Ben Folds

When I got to the Hammerstein Ballroom at 6pm yesterday, I expected the line to be long. What I didn’t expect was to standing a block away from the venue. Not surprisingly, I am not the only one who loves the musical stylings of Ben Folds.

In front of me was a father with his two children, probably in their mid- and early teens. The father was one of the most anxious people I have ever seen. Every 5 minutes he was commenting on the line and how long it was. He would keep leaving the line and walking to the end of it, just to see how much longer it had gotten in the last 5 minutes. His kids, much more rational that he, kept telling him to calm down, but were not successful. When the line did begin to move, he was so paranoid that someone was going to cut in front of him. My only thought through all of this was, “Please don’t have them anywhere near me during the show.”

The last time I was at the Hammerstein Ballroom was about a year a half ago when Jenn and I were on the floor to see the Black Crowes. After standing on my feet for 5 hours and thinking amputation was a reasonable remedy for the way my feet felt afterwards, I knew that the floor was not an option ever again. I bought a ticket for the second mezzanine, which was not only a cheaper ticket, but provided me with an actual seat.

I get up to the second mezzanine and have a plethora of seats to choose from. I get a front, obstruction-free view, sit and wait. And wait. And wait. Another thing I learned is that if one does not have a standing general admission ticket on the floor, there is no reason to get there right when the doors open at 6:30. Since I went to the show alone, I brought a book with me to pass the time and that was a good decision. The people on the floor were on their feet for an hour and a half before the opening act, Corn Mo, came on.

Corn Mo was crazy. But he used his craziness for good instead of evil. He is a very talented musician and the crowd was really into him. He played for 20 fun-filled minutes before heading off. So the floor people get 20 minutes of music during 2.5 hours of standing before Ben Folds comes on the stage.

Ben Folds is awesome. It is amazing how much talent, originality and innovation he has. That, and I’ve always been a sucker for piano players. I knew most of the songs, but even the ones I didn’t, he kept my interest and made me what to know more about the song. He is a natural storyteller and had the crowd in the palm of his hand. He had a red synthesizer on a small piano bench next to him, and used it at all the right moments. At times he would play the synthesizer with one hand and the piano with the other, not missing a single note. My favorite part of the evening was the back-to-back playing of the Dr. Dre classic, “Bitches Ain’t Shit”, and then going into my favorite Ben Folds song, “Landed”. Among the other highlights: “Zak and Sara”, “There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You”, “Not the Same”, “Annie Waits” and “One Down”. He played a solid 2-hour show. After the show, I arose from my plush seat and walked out of the Ballroom, while most of the standing room floor people were limping from being on their feet for almost 5 hours.

It really was a fantastic evening. So if Ben Folds comes to your town, definitely take the time out to check him out. You’ll be glad you did.

Quote of the Day:
"It was funny, she thought, that people would like her would rather be alone that put themselves in a potentially awkward situation, even though the risk could turn out to be rewarding." -Alexandra Robbins, "The Overacheivers"