soul Asylum than there are original Replacements in the Replacements. Yet the Replacements’ recent reunion gigs were dogged by charges of “sellout” and “fraud,” while Dave Pirner merrily cranks out his old hits at state fairs and mid-sized theaters night after night without complaint. One could argue that’s because no one actually cares about Soul Asylum anymore, which would be cruel; fairer, perhaps, would be to say that Pirner’s earned the right to retain the name by keeping the “band” on the road all these years (and releasing what I thought was a damn fine new album as recently as 2012.) And certainly no one can fault Pirner for phoning it in; the lanky mid-Westerner with the same haircut he’s worn since 1985 still whirls and twirls and mugs and grins and gesticulates like it’s 1988. But there’s a sad sameness to his shtick now; it almost looks choreographed rather than spontaneous. (And Dave, “aw shucks, you’re too kind” sounds corny the first time you say it; by the fifth or sixth go-around, I was ready to throw something at the stage.) That said, Soul Asylum delivered the set a fan would want to hear, complete with a couple (and only a couple) of the new songs, one or two surprises (“String Of Pearls?” Really?), and the obligatory umpteenth run-through of “Runaway Train” near the end of the set.

Lazlo: I enjoyed all three acts, but I have to admit if I was asked who was "best in show" I would have to give it to Soul Asylum. Their set was full of energy, and what Jim calls "shtick", didn't feel choreographed to me (though it might have been). I felt was just a fun stage presence. I concur with Jim on Soul Asylum's last album, "delayed reaction", being a great album, probably the strongest they have put out since "let your dim light shine". if you don't already own it, you should.

Pirner doesn’t have the pipes he once had and I’m pretty sure he sings everything a key or two lower than he used to, but at least you could hear him. Not so for Fountains of Wayne, who sounded for all the world like they headlined without bothering to soundcheck first. Jodi Porter’s guitar remained much too loud for the entire set, drowning out Chris Collingwood’s vocals and the occasional harmony from bassist Adam Schlesinger.

FoW make an odd sight on stage: On the one hand you have Porter, the very definition of the overdressed foppish pop star slightly past his expiration date; on the other side of the stage, the casually-attired Schlesinger looked like he had just strolled in after working an 8-hour shift driving a cab. And in the center stood Collingwood – tall, gaunt, white-haired, and a bit haughty, reminding me a bit of David Byrne with Glenn Tillbrook’s vocal affectations.

FoW put on a good show, mixing up songs from their recent (and highly recommended) album Sky Full Of Holes with favorite album tracks from their career. They didn’t look bored, exactly, but they were certainly less enthusiastic than Pirner, and you definitely got the sense (especially since a good third of the theater emptied out after Soul Asylum’s set) that this tour has been less than a much-deserved victory lap for them. (More like a slightly more tasteful version of that Everclear Summerland Nineties nostalgia tour.)

Here’s the funny thing about Fountains of Wayne: They’re not funny on stage. All the snarky humor of even their most biting songs like “Bright Future In Sales” dissipates in a live setting. It’s all quite catchy and very bouncy (Lazlo and I watched appreciatively as a group of teenagers headbanged a few rows in front of us like they were on Wayne’s World.) But that arch sense of humor that permeates Collingwoods’ songwriting on record just didn’t translate to their performance. Maybe that had something to do with Jodi Porter’s sour countenance or the fact that Collingwood was either tired or in a bad mood, but while I liked hearing those songs again, I didn’t really enjoy Fountains of Wayne the way I’ve done in the past.

Lazlo: There were definitely some sound problems on the first couple of songs, but I thought by the third song the sound was solid, and that Fountains Of Wayne put on an enjoyable set, which capped off a really great package tour. For three and a half hours I forgot about everything going on in my life and just enjoyed watching three great acts proving that getting older doesn't have to mean that they are worse for wear, or less relevant. Quite the contrary, these acts are still putting on great shows.

www.fountainsofwayne.com

www.soulasylum.com

www.thelemonheads.net/