The appeal of Ben Folds has always been that nerdy-cool thing. He’s the guy who might have been ignored in high school, yet turned into the guy whom everyone wanted to know.

Aside from the late-‘90s ballad, “Brick,” Folds – then part of the Ben Folds Five trio—never attained much mainstream, commercial success. Yet his clever story-songs and admirable pop piano skills turned him into the Billy Joel for the college set.

At The National Friday night, Folds drew a mix of about 1,000 current college-aged fans and just as many followers who flocked to his music during their own college years and were ready for some reminiscing. Those also tended to be the people sitting upstairs in the packed balcony.

But Folds, a youthful 41, rarely rested during an invigorating two-hour show.

It was a charmingly lo-fi affair, with Folds and his black Baldwin baby grand augmented by drummer Sam Smith and bassist Jared Reynolds. Still, the simple trio projected a rich sound that started off slightly muddy (“Still Fighting It” was particularly muffled), but cleared up about 30 minutes into the set.

Folds’ ear for melody is impeccable and was illustrated perfectly during the three-part harmonies of “Jesusland.” He also demonstrated his knack for storytelling while introducing the new song, “Hiroshima,” with the darkly humorous true tale of how he fell off the stage during a show in Japan, got a concussion and continued with the concert while still bleeding through makeshift bandages.

The song, expected to be on an album Folds hopes to release in September, is a “Bennie and the Jets”-styled pop-rocker, which he performed standing at the piano, pounding the keys in a staccato rhythm.

Folds is an accomplished pianist, able to effortlessly swoop from the dizzying key poking during “Philosophy” to the tight, whisper-to-a-scream “Narcolepsy,” which also segued into a jazz interlude before crashing into a passionate musical showcase that left drummer Smith panting.

No doubt, when Folds and his band plowed through fan favorites “Kate” and “Losing Lisa,” a Folds specialty in its ability to mask heartbreaking lyrics (“Black tears are falling and she won’t say what I’ve done/She’s sitting here beside me, then she is gone” ) under a Beatles-esque bounce, the show’s highlight came with its quietest moment.

Playing alone onstage, Folds softly unfurled “The Luckiest,” a tender song of devotion that is also achingly melodic. As he reached the final verse, the lights closed around him until only a single spotlight remained – and the nerdy-cool guy had his shining moment.

Posted by Melissa Ruggieri in • Entertainment • Music
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