I saw Ben Folds again if you can believe it. This time, fresh off my Denver trip, I drove up to Milwaukee after work to make sure I didn’t miss this show. Folds’ current tour is in support of his new album What Matters Most. It’s beautiful and reminiscent of his earlier work, but it feels a bit more mature. I spent a lot of time with What Matters Most during a road trip to Indianapolis to see Paramore.1 It was the perfect companion. It cured road rage. By the 4th listen I memorized some of the words and was able to sing along. Even his silly single, “Exhausting Lover” grew on me by the end.
We didn’t get a specific Chicago date because he played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. By the time I found out about that show there were only nosebleed tickets available for like $200. No Thanks. So Milwaukee wins again. I’ve seen Ben in Milwaukee many times. Several times at Summerfest, once at the first ever Rock the Green festival in 2011, sometimes as Ben Folds Five, mostly solo, but it’s always been outdoors in Milwaukee. This was my first indoor Milwaukee Ben Folds show.
In my last post about Ben Folds I talked about how it had been a very long time since I saw him with a band. That was one of the draws of this show— he would be playing with a band. I don’t think I’ve seen him with a band since college.
The drive to Milwaukee from Chicago is about an hour and twenty minutes, but I always like to think it will take an hour. This doesn’t stop me from leaving early though. This time the maps had me taking the highway instead of the expressway. I assume because of construction, but it really tripped me out. I was confused about how I even got on the highway and the stop and go was too much for my lead foot. But I made it with enough time to spare.
I stopped at Potbelly’s for dinner and I was amongst fans, most wearing Ben Folds t-shirts.2 The ones not in his merch I would see enter the theater shortly after leaving the sandwich shop. I watched the line get long and then short again and made my move.
Another special thing about this show is that I bought a good seat. The last time I saw Ben was about a year ago in Indiana.3 I think I decided to go to the show kind of late in the game or it was already going to be expensive getting a hotel for a night, so I had a floor seat towards the back. This wouldn’t have bothered me too much, but I didn’t feel like I was sitting next to fans. These were just folks looking for something to do on the weekend. It was like going to the movies for them. I kept looking at the people up front with envy. They knew all the lyrics, when you were supposed to clap in the song, the parts you were supposed to shout back, the 3 part harmony to “Not the Same”. These were my people. I was supposed to be with them.
So for Milwaukee I tried to get as close as possible. I try to sit on the left when looking at the stage, so I’ll be at the side of the piano Ben is on. This time I went a little too far left and was afraid I’d be looking at his butt the whole time, but it was fine. It was a good view of his hands which is really what you’re looking for when watching someone play piano. I ended up in row J, which if you’re doing the math is the 10th row. It was perfect.
Tall Heights opened the show and I’ll be honest, I was kind of dreading them. They’ve opened for Folds before and I didn’t remember any impression of them except being bored. But it’s like, am I going to hang out in a Potbelly’s or listen to live music? So, a cellist and guitarist come on to the stage, just a duo from Boston, and they begin to sing the most beautiful songs. They were montage in a movie songs. Ones where the main character realizes life is worth living or that they really love the other main character.
I wonder if it was the grand space of The Riverside Theater that gave the proper acoustics for their sound or the fact I had to sit down and listen or that I’ve grown older, but they sounded gorgeous. A couple songs in they gave us a Blink-182 cover, “Dammit” which was just a fun pretty time. They also had a drummer come out for support for the back half of their set.
Tall Heights was pretty funny too. They had little bits to sell their merch and talked about the oddness of their life— one day being a dad changing diapers, the next in a theater playing to thousands. For their last song they played without any mics, just their instruments and voices filling the air. The audience kept still to hear every moment of the song. They won me over and I’ll be happy to see them support Ben going forward.
In between sets the husband of the couple next to me got up and his wife sat next to me and asked “Are you excited?” I said yes and she said, “That last band was kind of a bummer though.” (She was playing games on her phone for most of the set.) I told her I thought it was beautiful and we talked about Ben’s new album. They had also driven up from Illinois for the show. When her husband came back our conversation ended. They left before the encore. Embarrassing.
Ben came out without much fanfare. All of a sudden the show was starting. But another perk from my seats is I could see the wings and when the band and Ben were approaching the stage. I knew the show was happening maybe 5 seconds before the majority of the theater. I’m never sitting farther than the 10th row again (I’m kidding. I’m not rich.)
He opened with two new songs “Exhausting Lover” and “Winslow Gardens”. The band kind of clunked their way through it, things not lining up perfectly, but they all smiled and laughed— an inside joke that wasn’t meant for the audience. By the time they got to “Losing Lisa” from Folds’ first solo album Rockin’ the Suburbs, everyone seemed to ease into it. The audience was happy to sing along to an old favorite, the band was comfortable playing along.
Folds would introduce his new songs with a little story of how they came to be. They sounded great and full with a band. His band consisted of the Tall Heights duo and their drummer, as well as a bassist, and a multi-instrumentalist who had a special harmonica skill. The band all looked like they were having fun, they enjoyed the music and each other.
The setlist was void of any Ben Folds Five songs, which I would be lying if I said it didn’t hurt my feelings some, but I got one of my favorites, “Effington”4 and so much more. The set was definitely more upbeat than the Indiana show last year. The band probably assisted with that.
Every time I see Ben Folds I feel like I come back to myself a little bit. He was one of the first artists I fell in love with that felt mostly mine. He’s definitely the one I’ve seen live most. I feel like my teenage self, turning up the volume to the radio, telling my friends “just listen to this part right here!” and them mostly humoring me. But at a Ben Folds show, no one is humoring me.
When I was walking back to my car the crowd around me was talking about how great the show was. Two guys walked past admitting it was amazing after the first two songs. I felt validated that I heard what they heard. I couldn’t help but think it wasn’t the best Ben Folds show I had ever been to. But it felt the same as when I was talking to all those Front Bottom fans about their new album— I’m just always happy to spend some time with them, no matter what they’re doing.
Please go spend some time (40 minutes) with Ben Folds’ new album, What Matters Most.
I haven’t written about the Paramore show yet, because life, amiright?! But it’s in my drafts and I’m slowly chipping away at it. I would anticipate a September release.
I like that we’re wearing the band’s shirt to the show again. I say “we’re” loosely as I will never do this. Get made fun of once, and never again! But I think when you’re not into sports it’s nice to support “the team” at concerts.
I haven’t written about this show yet either, but it will happen! I didn’t even have this newsletter yet! It’s fine!
If you don’t like “Effington”, please never discuss it with me. I can’t care.
So glad you were able to see Ben Folds again. Sounds like a good time. Row 10 🎉
Another great review!