Gigs: Ben Folds live at Hammersmith Apollo :: Wessex Scene Online

Gigs: Ben Folds live at Hammersmith Apollo

28th February 2007
Rebecca Bowring and Catherine Marks

Rate this story

Feb 07 - Gigs: The Decemberists at Southampton University
Feb 07 - Gigs: I am Kloot at Southampton Joiners
Mar 07 - Gigs: Courtney Pine at Turner Sims Concert Hall
Feb 07 - Gigs: Delays at Southampton Guildhall
Jan 07 - Gigs: Muse live at London Wembley Arena

More by Rebecca Bowring and Catherine Marks

May 07 - Album Review: Bright Eyes
May 07 - Gigs: Arcade Fire at Brixton Academy
May 07 - Joy Division joins the Sports Division
May 07 - Album Review: Scout Niblett
Mar 07 - The Death of the CD

Like a full-bodied Californian wine, Ben Folds gets better with age. Just over a year ago, we were lucky enough to be at Brixton Academy for a sell-out gig on his UK tour and left thoroughly impressed.

But tonight’s performance even trumped that one. With a new drummer ("he picked up this sh*t in three days", quipped Ben) and guitarist on side, the unassuming pianist gave us two hours of classics. Even after a rousing encore, it still wasn’t enough.

We decided against queues at the bar to instead check out support act, Clem Snide. Despite the fact that only fifty percent of the crowd was paying attention to the guy, he was pretty funny. It soon became clear that he was chosen for his humour, rather than his musical talent—people weren’t rushing out to buy his CD after the show.

Then on came the threesome, opening their set with the sort of effortless band jam we’ve come to expect from a musician as talented as Ben Folds. His latest toys, including a bright red synthesiser and a green shaker, made for amusing variations on well-known songs. Part of the joy of Ben’s gigs is the sing-along element. The crowd knew almost all the words and at times drowned out the performers, especially during the chorus of ‘Army’. Ben is so at home on stage that he can deviate from the set list, stopping songs to insert an impromptu rendition (the theme tune to Little House on the

Prairie raised a cheer) or a quick improvisation. It’s all interspersed with moments of humorous self-deprecation which remind us that despite being a stellar musician, Ben’s just an ordinary bloke we could happily take down the pub for a pint. The only criticism to be made is that tonight’s repertoire was very similar to last year’s. However, the crowd went absolutely wild when Ben played ‘Underground’ – a song he’s only performed live once before this gig in years.

The classic ‘Bitches Ain’t Shit’, ‘All U Can Eat’ and ‘Learn to Live with What You Are’ went down a storm, but it would have been good to hear more tracks from his recent album, ‘Supersunnyspeedgraphic’. Past favourites sounded better than ever though – from the melodramatic ‘Last Polka’ to the caustic critique of modern America that is ‘Jesusland.’ By turns touching, funny, mellow and toe-tapping, his repertoire contains nothing superfluous; he doesn’t do fillers, every song’s a gem. After two months "sitting on his ass" (by his own admission) Ben Folds is back and proving he’s still a force to be reckoned with.