Stagestruck

BEN FOLDS
@La Zona Rosa, Austin, TX
September 22, 2001
The hotly-anticipated return of Ben Folds to Austin drew a full crowd to La Zona Rosa on one of the first evenings in the river city to actually feel like autumn. After warming up the audience with the theme from the cult TV show The Avengers, the ivory-tinkling tunesmith and his three-piece band went directly into "Not the Same," an acidly amusing story of friends growing apart that comes from his excellent new album (and first without his former band Ben Folds Five) Rockin' the Suburbs. Immediately on its heels was "Zak & Sara," the song from the new record that's most likely to become a hit. Unbeknownst to the adoring crowd, it was also a sign of things to come. There would be no songs from the BF5 era, at least not in the concert proper—the set list consisted mainly of tunes from Suburbs. The only exceptions were a couple of unrecorded pieces, the sardonically poignant "Karaoke Supernova," about a Japanese businessman going through a mid-life crisis, and "Make Me, Mommy," a silly joke obviously created for the new band.

This was fine with the fans, who, true to form, had already committed the new record to memory, singing along with most of the songs. The ultra-pop friendly "Annie Waits" got a huge ovation as soon as the piano chords rang out, with the kids providing the recording's handclaps. The growing pains power ballad "Still Fighting It," the classically inclined aging hippie study "The Ascent of Stan" and the moving retiree portrait "Fred Jones Part II" also deservedly drew enthusiastic applause. Folds and band closed out the main set with the title track of the new disk. With Folds wielding a portable synthesizer, the nü-metal parody not only rocked hard but was even funnier onstage than it is on record. For the inevitable encore Folds returned alone, pounding out first album favorites "Best Imitation of Myself" and "Philosophy," as well as a lovely version, by request, of the new album's heartfelt ballad "The Luckiest." The band then rejoined him for a romp through "Song For the Dumped," the crude but rocking kiss-off hit from Whatever and Ever, Amen. The new millennium's piano man quit the stage leaving the crowd buzzing happily.

It's odd that a crowd that was almost 90% twentysomethings (and younger) would respond so passionately to a thirtysomething's bittersweet contemplations about growing older. Either it's a tribute to Folds' abilities as a songwriter that he's able to communicate his experiences to those who are years away from having similar ones, or the kids don't see past the Trojan horse of sarcasm in which Folds couches many of his tunes. Considering Folds' expert way with melody and his obvious delight in the connection he makes with his audience, it's most likely the former. He and the band had a great time, and their enthusiasm rubbed off on the audience. Not that the crowd needed encouragement—Folds had his loyal following in his pocket after one verse. Armed with his songwriting and arranging gifts, a hot band and a true love of performance, Folds quite simply put on a great show. While it would have been nice to hear a longer set with a bit more of the older material (particularly work from The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Meissner), it's hard to argue with a show as fun-loving and musically satisfying as this one. Michael Toland