THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #1477 - April 21, 1999
Magical Armchair Digest Wednesday, April 21 1999 Volume 01 : Number 1477
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
BFF concert
Maxim Magazine
ARMY Video
Apologies-get to my web page
Re: LaFrak? LaSCHMAK!
Snooze - you lose
hi
new tour bootlegs
April 19th show
tomorrow's show
BFF At Blockbuster Pavilion on May 28th... In Charlotte.
Magical Armchair Digest V1 #1474
an afternote
Franklin & Marshall
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 21:05:18 EDT
From: RetcarahC@aol.com
Subject: BFF concert
This was in the Chicago magazine nightlife concerts section:
BEN FOLDS FIVE-May 3 at 7:30 Folds has a bit of Elton in his decorative
piano-pounding, some Joe Jackson in his biting vocal delivery, too many arty
touches in his songs, and way too much sarcasm for his own good.
$16.50. Park West, 322 W Armitage. 312-559-1212.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 20:16:41 -0500
From: "Mark E. Franzen" <sfranzen.mark@noctrl.edu>
Subject: Maxim Magazine
The coolest magazine in the world talks about Ben Folds Five's new album and rates
it as a "buy it" they rate 3 a month one "Buy it" one "Bury it" and one "Borrow it"
and then on the next page it has and interview with Ben Folds about Folding <catch
the pathetic pun> a paper air plane.
All men Check it out and women too but I think the guys will like the magazine
better...
mark
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 22:19:18 -0400
From: stp1237@home.com
Subject: ARMY Video
I'm sure this has already been talked about.....but 120 Minutes played
ARMY last night (Sunday) around midnight. Pretty cool video....kinda
reminded me of the SFTD video...but I haven't seen that in a while.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 00:41:47 -0400
From: "Jared Pinkos & Marcae Benoit" <jaredmarcae@sprynet.com>
Subject: Apologies-get to my web page
Sorry to all those who tried to reach my discography through the link =
that I provided in the MA yesterday. My stupid email added =3D20 to the =
end of the line. This is really starting to drive me nuts, if it is =
possible to get rid of this extra crap-let me know. If you would like =
to reach the discography got to =
http://www.angelfire.com/mi/benfoldsfive/ with no =3D20 after it, and =
just in case this damn email does it again, I'll spell it out-www dot =
angelfire dot com slash mi slash benfoldsfive slash, with no equal =
signs, or any other signs that are not spelled out. Later-Jared
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 00:51:00 EDT
From: Pazuzu23@aol.com
Subject: Re: LaFrak? LaSCHMAK!
Ha! That's nuffin'. I visited a college here in Illinois, and they had a
computer building named Lumpkin Hall.
I'm glad that some guy unfortunate enough to be named Lumpkin happened to be
successful, but come on, LUMPKIN? Eew. I lost my appetite for knowledge
just looking at the building. Gad.
Alsho... There's a new issue of CMJ ( I think that's the magazine's name)
with BFF on the cover, made to look like comic-book super heroes. Some alien
tart has her arms around Ben, and Darren just looks adorable. It's silly.
I'm calling the publisher tommorow, to see if prints or posters of it are
available. Probably not. We shall see.
That magazine cover bit's probably been said already on this list, but so
much gets said here, it's hard for my addled brain to put it all in place.
'Course, I'm one to talk, ranting about Lumpkins...
Two weeks to the show! Glee...
Scott
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 9:28:34 +0000
From: "Dominick Brook" <9809441@EIGG.SMS.ED.AC.UK>
Subject: Snooze - you lose
Well I've messed up big time. About the only opportunity I would get
to
see the triplet is sold out. That right, over a month before their gig
in Glasgow on May 15th they had sold out, and I hadn't got any tickets.
If only I'd have pulled my finger out and got on the phone earlier.
Anyway, what I'm really wanting to say is: has anyone got any spare
tickets for glasgow. Please help me.
Have a great one,
Dom
I said to my reflection,
God please spare me more rejection - Ben Folds - Army
DominickBrook@bigfoot.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 06:20:17 EDT
From: JGreenb106@aol.com
Subject: hi
hey kids! i've been away from the list for awhile, but i'm back now...there
were some internet complications...ah how i've missed it! anyhoo i'm goin to
the philly show tonite and giddy as a schoolfella...they haven't played the
TLA since I was in 7th grade...lookin forward to hearing songs besides
"army" off the new album...anyone who sees me, say hi! i'll be wearing a
plaid shirt, the kiss my ass tee and jeans...
happy BFF!
ari
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 10:05:32 EDT
From: Qualitease@aol.com
Subject: new tour bootlegs
1. This is just a reminder - WE NEED TO KEEP THE BOOTLEG INDEX UP TO DATE.
IF YOU HAVE TAPED A SHOW OR ARE GOING TO, PLEASE E-MAIL ME WITH THE DETAILS.
2. I will be taping at the TLA show the 21st. Look for the guy with the
beard and the "cool in school" shirt, that's me.
3. Read #1 very important!
4. Ben Folds Five Trading Station:
http://members.aol.com/Qualitease/bfftrade.html
~Alan
ps. I am shaking with excitement reading all of the posts!!!!
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 12:05:50 EDT
From: FILMCHIK@aol.com
Subject: April 19th show
As grock119@idt put it...the April 19th show at Franklin and Marshall College
indeed kicked much ass.This was my second BF5 show and it was definitely
equally as fabulous if not better. I'm upset that I won't be able to attend
the concert at TLA in Philly,but ya know how that goes with poor college
students and all that. I managed to get Robert and Darren's autographs at the
college (I got them through one of the roadies after much begging),but Ben
was no where to be found :-(. I shall frame it nonetheless because-hey- 2
outta 3 ain't bad. No complaints here. I really dig Robert's new 'shaggier
than Luke Skywalker's' do. So anyway--the new songs are great...narcolepsy
being one of my favorites. One of the best things about seeing BF5 live,I
think, is the fact you get the pure dynamics of the songs right there..you
see his hands float or pound across the keys with the most determined look on
his face..it's absolutely beautiful (of course,it helped that I was 7 feet
away from him...wahoo!) I was,however,a bit annoyed at the boy behind me
screaming out all of the lyrics in his 'just going through puberty' multi
pitched voice (spelled wrong?) Eh-it's all good. Well,fellow armchair
loungers..it's time for me to go.Hey...you don't have to cheer. Catch a show
if ya can...it's a beautiful experience.
Love,
Melissa
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 10:07:47 PDT
From: "Laura Cihocki" <singthepoems@hotmail.com>
Subject: tomorrow's show
Hi, everybody! I'm new to the MA, so I guess I should quickly
introduce myself: my name's Laura, and I'm a college student in NJ.
There, that's out of the way. So, anybody else going to tomorrow's
concert at the TLA? I've never seen the band live before, so I'm
getting pretty excited. Email me if you want to meet up...oh, and to
anybody who's looking for Truth and Rumors: check your local used CD
store. I got a copy for $2.99...still can't find the Army single
ANYWHERE, though. Only 30 hours to go!
- --Laura in NJ
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 13:10:27 EDT
From: Pianogtar@aol.com
Subject: BFF At Blockbuster Pavilion on May 28th... In Charlotte.
Well it was announce yesterday on 106.5 the end in charlotte that there will
be benefit concert for the refugges in Kosavo. Ben Folds Five will be
headling and also playing will be Fountains of Wayne :/ , 2 Skinnee J's : ^)
:^) :^), Dovetail Joint ( smoke that one from a doves tail ok?) Tickets are
$19.65 for gold circle, 15.65 for the decent seats, and 10.65 for the lawn
for those who like to get plastered and pass out. Well out of here for me.
George.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 18:16:28 EDT
From: DeepRest00@aol.com
Subject: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #1474
http://www.mtv.com/mtv/tubescan/totalrequest2/pickaday.tin
Go there to request a song. Just type in "Army by Ben Folds Five" and click
send. That will request them for TRL. It wont take all of 5 minutes. Besides,
we want to help them, dont we?
Amanda
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 18:25:25 EDT
From: DrummerAR@aol.com
Subject: an afternote
The review I just sent: 1378 words
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 18:20:48 EDT
From: DrummerAR@aol.com
Subject: Franklin & Marshall
Well, here we go ...
I lost my virginity Sunday night. At about 9:43 P.M. It was Don't
Change Your Plans. I changed them, though ... I will never go back ... I
will do it whenever that girl is in town ... that wonderful girl.
ANYWAY, back to reality now. Sunday night. F&M. Anyway, I was
hoping that general admission meant on the floor in front of the stage, and
damn was I right! (this was the first concert I've been to of that type ...
usually bigger things, in seats, in balconies. So, I decided not to take any
chances, and wandered with my semi-fan friend to about 5th row of people,
center. We waited for an hour, as Fleming & John showed up quite tardy.
Anyway, Fleming&John rocked. However, due to my lazyess, I will go
no further on that subject. So, after their great set, we sat down (that is,
my friend and I) for a half hour ....... then .... the lights went dim ... and
THEN CAME THE BOYS! All three of those Five. YEah! damn!
Unfortunately, my friend wasn't as excited. So, anyway, they started with
'Plans'. It was very nice, although I would have perferred 'Pyser'. There
were about 20 of us who knew the words to the new songs, and we sang along,
bringing an "interesting" out of tune aspect to Bens wonderful singing. By
the way, I just noticed that Ben was a real nice guy the whole time. Smiling
at the audience, having fun, and just enjoying everything.
Darren was wearing a jacket + tie, and looked very sharp ... it was a
good look for him. Sledge had this big poofy curly blonde wig that made him
look like Roger Daltry of The Who.
On to 'Battle' ... everyone knew that one, and most sang. He
introduced "a song from our first album" and I knew it was Philosophy (I had
spoiled myself by reading Friday's setlist ... I really shouldn't have ... it
took away some anticipation...). It really rocked. Everyone liked this one
... solo was great. Also, Darren really got into it ... the whole show. He
would jump out of his seat to make crashes and go around the set and such.
Well, I might as well interrupt to take about Darren's set a bit (for
anyone who gives a damn). He had a 5 piece - 1 mounted, two floor ... BIG
bass drum ... couldn't see the snare ... I believe it was his old Ludwig set.
He had two crashes, and a 20 inch or so crash/ride, which has nails in it.
That got annoying at times. On the side, he had 2 tympanis, and a gong.
Anyway, back to our feature presentation ... Mess was beautiful, but
didn't exactly arouse the crowd. Then Ben came out with his melodica, and I
knew it was Steven. That was one of the best songs all night (I mean, done
the best). He did some of the solo on the harpsichord ... and there was
alot of improv. The last time he says "Steven's Last Night in Town" ... then
end of the song ... he did it really dramitically ... like it was the end of
an opera or something ... "Stevens .......................LAST
.......................... NIIIGHHHT
.....................................................INNNNNNNNNNNn
.........TOWN!" ... anyway....
On to 'Magic'. Darren started it off with the tympani ... he went
between that and tambourine during the song. I didn't like the song overall,
though. 'Hospital Song' was cool ... nothing exciting ... then he tried to
go right into Army (as Ben mentioned in some article, it was supposed to be
the second movement to 'Hospital) ... but there was feedback ... he had
difficulty: "Well I thought .... Well I tho ... Well I .... Well ... Wuh
......................................" but finally they started, and it
rocked soo much! They best part was after the solos when the brass would do
their thing .... the first line, ben just played chords ... silence otherwise
... somehow, I think that was the best part of the show ... It was weird ...
then, for the second line of it, Darren and Robbie sung it ... definately
cool.
Underground. Darren came out and sang the beginning. He graciously
accepted (and expected) the chorus of "Well who the fuck are you?!" it's
getting old ... anyway, it was great. At the 3/4 jazz section at the end, I
noticed that Darren changed to traditional grip on the left hand (for anyone
that cares) ... AND, I noticed that his 3/4 jazz was superb! And I am a fan
and player of jazz myself.
Dwarf. As in, an angry one. And 200 solemn faces. Rocked. The
beginning of it probably aroused the biggest cheering from myself. IT was
great ... Ben's solo was great ... the bass line kicks.
I believe the went to Alice Childress after that ... I know they did
it, but I forget when. Anyway, here was Ben's intro to it: "Well, this is a
song someone requested last night .... we first played it in 1974, when we
were on tour with Bruce Springstien ... The Boss ... go New Jersey! ..."
Narcolepsy was ... was ...was ... WOW! Amazing! EXTREME! INTENSE!
KICKASS! They did this big intro to 'Fair' ... I didn't know what it would
be during the intro, so I got really excited. Then Ben went to talk to
Sledge, and I was thinking that they were pondering the next song ... so, I
started to yell "KATE! KATE! KATE!" ... others yelled other songs ... but,
they stuck with the set list, and played 'Redneck Past', which was cool, but
not really cool. After that, Ben stood up, throw his water bottle into the
audience (which the lucky winner shared), and they walked off .. came back to
a big ovation soon later. Ben announced, "well, we're going to do a gospel
song, then a breakup song", wherby I proceeded to yell "Bitch Song!"
'Lullabye' was sweet and nice and stuff ... and then ... ladies and
gentlemen ... The Big Song ... I mean, The Bitch Song. Whoops, I mean, SONG
FOR THE DUMPED ... the beginning of it caused much hopping up and down of
fans (our version of moshing) ... and it went on, and it was great ... the
solo (section) was LONG! This was the one where Ben started to do ... his
stuff ... he played on the piano, on the harpsichord ... then Robert did
"the" solo on the bass ... I mean, they didn't skip it ... and it was much
better than the album ... and, after the two back and forth between piano and
bass little things (which is the bass solo, and the third time it was piano
then (Darren!) ... it was an awsome one measure lick! Well, things went on
... then Ben started trading solos with (the Typmani!) wow ... Rockin'!
well ... then things went on for a while ... ben going crazy .... then, a
patented move ... he took the mike, and started playing the harpichord
strings with it. Oh yeah. So. blah blah blah, they go on ... in the last
chorus, when it came to the word 'bitch', he would point the mic to the
audience and have us sing it ... yay. At the end, they crashed and boomed
and bang for a while ... and slammed the last note .. Darren was jumping out
of his seat and slamming things .... they all came together for the last,
mother's-uncle-fucking-ass-whuppin-Uncle Walter-smokin' -Philosiphized last
note, and BANGED it. Which was proceeded by Ben collapsing on to his Pearl
drum throne (for piano), and the throne then collapsed. YEah ... wow ... the
end ... yay ... and they walked off, and that was it. it. over. wow ...
there's only one thing I can say : "shit's yeah that's cool"
p.s.: that might have been the longest post ever to the Armchair. Then
again, I've only been suscribed since September. Anyone know? How about
you, Frank?
p.p.s.: Ben Folds Five played at Franlin & Marshall College Sunday, April
18th. It was pretty cool ...
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #1477
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