EMP plays host to VH1 concert series

There's only a few chances left to see groups including sludge-rock outfit Fuel and power-pop band Fountains of Wayne in the intimate confines of Experience Music Project.

These bands, along with Heart, Sugar Ray and Live, round out a concert series at EMP that will air as part of a new VH1 show. Footage from the concerts, as well as previous shows by Vertical Horizon, Cheap Trick and Nickelback, will be used in the series, which begins airing Sept. 16.

Perennial Seattle rock band Heart performs tonight at EMP, 324 Fifth Ave. N., Seattle, followed tomorrow night by Pennsylvania rockers Fuel.

Fuel, known for its heavy, plaintive sound and meaty guitar licks, struck a chord with mainstream audiences with its 1998 release "Sunburn," featuring the hit "Shimmer." Fans will likely be treated to a compendium of Fuel's best-known songs, as well as some new cuts from its fourth studio release, "Natural Selection," out later this month.

Fountains of Wayne, a New York-based pop quartet that many believe is on the cusp of mainstream acclaim, takes the stage Sunday night. Fountains of Wayne are purveyors of simple, but catchy, 3 ½-minute pop songs that marry witty lyricism and sharp instrumentation. With "Stacy's Mom," a cut from the band's latest release, "Welcome Interstate Managers," getting airtime on MTV and MTV2, it could be just a matter of time before the world catches on to Fountains of Wayne. And you can say you saw them when.

Wrapping up the EMP shows is a dual bill on Monday, featuring Sugar Ray and Live.

On the surface, these bands would appear to have very little in common: Live got its start in York, Penn., and Sugar Ray calls Los Angeles home. Live crafts songs often dealing with touchy issues and social injustices. Sugar Ray makes music about the social scene, having fun and hooking up. But the common thread that ties these bands together is their staying power.

While the band Live first registered on the musical radar in the early 1990s with "Mental Jewelry" (a solid rock album that spawned modest hits "Pain Lies on the Riverside" and "Operation Spirit"), the group's stock shot up with 1995's "Throwing Copper."

Lead singer Ed Kowalczyk knows how to captivate an audience with his introspective lyrics and vocal arrangements that bounce from low-key to full-on fury. Expect a cut or two from the band's sixth studio album, "Birds of Pray."

Also out with a new album is Mark McGrath and his Sugar Ray band of brothers. The Southern California pop-rock band can still pack them in (into medium-size venues) based on the success of early hits "Fly" and "Every Morning."

Tina Potterf: 206-464-8214 or tpotterf@seattletimes.com