Ben Folds, Sara Bareilles, & Hotel Lights @ MIT

Concert Review
Ben Folds / Sara Bareilles / Hotel Lights
MIT Spring Weekend, Cambridge MA
April 25, 2009

Last night I attended my fifth Ben Folds show. Having seen him three times in Boston and once at Providence College, this was also my first concert (for any artist) at another school's exclusive show. After a hilarious (?) walk around Cambridge, my party was hot, thirsty, and ready to get our faces rocked off.

The rocking would be put on hold, however. The warm-up music was a pleasant but mellow set from Hotel Lights, a band fronted by Darren Jessee (guitar/vocals), former drummer for Ben Folds Five. While I enjoy their music on my own, I was a little unsure how their introspective songs would hold up in a live setting. The applause after each song was enthusiastic, but the energy in the room was generally low. Their drummer's unexpected absence hurt the set tremendously, too. All told, it was a pretty and well-played (especially with personnel issues) set from a band that deserves exploration, albeit probably on a more personal and less social level.

Sara Bareilles and her band came onstage next and made the room come alive. Positively glowing, her enthusiasm was contagious and she easily won over the college-aged audience, even with songs that most of the crowd was unfamiliar with. It was the last night of her tour and the set was upbeat, polished, and fun. A well-received new number was featured, presumably from her forthcoming sophomore album. She joked with the crowd through her seven song main performance, and sang each number with spirit. Of course, "Love Song" was in the setlist (as the fifth song) but--her wry acknowledgement of its perceived overexposure aside--she managed to deliver a fresh sounding version, highlighting the better parts of a song that holds up better musically than most Top 40 today. "Many The Miles", an infectious gospel-styled number, was a standout on her debut CD and a highlight of the show. She wrapped up the main set with her band by switching to ukelele and delivering a cover of Rihanna's "Umbrella" (complete with a "Hotel California" interpolation) that managed to be both tongue-in-cheek and (surprisingly) very, very good. Her encore was an unaccompanied version of "Gravity" on piano. With a great band and fantastic energy on stage, her talents shone through. I might have a crush on her.

Newton South High School's own NewTones a cappella group performed during the intermission, singing their cover of Ben Folds Five's "Evaporated" which appears on the forthcoming collection Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella! (out this Tuesday).

After an unexplained delay, Ben Folds finally appeared with his band. Launching right into the out-of-left-field opener "Jesusland", Folds was (as always) in his element on stage. "Effington" and "Brainwascht" from Way To Normal followed, and led into the "fake" song "Bitch Went Nutz", which Folds considers superior to the real one. The audience was very receptive to all of the tunes, most of which spanned his three solo albums equally (at least four from each). Ben's band--including longtime bassist Jared Reynolds and drummer Sam Smith--has gotten even tighter while on the road, as much of his newest material sounded far more polished than it did in September. "Free Coffee", with its DIY, Altoids tin-propelled distortion, was a big hit with the MIT crowd and, on the other end of the intellectual spectrum, his rather infamous cover of a certain Dr. Dre song (which he had previously "retired") was dug up to offend the two people that hadn't heard it yet. "Hiroshima", "Zak and Sara", "Army", and "Not the Same" all amply demonstrated Folds' singular symbiotic relationship with his audience, as the give-and-take of energy between performer and fans was palpable.

Finally, in the tradition of "Rock This Bitch" (a series of improvised numbers that have become legendary amongst Folds fanboys), Ben made up a song on the spot ("I Loves Me A Gym") about the particular acoustic properties of the gym (actually a hockey rink) he was playing in. His ruminations on sound projection, standing waves, and other "technical intellectual shit" were an outrageous success with the obviously hip crowd. As Folds lampooned himself for going to UNC, his band jammed along with the changes in tempo and dynamics. Those curious can check out the fan video below:



Wrapping up with a fine-tuned "You Don't Know Me" and the audience-participatory three part harmony of "Not the Same", Folds' set was pushing the midnight mark. My fears of a short set were apparently unfounded. He returned with full band for a quick one-song encore before curfew, playing the fan favorite "Fair" from Whatever and Ever, Amen (a song I've wanted to hear live for some time now). Folds is a consummate performer and last night's show was no exception.

The full set list was:
Jesusland
Effington
Brainwascht
Bitch Went Nutz
Annie Waits
Sentimental Guy
Free Coffee
Landed
Lovesick Diagnostician / Dr. Yang
Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head)
Zak and Sara
Still Fighting It
Brick
You To Thank
Bitches Ain't Shit
Army
Rock This Bitch (I Loves Me A Gym)
You Don't Know Me
Not the Same
---
Fair (encore)

photos courtesy of hotellights.net, askmen.com, and Rolling Stone, respectively.