Product Details

• Actors: Chris Collingwood, Steven M. Gold, Jody Porter, Adam Schlesinger, Brian Young
• Directors: Joe Thomas
• Producers: Joe Thomas
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Shout Factory
• DVD Release Date: March 3, 2009
• Run Time: 75 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001PPLKJ4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,798 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Fountains of Wayne: No Better Place - Live in Chicago" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Pure pop is on tap as Fountains of Wayne take the stage for No Better Place, a 2005 show that is the group’s first DVD release. If there’s one thing these guys have in spades, it’s a knack for writing songs that manage to be both hip and catchy--witness bassist Adam Schlesinger’s Oscar nomination for the title track to the film That Thing You Do!, as well as his contributions to numerous other successful films and television shows. Fountains of Wayne’s best work is arguably their 2003 recording Welcome Interstate Managers (featuring "Stacy’s Mom," simply one of the best pop singles of the decade), and they wisely focus on that album here; besides "Stacy," tunes like "Hackensack," the Simon & Garfunkel-esque "Valley Winter Song," and "Hey Julie" all showcase Schlesinger and lead singer Chris Collingwood’s flair for melody, hooks, and clever lyrical turns of phrase about "a mean little man with a clip-on tie and a rub-on tan" and other characters (while well-observed, the material tends to be somewhat smug and condescending toward its subjects and the prosaic details of their daily lives). Song-wise, then, these boys have it covered. Their performance, however, leaves something to be desired. Collingwood, the front-man, makes little effort to engage with the audience (Schlesinger, guitarist Jody Porter, and drummer Brian Young make none at all), to the point where the concert would probably work just as well in an audio-only format. The bonus material consists of five songs performed acoustically in a recording studio. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Studio: Sony Music Release Date: 03/03/2009 Run time: 80 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Censored?!, March 3, 2009

By 

pmppk (Hauppauge, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fountains of Wayne: No Better Place - Live in Chicago (DVD)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pure Music -- What's Missing?, December 18, 2009

By 

Edvis (Parts Unknown) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fountains of Wayne: No Better Place - Live in Chicago (DVD)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great tunes, meh performance., June 26, 2009

By 

P-head (Honolulu) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fountains of Wayne: No Better Place - Live in Chicago (DVD)

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.