THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #165 - December 5, 1996
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR, Issue #165
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Topics for Today:
The Sincola Connection
Request for tour dates!
The Rantings of a Madman
Yucko, bloody lesbians at NY Lolla!!!
Re: THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR, Issue #164
London; LA2
Ben Folds Five at Manchester
To the Armchair: OH PLEASE??? Digging the Diggers?
Something or other...
BFF concert review from May!
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 17:33:27 -0500
From: PowerVegan@aol.com
Subject: The Sincola Connection
So my band (King Cheese) played a party on Saturday night, filling in for
Gomez since some of the Gomez guys couldn't get off work. While there, I met
Chepo, the bass player for Gomez, and I find out that he's seen our show
before at a local club. Cool. But then I also find out that he's the bass
player for Sincola, which opened for Ben Folds Five at SXSW here in Austin
earlier this year. So we talk about Ben Folds Five and Sincola, I show him
my stick piano tatoo and autographed keyboard, and he tells me that Sincola
played a couple of shows with BF5 in England the last time they were there!
He said that both bands hung out together some, and that the BF5 boys were
really cool. I tell Chepo about how I've been meaning to record a
parody/tribute of the BF5 album, but I haven't gotten around to it simply
because I suck. He offers that he'd be into playing on that project, and
further that Sincola's drummer (Terri, I think) is also a big BF5 fan, and
he's sure that she'll want to play on it. All right! Now I just need to
make some time on my schedule and we might actually be able to get this thing
done.
If it's successful, I wonder if we'll get to tour like those bands such as
"1964" and "Liverpool" which do Beatles tribute shows. Probably not in the
U.S., but I bet we'd be a smash in Japan. Of course, Terri doesn't look too
much like Darren 'cause she's a girl, Chepo is Hispanic and doesn't look like
Robert, and I can't play my way out of a wet paper bag compared to Ben.
Yeah, maybe we should just stick with the recording project...
-- Michael Bluejay (Austin, TX)
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 19:33:30 -0500 (EST)
From: Jinky Ang <angjc@BIOMED.MED.YALE.EDU>
Subject: Request for tour dates!
I really want to know if BFF is coming back home...when?
I'm originally from North Carolina....home of BFF...
i'm now in connecticut and am really suffering from
withdrawal!
it's great to hear that the UK is enjoying our hometown
band! if anyone know of east coast tour dates...please
let me know....arigatoo!
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 17:28:30 -0800
From: Adam Kline <batura@nccn.net>
Subject: The Rantings of a Madman
Hey there Frank and everybody...
The following was posted on the They Might Be Giants mailing list (why
there? Don't ask me). Since it concerns all of us, I thought I'd post it
here. I don't really know what to say about it.
>Date: Tue, 26 Nov 1996 23:34:15 GMT
>From: Joe Keith <joekeith@dircon.co.uk>
>Subject: TMBG: BOYCOTT BEN FOLDS FIVE! (TMBG Unrelated)
>
><ROYAL ALBERT HALL>
>
>Ben Folds Five are a bunch of homophobic, anti-gay arseholes.
>
>Tonight, upon commenting on the Norwegian press's interpretation of their
>"punk rock for sissies" credo, they used terminology that was derogatory to
>the gay community and highly offensive.
>
>BBF deserve to sink into oblivion and the sooner they do, the better
>humanity can enjoy a life free of prejudice.
>
>In case any of you are wondering...
>
> YES - I am gay.
>
> Yes - I am proud of who I am.
>
> Yes - I am pretty pissed off.
So what can you even say about this? This Joe Keith guy doesn't seem too
interested in telling us exactly what the boys said, but he seems pretty
steamed about it. I, for one, having spoken with the fellows of BF5, can't
at all picture them offending anybody (except maybe Oasis). Anyone know
the full story on this thing?
Adam
--------------------- Adam Kline - batura@nccn.net ---------------------
| The Beatles - They Might Be Giants - Paul Simon - Ben Folds Five |
| Elvis Costello - The Ziggens - Violent Femmes - Freedy Johnston |
| Yah-Yah Littleman - Cake - The Amish Ninja - Beck - Tom Petty |
| Sublime - Frente! - The Muppets - Badical Turbo Radness - the Rutles |
----------- http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/4233/ ------------
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 22:51:02 -0500
From: DrivByKiss@aol.com
Subject: Yucko, bloody lesbians at NY Lolla!!!
Well, here goes my first post in the armchair!!
i went to both NY lollas and was at the front both days!! there is nothing
like seeing ben folds and the gang playing in the hot summer sun!! first day
was nice, they did a bunch of stuff i never heard!! over the rainbow,
champagne supernova to name a few! i thin they did some kind of metal song
too!! ben was having fun putting up the ever popular metal "devil" sign with
his fingers and yelling old style metal battle crys!!
next day was better, he had another girl dancing on the piano and was this
show ever rockin!!! did the same songs as the day b4, but better!! i have a
whole roll of film with almost nothing but bf5!! my pics came out better
than the pics i downloaded off of the spinonline section of AOL!! i was
close enough for ben to actually hand me the set list for that show!!! i
still have and cherish it!!! i was so close that when the girls who faked
some lesbo sex on a bed of nails on the grand got all bloody it spattered on
me!!! what an encore!!! underground never sounded so good!!!
i had a blast!!!
i cant wait to get some new material!!!
ps-- i'm gonna be scanning the pics so if yall want to get in touch with
me, i will have them in the next few months
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 28 Nov 96 9:39:20 -0000
From: Simon Burrows LAN-SP <sburrows@madge.com>
Subject: Re: THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR, Issue #164
>> "Can you play the theme tune of Jonny Briggs?">>
Does anyone else think that this is a bizarre choice of song to challenge Ben
to musically parrot? Think of all the British Childrens TV show themes that
would have benefitted from the BF's5 treatment - now the theme tune to
"Rhubarb" WOULD have impressed me.
A few points on the Gig at Birmingham's Foundry, Nov 24th.
The Diggers:
>>maybe TEENAGE FANCLUB MEETS THE BEATLES.>>
Er...not unless the Diggers have drastically changed their approach since
their visit to my native B'ham. Ok, they are Scottish and signed to Creation
but the similarities with @Fanclub@ stop there. They sounded like the bastard
offspring of a Bluetones/Beatles/Cast session. Nice enough tunes, but the
same plodding tempo meant that at the end of their 20 minute set I was glad
they were going. I liked the way they shared the singing duties between them
(and the bass player had a nice falsotto voice) but the second guitarist was
obviously one of their mates who was surplus to requirements. Even the sound
man turned his vocal down in the mix, which I was grateful for.
BF's5:
Mosh tastic. I was expecting the gig to be full of middle-aged jazz
enthusiasts saying "Great" and "Nice" between songs like the guy from Jazz
Club on "The Fast Show". But the healthy queue of student types before the
show meant that the mosh pit (though more "pit" than "mosh") was pretty
hectic. Interesting heckle of the night goes to the bloke who shouted very
audibly "You're f***ing s***" at the end of the first song. Ben laughed it
off, explaining to the band that he thought it must be some "strange Midlands
slang". Since no concert in Brum is complete without a "S*** on the Villa",
it was hilarious to hear it from a bemused Robert who, like any foreigner,
could only guess its deep cultural/geo-political origins. Th highlights were
"Philosophy", "Underground", and one which I think was called "Give Me Back
My Money You Bitch" - which Ben introduced with a contemptuous shake of the
head saying "This is about someone who was so unfair. I mean really unfair".
He was sporting a "Rage Against The Machine" T shirt (has he done any of
their stuff live?) so I thought we might get to hear "Killing In The Name
Of", but instead we got "Video Killed The Radio Star" by the Bugles (which
was the first song ever played on MTV, incidently). I thought this was a
strange choice because a less talented trio "The Presidents of The United
States Of America" covered this extensively during their last UK tour.
Anyone know of anymore UK dates?
You ain't seen me....roight?
Simon
sburrows@madge.com
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 28 Nov 1996 11:30:54 +0000
From: Nick VINCENT <N.Vincent@cs.ucl.ac.uk>
Subject: London; LA2
Two support acts to wait through before, once again, the BF5 took the stage.
The sound quality for the first couple of songs left a bit to be desired,
since Robert's bass amp seemed to be stuck on full volume and was
subsequently louder than everything, including the PA. It was pronounced to
be 'as loud as f***'.
One the sound engineer had worked out how to turn the piano up things went
superbly, the band steaming through the set, and the crowd leaping about
appreciatively. Ben cocked up, forgot his words, and proclaimed that it was
the first time ever (anyone believe him?). Satan Is My Master was treated
to an extended version, during which Ben disappeared behind his piano and
popped up wearing a peroxide blonde wig and holding a battered old
stratocaster. Ben then proceeded to leap atop his fine piano and flail
madly at the strings it what would seem to be a fine satire against rock
guitarists. Well, I laughed. He then leapt from the piano to the stage,
before smashing the piano into tiny pieces on the stage, and throwing them
into the audience. My thanks go out to those people who grabbed the
fretboard and wouldn't let go. The five of them barged about, nearly
knocking the whole crowd over several times, for about 10 minutes, until
they fell off the edge of the raised 'pit'.
A country version of Champagne Supernove followed, and the encore was 'Song
for the Dumped'. Over zealous security guards lobbed us out before the band
reappeared, but I did manage to give a wallet back, and if anyone from the
list lost some keys with orange insulating tape wrapped round them I gave
them to the doormen.
Until the next time,
Nick
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 28 Nov 1996 11:40:44 GMT
From: David Tyack <MBBX6DT3@mh2.mcc.ac.uk>
Reply to: mbbx6dt3@stud.man.ac.uk
Subject: Ben Folds Five at Manchester
I saw the BF5 at the Hop and Grape in Manchester and I thought that
it was without a doubt the finest gig I have ever attended.
The new songs (ie. non-album) sounded fantastic.
They did Champagne Supernova,Video killed the radio star and another
which I have forgotten.
Julianne was the highlight of the night,being announced by "here's a
song from our favorite musical-South Pacific",and they played the
first part of it Hawaiian style!
Me and my brother kept asking for the theme tune from Cheers,but they
never played it.
Please mail me about BF5 and other stuff.
P.S.I thought the diggers were quite good,but the uniforms were a bit
kak.
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 28 Nov 1996 11:29:42 -0800
From: Craig G Drury <cgdrury@netcomuk.co.uk>
Subject: To the Armchair: OH PLEASE??? Digging the Diggers?
Now we all know Ben is cool!
If you were one of us lucky ones who saw them Live, you'll know what a
showman BEN is,.
but digging the diggers?,.they were dull and uninspiring? just check out
the crowd reaction,. they were DEAD (well at the leadmill anyway)
BEN rules,. Hope they put out some of thier covers! I'd give them 5 out
of 5,.
:-)
Craig.
"Keep ASCII Art Alive: Use Your Fixed Width Font!"
-,-'-{@ -,-'-{@ -,-'-{@ -,-'-{@ -,-'-{@
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 28 Nov 1996 19:05:53 GMT
From: Mark Piper <pipermf@ugs1.ph.bham.ac.uk>
Subject: Something or other...
katherine wrote:
> to anyone who got to see bff this time round, i am SO jealous of you!
So you should be! They were the best!
> does anyone know if they are coming back next year?
Yes! I do! We didn't notice until the next morning, but, those of you at
the LA2, check that flyer. Down in the corner...Ben Folds Five, LA2, 27th
February! S***! That's less than three months! And Ben did mention at the
end of the show that they would be
back in March. Fantastic.
That little tinker Andy spouted:
> Arrived at the venue to find what was surely the longest queue in its
> history.
He's not lying! (much)
> I sat upstairs in the bar until
> the end of the Diggers (my vote - they were s***), and came down to
Hmm, I thought they were good. Mind you, they were a bit s*** at the
Astoria I thought, and the other support were great (even if they did all
look about 15). On that subject, I don't think they were the Fabric Four,
were they? Did they say they were call ed "Montrose Avenue", or was that
the song?
> Steven (can anyone who was there tell me if it was out of tune,
> or whether it was meant to sound like that?)
Sounded okay to me.
> Kate ?
Why were there question marks against Kate? They were on Astoria setlists
too (although I didn't get one, but I did from Bham!)
> Dwarf ('about a kid, certainly not me, who got bullied at
> school', then something about putting people in cupboards and 'doing
> naughty things to them')
Yeah, everyone cheers for Underground... "Um, no, actually, there are two
of them" >8) Left up to me to be a bighead and shout "One Angry Dwarf"...
> Chopsticks
Did they play this? Was I in a coma?
> Video Killed The Radio Star ('it's in C#, which is a pain in the ass').
Actually Andy me mate, I think you'll find it was a "total bitch"
> Anyway, that's that. Best gig ever? Oh, alright then.
Yeah, it was great. They didn't play VKTRS or Crosstown Traffic at the
Astoria, but they did play Satan Is My Master. Ben disappears offstage,
comes back on in long blond spiky wig, picks up a guitar from behind the
piano, plugs it in, climbs up on the pi ano and plays a guitar solo!
Pretty good too. After he's machine-gunned everybody with the guitar, he
jumps down and smashes it to pieces. Totally hilarious. The Astoria show
was better in places, worse in some (more to do with the atmos. rather
than the music)
John A wrote:
> Oh, and off topic, have any UK listies seen the Jason Falkner album
> in this country in record shops? Is it only on import? Oh, and
> what's it called? Please send helpful, glowing e-mails to moi.
>
It's called "Author Unknown", and it's supposed to be fantastic. I got a
copy from a friend yesterday, and on first listen it's pretty good. Mind
you, I was more impressed by the copy of the Vandalias "Mach V" on the
other side. Check that out!
Sorry for taking up more space.. At least I spared you a dissection of the
LA2 show. Someone else can do that, I'm sure...
Mark
"This is from our first album, Waist High In Hookers and Coke" - Ben Folds
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| mfp540@bham.ac.uk | pipermf@phymat.bham.ac.uk |
| Looks, Brains and Everything, the unofficial UK Ben Folds Five site |
| http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/5430/bff.html |
| If you haven't found out already, it's gonna blow your minds! |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 28 Nov 1996 20:00:40 GMT
From: Mr Benjamin R Day <ph41bd@surrey.ac.uk>
Subject: BFF concert review from May!
Hi.
I wrote this after seeing Ben Folds Five in May, after what I think was
their first gig in the UK. Originally this review was for a band called
Engine88 who were supporting BFF at the 100 club on Oxford Street, so a
lot of the review is about that. If you
wanna skip to the BFF stuff, it's near the end, underneath the stars
******************.
--------------------------------------------
From ph41bd Thu May 2 12:04:43 1996
To: counting-crows@ariel.com
Subject: Engine 88: London's 100 Club review (and dang if it ain't a big one!)
X-Sun-Charset: ISO-8859-1
Hi.
Saw E88 at the 100 club last night. If you got a few hours to spare, let
me tell you about it...
The ansaphone said that no tickets were available in advance, and that
they would only be on sale at the box office from 7.30 onwards. So better
get there early, I thought. The bands were E88, Sincola and Ben Folds
Five, in that order.
Got to the club at 6 pm, after killing time at Covent garden, watching
some bloke walk around with his hat on fire! Found the club, and also
found a large poster on the door saying 'Ben Folds Five:- Sold Out', which
was strange, considering no tickets wer e meant to have been sold at that
time...
I was not happy.
Found an employee of the club, and asked him why the place was sold out.
Apparentely the record company bought all the tickets. Through clenched
teeth I enquired why they didn't say that on the phone. Shrugged
shoulders.
Then I played my trump card. 'Uhh, is Eric Knight, E88's bassist, around
by any chance?'
The guy looks at me kinda funny, and I explain that I've written to him
before, and he was gonna say Hi at the gig. (Bit of an exaggeration)
So blokey goes to find Eric, I go to find a phone box to phone Chris Marsh
and tell her it's sold out, Chris has left already, and when I arrive back
at the club, there's this bloke smoking a cig, chatting to the guy I
talked to before.
Eric introduces himself, and we chat a while. Eric is the coolest guy
ever, real friendly, very open. We talk Doc Martens, clothes prices,
London, US, Mad Cow disease. Lady luck smiles on me. Eric has two passes
which he gives to me. He tries to get anoth er couple for Chris' family,
but no joy. Still, two is better than none.
Eric goes off to do soundcheck, comes back later and he's managed to get
another couple of spaces on the guestlist, so now there's four of us in
luck! We chat some more, then Eric goes off to find someone.
Next time I see him he's got Tom Barnes with him. THE Tom Barnes. I shaked
the hand of the man who wrote Private Archipelago. Swear to myself I'll
never wash again. Hell, I didn't wash much anyway...
Tom is a really cool guy too, tall, peroxide blond ends to his hair. He's
quite quiet too. We talked music, about how getting bay area music in
England is like getting truth out of a politician. I told them that DEV
would be on Letterman, this was news to
them, lots of discussion.
Eric and Tom leave. I wait outside the club with the passes in my pocket
for Chris et al. Every thirty seconds, I check the passes are still there.
1,2, everything's fine.
Chris arrives with 3 others. Much consternation. We bluff our way into the
club, so that's 5 in for free. Saved #20.
We meet the other members of the band and get autographs, mementos, all
that stuff.
E88 are on first. They play a short set, half from Clean Yer Room, half
new stuff from the album they've just finished recording (out
september/october). Chris has the setlist, which she'll post no doubt.
The band are awesome live. Tom really puts his all into it, you can count
the veins in his neck as he grimaces to a high note. They play really well
and I got lots of really great photos from the gig. If you ever get a
chance to see them, do. No ifs, no b uts, just go see them.
Second band on were Sincola, a five piece from Austin, Texas. Very angry
music, real nice guitar playing by the female lead guitarist. Real nice
female lead guitarist, too, come to think of it!
************************************************
Finally Ben Folds Five (three, shurely?) come on. Ben Folds is the second
most normal looking bloke in the world. The most normal looking bloke
plays bass. However, their sound and playing is most abnormal. Amazing
sums it up nicely. Just to see Ben play chords with his hand vibrating
(there's no other word for it) on the keys so fast, it's blurry, that's
entertainment. He sings real good too.
Ben likes to use some unorthodox techniques in his playing too. First,
there's the karate chop, where he uses his whole arm to play a loud
jarring chord using half the keys on the piano in one go, slamming his
forearm down in a mighty crash.
Next, there's the foot stomp, a la little richard, bringing his heel down
on the keys.
He also like to make a big bass thud by headbutting the microphone.
But the absolute best, the all-time greatest, is how he finishes one song
by picking up the piano stool and THROWING it at the keyboard. Even
better, it sounds right too!
He usually dives on the piano too, but this night he has a broken rib, and
he doesn't want to puncture his liver...
Looks are deceptive.
Well, that's it for my review, I'm off now to buy the Ben Folds Five album
and practice throwing my chair at my mini electronic keyboard, and
wondering why it doesn't sound so good...
See ya, spinach.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benjamin R Day "They dress you up in white satin
c/o Physics Department And they give you your very own pair of wings
University of Surrey In August and Everything After
Guildford I'm After Everything."
Surrey by Counting Crows.
GU2 5XH
Email: ph41bd@surrey.ac.uk
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