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BEN FOLDS AT KENTUCKY CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS (LOUISVILLE, KY 4/14/17)

Whether you are seeing Ben Folds solo, with his band “Ben Folds Five”, or with an entire orchestra, you surely won’t be disappointed with the performance. Last Friday, Ben Folds performed with the Louisville Orchestra composed by Teddy Abrams. To open out the night, Teddy and the orchestra performed a few pieces off their upcoming series of shows, “Festival of American Music II”. After finishing those pieces, Teddy hyped up the crowd with an orchestral cover of Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk”. Then, it was time for Ben Folds to hit the stage.

Ben Folds opened his performance with a trio of songs off his most recent solo release, So There. This trio of songs included “Concerto for Piano Movement 1, 2, and 3”. These pieces were vocal-less orchestral pieces that Ben created as well as played piano on. The pieces ranged from four minutes to ten minutes long, with the first piece being the longest. “Concerto for Piano Movement 2” was my favorite of the three, as it had a mellower soft sound mostly throughout it. Parts of it reminded me of Hans Zimmer’s “Time”, which may have been why I loved it so much. An intermission was held after Ben and the orchestra finished the Concerto.

Following the intermission, Ben took the stage once again to do some more songs with the orchestra. This main set included more well-known songs such as “Landed”, “Not the Same”, “Zak and Sara”, and of course, “Brick”. The accompaniment of the orchestra made these piano hits very beautiful and intimate. However, my personal favorite song of the set wasn’t quite a hit song. This song is coined as “Rock this B****”, and is very popular within Ben’s shows.

“Rock this B****” is actually pretty interesting because he has been performing the song at almost every show since 2002, but each time he plays it, it is different and unique. During a live recording of his 2002 live album “Ben Folds Live”, an audience member yelled at Ben “rock this b****!”. Therefore, Ben decided to play a short improv song called exactly what you’d think. And ever since then, whenever an audience member yells that phrase during a show, Ben will go ahead and make a new improv song on the spot and perform it. Now this sounds a bit complicated when it comes to the shows he does with orchestras, and you’d be correct. Piece by piece, he tells each individual part of the orchestra what notes they should play as well as how they should play it. After ten to fifteen minutes, Ben and the orchestra was ready to play the new improv song he had just created. Accompanied by lyrics from “My Old Kentucky Home”, the whole feel and atmosphere for the song was very unorthodox and peculiar. Of all the concerts I’ve been to in the past five years, this moment was definitely the most creative thing I’ve ever seen.

The first encore consisted of two songs. He started the encore with “The Luckiest”, a song which perfectly conveys how one feels when he or she in in love. The encore closer was “Theme from Dr. Pyser”, an older more obscure Ben Folds Five song. The song was completely instrumental and had a sort of James Bond vibe to it. After that energetic finish, Teddy Abrams and Ben Folds took a bow and left the stage.

Despite what seemed like the end of the show, Ben surprised the audience and did an uncanny second encore. This encore included the first and only solo piano piece Ben did the entire night. This short second encore included “Army”, another older Ben Folds Five song. Unfortunately, Ben cut the song a little short so the orchestra could leave and go home since it was getting late.

Overall, I think seeing Ben Folds was an amazing experience from start to finish. He had a lot of audience participation and enthusiasm throughout the show, which definitely shined. The added orchestra made the show even better and beautiful rather than if it were just him playing the piano solo. My only complaint was the show felt very short. I feel as if Ben could have played longer if the orchestra hadn’t played a few of their own pieces before the show and post-intermission. If you get the chance to see Ben Folds in any setting or fashion, I definitely recommend it!

Setlist:

First Half

1. Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Movement 1 2. Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Movement 2 3. Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Movement 3

Second Half 4. Capable of Anything 5. Landed 6. You Don't Know Me 7. Not the Same 8. Brick (Ben Folds Five song) 9. Rock this B**** 10. Zak and Sara

Encore 1

11. The Luckiest 12. Theme From Dr. Pyser (Ben Folds Five song)

Encore 2

13. Army (Ben Folds Five song)

-Chatman

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GREEN DAY AT THE STATE FARM CENTER

On March 28th, I watched the band that has had probably the greatest influence on my taste in music and my job here at The Spin, blow the roof off the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois.

           For years, Green Day was one of those bands that I knew a few songs of, but didn’t really call myself a fan of. I mean, I like the Green Day songs I had heard and I for sure appreciated what they did for the alternative rock scene, but I also wasn’t much into alternative music at that point in my life. Then, during my freshman year of high school, my best friend Holden pretty much forced me to listen to American Idiot and I fell in love (You can read more about that on my first Green Day blog).

           In early October of last year, the band comes back with their latest album, Revolution Radio, and shortly after the release, announce a tour. Immediately Holden texts Reece (another great friend who shares the love of Green Day) and me that they will be coming to the State Farm Center in Champaign. The reaction was pure joy. Since the three of us were into our first semester of college, we had classes when the presale went up, but lucky for us Holden’s dad Brad shared our love for live music and Green Day, and agreed to get the tickets. Brad was lucky enough to see Green Day in the 90s, when the following was much, much smaller. The day of the presale, Brad let us know that we unfortunately didn’t get general admission tickets, but we were in the very first row of seating. Our dream of seeing the Kings of Punk was coming true.

           After the long wait, it’s finally the day of the show. When we get to the State Farm Center, we are ushered to the floor where our seats are, or were. When we reach the floor, we are told by the staff that due to a change in staging, our row of seats had to be removed. They try to seat us on the side stage, directly behind the audio equipment, which would have led to probably the worst view I have ever had for a concert. Holden, who had been waiting for this concert since 3rd grade, was not going to sit here. He requests that we exchange our tickets for wristbands for the general admission pit, right in front of the stage. After asking if we would give up our seats and “stand the whole time”, the very nice, helpful staff member returns with four wristbands, and my hands begin to tremble as I find myself three people from the barrier.  

           The opener for the night was the pop-punk band Against Me! We play a couple Against Me! songs here at the station; you’ve probably heard True Trans Soul Rebel. Since this show, I have had their music on repeat. They were a great opening band who got the crowd excited for what was to come.

           Just before the show began, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody comes through the speakers and everyone in the pit joins in a chorus. Next, the familiar face and fluffy tale of a certain pink bunny emerges from backstage to pump up the crowd to The Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop. As the bunny leaves the stage, the lights go down, and we see Jason White, Tre Cool, Mike Dirnt, and finally Billie Joe Armstrong take the stage.

           The guitars seer and cymbals crash as Know Your Enemy fills the arena, and Armstrong’s unmistakable voice is next, that’s when the fun really started. Next came the first two singles from the new record, followed by Holiday (my favorite, it was at this point I accidentally punched the fellow to my left, sorry, man).

           The stage was set up in a “T”, and we were at the base of that “T”. This became a popular thoroughfare for Armstrong and bass player Mike Dirnt. Green Day does a great job of making their shows special for everyone in the crowd, but especially for a couple true fans. During Longview Billie Joe told the crowd that he was having some trouble singing, asking, “Does anyone know the words?” He picks a fan from the crowd; he hops the barrier and jumps on stage. Armstrong hands him the mic, and this guy, clearly overcome with excitement, runs around the stage, reaching out touching fans, and most importantly; nailing every word of the song. At the end of the song, he sails from the stage into the crowd and surfs his way back to his spot. During a cover of Operation Ivy’s Knowledge, Billie Joe calls up a fan to play guitar. As she takes the stage, it’s clear that she knows how to play guitar. She nails the three-cord progression, and struts around the stage, rocking with both White and Dirnt, clearly having the time of her life.

In total, the band played 23 songs and 4 encores; 7 from American Idiot, 6 from Revolution Radio, 5 from Dookie, 3 from Nimrod, 2 from Warning:, 2 from 21st Century Breakdown and Kerplunk! respectively, as well as 2 covers/medleys. If there is a Green Day song you know, they probably played it. When the encores came, American Idiot made the whole place jump and bang their heads, next was Jesus of Suburbia; to which I screamed every word. The show ended with Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) and confetti rained down. I left the stadium still shaking, from a show that easily ranks number 2 on the list of best concerts I’ve been to (behind the one and only Mumford & Sons). Green Day commands the stage in a way I believe no one else can. Billie Joe Armstrong is one of the greatest front men of all time, his banter will make you laugh, and his voice and the band’s music will give you the energy required to writhe and fist pump the entire show. If you get the chance, I urge you to see these guys live, and you probably will, Billie Joe claims he wants to keep touring for another 20 years.

Setlist:

Know Your Enemy

Bang Bang

Revolution Radio

Holiday

Letterbomb

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Longview

Youngblood

2000 Light Years Away

Hitchin' a Ride

When I Come Around

Burnout

Waiting

Minority

Are We the Waiting

St. Jimmy

Knowledge (Operation Ivy cover)

Basket Case

She

King for a Day

Shout / Always Look on the Bright Side of Life / (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction / Hey Jude

Still Breathing

Forever Now

Encore:

American Idiot

Jesus of Suburbia

Encore 2:

   27. Ordinary World    28. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

-Colin

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DINOSAUR JR. AT HEADLINERS MUSIC HALL (LOUISVILLE, KY 3/22/17)

Dinosaur Jr is one of those older bands I’ve always felt were very underappreciated. Formed in 1984 by front man and legend guitarist J Mascis, Dinosaur Jr has been rocking the world for decades without much recognition at all. Their biggest and most recognizable hit was “Feel the Pain” from 1994, debuting a whopping ten years after the band was formed. Despite only one major hit under their belt, Dinosaur Jr. has a massive amount of amazing undiscovered noise rock tracks in their repertoire. When I saw J Mascis and the rest of the band was coming to Louisville, I knew I had to get tickets. Opening with the beautiful yet seemingly heavy “Thumb”, it was quite obvious Dinosaur Jr came to rattle the whole entire venue. Once they finished playing the opening song, J Mascis decided to give the crowd a nice suite of four songs from their most recent release, Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not. The next assortment of eleven songs were from a variety of their studio albums ranging from the early 80’s to newer material. The crowd roared in a loud frenzy when they played “Feel the Pain” as well as the fan favorite, “Start Choppin”. I was also super stoked when they played “Start Choppin” as well as “Little Fury Things”, as they are two of my absolute favorite Dinosaur Jr. songs.

The night was coming to a close, but they still wanted to rock out with us at Headliners Music Hall. Their main set closer was “Gargoyle”, a two-minute track off their debut album Dinosaur. Despite the studio version of it being very short, the band turned the whole song into an eight-minute jam including a massive guitar solo from J Mascis. It was quite possibly one of the most intense things I’ve ever seen at a concert. The one thing I wasn’t aware of before the concert was that Dinosaur Jr at heart is a complete jam band live. It seemed like every other song had a nice lengthy guitar solo from J Mascis, accompanied by the band jamming out as if it were simply second nature.

To begin the encore, the band came out and played “Kracked” off their 1987 album You’re Living All Over Me. To accompany it, they played “Sludgefeast” immediately after, which so happens to be the next song on the album. “Sludgefeast” was one of my favorite tunes of the night because of how well J’s soft smooth vocals contrast with the long droning guitar throughout the song. To close out the night, the band played a live debut cover of the song “TV Eye” by The Stooges. John Brannon, lead singer of the opening band Easy Action, accompanied J Mascis on vocals for a great end to a long hard-rocking night.

Overall, Dinosaur Jr was a pretty awesome way to start off my year for the concert season. My only complaint was that they couldn’t play longer. Despite playing eighteen songs, I wish the show was longer so they could have more time to play everything the fans wanted to hear. I definitely recommend seeing them if you don’t mind your face being melted off.

SETLIST:

1.     Thumb 2.    Goin Down 3.    Lost All Day 4.    I Told Everyone 5.    Love Is... 6.    The Wagon 7.    Watch the Corners 8.    Tiny 9.    Out There 10.  Feel the Pain 11.  Knocked Around 12.  Start Choppin 13.  I Walk for Miles 14.  Freak Scene 15.  Gargoyle

ENCORE:

16.  Kracked 17.  Sludgefeast 18.  TV Eye (The Stooges cover) (live debut with John Brannon)

-Chatman