THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #624 - November 16, 1997
Magical Armchair Digest Sunday, November 16 1997 Volume 01 : Number 624
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
Drowned but unedited
Re: Sessions...a disenting opinion
Repeated Digest
Spanish
Did someone say Gladhands?
(LONG) Review of BF5 in Carrboro! (Bootlegs anyone?, please!)
DC SHOW
The Darren Page
"Everybody" and Sessions
sit down vs. stand up
Chapel Hill Show
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 20:07:23 -0500 (EST)
From: KNULPREK@aol.com
Subject: Drowned but unedited
I'm not sure if anyone noticed this, and i posted it a while back when the
subject was brought up, but nobody ever responded and i saw that the phone
ringing in Steven was brought up again, so i figure i might as well repost
this to see if anyone else noticed it:
In Julianne, around the 1:30s (i think) you can hear someone say "Oh, put it
over there." It's real faint, but if you have a Kareoke button on your stereo
you can hear it a lot easier. But even without the button, it's noticable if
you really listen. I wish i could tell you the exact time it's at, but my CD
is currently in my car, and i'm far too lazy to walk out there and get it!
Anyway, that's my 1.5 cents.
- -jason-
http://members.aol.com/knulprek/home.html
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 20:26:20 -0500 (EST)
From: Spngledsky@aol.com
Subject: Re: Sessions...a disenting opinion
In a message dated 97-11-13 18:17:39 EST, you write:
>And then Beck came on! My God, what a showman! His four songs were
>incredible, especially his HILARIOUS R&B song about a girl in Glendale, CA.
>It seemed like he just pulled that one out his ass.
I've seen Beck twice this year and it was the same show each time including
the Sessions gig. All the grandstanding and showmanship is scripted and he
follows it to the letter each time.
Don't get me wrong, Beck puts on one hell of a show and I shook my ass like
the rest of 'em when I saw him live, but it lacked those quirky moments that
make each show different. Sessions was just more of the same.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 21:20:57 -0500 (EST)
From: LindaNikon@aol.com
Subject: Repeated Digest
Am I the only one who is getting the same digest over and over again???
And would somebody please make Ben Folds Five come back to the NY area?? I
have a nice shiny dime!!!
L.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 20:22:49 -0600
From: Pluvius Dope
Subject: Spanish
Jeff, is this was a Mexican list, let me tell you! What you posted would
have offended a lot of people, but being un-offendable, I decided to
research what it meant. Whatever you wanted to know=
suck my dick and suck my colored dick
There you go.
Pluvius Dope
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 21:57:15 -0500 (EST)
From: MeandMrRay@aol.com
Subject: Did someone say Gladhands?
Howdy Folks,
I saw that someone mentioned Gladhands on a recent post. Good call,
Gladhands are a great pop band from Chapel Hill, Nc, and not only that...but
guess who plays bass on their second record? Thats right folks...The one and
only Robert Sledge! He plays bass on 6 of the 12 tracks, and adds vocals to
one as well. The record is called "la di da" and is their sophmore effort on
Big Deal records. And as if that was'nt enough...They cover a Todd Rundgren
song on the record. Check out the record if you get a chance. Its a good one.
Greg.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 21:55:46 -0500
From: Sonny Pieper
Subject: (LONG) Review of BF5 in Carrboro! (Bootlegs anyone?, please!)
HELLO Fellow Armchair-ers,
Sonny's magical BF5 tour around the Southeast continued again last night!
Next stop is set for Charlotte on Friday, Dec. 5th. Needless to say, BF5
put on an excellent show last night at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC.
Many funny stories to tell (read on in my long "concert review/personal
story" below! Believe me, it's worth it!).... First things, first.... I'm
PRAYING that someone, somehow got a bootleg of this show! This was the
best of the 5 shows that I have seen in the last month. I guess I'm
getting greedy but PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE mail me if you can get your hands
on a tape of this show. (I have a growing collection of "boots" to trade!)
Tuesday morning started out with me driving up to Carrboro, NC with my
girlfriend from Atlanta. (6 hours in the car was mere breeze...) Got into
town around 3:00pm and went straight to the Cat's Cradle to p/u my
previously ordered tickets. (The show had been sold out for a couple of
weeks and I wanted to make sure there weren't any problems!) Roamed around
the Cradle a little. (It's a smaller venue. Only about 600 or so for
general admission! Nobody seemed to know anything.) A couple of tour guys
were setting up the equipment for BF5's sound check. Found Darren in the
back of the place talking with some girl (his girlfriend) and another guy.
A German shephard-ish dog was following Darren and his girlfriend around
the place. (Does BF5 take this dog on tour with them in the bus?) After
they were done talking, I said hello to Darren and wished him a good luck
for the show that night. Finally I met the Cradle manager who, after
learning of my drive from Atlanta, promised me one of the BF5 concert
posters after the show. I asked if I could stay to hear BF5's sound check.
He said that he personally didn't have a problem with it, but that the
band's manager probably wouldn't like it too much. Oh well. He later gave
me directions to a nearby hotel.
Anyway, we left the Cradle to go check into the hotel. After a couple of
hours, we headed back to the Cradle at around 6:00pm. Ate some food at the
pizza parlor next door to the Cradle. I was wearing my blue Saints hockey
jersey AND my "Hello, My name is Uncle Walter" nametag. We were wondering
if anyone else from the Armchair would show up as planned! No one had
showed by 7:00 so we decided to go get in line to make sure we would get up
close to the stage. And guess who I find at the front of the line but my
old friends Kim & Josh from the University of Georgia! (I first met them
at the Birmingham show and then again the next night in Knoxville.) They
had driven the 6 hours from Georgia for the Carrboro show also. (Yes, we
all are idiots...) Anyway, we all had stories to share about the album
coming out in January, difficulty in find out BF5 single CD's in
Atlanta/Georgia, posts to the Armchair, etc…
Miss Ginger (of UNC fame) showed up a short while later with her roommate
Seri (sp?) and Seri's boyfriend Steven. (It was good to finally meet some
of the folks from the Armchair. Hopefully, I can meet some more folks in
Charlotte. Hint, hint!) Ginger had brought some "Sexy mother fucker
T-shirts" for each BF5 member. ("Darren is a sexy mother f**ker, etc.)
I broke out some more of my nametags and a marker. Ginger went as "Hello,
my name is Kate." My girlfriend went as "Hello, my name is Emaline." Seri
and Steven went as "Tom & Mary." (We later made up individual nametags for
each member of the band. More on that later.) I also stuffed away a few
black T-shirts for Song for the Dumped. Anyway, we were finally let in to
the Cradle at around 8:30. I secured a prime spot on the right of the
stage directly in front of where the piano would be located. (As it turned
out, I was only 3 or 4 feet from Ben and his magic piano keys!)
Venus Flytrap Girls opened at around 9:00pm. I will say this about that
VFG; their music is beginning to grow on me. After you seem them play the
same set 3 times, the surf guitar grows on you. However, too many of their
songs still sound alike. The lead guitarist is in "his own little world."
(I'm standing 4 feet in front of him and he doesn't even up his eyes to the
crowd once during the entire set?) Travis was OK and very, very loud.
After appreciating the "simplicity" of BF5, you wonder if 2 guitars, 1 bass
guitar, 1 set of drums, & 1 piano is a little much for one band. Just my
humble opinion. I did notice that Darren came out during Travis' set and
watched a few songs from high above the stage, next to the soundboard. He
seemed to really enjoy the music of Travis.
ON TO THE GOOD STUFF: BF5 finally took the stage shortly after 11:00 to a
cheering crowd. Ben came right out front. He gave me (and a few others)
high fives. My girlfriend handed him the aforementioned BF5 nametags. Ben
smiled as he took them and then placed the nametags inside his piano. He
announced that they were indeed to be back home. They opened with good ole
Dr. Pesyer. I don't have the complete set list (ask Ginger! I'm sure she
will post it.). Finished with Underground. Encore: She don't use Jelly,
Song for the Dumped. Notable missing favorite songs: Sports & Wine
(again!), Uncle Walter (again!), Alice Childress, Boxing. (The set list
had Boxing for the Encore but they played She don't use jelly instead.)
CONCERT HIGHLIGHTS:
"Freebird" cover: Just like any other concert in the Southeastern United
States, someone in the back yelled "Freebird" between songs. Ben smirked
and continued the set. After a stopping point a couple of songs later, I
suggested the song again. Ben looked at me and smiled. Some others up
front started laughing. And Ben then says in his deepest Southern accent
"What you think we don't know Freebird?" Ben starts the slow piano part of
Freebird. After a few seconds, the entire band is in a drop-dead "Freebird
JAM" session! They must have played 2.5 - 3 minutes of Freebird. Simply
amazing! (God I hope someone got a bootleg of this show…)
Underground intro: Darren left his drum set to come out front. He stood
there while everyone knew what was coming next. Someone yelled out his
lyric. ("I was never cool in school…") Darren bitched that someone just
took his only line of the song. He then said his lyric and returned to his
drums. Robert was next up. ("and now it's been 10 years…") He proceeds
to roll his lyric into a long "Diana Ross style" disco snippet.
Unbelievable funny! Everyone was rolling... You had to be at the Cradle
to believe it! Fantastic stuff.
Nametag humor: About half way through the show, Ben broke out the
aforementioned nametags. He went over and handed one to Robert and one to
Darren. Ben showed his to the crowd. Everyone got a laugh out of it! Ben
ended up sticking his nametag on the front (not piano) microphone. Robert
put his tag on the center of his orange amp. (Those of you out west will
get to see our nametag on his amp for the remainder of the tour!) I didn't
see what Darren did with his. Humorous for me to be involved in the show
in some little way.
Sexy mother f**ker T-shirt(s): About 2/3 of the way through the show,
Ginger tossed her set of 3 sexy shirts on stage to Ben. (The grey shirts
had large marker print over the front: Ben is a sexy m-f, etc.) Ben
displayed his to the crowd again to howling laughs. He gave Darren &
Robert their respective shirts. Robert displayed his briefly stating that
he is in fact a sexy m-f! Alas, we didn't get to hear the Sexy M-F jam
session that we've been hearing a lot about…. I guess another time at
another show!
My own Black T-shirts: I was the one who threw the two black shirts on
stage during the encore of Song for the Dumped. It wasn't my idea; I stole
the idea from someone who did the same in Knoxville. I got another smile
out of Ben. At the end of the song, Ben shoved his piano across the stage
and then did a "projectile stool toss" toward the piano keys.
Other little notes I learned at this show: "Down on Rosemary & Cameron"
from Kate is a little joke explained Ben. The two Carrboro streets run
parallel with each other and don't even intersect. Ben explained that the
particular lyric sounded better (at the time of writing Kate) than down by
the Crack house. Funny stuff! Also, Steven's last night in town is based
on Steven who is one of the guys in the band Travis. I guess Steven spent
some time at Ben's house and y'all know the rest on that song. Ben &
Robert kept looking off stage during the playing of "Steven's" to where
some of the members of Travis were watching.
I guess this post has rambled way too long. If you've made it this far,
thanks for reading my post. I really enjoy reading the other concert
reviews and Armchair-ers comments. I managed to stick around after the
show to get a poster autographed by the boys. Can't wait to get my little
poster framed. Anyway I'm already looking forward to Charlotte on
December 5! (They play a X-mas show with Marcy Playground opening at
Queens College. Anyone on the Armchair planning to be in attendance,
please drop me a line and we can try to hook up! I have to try and
convince Ginger to blow off classes at UNC to come down for that show...)
later days!
whatever and ever, AMEN!
Sonny
BF5 fan based in Atlanta, Georgia wishing he had enough money & time to fly
to Austin or Lawrence, Kansas for the next couple of shows……
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 22:58:38 -0500 (EST)
From: "Christina M. Scarmeas" <15SCARMEAS@cua.edu>
Subject: DC SHOW
So, call me stupid, but I have such a hard time finding out how to get
tickets for the show. can anyone help me out? Are they selling them
through Georgetown or PROTIX or the dreaded Ticketmaster?? Ugh! This is
soo frustrating.
Thanks a bunch!
Tina
*******************************************************************************
Christina M. Scarmeas
Catholic University
Washington, DC
"I'm crazy, but I get the job done"
Ben Folds Five
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 20:06:00 PST
From: "Flying Nun"
Subject: The Darren Page
Hi all,
So my last post didn't come up then, eh Frank? oh well...
To Courtney - you asked about the URL for the Darren page...well, as of
this moment m'dear, it does not exist. Petra and I (Que, that's me!)
are going through a very popular form of torture that occurs in
educational institutions called the Exam Period. ALthough Petra seems
quite cool and calm about it, I've aged about 10yrs and am in need of
some therapy.
When not studying, we are in discussion about what will be on the page,
which is, basically, Darren. We promise that the page will be up and
running, or under construction, or at least thought about by
mid-december :) This is also all under the proviso that my poxy excuse
for an internet server doesn't stuff me around like they have been the
last week.
If you have any pics of Darren (or indeed, Ben or Robert) that you'd
like or wouldn't mind letting us post up, please contact me.
and Courtney, if you could email me anyway, I'd like to know how you
found out about the page in the first place.
If anyone can take pity on a poor Australian fan and send her a copy of
Sessions and/or the brick and kate videos, please make contact, she'll
send whatever you want from australia in the mail and you'll get that
warm and fuzzy feeling inside, knowing that you've done a fellow human
being and BFF fan a good turn.
Que
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 23:18:27 -0500 (EST)
From: Soapscribe@aol.com
Subject: "Everybody" and Sessions
sorry if this is a repeat:
To the person who suggested "Everybody Knows" as a cover: "Everybody Knows"
is actually a Leonard Cohen song, and you can hear Cohen's original version
to eerie effect in the Atom Egoyan film "Exotica".
Another cover, which Ben would/could probably do very tongue-in-cheek, is
Prince's piano-only epic "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore".
The intimate setting of "Sessions" was perfect for BFF's mellower stuff --
Ben doesn't always have to throw his chair and/or his bum around to be
brilliant. I love Beck, but I thought his extended dance remix of "Where
It's At" in the cramped "Sessions" setting was self-indugent and a little
boring -- Thank God Jane's Addiction was playing "Jane Says" on SNL at the
exact same time. Click.
J
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 23:18:58 -0500 (EST)
From: Soapscribe@aol.com
Subject: sit down vs. stand up
sorry if this is a repeat:
- ---------------------
Forwarded message:
Subj: sit down vs. stand up
Date: 97-11-11 21:55:11 EST
From: Soapscribe
To: armchair@maillist.il.fontys.nl
I never thought I'd advocate BFF playing at a more traditional concert venue,
but after the lame attempts at frat boy tossing and general noisiness and
disrespect at the NYC/Supper Club show, I can forego mild bopping in the
service of BFF appreciation. Ben, Darren and Robert shouldn't have to face
an uphill battle when playing "Selfless" or "Smoke". I wouldn't be
surprised if "Alice Childress" was jettisoned when they saw the slower songs
produced a general reaction akin to kindergarteners being read Proust -- it
seemed some came hoping Ben would merely play "Song for the Dumped" over and
over and over.
I'd like to avoid blaming this on BFF becoming "too popular", since I'm a
relative newbie myself. But April's Irving Plaza (a no seat venue) show had
better sound, more songs and a better crowd (and it was waaaay cheaper). If
we're gonna pay more for less, I say next stop: Carnegie Hall...
J
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 23:41:04 -0500 (EST)
From: Ginger Nance
Subject: Chapel Hill Show
I actually sent this Wednesday morning (nov 12), but it apparently got
eaten in the server shutdown!! So here goes, again:
Well, let me start by saying that the Chapel Hill show was awesome! As
usual, someone requested Freebird, but this time they actually played, and
I'm not just talking about the little bit of the intro they sometimes
play. We're talking about a shortened version of the whole song--it was
awesome! I saw Venus Fly Trap Girls for the second time, and it kind of
scared me that I wasn't as opposed to them the second time around. Travis
seemed okay, but they were way too loud, as in all of the instruments were
drowning each other out so I didn't really get a good feel for the sound.
I loved their Scottish accents, though! Anyhoo, back to BFF. I met up
with someone else from the Armchair before the show (Hi Sonny!) and we
made nametags for ourselves and the people with us. He was Uncle Walter,
I was Kate, and we also had Emaline and Tom and Mary with us. We made
nametags for the guys, which Ben passed out later in the show, and he
stuck his on a mike stand, Robert stuck his on the big orange amp,we stuck
ours on the stage, and we all laughed because after the show, people were
running up to the stage to get the nametags. I made t-shirts for the guys
that said "Ben (Robert) (Darren) is a sexy motherfucker" and threw them on
stage--Ben held one up to the audience and everyone cheered, and Robert
thanked me, so that was cool. When they came out for the encore, I gave
Ben a note that said "play Evaporated please, or can I at least have your
set list?" He read it and looked up at me and said, "set list?!" and I
nodded so he leaned down, untaped his from the floor, and handed it to me.
I was so happy! So without further ado, here's their set: Dr. Pyser,
Battle of Who Could Care Less, Philosophy, Selfless Cold and Composed,
Missing the War, The Last Polka, Steven's Last Night in Town, Fair, Brick,
Kate, Jackson Cannery, One Angry Dwarf, Best Imitation of Myself, Smoke
(beautifully done, I might add), Underground (with a great intro--Darren
got mad b/c someone in the audience yelled his line before he could sing
it, and Robert did this long crazy thing before he ever sang "now it's
been ten years" and Ben said "hey, we're in the middle of a song here!"),
Julianne, and for the encore they did She Don't Use Jelly (instead of
Boxing, which was on the set list), and Song for the Dumped. I had a
great time right up front, and the place was packed, but the guys seemed
to be having fun. Ben was in full piano-smashing, sarcastic force (he
said that people always ask him about the "Rosemary and Cameron" b/c the
two don't intersect, and he said he picked it b/c they were two real
streets and it sounded better that "down by the crackhouse" :) ), Darren
was making his usual drum faces, and Robert seemed subdued at first but
really got into it after a couple of songs. People were screaming sexy
motherfucker at him and stuff, and at one point he just stood there and
said in a funny high/whiny voice "Party at my house, guys." Fortunately
there were no stupid people who fought or were obnoxious or tried to jump
on the stage, so things went quite smoothly. After the show, people were
milling around waiting for the guys and Darren came back onstage--I was
sitting on the stage--so I asked him to sign the set list Ben gave me and
he did and was really nice about it, and I asked him if he thought Ben and
Robert would sign it too and he said yeah and told me to go down the hall,
to the right, and to scream "Robert and Ben" until they came out. So I
went to the dressing room door and Robert was right there outside and he
was really nice about signing my set list but he was talking to friends so
I didn't talk to him. Then we waited for Ben, who came out carrying a
bowl of cereal but had to go back in and put it down to sign stuff for
some people he obviously knew. I took the chance and went right up to Ben
and said "Would you sign my set list since I went to so much trouble to
get you to give it to me?" and he looked at me and recognized me and
laughed and said "Sure!" Then a bunch of people kind of surrounded him
and he seemed to get a little irritated by all of it. We went outside and
were talking to some other fans (hi athens people!) and Darren came out
and we all said goodbye to him, and we saw them carrying my "sexy
motherfucker" t-shirts out to the bus and Sonny said something to Robert,
and pointed to me and said "she's the one who made them" so I went up to
him and we talked for a few minutes about my t-shirts (he said he really
liked them), Charlotte (the Tremont show, the December show, and Darren
being from there), England (I'm going to do study abroad there and told
him I wanted to see them there and he said if I was there long enough I'd
get to see them) and then the best moment: I told him that I enjoyed the
Charlotte show but was stuck behind a tall guy and couldn't see, and he
told me how it sucks to be behind taller people and went off into some
story about being at concerts in Norway where all the people were taller
than him so he was like "excuse me Mr. Norwegian guy but I can't see!" I
was just so amazed by the things people will tell you even if you don't
know them! Oh yeah, I also asked Robert why he didn't play the sex
jam and he said something like he couldn't really remember it and I
said that I'd heard lots about it on the Armchair and how everyone said I
should hear it and he just laughed and said maybe someday. Well, this is
really really long but I just wanted to share my BFF joy. It was my first
time meeting the boys and they were all so nice! OH YEAH! If anyone got
tape of the Cradle show, please e-mail me. I will do just about anything
to get a copy of that show. Thanks!
Ginger :)
************************** Ooooo We'll miss you Dean!
Ginger Nance ( ) Thanks for 36 great years.
gnance@email.unc.edu ) (
http://www.unc.edu/~gnance (o) GO HEELS!
**************************
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #624
**************************************
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