Ben Folds: The Symphonic Tour
Live with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, cond. Nicholas Buc (QPAC, 12 March 2020)
Ben Folds and his piano… plus the QSO! A vibrant and versatile, heartfelt performance. Songs that came out particularly well with orchestral treatment included ‘Erase Me’, ‘Steven’s Last Night in Town’, and the traditionally improvised (now Brisbanised and symphonised) ‘Rock This Bitch’.
Ben Folds live at the Tivoli
(Paper Aeroplane Request Tour, 4 February 2018)
Ben Folds rocked the Tivoli sans new material but with irrepressible improvisation and a 25-year back catalogue. Highlights included the spontaneous ‘Mosh Pit’, a wild switch from piano to drums, and the crowd nailing Regina Spektor’s part in ‘You Don’t Know Me’.
Ben Folds with yMusic
(Live in Brisbane, 18 August 2016)
Ben Folds is nothing if not reinventive, playing a mix of old and new material to the virtuoso accompaniment of New York chamber ensemble yMusic. Following several heartfelt slower songs it was his up-tempo numbers that gained most from the new arrangements.