concert review: Ben Folds @ Fox Theatre 17 May 2009

Last Sunday night, Ben Folds played Oakland’s Fox Theatre armed with impeccable piano skills and a grin that would melt any icy disposition on earth. Playing an impressive 26 songs plus 2 in the encore, Ben drew mostly from his three solo records, with some Ben Folds Five songs interspersed throughout the set.

Ben Folds was by far, the happiest looking musician that I have ever beheld on stage, and keep in mind that I’ve seen Jason Mraz in concert. He consistently engaged with the audience, asking them to harmonize and sing along, and even changed up his set a bit to accommodate a request someone shouted out. He began his set with the high energy “Effington” from his latest album Way to Normal, and didn’t falter at all for his nearly two hour set.

By far the coolest part of the night was when he showed the audience a cool, synth-type effect which you can produce from a piano with a few altoids tins. The audience was more than compensated for the atrocious opening female solo act, whose name I can’t even remember. Great night, lots of energy, highly recommended!

4.3/5

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for more photos head on over to Peter Rosenblum's flickr page