(Groovevolt.com Executive Editor Roy Opochinski attended the Fountains of Wayne/Ben Lee concert at the Tradewinds in Sea Bright, New Jersey, on July 11.)

On a warm, dry night that stereotyped summertime perfection, Fountains of Wayne returned to their home state and brought along Australian native Ben Lee for a wonderful double bill that rolled like the ocean waves.

Lee nearly stole the show with his opening act. The confident singer took the stage with guitar player McGowan, and charmed his way through a 45-minute set that included a number of tracks from his forthcoming album, Hey You, Yes You, including "Running With Scissors"--the first single from the album.

The singer wowed the audience with his boyish innocence and prodigious voice. His end-of-set cover of The Smiths "Shoplifters of the World Unite" was flawless and the audience responded in kind. His singing ability was matched only by his ease onstage. While he is only 24, he has been performing for a decade. (He made his name in his native country when he was only 14 as a member of Noise Addict.)

By the time he ceded the stage to Fountains of Wayne, one wondered why Lee was not a bigger name in this country (an oversight that should be corrected when the new album hits store shelves in August.)

The crowd acknowledged the band as if they were conquering heroes returning from battle and the group replied in kind before launching into "Please Don't Rock Me Tonight" from their self-titled debut, which was followed by another chestnut from their first disc, "Love Me Denise."

With the crowd in a frenzy, the group performed "Mexican Wine" (from their new album, Welcome Interstate Managers). The new material worked as well live as it does on disc and many in the crowd sang along with the band word for word.

Fountain of Wayne's set was brief (clocking in at about an hour including encores), but during that time, they ripped through 17 songs, deftly mixing old favorites like "Leave the Biker" with future hits like "Stacy's Mom," the first single from Welcome Interstate Managers.

Great artists leave their audiences wanting for more. Both Lee and Fountains of Wayne did that on this pleasant summer night.