Ben Folds

#26
#26
kiddiedoc said:
One of my favorites to sing to my little boys. I actually have to fight back tears, at times.

The Luckiest is great, too.

Ben Folds is easily one of the most gifted musicians of our era. Enjoy the show!
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I will admit that when I am wailing it out in my car, I have actually chocked back the odd tear or two.
 
#28
#28
what what said:
So how was the show?
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It was a really great show. He is a very good performer. His band is really good, and his interaction with the crowd was a lot of fun, too.

The first set was a lot of stuff off his new album, which I had not heard. What was funny was that the band created fake versions of each song of the album and leaked them to the internet. For a good portion of the first set, he would play the bulls*** version (his term) and the actual version of each song, explaining each of them. Some of the fakes were pretty damned funny, especially the BS version of "The bitch went nuts". The true version of that song is pretty rocking. I am going to buy the album off ITunes.

Out of the first set, I only knew two songs, "Annie Waits" and another that slips my mind. It was pretty cool when he played the opening riff of "Annie Waits" and the crowd all clapped perfectly on cue. It was a very "in tune" crowd.

An example of his easy going stage presence was toward the end of the first set. He said, "Let me explain how this is going to play out. We are going to play a couple more of our new songs, leave the stage like the show is over, and you are going to make a big ruckus. We are going to come out feigning surprise and play a set of our old s***." After they left the stage, the crowd got a pretty good chorus of "Old s***" going to the tune of the BS chant you hear at football games. Pretty funny.

As with any band that has a large catalog of music, there were a few songs I wish he had played that he did not. Notably: 1 angry dwarf, song for the dumped, battle of who could care less, Philosophy. I wish I could have seen him perform about 7 or 8 years ago when all my favorites were more fresh in his repertoire.

Some of my favs that he did play: Rockin' the suburbs, Still fighting it, Underground, Kate, Jesusland. He also left the stage after the first encore and about half the crowd left. Some of the hard core stayed (me included) and he came out and played Army, another of my favs, as his final number. At the end, he threw his piano stool in the keyboard of his grand piano. Very tongue in cheek rock in roll move.

One last fun thing that stood out was that there was a girl holding up a small sign saying "Please play 'Not the Same'". He saw the sign and did play it, but before he did he coached the crowd for a three part harmony part of the song. At one point in the song he stood up and basically conducted the crowd in the harmony. It was a lot of fun.

Sorry for the long post. Long story short: Go see him if you get the chance.
 
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#29
#29
I should mention his opening act. Her name is Missy Higgins. She is an Australian artist who is very good. She has a couple of songs where she plays the piano and others where she plays rhythm guitar. When I looked her up before the show, I assumed "bluesy, folksy singer songwriter" just based on her look. Beware judging a book by its cover. She freaking rocked. She had a guitar, bass and drummer behind her who can flat out play. Her songwriting was good, too. She has a bit of a Sarah McGloglin (sp?) lilt to her voice due to the Australian accent, but she put on a good show in her own right.

http://www.missyhiggins.com/
 
#30
#30
Yea I saw Missy Higgins when she was on tour with Mason Jennings and Brett Dennen. She is awesome! Glad you had a good time.
 
#31
#31
Thanks, man. Not sure if I ever formally welcomed you to the board, but glad to have you here. :hi:
 
#33
#33
vader said:
battle of who could care less all strong contenders for favorite.
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most underappreciated ben folds song. Great Gen X song by a Gen X musician for a Gen X audience.

I'm listening to the new album right now, btw, and me likey. He's gotten a bit more loose with the language, though. I think I'll always be partial to his BF5 stuff - reminds me of college and immediate post college.
 
#34
#34
TennNC said:
most underappreciated ben folds song. Great Gen X song by a Gen X musician for a Gen X audience.

I'm listening to the new album right now, btw, and me likey. He's gotten a bit more loose with the language, though. I think I'll always be partial to his BF5 stuff - reminds me of college and immediate post college.
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Funny you mention that. The other day, I was driving my 3 (almost 4) year old around and I was getting "tuned up" for the concert, which was later that night. I had "Underground" on a mix CD and we had to listen to it about 4 times in a row because he wanted to hear it again and again.

Every time we got in the truck, he asked me to play Ben Folds, so I sat down last weekend and mixed him a clean Ben Folds mix CD. Still some good stuff, but I had to cull some of my favorites because I didn't want him spouting profanity at daycare.

Unfortunately, the only two songs he ever wants to hear are "Annie Waits" and "Underground" (which he calls the "bye bye song" because they say that at the end). I am trying to get him to branch out, but little kids are way into repetition.

I will have to say, I enjoy it a lot when he and I clap together at the start of "Annie Waits". Good times.
 
#35
#35
vader said:
Funny you mention that. The other day, I was driving my 3 (almost 4) year old around and I was getting "tuned up" for the concert, which was later that night. I had "Underground" on a mix CD and we had to listen to it about 4 times in a row because he wanted to hear it again and again.

Every time we got in the truck, he asked me to play Ben Folds, so I sat down last weekend and mixed him a clean Ben Folds mix CD. Still some good stuff, but I had to cull some of my favorites because I didn't want him spouting profanity at daycare.

Unfortunately, the only two songs he ever wants to hear are "Annie Waits" and "Underground" (which he calls the "bye bye song" because they say that at the end). I am trying to get him to branch out, but little kids are way into repetition.

I will have to say, I enjoy it a lot when he and I clap together at the start of "Annie Waits". Good times.
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funny - a colleague says the same thing about "Jackson Cannery" with his 4 and 6 year-old daughters.

I'm not a father (yet) but I can't imagine much better than sharing a tune that both you and your kid can enjoy.
 
#36
#36
If you are looking to attend the show on Sunday, might want to pick up tickets soon. It's getting close to sold out with only a couple hundred tix left.
 
#37
#37
What a performer! I have always really liked Folds's music, but seeing him live was absolutely fantastic. He has fun with the crowd and really runs the stage. Battle of Who Could Care Less was great, and I (as expected) teared up during Still Fighting It.

One note: the Valarium needs to do some serious work on the door problem. We waited in line for a LONG time in the freezing cold. . . .
 
#38
#38
kiddiedoc said:
What a performer! I have always really liked Folds's music, but seeing him live was absolutely fantastic. He has fun with the crowd and really runs the stage. Battle of Who Could Care Less was great, and I (as expected) teared up during Still Fighting It.
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He is a great show.

"Still Fighting It" gets me every time.
 
#39
#39
kiddiedoc said:
One note: the Valarium needs to do some serious work on the door problem. We waited in line for a LONG time in the freezing cold. . . .
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They continue to have this problem night after night with sold-out/near s.o. shows. I'm glad my buddy slipped the doorman a $20 and told him we were on the list. He let us in the door no problems. The line was around and well past the building at that point.
 
#40
#40
Everything i've gone to there I've run into that problem. I dont see why it is so hard to just simply open the doors earlier. Ben Folds was fantastic. The only thing I could have possibly asked for was to play the Dr. Dre cover because its so funny but he tore it up.
 
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