The Show in Review: Ben Folds

As tragic as it was that G. Love was cancelled, I would have to say that Ben Folds was the perfect start to our outstanding spring lineup. And I think it's definately fair to say that the sold out crowd would agree with me. Ben Folds must have felt the overwhelming energy the audience had because he put on an amazing show for the hour and a half he rocked out on stage. Whether or not you call yourself a Ben Folds fan - I think we can all agree that Mr. Folds and his band have some serious talent. I was in awe by the effortless way he played his piano and sang. He sets the bar so high for piano rock. At a few different points in the show he was even shaking a maraca, singing flawlessly, and playing his piano in a way that would take me years to imitate correctly.

I have to confess that it was so hard for me contain myself during the show because he was so phenomenal. He played a few new, great tracks off of his album that he claims he just finished a few days ago. Given this preview of his new album, I can say for sure that I will be buying his new cd the second it hits the shelves. Of course, he also played some of his older, more popular jams that really got the crowd excited - including his infamous remake of Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit." My sole dissapointment with the show was that he did not play "The Luckiest" or "Rockin' the Suburbs," which are two of his more well known tunes. However, I guess the fact that he recorded his lively Iowa City audience making noises, screaming, and cheering to mix into his new album made me forgive him just a little.

Overall, the show was spectacular and it may be pretty hard to top this excellence in the future. Ben Folds has the same flawless sound live as he does in his albums and that is something really rare these days.

review and photos courtesy of SCOPE's very own Rachel T. Mardoian