Gig Watch: Ben Folds & The MSO - Hamer Hall
By Anne Davis
 Purchase CD: 
There is something about attending a concert at the Arts Centre in
Melbourne that always seems to give me chills. You dress more formally,
and arrive fifteen minutes early to line up for that t-shirt that you
will most likely wear every day for the week because you’re still
buzzing from the gig.
The atmosphere was truly electrifying as I entered Hamer Hall on a
rather chilly Saturday night, pumped to witness Ben Folds live in
concert. Now I can not say that I am a long abiding fan of Mr Folds,
but I have been aware of his genius for a good three or four years
since I came across the bitter sweet melody of Brick. But in recent times I have come to admire and enjoy the beautiful sounds this man makes on his piano.
So after purchasing my new red Ben Folds T-Shirt, which 5 days later I
still find myself wearing, my friend and I found our seats and settled
in for what was sure to be a great show. The crowd was mixed; there
were the elders with their season MSO tickets… to the die-hard
fans from the Ben Folds Five days… to the new kids on the block
who decided to show some interest after noticing the Ben Folds Live
poster on Seth Cohen’s bedroom wall during the first season of The O.C.
To say the concert was amazing from the very beginning would be an understatement. Starting with Zak and Sarah
from 2001's "Rockin' The Suburbs" (a relatively run of the mill tune
from that album), and the orchestra blew us away. The song took on a
new life which may never be exceeded, it was utterly mind blowing - the
sounds, the strings, the vibe. Who knew these songs could sound more
like the basis of a modern ballet than the pop-rock songs that usually
consists of piano, bass and drums. The orchestra even seemed to blow
Ben away, during the delightfully sad Smoke he was so mesmerised by the conductor’s “stick thing” that he missed his own cue to start playing.
And Ben is quite a character too. In between songs he would tell random
babblings of where the song came from or how he dressed up one time as
an impersonator of himself at a comedy night…only that nobody
knew who he was so he just felt like a dick head. At one point he
rambled on so much that everyone was laughing just out of the awkward
factor that no-one had any idea of what he was on about. He commented
that musicians can say anything and people will laugh because they feel
they have too, whereas a comedian can tell a well scripted joke and
still get tomatoes thrown at them. So true Ben!
The long awaited Brick
came and went, sounding even more melancholy with the violins and harp.
But my favourite by far was the beautiful song he wrote for his 7 year
old daughter Gracie, off his latest album, showing his mature feelings
as a father who loves his little girl.
The audience was surprised by the guest appearance of the Dresden
Dolls who had apparently flown back from Perth hours before to join
him. They played their own song Coin Operated Boy and later joined Ben for a jam on the jazzy Steven’s Last Night In Town, from the "Whatever and Ever Amen" album. Ben stating that he believes they are “musical geniuses”.
So there we have it. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra rocking it out
with Ben Folds at Hamer Hall. By far the most enjoyable concert I have
been too, and the most talented rocking musician I have come
across.
Set-List: 5 out of 5
Ben is even interactive with his audience, during Not The Same (a
song about a guy who climbed a tree on acid), using the audience to do
the back up vocals, creating a three part harmony - a human MSO, if you will. And may I say the
audience didn’t sound half bad.
There were the stalwarts Landed and Narcolepsy
(two more favourites of mine) reappearing on stage for another encore
shouting “Surprise, wow bet you didn’t think I’d come
back for one more!” And then he played it. The beautiful song
that
makes me want to cry, makes my brother think of his wedding of the
future, and makes Ben Folds think of Australia's Letterman, Rove
McManus. He dedicated The
Luckiest to Rove and his wife Belinda (it was their wedding song only
a few years ago). It was adorable.
A great mix of the new and old, with the added
oomf of a 90 piece orchestra made this one of the most dynamic setlists
in some time.
Lighting & Visual: 3.5 out of 5
A simple and elegant set up - as it always is with one of the world's
best orchestras. Visually stunning, just because of the pure scale of
the production - yet there was still an intimate warmth to the entire
evening.
A great show.
Overall: 95%
Ben Folds and the W.A.S.O. DVD is currently in stores now.
|
