Ben Folds at The Norva, 9 April 2008

I’ve been an on-and-off Ben Folds fan for about a decade, so I was set on seeing him live, even if it meant staying up late on a weekday. Anything that interferes with my requisite 6 hours of sleep had better be good, and considering the down-tempo nature of Mr. Folds’ recent output, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Fortunately for all involved, this 41-year-old can rock. The set list comprised tracks reaching back to the mid-nineties and forward to whenever Ben releases his new album. He heavily favored upbeat songs, pausing only for a few slow tunes mid-concert. Several songs featured flashy, improvised solos (notably the extended ending to “Philosophy”) or crowd-pleasing gimmicks (the audience “horn section” for “Army”). By far the highlight of Ben Folds’ twisted humor was a ballad version of Dr. Dre’s “Bitches Ain’t Shit” — although, speaking of bitches, he did deny requests for “Rock This Bitch.”

All of the weak points stemmed from the venue. Whoever was managing the lights kept shining the “sing-along lights” at the audience at inappropriate moments, and the arbitrary color changes were out of rhythm and generally amateurish. When the mix was bad for the first few songs, Ben had to shout instructions in between phrases, which was somewhat amusing. Worst of all, however, was the propensity for tall people to stand right in front of me during the best songs.

All that aside, this was the most enjoyable concert I’ve been to this year (Regina Spektor comes in at a close second). Next concert of interest: Rilo Kiley.