10.06.24 – By Danielle Linneweber

Ben Folds brought a piano and his signature sense of humor to delight the crowd at The Ordway on October 6 for the ‘Paper Airplane Request’ tour.

Lindsey Kraft eased the crowd into the proceedings with an eclectic forty minute set where she alternated between talking, singing and playing piano to tell the story of two men whom she dated over the years who played key roles in her evolution as a person. Her set showed off her whimsical sense of humor, and it featured theatrical pop songs from the musical she’s writing called “love, me.” The audience sat in rapt silence in the dark while she wove a tale of how love and loss led her to start to see herself in a different light and recognize just how brave she is. Her songs ranged from wistful and earnest one minute to wildly silly the next. She offered a raw and unapologetic view of the good and bad decisions she’s made that ultimately led her to the stage in front of us. Ben popped out to accompany her for two songs. I had no idea what to expect leading up to the show because Lindsey is not your standard musician, so to speak. You won’t find any of her songs on Spotify, but you might recognize her from her acting roles on Grace and Frankie, Getting On and Living Biblically, among many other TV shows. She’s also appeared in several films. While Lindsey’s set might not be for everyone, she was certainly the right choice for a Ben Folds crowd that appreciates an artist who can tell an enthralling story with the perfect combination of wit and heart.

The audience didn’t have to wait long in between sets because there was nothing to tear down or set up. A lone Steinway piano was the centerpiece on the stage. Ben came out with no fanfare. He suddenly appeared out of the wings and strode across the stage in his khakis, gray t-shirt and newsboy cap – looking like your favorite music teacher from high school. He was on the verge of laryngitis and let us know that he was going to modify some of his melodies to get through the set. The crowd was sympathetic and more than happy to step in and help out on his signature high notes and choruses. He followed a similar format to Lindsey, alternating between giving us the amusing backstory of each song before tearing into it – laryngitis be damned. After “Sentimental Guy,” Ben told us about teaching virtual songwriting lessons during the pandemic and how he asked his students to turn stories they read in the newspaper into songs. Then he played a couple of songs he had written that were ripped from the headlines. In true Ben Folds fashion, he created musical portraits of the characters from those news stories that equally made you laugh and shake your head in disbelief. No one is better than Ben at creating songs about goofy, heartfelt characters that we all can relate to. Everyone has an “Uncle Walter.” 

That’s what drew me to Ben from the start. I first saw him in 1996 on the side stage at Lollapalooza in Indianapolis. The headliners included Soundgarden, Screaming Trees and Metallica. Grunge was at its peak, but when I saw Ben Folds Five destroy a bunch of songs on the piano, I forgot all about those long-haired Seattle punks. It was like I had discovered the Billy Joel of my generation, but he had a better sense of humor and wrote more clever lyrics. I beelined it straight to the record store seeking out the self-titled Ben Folds Five album while everyone else was snatching up Rancid and Rage Against the Machine albums. 

Ben’s show at The Ordway was a pleasant blast of nostalgia from a simpler time. He rounded out the first half of his set with “Effington” and “You Don’t Know Me.” The crowd enthusiastically sang Regina Spektor’s parts to help him avoid straining on the high notes. It was a playful way to lead into intermission. You read that right. There was an intermission. During that fifteen minute break, the audience wrote their requests on a piece of paper and folded them into paper airplanes that they threw on stage after a ten second countdown. What else would you expect from Ben Folds, after all? He chose nine songs from the pile of airplanes on the stage and kicked it off with “Cologne.” Ben told us how he wrote that song when he was laid up with pneumonia while on tour in Germany. He read a story about an astronaut who put on a pair of diapers and drove eighteen hours to kill her boyfriend, so he made a song out of it, of course. He followed that with “The Luckiest,” which ranks as one of his most popular songs that got huge airplay back in 2001. No introduction or backstory was needed. The crowd sat in complete stillness while he delicately worked his way through it. “Gracie,” a lovely song about his daughter, came next. It was written when she was born and he pointed out that she’s now twenty five. Things picked up with the rollicking “Philosophy,” from that self-titled 1995 Ben Folds Five album. He followed that with “Still Fighting It,” a heartfelt ballad about a dad and son’s strained relationship.

Ben invited Lindsey back on stage to make up a song with him that was completely unhinged, featuring his impression of Tom Waits mixed with the crowd singing like pirates. The chorus went something like “We’re rockin’ this bitch in St. Paul.” Thankfully, he picked up the request for “Kate,” a song he wrote with the intent of being one hundred percent nice and not including any of his usual snark. It’s easily my favorite song in his catalog and offers an infectiously adorable portrait of a woman who has daisies in her footsteps and never gets wet. He rounded out the second set with a request for the solemn “Jane.” The only way to send us home was with a jaunty ba-da-ba singalong to “The Army” for the encore. A few brave souls actually stood up and danced for that one. 

It was a nice change of pace to see a show in a theater where the audience sat in respectful silence for the entire set. No one in the primarily Gen X and Boomer crowd was taking photos or videos. The theater was pitch black. People sang along but in hushed tones. For once, you had no choice but to be in the moment and fully engrossed in every lyric and note. 

Ben only covered sixteen songs during the seventy five minute set. If it were anyone else, fans might have gone home dissatisfied. But not this crowd. We all knew we weren’t in for a standard rock concert because we all know Ben. You go to see Ben Folds because you want to hear some stories, sing, laugh and learn – all while gaining a greater appreciation for what a talented artist and genuinely good human that he is. You might also find yourself inspired to start taking piano lessons because no one makes playing the piano look like more fun than Ben Folds.