THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #254 - April 24, 1997
Magical Armchair Digest Thursday, April 24 1997 Volume 01 : Number 254
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Mailing List
Topics in this issue:
cover songs
Lawrence: The Review
lawrence....rocked
a weak lawrence review
Magical Armchair Digest V1 #248
Did I hear someone mention the Gladhands?
Los Angeles
NE Dates
Did I hear someone mention the Gladhands?
t-shirts
Majordumbo
consider the following
re:San Antonio Show
piano book copies
media differences
Re:the bf5 experience...
Re: The BEST Cover Song
NE Dates
Novacaine
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 18:09:49 -0600 (MDT)
From: James Robert Campbell <jrcampbe@mines.utah.edu>
Subject: cover songs
Y'all are way off...
The best song for BFF to cover would be December 1963 (Oh what a night!)
by The Four Seasons.
Cheers,
- --James
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 20:40:37 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ranvac@aol.com
Subject: Lawrence: The Review
Last night in Lawrence I experienced the most brilliant concert of my 17
years. It was INCREDIBLE! WOW! i am going to have to ditch the typical
concert review style of this newsletter, listing all the songs, mostly
because i got soooooo excited that i simply lost track. But, basically, they
played everything.
Opening with Missing the War really pulled the audience (one of the most
energized i've ever seen) in and then, they hit us with Philosophy
(definentaly my favorite BFF song) and we were all hooked. Kate was a show
stopper, and whoever said Fair was a ballad? It took on a whole new life in
concert, where they played it with as much energy as Underground or Song for
the Dumped.
Unfortunately for the guys, Liberty appeared to have trouble plugging
equipment in correctly (uhhhh, you mean the little metal things go IN those
holes?) and so we had to take a break after Kate. But Ben didn't leave us
hanging. They did the no-piano version of Best Imitation of Myself,
inserting their own vocal interpretations of piano in for the missing chords
(Ben sang while standing on the piano in this one, a definate crowd pleaser).
And then Robert danced around on stage wearing a giant head while Ben signed
autographs (that one goes down as my most unique concert experience).
After Liberty worked itself out (ohhhhh, i get it, the cords make the amps
turn ON), we were treated to the works: Uncle Walter, Alice Childress,
Underground, Jackson Cannery, Steven't Last Night in Town (my fave from the
new album), BOWCCL, Song for the Dumped and many others which I won't list
cause i'd be going on for a few more pages.
Every single song was packed with enery, musicality (something many
alternative bands have forgotten), melody, harmony, extroidinary piano and a
sense that Ben, Robert and Darren were enjoying themselves as much as the
audience. We were all screaming hysterically, dancing and singing along to
anything they gave us. It was great, the best concert I'd ever been to,
topping Soul Coughing and Beck (who i saw last friday).
Afterwards, we got a chance to talk to Ben and get our ticket stubs
autographed. We thought we'd missed him when they refused to let us back into
Liberty after we left (by mistake). And then he just suddenly appeared out
of this little door, looking like a totally normal person (so much so that at
first I didn't think it was him). I was the first to notice him so i dragged
my friend over and we got our autographs before he was swamped. To be able
to go up and talk to my favorite band and get their autographs without some
giant production was an awesome moment. I'd try to explain it better but
something tells me you had to be there.
I know this is really really long but I have just one more thing to say.
After seeing them last night, I have the upmost respect for BFF and I wish
them nothing but the highest success. They work hard and really care about
their fans. If they become popular and big, I say more power to them! Any
band that talented and down to earth and, well, brilliant, deserves the
millions of record sales that mediocre bands such as U2 our getting
regularly. Ben Folds Five is one of the greatest bands out there and i hope
that someday they get the opportunity to introduce their music to the world.
anna
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 18:30:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: PhairTwo@aol.com
Subject: lawrence....rocked
hi, i have now experienced the pure joy that is called a ben folds five
concert. wow. that's all i can say. i just want to see them again. and again.
it was the best concert i've ever been to, beating out r.e.m. and beck. i
didn't get to talk to ben, but he did shake my hand. and i met kate. i stole
a poster off of the bathroom wall, and really wanted someone to sign it, so i
waited around afterwards, hoping to catch a glimpse of robert, darren, or
ben, but no luck. so i decided to leave and my friend told me that i should
get kate's autograph, so i went up to her and asked her to sign my poster.
she was taken aback and asked why. so i said, "well, you're kate folds,
aren't you?" and she said, "well, yeah, but..." so i told her about you
armchair-ites telling me about kate working lights and she was impressed at
her bit of fame. she signed my poster "wow! my first autograph! kate folds"
it was cool to talk to her. all in all, i love ben folds five, and can't wait
to see them again. are they coming to columbia anytime soon?
- -bess
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 21:28:05 EDT
From: greatdave@juno.com (dave a hansen)
Subject: a weak lawrence review
I just went to the bff concert at liberty hall in lawrence and i had the
best time of my life. It was definitely the coolest show i've ever been
to by far.
In the middle of it i guess they had to fix something with the sound and
stop the show; the boys went to the back and came on stage a few minutes
later, with Robert wearing a huge mask on his shoulders, to keep us busy
I bet. It was pretty funny.
The band that played before them was kinda cool i guess. i never found
out their name but that doesn't matter. Were they british?
i don't got the set list but i'm sure there's a half dozen people on the
list who did. as for the cover issue, when they sang Vaseline i thought
it was pretty cool; but i guess that wouldn't be a good cover and its
probably too recent. i just love that song though.
i was gonna snag one of those cool posters before the show ended but they
were already gone half and hour before it was over. does anybody out
there know how i could get a poster or two? do they sell them at all?
thanks for readin. im goin to sleep now.
oh well, that's my take.
|)/-\\/[-
"Rebellion to tyranny is obedience to God." Thomas Jefferson
and that's my quote
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 21:27:48 -0500 (EST)
From: Geoffrey Kaiser <kaiserg@expert.cc.purdue.edu>
Subject: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #248
If anyone is interrested in buying the japanese print of the new disk
mail me an offer.
glkaiser@expert.cc.purdue.edu
geoff k.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 22:42:55 -0400
From: liz <lizrob@mindspring.com>
Subject: Did I hear someone mention the Gladhands?
The Gladhands are a band from Chapel Hill, in fact they are playing as I am
typing at a club downtown called the Lizard and Snake. Robert plays on the
new album and if you like BF5 you will surely like the Beatlesque sound (I
know, everyone sounds that way) of this group. The lead guitarist/vocalist
Jeff is a good friend of Robert's and a modest, sweet guy as well. If you
meet him, ask him about his "Partrige Family" childhood.
Oh, someone didn't know what a fannypak is. How can I describe it? A strap
that runs around your waist with a pouch attached to it. A useful device,
but really dorky looking.
Liz
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 22:08:02 -0500 (CDT)
From: Patrick Wade Dougall <pdougal@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
Subject: Los Angeles
I heard somewhere (I don't remember where) that Ben might be moving to Los
Angeles. Does anyone know if this is true, or just a rumor that I might
have heard from some wishful fellow LA inhabitant?
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 20:02:00 -0400
From: Alan Basque <alanb@student.umass.edu>
Subject: NE Dates
Does anyone happen to know if bf5 is coming to Boston? i heard rumors that
they are playing at the Middle East or the Avalon, i think, but i don't
know which or when, and i can't find anything to confirm or deny that...if
anyone knows about this, you can respond to me directly if you want at
alanb@student.umass.edu
thanks
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 22:42:55 -0400
From: liz <lizrob@mindspring.com>
Subject: Did I hear someone mention the Gladhands?
The Gladhands are a band from Chapel Hill, in fact they are playing as I am
typing at a club downtown called the Lizard and Snake. Robert plays on the
new album and if you like BF5 you will surely like the Beatlesque sound (I
know, everyone sounds that way) of this group. The lead guitarist/vocalist
Jeff is a good friend of Robert's and a modest, sweet guy as well. If you
meet him, ask him about his "Partrige Family" childhood.
Oh, someone didn't know what a fannypak is. How can I describe it? A strap
that runs around your waist with a pouch attached to it. A useful device,
but really dorky looking.
Liz
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 00:16:27 -0400
From: Dean Drouillard <droulard@MNSi.Net>
Subject: t-shirts
I want to thank the many people who showed interest in the Magical
Armchair t-shirts. A couple of good ideas came my way via email too. I
will look into things within the next week and let y'all know what's going
on. I am in Canada so funds will be a little different for everyone, but
I'll figure it out so it's fair for everyone. If anyone has any specific
ideas about the shirts let me know. I'm always open to suggestions.
See you in Detroit on Friday at St. Andrews.
Dean Drouillard
RACECAR (Windsor, Ontario, CANADA)
http://www.mnsi.net/~racecar
droulard@mnsi.net
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 00:57:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kristaffer@aol.com
Subject: Majordumbo
Frank, personally, I don't like majordomo. In one issue of the armchair,
someone accidentally sent a message three times, and it wasn't smart enough
that. I takes the fun out of waiting for the armchair, since it fills up my
mailbox with 2/3 messages a day. Also, I miss the handy lyrics at the
bottom.
I know that you have better things to do than make sure the readers of the
armchair are happy. I would think that that is a hard job! Anyway, I miss
the old armchair.
"I was never cool in school... I'm sure you don't remember me"
kkd1984@juno.com
kristaffer@aol.com
http://users.aol.com/kristaffer/family
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 23:50:38 -0500 (CDT)
From: nahas@ripco.com (stephanie j nahas)
Subject: consider the following
all this cover talk.. why not a cover of a tune that's sort of outside
their "genre," if one can actually be defined, that is.. i am suggesting
say "happiness in slavery" by nine inch nails or "carousel" by mr. bungle.
both are fine illustrations of intricate rhythmic design with haunting
melodic interplay -- something i can hear bff reaching toward.
then again, i think a sped-up energized rendition of "cry me a river" (old
standard) would be marvelous. oh yeah. that's the stuff.
thank you for joining me on consider the following.
- --steph
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 00:02:26 -0600
From: Michael More <yelsew@postoffice.worldnet.att.net>
Subject: re:San Antonio Show
Hello there.
Long time reader, first time postee. I myself went to the show at
Sneakers in San Antonio and must say that the Five really kicked ass.
And to top off the great evening, I got to speak to the band. I spoke
with Darren while Komeda was playing on stage(who are very cool, very
similar to Stereolab). Anyway, I asked him about why they chose to play
at such a crap venue, "Song for the Dumped" and "Brick." I was pretty
blatant about the latter and came out asking if it was about abortion.
He looked at me, hesitant and finally said "Yes." Then he went on to
say that it was really about the way you react when faced with a
difficult situation. Darren was really quite congenial.
Also after the show, one of my friends got the set list:(per Oklahoma
Joe via Nancy)
missing the war
battle
philosophy
selfless, cold, and compressed
last polka
kate
alice childress
brick
steven's last night in town
theme from dr. pyser
emaline
****y'know that metal silliness? ah, the medley thing too, um, he sang
*about the jungle boy and bruce springsteen and the blues explosion..um,
*and...bow wow wow, yippee yo yippee yay
one angry dwarf and 200 solemn faces
fair
best imitation
song for the dumped
underground
encore...smoke, and SHE DON'T USE JELLY!!!! (flaming lips)
Then we all proceeded out back to meet Ben and Robert. Ben signed the
back of one of my friends drivers license and wrote on the back, "My
father works for the DMV motherf***er," and admitted that he was now an
organ donor. I myself had them sign the back of an ATM receipt and then
chatted them up a little more.
All in all, I would have to say that it was definitely worth the
dollar, hell, it would have been worth $100. The band were spot on.
BTW, Ben stated that he took a picture of the sign that listed Loverboy
under BFF, just because it was so damn ironic. He also made fun of the
names on the walls written in neon paint like Ugly Kid Joe and Anthrax
next to Hootie and the Blowfish.
To sum it up, the Five really rocked and I will never miss a show as
long as they continue to come to Texas.
Mickah
I stood in the firing line, with my blindfold, arms behind,
if you shoot, aim for the leg
and I'll teach you how to beg me.
*****The Trash Can Sinatras, "The Therapist"*****
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 00:07:31 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Adam 'DeLicious' DeLisse" <adeliss@comp.uark.edu>
Subject: piano book copies
i don't suppose that there are those few generous souls out there that
would be willing to make copies of their piano books for those of us who
were unable to get them, not for a profit mind you cause that would be
illegal, but just so some of us can have the pleasure of playing the
songs? i would be happy to reimburse all copy and postage charges if
there is a kind soul out there willing to work with me.
thanks
Adam DeLisse
I'm Buddha!!
- -Jane Lu
...............and people say there is no beauty in math..............
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 01:30:22 -0400 (EDT)
From: Eggasaurus@aol.com
Subject: media differences
...just got the chance to read through some recent ARMCHAIR back issues and
noticed Alice Childress' comments on the omitted f-word on the c.d. version
of the first album. in addition to this, (although this probably won't be
any huge surprise to anyone) the beloved hidden track on "whatever" is
missing from the vinyl release. fortunately, one gets something else in
return...
A BIG-ASS PIECE OF BLACK PLASTIC!!!
for those who have suitable turntable capabilities, do go out and find the
vinyl if you can. of course i have the cd as well, but the vinyl is SO
satisfying! (remember?)
anyway...if anyone feels like talking with yet another "annoyingly
knowledgeable therefore cool" fan such as yourselves, i'm around.
p.s.- DYLAN!!!!!!
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 01:27:02 -0500 (CDT)
From: lendakike@mail.utexas.edu (Lenny Barszap)
Subject: Re:the bf5 experience...
BF5 did not play uncle walter at edgefest in dallas. I'm sorry to let you
know this since you were so excited that they did since they hadn't in San
Antonio! They played Underground, Battle of who could care less, One Angry
Dwarf, Philosophy, Steven's Last Night, Song for the dumped, and the
Ultimate Sacrifice song. I'm sorry you though you saw uncle walter!
Lenny
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 23:35:58 -0700
From: "Armond R. Neal" <flute2@gte.net>
Subject: Re: The BEST Cover Song
Hey Patrick! Great Idea!
I would love to hear Ben, Robert & Darren do a cover of my other
favorite band, Little Feat. Even though the 'Feats had and have some
great guitar players, I think that the Five could really bring some of
their mad craziness to bear quite nicely on Teenage Nervous Breakdown,
Feats Don't Fail Me Now, Hamburger Midnight, Cat Fever, Willin' or All
That You Dream, a song whose chord changes seem made to order for Ben's
harmonic orientation ( read open and game ).
As a saxophonist, I must say that I personally love the inclusion
of the ballads on the new CD. To paraphrase a fellow occupant of this
big, roomy Armchair, only Ben Folds Five can determine what Ben Folds
Five are all about. The songs that they choose to do on each recording,
or at each performance, with all the divergent directions, including
British TV show themes, is apparently what they are about. Thank
goodness.
Ben alluded to something related to that in the Musician interview, when
he talks about the creative drive that demanded the existence of jazz.
Instead of all the qualifiers that some musicians judge music by, it's
the "sound of surprise" that Ben and the Guys have in their bag 'o magic
that grabbed me the first time I heard them.
That's my two cents down in the Armchair cushions <g>.
Armond
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 20:02:00 -0400
From: Alan Basque <alanb@student.umass.edu>
Subject: NE Dates
Does anyone happen to know if bf5 is coming to Boston? i heard rumors that
they are playing at the Middle East or the Avalon, i think, but i don't
know which or when, and i can't find anything to confirm or deny that...if
anyone knows about this, you can respond to me directly if you want at
alanb@student.umass.edu
thanks
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 9:42:42 +0100
From: "Simon Burrows INF-KB" <sburrows@madge.com>
Subject: Novacaine
How about "Novocaine for the Soul" by the Eels?
Yeah, it's kind of a new song, but I'm sure it would sound
great with Ben singing and Robert thumping out killer bass.
Somebody tell me what they think of this idea.
>>I think its shit.
>>Simon
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #254
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