Search - Fountains of Wayne: No Better Place - Live in Chicago on DVD

Censored?!

pmppk | Hauppauge, NY United States | 03/04/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The sound and video quality are great, and this is a must have for any fan of the band. But be warned. The lyrics to Bright Future In Sales are censored with an abrupt silence in the vocal track in place of the "S word". This is extremely noticeable and a pretty big disappointment. When I pay for music, I expect it to be unaltered unless I am explicitly told I am buying a "clean" version."

I CONCUR

Nerdysomething | usa | 03/17/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I agree completely with the one person who pointed out how bored the band looked, and how rigid the crowd seemed. The music is fantastic on the record, but Chris Collingwood seems pained to be performing live. The audience is so square, they make me feel utterly uncool for loving the band. And the word "sh-t" being edited out of "Bright Future in Sales" is just inexplicable. I'm someone who really doesn't enjoy seeing live shows; I much prefer to use my imagination when listening to music. I also usually don't dig 'live' versions of songs; the pristine album version is always far superior to the raw version live (In my opinion)...but a good concert film or video is a good concert film or video. This doesn't seem a particularly exceptional concert-going experience that needed documentation. And it hurts me to say it because I'm such a fan of the band. Maybe they could've done a video for Ivy, if only to gaze upon Dominique Durand."

Pure Music -- What's Missing?

Edwardo | Parts Unknown | 12/18/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What's the point of seeing a band live, especially a band that is all about the great song? I saw FoW earlier this year and then viewed this DVD about 5 months later. What I immediately noticed missing from the DVD was the band's absolute in-person charm, which comes through mostly in their between-song patter with the audience. We get Schlesinger's mock rock god histrionics at the end, but otherwise all the between-song interaction is left out, and so the natural rhythm of the show is absolutely not there. These guys are all about the execution and the product, the product is of the highest quality, and their wry approach is the needed balm that connects us all to the appreciation of it. Collingwood may be the most inscrutable front man in rock history, and about three songs in he realizes when the camera is on him and stops singing to it (just as he tries not to sing to the audience when he's on stage). This non-front-man approach is fine as long as there's something in between that connects performers to audience, and we don't get that here. The censorship of one song was not very rock 'n' roll either. And, indeed, the audience looked comatose and fairly un-cool, but maybe that would have been remedied with inclusion of the aforementioned interaction.

"

Great tunes, meh performance.

P-head | Honolulu | 06/26/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you love the music of F.O.W., you'll enjoy the set list on this performance from the Windy City--good audio, effective camera work, but, boy, do they ever look bored."