THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #1037 - June 4, 1998
Magical Armchair Digest Thursday, June 4 1998 Volume 01 : Number 1037
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #1034
Re: BEN told me what "AIR" is about!!!!!!!!
welcome back Helmet Heads!
beck/bff/sean lennon toronto show
Returning Armchair People
Off topic, of course!
staying on for june
Is there a nice person on the armchair?
AIR
A teeny mention
So where's the reviews for Cleveland?
Y100 feztival review requests + my own encounter
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 21:04:45 -0500
From: john_oc@juno.com
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #1034
Hey y'all.
I have been lurking in the shadows of the 'fallen' Magical Armchair for
quite some time as well. Well, for this month only it's time to get
serious again. Let's free the Armchair of annoying dirge and teach
people something.
So to kick things off I am going to talk about the show I saw last night
at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
Sean Lennon. Reminiscent of Jellyfish. Quite impressive.
Ben Folds Five. Good, but not great. I have seen the guys 7 times now,
so I do have shows to compare to. There were 2 things about this show
that especially kicked my ass. 1. Philosophy. Yes, this song is always
good, but yesterday it got better. Darren wowed us all with brand new
drum fills in all of the transitions. Quite nice, Darren. 2. Steven's
Last Night In Town. I have always been a fan of this song, on the album.
But live it has ALWAYS sucked. Not last night. Darren's drumming was
new and better, and when Ben was playing the piano lines, he was also
adding new fills and jams. Really spiced it up and gave the song more
energy. I gained alot more respect for this song. Oh and another thing.
Before the last song, Robert was taking off his bass to go for the
upright when Ben screamed something at him and he put the electric back
on and started into Song for the Dumped. Rock on!
Beck. I wish I had known more about him. I did enjoy "I wanna get with
you Brenda, and your sister" which is also on the "Sessions" show. Props
for playing Deadweight and One Foot In The Grave. Speaking of Jellyfish,
this leads me into my favorite part of Beck's set. His keyboardist was
ROGER MANNING(formerly of Jellyfish, Imperial Teen, and currently in Moog
Cookbook)!!!!!!!!!!! I love Roger Manning, and to my complete pleasure
and thanks to a good friend, Sandi, I got to meet him!!!!!!!! Thank you
Sandi!!!!
Roger Manning, you rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's all for now folks!!! Keep the armchair free of dirge!!!
John Boyer
Indie Rock Director
WOBN-FM Westerville, Ohio
101.5 THE ROCK
Visit my webpage at:
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please email me comments!
"Close your eyes and you'll see nothing at all, or maybe it's just
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 21:26:13 -0400
From: Jaki Hsieh <sinnamon@mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: BEN told me what "AIR" is about!!!!!!!!
I thought they would play air too and i was so excited! But they played
Steven's Last Nite, rememeber? He had the little blowy piano thing :) And
there was I thinking we would have a premiere live performance of Air. Ben
also said that They were gonna call the band 3 hair nekkid men :P
Jaki
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 22:22:20 EDT
From: Rocketno8@aol.com
Subject: welcome back Helmet Heads!
it seems that suddenly many old Armchairers have simultaneously decided to
make comebacks. may i be the first to welcome you back. i have been a fan
of the band's albums and concerts for two years but because i only recently
got online, i was not on the list during its renaisssance. i hope that the
occasional discontent does not prompt you to leave again. even though i'm a
little irked by it, you guys deserve to feel superior.
- -al
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 22:28:10 EDT
From: TarintinoQ@aol.com
Subject: beck/bff/sean lennon toronto show
Beck Collects Cans
Wednesday's Beck show in Toronto has taken a philanthropic twist. Fans of Mr.
Hansen (or Ben Folds Five or Sean Lennon, who both do warm-up duties for Beck)
can get a great deal on tickets, should they be in the mood for doing a good
deed. Attendees who pony up some non-perishable food items can score a lawn
seat to the show for a mere 15 bucks, and if you've already paid up for your
seat, additional spots are $10 with the requisite donation. All proceeds will
be donated directly to a local food bank.
posted by i,
mcgregor
ps still looking for the hammerstein show from 2/20/98
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 22:41:56 EDT
From: Pyser98@aol.com
Subject: Returning Armchair People
Lose the attitude!!!! seriously, we are all happy that there are more bff fans
on (or back on) the armchair, but whats with the 'better than thou' attitude?
should we thank you guys for coming back and say "oh thank god!! the list
wasnt complete without you!!"...and i know its coming, so just dont even
bother with calling me a tennybopper or brickhead or whatever else you
superioir "returnees" wanna call me, cuz quite simply im not....and one more
thing, since you all came crawling back to us at the same time, id have to
assume that you've all been communicating with each other...so you formed
youre own list without the mass appeal, but miss us "lower people" groveling,
so you came back with a vengance...thats nice....i know my life, and this
list, wasnt complete without all of you....welcome back...now check your ego
at the door.....its called 'biting sarcasm'..its in the dictionary..look it
up!!!
bring it,
aaron
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 22:55:17 -0400
From: jaedonely@juno.com
Subject: Off topic, of course!
Hey I just went to a book reading by David Sedaris-funniest fucking thing
Ive been to in awhile.=) "Naked"(the BOOK, gutterminds!) Highly
recommended.
I smiled and laughed...to think of fans such as Anne, etc. coming back to
take the armchair over. I can only support them and hope that they post
more fun, attitude filled posts about Ben.:)
But I gotta give rICH props. Always an intelligent poster.
~Elisabeth
"I wish I wish I wish that something would HAPPEN!"-Radiohead
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 22:50:04 -0400
From: Steve Deame <sdeame@iona.com>
Subject: staying on for june
IT has been a sad last few weeks of watching the people who were BFF fans
from way back(I remember Michael getting his signature Scott) and I too
have threatened to leave.
But I won't...why you ask...because of people like Scott Schneider, Frank
Maynard and Ginger Nance.
WE share a passion for a band (I have now seen BFF 15 times...officially a
groupie) but share in the frustration of the crap spewed on the list from
time to time.
I work for a living and besides working for an email happy company, I don't
enjoy the 5 armchairs a night that I have been deleting after a very quick
scan.
Read the FAQ's. Go to Frank's website. Most of your answers are there.
Please think first and then send the email.
Don't flame me either. If your nice...I will put up all the videos I have
on Real Video within the next few weeks(you better just click on the ads
when you go there!!) I will send the url soon(that includes Uncle Walter,
Underground, BFWCC, Brick, and SFTD)
I can't wait for Foxboro..It will be really weird seeming them there when
two years ago I saw them at Mama Kin and drank more than a few beers with
Robert.
lets bring the armchair up
cheers
steve
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 21:58:36 -0500
From: The Tillotson Boys <bwtill@inwave.com>
Subject: Is there a nice person on the armchair?
I sure hope so. I was just wondering if any one has an extra bootleg of
any concert by the boys and would be willing to give it away. I have no
bootlegs but I would really like to have one. I would pay the postage
or whatever. If you want I could also send you a blank tape and you
could record some for me, only if you're willing. Email me privately
please.
Thanks,
dave
P.S. I am not out to offend.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 22:08:41 -0500
From: BigMarge@usa.net
Subject: AIR
Okay,
maybe i'm crazy....
but did anyone else think that AIR was about someone in a coma.....
the imagery in the first few lines sounds like a dream which is supposedly
what people experience when in a coma...
he hears a voice that says "pull through"....as in don't die.....
and then another voice says "he probably can't hear you"
am i reading to much into this.....or does anyone else agree?
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 23:23:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: Katy Demcak <KDEMCAK@WELLESLEY.EDU>
Subject: A teeny mention
A small mention of the boys in the latest Jane magazine:
One of the questions in the readers entertainment poll was "Who's your
favorite new band this year?" and fifth on the list was our raison d'etre,
BFF. Of course, they were behind bands like Third Eye Blind and Matchbox
20, but I still can't get over seeing any public show of the band's
popularity. I'm still used to the days when my friends would say "Ben
Folds what?" after I told them what CD I was listening to.
Rented Truth About Cats and Dogs tonight just so I could hear that version
of Bad Idea...how sick am I?
Katy
________
Katy Demcak
kdemcak@wellesley.edu http://wilbur.wellesley.edu/a-m/kdemcak/kdemcak.html
"I don't want you to lose your inhibitions/Just to be a bit more flexible by
dictionary definitions/Be a bit more ductile like me" -- Ben Lee
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 23:23:48 -0400
From: Jessica Brandt <jbrandt@kent.edu>
Subject: So where's the reviews for Cleveland?
I guess i should post a little about the Cleveland show. No one else has.
Don't worry, it'll be short, cuz the concert was short.
Sean Lennon, sounds just like John, and no one was into him. but my bro
thought he was okay. who cares?
BFF was on at exactly 8:36.
Setlist (in approx. order):
PYSER, FAIR, SELFLESS, DWARF, STEVEN'S, PHILOSOPHY, SFTD....maybe there
were a few more, i forget now.
THe upright was on the stage but they didn't use it.
i was far away but from what i saw the pit looked tamer than what has been
described befre. i hope it was good for all y'all.
Emily (Emmaline555) told me she got ben's piano stool. Good for her!!! :)
:) (He threw it at the end of SFTD and just walked off the stage. it
bounced into two pieces. He also hit the piano with it at the end of
Philosophy)
The only other interesting thing that happened was that after the second or
third song, ben said "we have to wait a minute cuz i kicked the sustain
pedal off my piano. but that's okay, i'm not worried."
The sound was bad, but what do you expect from Blossom? PYSER had a lot of
sound glitches, like they forgot to check the mics before the guys came out
or something! Seemed like robert's bass was quite overzealous the whole show.
the show ended at 9:06. Yup, exactly 40 mins. what a letdown. But, i don't
think the guys had anything to do with it. i imagine Beck took a whole
lotta time to set up (i didn't stay).
i got a tape (probably a VG/VG+) if anyone is actually jonesin' for this
sucky show.
jess
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 23:38:28 EDT
From: GLYCRNGRL@aol.com
Subject: Y100 feztival review requests + my own encounter
Hey guys,
I just got back onto this list today, mainly for Y100 feztival reviews, but i
obviously missed most of them, so if someone could forward me the FEZ reviews
or the whole digests that had them in there-I'd REALLY appriciate it! I know
someone will, because all you guys rock!
I guess i should do my fez review too, so here goes...
I actually saw the guys the day BEFORE the feztival. I saw on their website
that they were going to be in Philly for a private concert for a cheesy little
college radio station, so i wrote the station for passes, and they said no, so
i said "fuck you, I'm going anyway" As if they could stop me from seeing my
boys!
So i got to the place, and the only person i saw was the guy that tunes Ben's
piano, who looks like Rivers from Weezer. I asked him when they'd be out, and
he said in a few hours, because they were going on in a couple minutes. So i
left and came back an hour later, and the roadies, who are all so familiar to
me now, were moving stuff into the bus.
I waited awhile, REALLY excited, and Ben came out first, in a DEEP
conversation with some chick (who i *think* was Kate-anyone have a picture?).
They walked over to me, and finally ended the conversation. I gave Ben a
shitload of flowers, (and the girl said "awww how sweet!") and a drawing that
had a bunch of over-litteral, fun drawings that had to do with his songs, that
i knew he'd appriciate. What was in it? Examples: Ben playing the piano with
his ass, Darren on "some chick's front porch" and the girl is saying "lets
slow it down and have some space", a pic of ben diging his own hole, and next
to it said "no wonder your friends wouldnt dig this town", under the hole were
a bunch of people "happy underground", and my (and Ben's personal favorite,
Kate, who had a rainbow smile, and next to her a big footprint with daisies in
them. If you guys are all hard core ben folds five fans, you'll understand.
There was alot more to the drawing, but it'll take awhile to explain.
I introduced myself, asked him what a Bhagavad Gita was (which i had drawn as
a drink, because it *sounds* like one), and he told me that it was a Hindu
hat, and told me a little about it, and drew me one in my concert notebook,
while i totally spilled my guts about how much i appriciated him, and i got a
fullfilling smile. Then their manager took a picture of us, and i told ben
that I'd see him tomorrow. Rob came out a few minutes later, with his
adorable, "oh yeah, sure" self. I only talked to him for a minute, then he
went away too-and the bus left without Darren! I found their hotel, but i
didnt go in, because i didnt want to freak them out.
The next day...I got my backstage pases, went backstage to meet Fastball, hung
out with a bunch of people i knew, screamed "we smell sex and a Y100 beetle"
with my friends at marcy playground, met dicky barrett, waited for Wyclef Jean
to come onstage, then got kicked out of the inside of the E-centre with 8000
other people, got myself into the front row, right where i KNEW ben's piano
would be, and stayed there for the rest of the day. I didnt eat or anything,
because i refused to move from my spot. A couple of bands came on...then they
brought out Ben's stuff, and i totally lost it. I hate people that flip out
when they see their favorite band, but i couldnt help it!~ When they came out
from backstage, Ben did his typical thing...walks out from the right side of
his piano with a waterbottle in one hand, waves to the people in front of him
with the other, and does pursed-lip smile to the audience. They kicked off
with Pyser..as always, and rocked the house. If you were lucky enough to be
in the pit, i was the psycho chick with the huge Y100 banner that wouldnt stop
screaming...they noticed too. During the second song (i think it was Battle),
Ben and i made eye contact, and he smiled an amused smile and mouthed "hey!"
I was really dissapointed that they didnt do The Last Polka or She Dont Use
Jelly, but its all good. That was my forth time seeing them since November
97, and it was the worst ive ever seen them play, which isnt a bad thing,
because they're just so beyong everybody else in the "playing live" scheme of
things, and they still put on a KILLER performance. I blame the E-centre for
them not sounding as good as they usually do. It's just too big and there
really is something wrong with the tech people-they suck.
After that, i left the front row to go meet them..again (My 4th time with Ben
and Rob, 2nd with Darren). My friend Ritch and I were smart and went in last
so we could talk to them longer. It was ritchs' first time meeting them, so
when he first layed eyes on them from across the room, he gasped and flipped
out..like me!
When we got up to them, i put about 10 things on the table for them to pass
down and sign, and handed Rob my fez, and asked him to sign it for my friend,
Al. I said "hey, remember me? we met yeseterday", "Oh yeah..whats your name
again?", "Abby", "Abbbyyy..." and he drew my name with sparks coming out in my
book. We talked for a little bit, but you really had to be there for it to
make any sense. I didnt really say anything to Darren. In fact, the only
thing ive ever asked him is if he could put my friend on the guest list, and
I've watch him struggle when some chick asked him if he knew how many kilowats
were in their speakers. I should of asked him how he got back to the hotel,
but oh well. Ben was last, and i was really happy, because he had been eyeing
me since id stpped in the room. I swear, his smile said "How did i know I'd
see you back here?" I went behind the table and got another picture with him,
where i had my head on his shoulder, and his head is resting on mine-it was so
cute! One of the DJ's was begging me to get out, because they had to go or
something, so i asked Ben if he liked my drawing and he said "Yeah!
Especially the thing with the daisies!" I'm really happy he knows how much i
love them!
If any of you guys read the Ben Folds Five part of the Y100 program-and you
see the thing about the "peeps-filled sonic session", I'll explain- At their
sonic session, Preston Elliot and Dan Fein gave the guys about 20 boxes of
peeps. Ben opened a box, and came out from behind his piano and said "Um, we
dont want all these, so you guys can have some..." It was so funny! He gave
the box to the firstgirl in the front row, and when the box got to me, I took
the 3 left, and kept the box!
- -Abby
p.s. if you guys hear the Feztival Promo that starts out "hellooooooooooo
philadelphia" and has clips from the fez, I'm the girl in the beginning that
says "i love fez!"
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #1037
***************************************
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