The Brag

BEN FOLDS

It can’t be easy being Ben Folds. Every time he comes back to his second home in Australia he sells out shows from coast to coast, receives rave reviews and inspires millions of kids to take to their pianos, banging out their own versions of his self-deprecating gems, which have survived grunge, garage and electro-rock. How does one of modern music’s top performers up the ante? With many audience members repeat offenders who have seen Folds own the stage both solo and with an orchestra, and heard him bust jams with Five and even Nick Hornby, the pressure must be on to do something different – again. But Folds takes it in his stride; performing is what he does for a living and, as evidenced by yet another stellar two-hour show, he’s a natural.

For a change of pace (in case collaborating with a world-famous author was considered regular), Folds has brought his new session band, that just so happen to be a quintet – again. It’s a heady reminder of the glory days of Whatever & Ever Amen, with distorted bass complementing Folds’ expert ivory-bashing, and live drums adding that proper kick that his better songs – ‘Annie Waits’, ‘Kate’ and ‘Not The Same’ among them – always demanded. Leaning heavily on the Lonely Avenue songbook, Folds delights by opening with the hilarious ‘Levi Johnston Blues,’ and later veers towards insanity with the maniacal ‘Saskia Hamilton’, before the more subdued (and ultimately better written) ballads ‘Doc Pomus’ and ‘Picture Window.’

As always, Folds’ banter is in top form; along with voice, as it rings out across the State Theatre, it’s what makes the man such a delight to watch. He treats the crowd like old friends, feeding us gold nuggets of information about how the songs were written, and apologising in advance for a Ke$ha cover – which happens to be one of the best moments of the evening. The other is when he brings out support act (and vocal legend in her own right) Kate Miller-Heidke to add rocket fuel to ‘From Above’ and ‘You Don’t Know Me’, her staggering soprano negating any need for a string section. Always a soloist par excellence, and so full of energy that he never seems to need his piano stool at all, Folds exudes all the professionalism that is so distinctly lacking in many of his peers – which in itself is a falsehood, because the man really is peerless.

Jonno Seidler