Forever Ben

No one is as good as alt-rocker Ben Folds at taking heartfelt, contemporary music and infusing it with enough punk ethos that it practically grows a Mohawk and vomits on the crowd. See, Folds is a truly gifted pianist. But he doesn't exactly tickle the ivories — he thrashes the...

By John Linn

April 2, 2009

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No one is as good as alt-rocker Ben Folds at taking heartfelt, contemporary music and infusing it with enough punk ethos that it practically grows a Mohawk and vomits on the crowd. See, Folds is a truly gifted pianist. But he doesn't exactly tickle the ivories — he thrashes the keys with a pair of rigid middle fingers. On songs like "Bitch Went Nuts" or "Song For the Dumped," he rails against ex-lovers who've left him cold (being that he's on his fourth marriage now, he must be collecting them), while on others, like "Jesusland" and "Free Coffee," he just plain wails about everyone else. Yep, Folds is as angst-filled and spastic as any cola-fueled teenager out there, even though he's 40-something and seven albums deep into a career that's lasted more than a decade. Still, he isn't looking to hang up his schitzo-white boy act anytime soon. In fact, in his search for eternal youth (read: immaturity), Folds has gone back to school: he's employed thirteen collegiate a cappella groups to perform covers of his tracks for a soon-to-be-released released album, University A Cappella. To support of his version of a greatest hits record, Folds is bringing a few of the groups along with him to perform on his latest university tour.

Watch the court jester of pop as he gang tackles Florida Atlantic University Auditorium this Thursday night at 8 (777 Glades Rd. in Boca Raton). Tickets cost $35; get them at ticketmaster.com, or by calling 561-297-3758.
Thu., April 2, 8 p.m., 2009

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