Ben Folds @ Kool Haus

February 19th, 2009

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A ridiculously rhetorical review of the Ben Folds concert at Kool Haus in Toronto on Tuesday night:

How much do people love Ben Folds? For an artist who rarely does Canadian tours, the pop pianist sure has a loyal fan base, eh? And with a two-hour set that ran the gamut of new and old material, did anyone leave disappointed?

For starters, would it be fair to call Folds and his four talented bandmates the Ben Folds Five? Or would that be sacrilege to the three-piece that comprised the original lineup? Does any of that even make sense?

Sense notwithstanding, is Folds a genius for placing a can of Altoids on his piano strings to create distortion, or was he just being a goof? Speaking of goofing around, was it really necessary to devote so much time to the infamous ‘fake’ material? Couldn’t he have played more than one (!!!) from his impressive 2005 release, Songs For Silverman? And why not the beloved cover of Dr. Dre‘s Bitches Ain’t Shit, if only to stop the annoying girl beside me from shrieking the phrase at every opportunity?

On the topic of concert crowds, isn’t it awesome when the only people in front of you are like 5’6”? (P.S.: – Don’t you hate being 5’5″?)

For opening act Miniature Tigers, was a quick 25-minute set enough to win over the near sold-out crowd? Their breezy Shins-inspired pop tunes were satisfactory, but was the audience too distracted by singer Charlie Brand’s teddy bear sweatshirt?

I dig the idea of having a capella group Wibi (York University’s own) fill the void between the Tigers and Folds, but what’s the point of only performing three songs (Folds’ Underground, Sarah Slean‘s Sweet Ones, and Journey‘s Don’t Stop Believing) when there was still a half-hour wait for the headliner?

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Ben Folds Setlist – Wednesday, February 18 @ Kool Haus, Toronto
Bitch Went Nuts
Effington
Brainwascht
You Don’t Know Me
Annie Waits
Alice Childress
Army (fake version)
Way to Normal (fake version)
Cologne
Zak And Sara
Landed
Dr. Yang (fake version)
Dr. Yang
Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head)
Fred Jones, Pt. 2
Lullabye
Emaline
Kylie From Connecticut
Free Coffee
Tom and Mary
Army
Kate
Not the Same