Bustling Geneseo County was sacked by Ben Folds' melodic piano and possible fecal accidents this past Saturday.
Writer/musician Ben Folds performed at SUNY Geneseo as part of a promotional tour for his new LP "Supersunnyspeedgraphic." The concert was reminiscent of the album in that both serve as a collaboration of old and new Ben Folds' music.
Folds opened the concert with "Trusted" to a gymnasium packed with thousands of eager college and high school students. The booming introduction of the song, along with its modest popularity, grabbed the audience from the start.
Folds followed up with a few of his faster paced songs, such as "Jesusland." He was successful at getting the audience involved with off the cuff comments that were both witty and engaging.
The piano playing Folds also tended to his audience by creating a small, silly melody on the spot, entitled "Coach Paul Simmons Says No," which referenced Geneseo's Fitness Center Director Paul Simmons. While the song was, in Folds' own words, "pathetic," the Geneseo crowd was all but ecstatic to have a Folds song to call their own.
"Being a huge, long time Ben Folds fan, I never thought that his concert could be better than I built it up to be, but it was," said UB pharmacy major Chris Ille.
Many students are skeptical about solo performances, and even though Ben Folds' music doesn't lend itself to grand performances or wild stage stunts, he succeeds in keeping the crowd's attention. Instead of strobe lights and fireworks there was an undeniable intimacy.
Accompanied by an entertaining Jose Hernandez on the guitar and Lindsey Davison on the drums, Folds was able to play classic Ben Folds Five songs like "Army." At the same time, Folds gave himself room to maneuver with strong ballads like "The Luckiest," without four other instruments getting in the way.
"I didn't know what to expect," said Geneseo chemistry major Alyson Spennacchio. "After seeing him live though, it was better than I could've ever imagined."
Deep into the middle of the set, Folds slowed the pace and sat down at a piano for songs such as "Fred Jones," a soft piano piece that spawned from a run on sentence in a news article in a Tennessee periodical. Throughout the performance, Folds toyed with his synthesizer, constantly creating accompanying techno beats to his songs.
At one point during the show, Folds turned his synthesizer to 10 hertz, warning his audience that a human's reaction to 10 hertz was a vicious moving of the bowels, followed by an impending fecal accident.
Proving his loyalty to his audience, Folds did not forget to play a hyped up version of "Happy Birthday" to a fan named Julia, who had requested it at the beginning of the show.
Folds' most entertaining moment came through his most ridiculous song, "Bitches Ain't Shit," a rap piece written by Snoop Dogg. Folds performed one verse, with Hernandez and Davison providing the accompanying vulgar parts. Set to a mellow, slow background, the lyrics served as a perfectly awkward compliment to his already "nerdy" image.
Alluding to this allure was Folds' concert opener, an accordion/piano-playing oddball that was aptly named Corn Mo. His songs were as weird as they were funny. With titles such as "Lollipop Time," he created an atmosphere of anticipation, making the audience constantly await more antics.
At the beginning of the concert Folds commented on the Geneseo gym, claiming that it was one of the best sounding venues he'd ever played. This comment was proven correct with songs such as "Landed," which bounced smoothly around the gym while avoiding any harsh ear pains after the show's end.
"The show was really funny, but never sacrificed Folds' musical talents," commented Ille. "By the time the concert was over, I wanted to find out when and where I could get a beer with Ben and just talk music."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
