Live Review: Ben Folds

Ben Folds is a born entertainer. Even before he struck a single note he had the audience laughing with the simple act of winding his piano stool up to the correct height — already a good start to what would be a two-hour show. He then launched into Phone In A Pool from his most recent album, 2015's So There. 

Tonight was different. For one thing, it was just Folds and a grand piano. Ok, a drum made a brief appearance, but more on that later. The show was split into two sets - the first set was filled with songs Folds had chosen and the second, with audience requests. Folds breezed through a mix of solo and Ben Folds Five material much to the crowd's delight. He didn't just do the 'greatest hits', instead showing off the depth of his material and probably the best part of the show was the stories he told before each song. Some were entertaining, like his brush with a knife-wielding 'fan' before Not A Fan, while others were more heartfelt, like his story of living in Adelaide next an elderly couple who both passed away within a week of each other. He then told us he wrote sombre song The Luckiest about that time of his life.

The first set ended with an explosive version of Steven's Last Night In Town, Folds showing off his drumming skills with a drum solo at the end. The best thing about this solo was the road crew swiftly bringing out each piece of the drum kit and assembling it while Folds played it! Set one complete.

During the break, the audience had a chance to write a song request on a piece of paper to fold into a paper aeroplane. We were then the given the go-ahead to try and get these requests onto the stage. For the next ten minutes there were streams of paper missiles darting toward to the stage. Some survived the journey to the stage while others plummeted into the front rows. Folds picked up random planes and played each lucky punter's request. He kicked the second set off with the big hit Army, getting the crowd to replace the original's horn section.

Rock This Bitch was up next and came in at close to the ten-minute mark. It's a special song in that each live version is different. Tonight Folds included various Adelaide-based anecdotes from when he was living here, receiving a "woo!" here and there from the audience when he referenced a certain part of his former city.

In one of his many anecdotes, Folds mentioned that he was asked to learn Tiny Dancer because he was going to perform side by side with piano-pop maverick Elton John, but then unfortunately the concert was cancelled. Lucky for the audience tonight, it meant we witnessed one of the best songs ever, Folds-style. He even threw in some cheeky Elton mannerisms, which coaxed huge laughs from the audience.

During the upbeat, rockier tracks, Folds assumed an attack stance and really played the hell out of his grand piano. The sold-out crowd surely hadn't heard a version of One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces like the one he delivered tonight! Not The Same ended what was a fantastically entertaining show.