Folds hits the mark with electrifying performance
Sara Boyd
Issue date: 3/16/06 Section: Showcase
As the lights come down, a few strategically placed beams bounce about on the sheer black backdrop. A piano, two bass guitars and a drum set are lit by the glowing lights. Loud, booming music, like what you would expect to hear from the opening of a "Star Wars" movie, begins to play.
A skinny man with shaggy hair and thick-rimmed glasses graces the stage and sits at the piano. The cheesy "Star Wars"-esque music comes to an end. The pianist gives a wink to the audience, signifying the music was just a cheesy introduction joke.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, than you have never experienced a Ben Folds show. Folds performed at the Orpheum Theatre in Madison Saturday and gave the crowd a night they'll never forget.
The Orpheum Theatre was packed with a wide range of fans, ranging from young teenagers to senior citizens. It was a perfect venue for this type of show because it was small enough that no matter where you were, you could see the stage clearly and were still close enough.
It was my first time going to a Folds show, but thanks to a late 30-something man sitting next to me (who had driven from Michigan to catch the show) I was filled in on what to expect and how great of a performer Folds is.
Folds started with an older, slower song but then led right into a fast-paced, upbeat song off his newest CD "Songs for Silverman."
The sight of his fingers flying across the keys of the piano was one of the craziest things I have ever seen. It was like they were no longer attached to his body.
As you watched him pound (yes, pound, sometimes with his fist) away at the piano, you couldn't help but bob your head along to the music.
He played a number of different songs, ranging from high-energy songs like "Annie Waits," "You to Thank" and "Zak and Sara" (a request shouted repeatedly by two teenage girls) to his mellower songs like "Still Fighting It," "Landed" and "Gracie."
Before Folds played one of his more politically debated songs on the 'Silverman' CD, he assured the audience it was never meant to be about politics. The song, entitled "Jesusland," automatically gets that flak because of "the F-ing word Jesus in the title," he joked.
A skinny man with shaggy hair and thick-rimmed glasses graces the stage and sits at the piano. The cheesy "Star Wars"-esque music comes to an end. The pianist gives a wink to the audience, signifying the music was just a cheesy introduction joke.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, than you have never experienced a Ben Folds show. Folds performed at the Orpheum Theatre in Madison Saturday and gave the crowd a night they'll never forget.
The Orpheum Theatre was packed with a wide range of fans, ranging from young teenagers to senior citizens. It was a perfect venue for this type of show because it was small enough that no matter where you were, you could see the stage clearly and were still close enough.
It was my first time going to a Folds show, but thanks to a late 30-something man sitting next to me (who had driven from Michigan to catch the show) I was filled in on what to expect and how great of a performer Folds is.
Folds started with an older, slower song but then led right into a fast-paced, upbeat song off his newest CD "Songs for Silverman."
The sight of his fingers flying across the keys of the piano was one of the craziest things I have ever seen. It was like they were no longer attached to his body.
As you watched him pound (yes, pound, sometimes with his fist) away at the piano, you couldn't help but bob your head along to the music.
He played a number of different songs, ranging from high-energy songs like "Annie Waits," "You to Thank" and "Zak and Sara" (a request shouted repeatedly by two teenage girls) to his mellower songs like "Still Fighting It," "Landed" and "Gracie."
Before Folds played one of his more politically debated songs on the 'Silverman' CD, he assured the audience it was never meant to be about politics. The song, entitled "Jesusland," automatically gets that flak because of "the F-ing word Jesus in the title," he joked.