February 20, 1998
Trio delivers irreverent show
If Ben Folds Five were to break up tomorrow, the North Carolina band would undoubtedly be remembered for their current hit, the supremely sombre and undeniably lovely Brick. This, of course, would be a great injustice. Because, as Ben Folds Five's three members -- pianist-singer Ben Folds, drummer Darren Jessee, and bassist Robert Sledge -- so eagerly proved to 1,000 fans at the Phoenix Wednesday, this is one goofy live act. No matter how much screwing around went on -- shambolic send-ups of piano bar schmaltz, all-too-frequent prank solos -- everything seemed to better serve their irreverent performance, however. (They may have gained some inspiration from opener Robbie Fulks, whose rollicking country-swing was a surprise hit with the all-ages alt-rock crowd.) Loose-as-a-goose from the get-go, Folds positioned himself at the keys of his baby grand like a kid who just skipped his ritalin dose before piano practice. He tore into Theme From Dr. Pyser, which raided Dick Dale's Miserlou and the entire oeuvre of Burt Bacharach, before swinging into anti-apathy anthem The Battle Of Who Could Care Less. Chaos followed, peppered by flashes of brilliance on tunes like Kate, One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces and Steven's Last Night In Town. For the joyously bitter Song For The Dumped, Folds backed up drummer Jessee by rhythmically scratching his mike across his piano strings, while Sledge unplugged his bass and used the live patch chord as a percussive tool. The trio couldn't even pull off a straight-faced version of the above-mentioned Brick without first breaking into something called Yo-Yo Ma, Rock Me Til The Break Of Dawn. Hey, at least they were consistent. And, when it counted, Sledge and Jessee pulled things together at the drop of a few wisely placed "bop-bop-bahs." True to form, Ben Folds Five couldn't pack up for the night without an encore goof on Underground, which disintegrated into an impromptu "disco diva" routine by Sledge. "Does anybody even remember what song we were playing?" Folds quizzed, before launching back into the intended tune. Folds' clever songwriting may deserve a less sloppy treatment. But there's something to be said for a band that can have this much fun at the expense of their best work.