Ben Folds @ Houston Symphony

Sep 12th (2 years ago)

Posted by: Djk2k

Please excuse any ignorance. I've never spent more than ~$35 for a Ben Folds show before, and I noticed that tickets to Ben Folds at the Houston Symphony are $70-78. Does this mean that he will be playing with </it>the Houston Symphony Orchestra?

Sep 12th (2 years ago)

Posted by: Harrison

probably

he's in Australia now playing with a few different orchestras, so it would make sense that he's playing with the Houston Orchestra too.

Prices in Australia are significantly higher than for a regular ben concert [about 4x as much]

monkeys aren't donkeys! quit messing with my head!

Sep 12th (2 years ago)

Posted by: Djk2k

Before I spend about $170 bucks on a couple tickets, could anyone confirm that he is, in fact, playing with the orchestra?

Sep 12th (2 years ago)

Posted by: sybilskelton

From the Houston Symphony's website:

Reserve your seats today for this special appearance with the Houston Symphony, featuring hits such as “Brick,” “Boxing” and “The Luckiest.”

Sep 12th (2 years ago)

Posted by: +DrewMG

DJk2k, he's been playing with various orchestras for the past year, so I'd assume that's the case here, ESPECIALLY if tickets are that high.

it's clear and 44 degrees

Sep 12th (2 years ago)

Posted by: +DrewMG

Also, go to your local DVD rental place and buy the Ben Folds WASO DVD to get an idea of the kind of show you'll get. It's only like 9.99.

it's clear and 44 degrees

Sep 12th (2 years ago)

Posted by: +88 Kickin Keys

Yeah, get the DVD. It's called "Live in Perth". Not sure if it would be easy to find at rental places... but your average music store will probably have it. And yeah, it's cheap.

We never... never hit a cat and barbequed it before a gig in St. Louis... That never happened, and I don't know who started that rumor, but it was a possum... and they're edible if you like that... it's a little tough, but you don't just leave it sitting there.

-Darren

Sep 13th (2 years ago)

Posted by: Djk2k

Thanks for the information. I am definitely going to go. Don't worry, I have seen the WASO - Live in Perth DVD. Several times, in fact. Narcolepsy, from that performance, turned me on in ways I didn't know were possible.

Nov 2nd (2 years ago)

Posted by: General_Apathy

Went to this show last night in Houston with the Symphony backing him. Unbelievable!! This was my 6th Ben show over the last 5 years and it was by far the most memorable. Right up there with New Orleans in '02. He was in rare form. I laughed my ass off the entire time. His interactions with the orchestra and the conductor were priceless. He didn't play Boxing though, or Selfless Cold Composed which I thought would have fit well. Too much new stuff for my taste, but FANTASTIC show. The audience was also a bit funny. All the Ben crazies mixed in with high society symphony buffs. Very surreal. Some jackass yelled out "Rock This Bitch" and "Bitches aint Shit" the whole time. Ben actually acknowledged him saying "Well I was going to get serious, and then that happened."

Anyone else go? A setlist would be nice. I forgot it already. Man I haven't posted since '04. Where's Grant (88 KEys), where's Zack Friendly? Mrs Ben Folds? I see Webb is still hanging around. Steve needs to remodel this site. It hasn't changed at all.

Nov 2nd (2 years ago)

Posted by: Ben_Folds_Fan

He had a 17 song setlist and played just over an hour and a half. Below is the setlist along with a little commentary:

1. Zak & Sara
2. Smoke
POLITICAL SPEECH where he talked about the endangered buffet
3. All U Can Eat
4. Jesusland
5. Lullabye
6. Landed
7. Philosophy (pretty much like BFL version) after which he talked about the musicianship of the symphony and how 80+ of them play in unison and make the hard look easy whereas rock musicians make the easy look hard.
8. Stephen's Last Night in Town
9. Cigarette. This appeared to be an audible since I think he was really just setting up FJ2 and since it was without the Symphony. He said the article was "one long run on sentence." He then sang it and after the last word uttered simply "Period."
10. Fred Jones Part 2
11. Not the Same while directing the audience in the three part harmony. The orchestra members really warmed up to him after this one because of the way that he was able to get the audience not only involved but in performance.
12. The Ascent of Stan
13. Gracie--if I knew this I had forgotten that Louis and Gracie, while twins, actually have different birthdays and even different astrological signs. As Ben said, "I shit you not."
14. Brick
15. One Angry Dwarf--where he commented on the "very disco cool orchestration"
16. Narcolepsy with an operatic accompaniment to the end of the song
ENCORE
17. The Luckiest

Then, even though the entire Hall was on their feet clapping and cheering for more, the house lights came up and the show was done. There was a Symphony sponsored "mixer" on or back stage after the show, but at $40 a pop, there was no way I could justify the cost for the 4 of us.

Anyway, you can read the Houston Chronicle's classical music critic's review of the show here:
http://blogs.chron.com/aboutlastnight/2006/11/ben_folds
_at_the_houston_symph.html

Nov 2nd (2 years ago)

Posted by: caats19

concert for me tomorrow..drool. but it's not a symphony show. happy bout that

i'm from 42nd and wild where we fuck emu's in the ass...cause i go by the name of gangsta grizzas and me and the greyside gang are gonna fuck y'all in the aaass

Nov 2nd (2 years ago)

Posted by: HarmonizedMoFo

Filipino filistine.

I don't want to.
I don't have to.
You can't make me.
I'M STEVE

Nov 2nd (2 years ago)

Posted by: General_Apathy

Yeah I totally thought he was going to do a 2nd encore, but the lights came on. I know Boxing was next. It was hilarious when he was directing the singing for Not The Same, and the conductor stepped off of the platform and gave Ben his conductor stick thing to use...priceless. I hope that wasn't scripted, but then again, it didn't appear as if much of the show was. Ben was really keeping the orchestra on their toes, to the apparent dismay of some of the musicians. Some of them looked a little uneasy during Ben's antics, but some of them were really into it.

Nov 2nd (2 years ago)

Posted by: Ben_Folds_Fan

General Apathy
I totally agree with your assessment of the comfort level of the symphony members. From my vantage point, the violinists and others behind Ben seemed less than thrilled to be there. On the other hand the bassists and those facing Ben gradually warmed to him and "got it."

One other thing that I forgot to add is that near the end of the show, Ben put in a nice plug for the HSO by talking about how cool it was to perform his simple little songs with such talented musicians. He then encouraged his fans to check out other offerings of the HSO and mentioned this weekend's concerts featuring Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and other "greatest hits."

Said Ben, "Sure, Trapped in a Closet is a classic and Shake your Butt is something we can all get behind" but the music they perform on a regular basis is something that has stood the test of time. It was classic Ben.

Nov 2nd (2 years ago)

Posted by: General_Apathy

Indeed. I noticed the 1st violinist seemed particularly annoyed throughout the concert. She also seemed as if playing her solo on Steven's Last Night was a chore, and something so easy was beneath her. That may not be a fair assessment, but that's just how it appeared. After Ben threw the stool at the piano, it looked like he consoled her in some way, or asked if she was alright. But who really knows how much of Ben's silliness they were expecting. Surely they rehearsed at least a little bit before the show, although I know he was in Dallas the night before. Still......FANTASTIC show! Totally worth the $55 a pop that I paid for it. The cash bar before the show was also a welcome sight. If only I'd gotten there earlier.