THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #597 - November 9, 1997
Magical Armchair Digest Sunday, November 9 1997 Volume 01 : Number 597
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
In the changer
Globe Review of Boston Show
Ben Darren Robert and NBP
Mitchell Lane/Fab 4 and covers
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Date: Sat, 8 Nov 1997 16:39:19 -0500
From: "Derek Supranowicz"
Subject: In the changer
1) Dave Matthews Live at Red Rocks
2) George Clinton and the P-Funk
3) Ben Folds - original album
4) CatFish Blue - Stella
5) Live - Throwing Copper
- -------------------------------------------------------------
Derek Supranowicz Email - dpsupr@maila.wm.edu
College Station Unit 0474 WWW - http://www.toptown.com/dorms/xonel
P.O. Box 8793 Email2 - dsuprano@rocketmail.com
Williamsburg, VA
23186-0474
Derek Supranowicz School Phone - 757-221-4537
42 Hawthorne St. Home Phone - 413-637-1023
Lenox, MA
01240
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 08 Nov 1997 17:07:35 -0500 (EST)
From: "Dr. Peyser"
Subject: Globe Review of Boston Show
Here's what the Boston Globe had to say about Tuesday night's concert.
Very positive! Used completely without permission, of course.
Ben Folds Fills Roxy with witty and musical fusion
By Joan Anderman, Globe Correspondent
If invention is indeed the recombination of old ideas, Ben Folds is a true
original. His alternately (and sometimes simultaneously) wry, gleeful and
plaintive fusion of almost every popular music style from jazz through punk
defies categorization--as does the notion of a guitarless rock band. One
simple hangs onto the irresistable tunefulness that binds the stylistic
scraps and goes for the ride.
The capacity crowd at the Roxy Tuesday night were card-carrying, lyric-
reciting members of the fold, so to speak, cult-like in their devotion to
their hero's literate, irreverant words, which run as postmodern as his
racous musical pastiche. From the moment the trio launched into the
Stephen Sondheim-meets-Elvis-Costello-via-surfer harmonies ode to apathy-
chasers, "Battle of Who Could Care Less," it was clear that Ben Folds Five
is not suited for the humorless, the purists, or the faint of intellect.
Folds, the lead singer, main songwriter, and pianist for the Chapel Hill,
NC., trio, is a virtuosic, old-school basher: think Elton John, Billy
Preston, Fats Waller. He's also got serious jazz chops, a feel for Latin
grooves, and an eary for witty, soaring show music. The tongue-in-cheek
rock manifesto "Philosophy" found Folds using his left foot as his third
piano hand and gingerly bashing the keys with his stool in mock rock excess
. Then, in a blink, he was hunched over a lilting jazz waltz, "Selfless,
Cold and Composed," a Joe Jackson-does-off-Broadway-via-the Hotel Carlyle
attack on the skewed politics of communication.
With a lesser musical gift, Folds could easily be imagined sporting a
plastic pocket protector and spouting obscure theories. Instead we get an
aural essay like "One Angry Dwarf and Two Hundred Solemn Faces,"a biting,
Matthew Sweet-goes-vaudeville-via-the-Clash, kiss-off to grade-school
bullies for the skinny little nerd-turned-pop star. And that's not the
mention the Jobimian bossa nova, the Bacharach-era pop, the hardcore boogie
- -woogie, and the low-tech electronic ambiance acheived by palming the bass
guitar pick-up.
Not all of Ben Folds Five's material is of the smarty-pants, melting pot
variety. "Brick," the third single from the recent "Whatever and Ever Amen
," disc, is a gorgeous ballad, set on stage for simplicity and maximum
melancholy to marching snare drum, repetitive cycles of deconstructed piano
chords, and the great, deep swipes across the upright bass strings. In a
similar vein, Fold reached inside his grand piano to strum the strings and
blew a haunted air into the harmonium on the lovely, dark waltz "Smoke."
Chicago quartet Verbow opened the show with intriguing, cello-anchored rock
that owes equally to Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles, discordant grunge, and
industrial clank. Travis, a hard-pop quintet from Scotland, took the stage
next for a seemingly endless set of bland rockers and ballads.
- -----------------
Katy Demcak
kdemcak@wellesley.edu "Seconds pass slowly and years go flying by"
-Ben Folds Five
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 08 Nov 1997 14:55:48 PST
From: "Flying Nun"
Subject: Ben Darren Robert and NBP
Hi all
>Which reminds me: if you're trapped in space with only one of the
>members
>of BF5, which one would it be: Robert, Ben, or Darren? How's that?
Lance, you've opened the way for every girl (or guy) who has sick
obssessions with either member to release the dream onto the armchair.
Is it possible that this may turn into another can of worms? :) having
said that...
I think I'm speaking for Petra as much as myself when I say DARREN (as
if there could be any question about it!). As long as he brings along
the drum kit.
Nah, even if he didn't!
Finally! Something in which I can post my opinion! I haven't said a
thing for ages because all there's been on the armchair are reviews!
Not that there's anything wrong with that, I love hearing reviews, I
just can't really say anything that's worth being said, blah blah.
Apart from that, re: Naked Baby Photos. I'm really happy with the
trcklisting, in fact to be honest, I'd be happy with anything. This is
because I HAVE NO BFF BOOTLEGS, and this is because I have next to no
means with which to acquire some (Janet would be the bit that stops me
from having no means at all). So they could throw anything they want at
me, and I'll part with what little I have to get it. I'm such a poor
uni student, I'm glad they're taking pity on me, even if they don't
realise it.
Que
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------------------------------
Date: Sat, 08 Nov 1997 15:21:43 PST
From: "Courtney Knopf"
Subject: Mitchell Lane/Fab 4 and covers
>
>1. The more and more I listen to "Mitchell Lane", the more it reminds
>me of a Led Zeppelin-"Rain Song" kind-of-feel. Crazy? Maybe, but
>just listen toit...
I've been thinking that it could also have been a track on the Beatles
White Album. If you listen to it and then to Mitchell Lane, you can
totally see it fitting in somewhere between "I'm So Tired" and
"Blackbird."
As for covers I'd like to see..well, I've been watching "Grosse Pointe
Blank" a lot lately
(Grosse Pointe Blank::Me as Bottle Rocket::Elisabeth)
adn I think the guys should cover the Queen/David Bowie song "Under
Pressure." That would be really kickass. I also think it would be cool
if they did "It's not Unusual." They'd rock the casbah.
can't wait to see 'em on the 30th! (only 20 more days!)
~Courtney
The Sultraness of Swing
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------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #597
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