this week i went to see ben folds. i like his music okay–sometimes it seems a bit repetitive (but some might just say that he’s got a unique style and he sticks to it), so i wasn’t expecting to be blown away by the concert, but…wow. he is absolutely fascinating to watch. i have never seen a pianist be quite that… active! he was in a semi-standing position for most of the concert and the few times that he actually sat down on his stool to play, his leg was tapping out the same crazy rhythm as his left hand. he plays with such physical power…it’s just something you kind of have to see for yourself. i was so glad we sat on the correct side of the stage. i think if you sat on the wrong side and missed seeing his hands, you’d miss a lot. i mean, he’s not afraid to pound on the piano with his arm or his fist (and it still sounds good!) or reach into the piano and fiddle around with the strings to alter the sound–it was fascinating. plus, i’m a complete sucker for any concert where the musician plays with the audience–giving us parts to sing along and then “directing” us. the only song of his that i know pretty well that he didn’t sing was the sweater song–he sang a lot of our favorites! it was amazing to watch the energy he got from being in a room full of people who loved his music. you can tell he absolutely loves what he does and it makes a huge difference in the amount of enjoyment the audience got from watching him. it was like this huge electric karma exchange where everyone got more and more energy from each other. i would like to make this analogy–
watching a ben folds live concert : listening to a ben folds cd :: seeing a painting in a museum : seeing a reprint of a painting in an art textbook.
the reproduction is never going to be as good as the original.
(did i do those punctuations correctly? it’s been a long time…)
