THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR

The Ben Folds Five Digest

Issue #995 - May 14, 1998



Magical Armchair Digest     Thursday, May 14 1998     Volume 01 : Number 995



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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:

    Re; Its great being a bitch :)
    Concert Etiquette
    trade
    Seattle Battle of...
    Darien Lake Show
    Darien Lake (again)
    Re: shoreline show review 
    Jones Beach
    SFTD
    Live from the Bronco Bowl in Dallas
    Review of San Francisco/San Jose Area Concert
    teeny boppers???  uf!!
    got my tix

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 22:18:44 PDT 
From: "Jessica Kinsaul" <icebox_6@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re; Its great being a bitch :)

<<NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Hon, where have you been??? this has 
been run
into the ground. Please no one respond to this on the list. If you do I 
will
personally come and kick your ass. 
- - -Lauren>>
damnit, i just joined this list.. EXCUSE ME! I know it drives my friends 
nuts about the little preps who like BF5 just b/c of Brick, and they 
like ONLY Brick, and they think they're fans. Just curious as to some 
ppls stance on that. You don't have to bite my head off.
So, if anyone wants to reply to my question, I'll be nice, and ask that 
you email me personally. Even though some ppl weren't very nice about 
it.

- -Jessica

    "Gather up your jackets, move it to the exits.
        I hope that you have found a friend.
     Closing Time, every new beginning comes from
            Some other beginnings end."


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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 01:21:30 EDT
From: Snowwite67 <Snowwite67@aol.com>
Subject: Concert Etiquette

<< And it's quite unfair
 to the people who were waiting in line behind me hours earlier too >>
AMEN!  I hear ya!  I was there and this pissed me off too. Especially that
group  of like 25 people that cut in line that came "ALL THE WAY from
Bakersfield!".  Fuck that, I drove from Berkeley and others came from even
farther away.  It's over now and it's not that big of a deal but it's all
about the principle of the matter.  Two words: Concert etiquette. :)
- -Lauren
P.S Oh damn, this is my 3rd post!! Im sorry. I haven't read my e-mail in a
long time! Sorry :)

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 09:30:17 +0100 (BST)
From: ER Burningham <u7g83@ugg.keele.ac.uk> 
Subject: trade

hi guys
if anyone is interested. i have 3 hours worth of video to trade with someone
from amercia (anywhere else and you'll have to convert it like i did, which
is expensive, but you can if you want...)
the videos i have have got
 snl,letterman, tonight show, sessions at west 54th , live     
performance at cat's cradle,120 mins, hbo reverb on mtv, jenny mccarthy show
- - includes videos for bowccl, uncle walter, one angry dwarf, brick.         

unfortunatly they're over two videos and i can trade for one or other but
can't copy anyspecific bits for anyone...

i want the videos for underground, sftd (if poss), kate (if poss), and also
that one that was behind the scenes on tour - that they gave away free in
the us, 
also radio interviews with all of them and the songs i don't have -
mitchell lane, rocky, air.....

thanks

love
em

ps please anyone that knows jo walker tell her to mail me, or send her hate
mail as i sent her some stuff and she failed to keep her part of the
deal....:(

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 03:07:54 -0800
From: Susan Park <maven@jetcity.com>
Subject: Seattle Battle of...

No, it's not a Battle of Who Could Care Less! It's a real, bona fide, 
hot-diggity Battle of the Bands.

All you folks who are faithful BF5 followers and have,.. ahem, good taste in 
music and have some semblance of a band (can be a solo or duo), I urge you 
to enter Seattle's Battle of the Bands.

You have a good chance...believe me.

I'm helping to sponsor it this year and I hope you can enter. Email me if 
you're interested. First prize is $500. Deadline for entry is 5/31.

Take care and keep jammin'!
- -spark

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 06:28:39 EDT
From: Zuqir3000 <Zuqir3000@aol.com>
Subject: Darien Lake Show

Hey everybody. First-time poster (looks around as he hears axe blades being
sharpened) and looking forward to the June 9 show at Darien Lake because:
1. It's Darien Lake so something cool is bound to happen
2. It's also the last day of school
3. I'm going with a bunch of hot girls
4. It's the two greatest musicians in the world, BFF and Beck!

To note-I saw these guys at HORDE last year; BFF played a really pointless
30-minute set (five songs and one marriage proposal from some guy to some girl
who I got to know because we missed Primus' mai-stage to get front-row places)
and Beck was amazing live with the breakdancers and the DJ. I hear lots about
Saratoga two days before this; is anyone else going to this show?
- -Dan

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 06:32:40 EDT
From: Zuqir3000 <Zuqir3000@aol.com>
Subject: Darien Lake (again)

Sorry about posting twice; also wanted to know if anyone from Syracuse was
going/wanted to carpool there...
- -Dan

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 08:53:23 -0400
From: spencerc@usit.net (Spencer Corden)
Subject: Re: shoreline show review 

arden elisabeth <melancholy@mindspring.com> wrote:

<<i met up with my new friends christ and stacey
(i met them at a party about a month ago and we discovered our common
obsession when they put the s/t album on the cd player...i was like "ahh!")>>

Just wanted to see if you could get "christ" to autograph my painting of
"The Last Supper" for me. ;-)  And he likes Ben Folds Five too?
Incredible.

Totally joking,
Spencer "I'm going straight to hell for this" Corden
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ------------------
Shameless plug:
"Catch "Extreme Homes", Sunday nights on HGTV at 8:30 p.m. with music
composed and performed by yours truly!"

------------------------------

Date: Wed May 13 09:31:13 EDT 1998
From: Rey Anthony (rey@radiolink.net) <reyanthony@usa.net>
Subject: Jones Beach

Greetings.  Anybody going to see BFF at Jones Beach (with Beck, or
with the K-Rock Disfunctional Family Picnic?)  I'm asking because I'm
one of those NY'ers who never gets a chance to leave the Isle of
Manhattan and I'd need a ride if I can scrounge up some tix.  Perhaps
a deal could be arranged.  :)  Thanks.

Rey

http://radiolink.net/rey
rey@radiolink.net

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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 13:12:48 EDT
From: Emmaline20 <Emmaline20@aol.com>
Subject: SFTD

Well....interesting lil thing here at UMass. My friends Cara and Aaron just
broke up for the tenth time (okay, more like the third) and it's become very
very messy. You are all probably wondering "How does this relate to Ben Folds
Five?" Well...last night, Aaron called Cara and asked for his BLACK TEE
SHIRT!! Pretty interesting..you know...SFTD.."give me back my black tee
shirt." I just thought it was really neat. Umm...oh yeah, MuchMusic has these
little concert announcements (play clip of band currently touring) and today's
clip was Ben Folds Five, I think the dates they listed were in the MidWest
somewhere. That's all for now folks..have a lovely day!!

Sarah :)

PS. I had to paste this to a new email thing...wanna know why? I mailed it to
myself!!

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 13:26:28 -0400
From: "John Felten" <Sammy7@gte.net>
Subject: Live from the Bronco Bowl in Dallas

Does anyone know what time the live show from the Bronco Bowl in Dallas,
Texas
May 15, Friday,  is going to start?  And does anyone know if that will only
be in audio, but can you play it on the netplayer too?  I'd really
appreciate a response.  Thanks,

Marie 

Page For The Dumped
http://www.angelfire.com/fl/BenFolds5/index.html



"Just having a short-haired piano player front your band is enough to get
you labeled geeks."



By the way, I can't wait 'till Tuesday, Godzilla Soundtrack!!!!  Foo
Fighters, Ben Folds Five, Wallflowers, Silverchair, etc!!!!!!!!

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 12:35:42 -0500
From: rh@apci.net
Subject: Review of San Francisco/San Jose Area Concert

I've been waiting to see a reveiw of the SF/SJ performance here on the
Armchair but unless I missed it nothing's yet appeared (post reviews you
guys!).  I found the reveiw below on the alt.music.ben-folds-five
newsgroup (thanks to a guy named Matt for posting).  Anyway if you've
already read this too bad... read it again or ignore it... if you
haven't you gotta wonder what fucking planet Brad Kava was born on.  The
beginning of this review is so lame I 'bout puked... what a dumbfuck. 
Yeh, there are some good comments but overall I think this review sucked
donkeys bigtime.  (Of course, I wouldn't want you to think I've
prejudiced you as you read this review :-) ).


Published Tuesday, May 12, 1998, in the San Jose Mercury
News 

It was reigning anti-rock
with Ben Folds Five

BY BRAD KAVA
Mercury News Music Writer 

IF THIS El Niņo rain continues, I think you can
squarely lay the blame for it at the feet of North
Carolinian Ben Folds, whose trio did the unthinkable
Sunday at Shoreline Amphitheatre's season opener.

``Seinfeld'' or comic book fans know what I'm talking
about. This was like matter meeting anti-matter. Rock
meeting anti-rock. My head is still spinning from it.

This inaptly named Chapel Hill trio (why call
themselves Ben Folds Five? It must be an omen)
played Burt Bacharach's ``Raindrops Keep Fallin' on
My Head.''

The gaffe here wasn't just one of lyrics, which had to
send chills up the spines of the Shoreline workers
who are still rebuilding from winter rains that sent a
body of water (nicknamed ``Lake Shoreline'') up to
Row G and destroyed the backstage trailers, video
production unit and all the concert pictures along the
entry ways.

This cut to the heart of the definition of rock itself.
Those who were alive when rock was a teen, some 30
years ago, know that Bacharach, with his tuxedos and
his plastic-encased hair, was sort of the Anti-Rock. In
those days the labels were simple: ``Purple Haze''
rocked. ``Raindrops'' blew.

Anyway, a Mother's Day audience that about
half-filled the outdoor theater (that, with tons of ticket
giveaways) didn't mind, or even catch the irony. Most
of those attending were born when Duran Duran was
high on the charts and they enthusiastically applauded
Folds, a pop star who is fast becoming this
generation's answer to Billy Joel and Elton John, with
a bit of Harry Nilsson and Bee Gees thrown in, even
after ``Raindrops.''

Superb drummer

Like all the performers on this bill of four, Folds
probably couldn't yet fill the amphitheater on his
own, but he gave signs that one day he could.

Backed by the superb playing of drummer Darren
Jessee and bassist Robert Sledge, the trio edged into
jazz territory, making up for what it sometimes
lacked in memorable, strong melodies with perfect
harmonies and complex, rapidly changing rhythms.

Nothing in the 75-minute set matched the beauty of
the band's current hit, ``Brick,'' but a well-played set
of old and newer songs gave the impression that if
Folds can come up with more melodies like that, the
band could be a powerhouse, like John's or Joel's
were in their early years.

A lot of people filed out after he played ``Brick,''
about two-thirds into the set. But they can't complain
that they didn't get a good evening of entertainment.

This was satisfying, in a B-movie sense, the way that
``Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (``Raindrops''
and all) or ``Five Easy Pieces'' can be more enjoyable
than big blockbusters.

Folds, Reel Big Fish, Black Lab and Superdrag were
all staples on festival second stages last year. This
was their first shot as co-headliners on the big stage.

And almost all had satisfying moments, with
Huntington Beach's Reel Big Fish all but stealing the
show.

Like almost every new suburban teen band, these
guys play ska, with a touch of authenticity and lots of
heart and humor.

With two trumpets and two trombones backing a
guitar-based middle, this uptempo octet is to ska what
``Animal House's'' Otis Day and the Nights were to
genuine rhythm and blues. This is a PAAAAARTY
band that likes to use a form of sarcasm; as singer
Scott Klopfenstein explained to this pre-collegiate
crowd, ``that means the opposite of what you say.''

Sunday's song titles pretty much summed up the
approach: ``Somebody Hates Me,'' ``Sell Out,'' ``She
Has a Girlfriend Now'' (``I'll shave my legs; I'll wear
a bra''), ``The Kids Don't Like It'' (a new song about
playing new songs) and ``Everything Sucks.'' By
now, you understand sarcasm.

With the aisles crowded with dancers, the band
rounded out the set with camp covers of 1980s hits
``Take on Me'' by A-Ha and Duran Duran's ``Hungry
Like the Wolf.''

This band's white boy So-Cal shopping mall persona
may be as far as possible from ska's birthplace in one
of the world's worst economically downtrodden black
ghettos, but, it's catchy; you can dance to it; and hey,
the kids really did like it.

Serious rock

Black Lab, whose bassist Geoff Stanfield hails from
Los Altos and guitarist Michael Belfer from Palo
Alto, plays the kind of jamming, hard-hitting, serious
rock that seems to have been purged from the
mainstream a few years after Kurt Cobain's death.

Black Lab's 45-minute set, mostly drawing from its
only album, ``Your Body Above Me'' (Geffen), was
as refreshing as it was dark. Three months on the
road has given the band a confidence it lacked in
December, while opening for the Cure at San Jose's
Event Center. So few bands these days have the
chops to stretch out songs with long instrumental
passages and keep them interesting. But these dogs
could hunt.

Opener Superdrag, playing uncharacteristically in the
4 p.m. sunshine, made little impression. With its
minor 1996 hit ``Sucked Out'' already fading from
memory, the uninspiring set reminded me of a party
guest, seen from across the room, who may or may
not be interesting, but gave no reason for you to walk
across the room and find out.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 21:31:06 -0400
From: aplauri@juno.com
Subject: teeny boppers???  uf!!

>dear michele ,u little teeny bopper-
>
>     u r obviously the close minded person in this case bc when u >refer
to
>yourself being a "huge" BFF lover u mention that u bought THE >album,
its
>almost seemed like pointless to point this out bc the true fans who
>should be
>the only ones on the armchair realize..that there are three lps plus a
>bunch
>of other stuff(details obviously not needed)  
>so in closing i would like to re-solidify my point that u r a teeny
>bopper!


a teeny bopper???  good god lets stop already!!   who cares if you are
two years old and love ben folds five or if you are 168 and still love
listening to bff.....  different ages can appreciate the music just as
much!!  

"TRUE" fans????  what does it take to be a true fan???  just out of
curiosity....  so maybe she (michelle) was referring to THE  album she
liked or something, give it a rest.   and even if she doesnt know all of
the albums, this makes her a "teeny bopper"???  am i considered a teeny
bopper cause im a teenager???  besides, why does it matter??? i just dont
get it.....

confused....
- -philip

p.s.- if you are going to jamboree, or bff and beck @ pine knob, let me
know!!  i'd love to meet some more armchair folks.....

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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 15:51:04 -0400
From: "Mark J. Rawlings" <rawlings@nlamerica.com>
Subject: got my tix

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

- ------=_NextPart_000_000A_01BD7E86.EFB9F1A0
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Well, i'm a happy camper.  I got my tickets for the atlanta show last =
night.  i can't wait.  What's the deal with meeting up.  who's =
organizing?  Oh yeah.  Does anybody have directions on how to get to the =
Tabernacle coming from I-75 south?  Well, gotta go.


                                        Later,        Brad=20

------------------------------

End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #995
**************************************


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