Ben Folds IS a Fucking Asshole
June 10th, 2007
OK, so I have a aptitude for the arcane and obscure. At the end of the Ben Folds Five Album Whatever and Ever Amen, you here someone shout “..Ben Folds is a fucking asshole!” As it turns out, this is quite accurate.
I was fortunate enough to get tickets to see John Mayer at the Hollywood Bowl last night. On the way to show, I became so excited when I learned the Ben Folds was the opening act. I love Ben Folds. So much so, that back in 2003, I bought tickets to see him with Tori Amos, thinking that I would either stomach Tori, or leave early, just to see Ben live. He was great back then. As a side note, Tori fucking rocked my word live. The CDs just don’t do her justice.
Back to 2007 - Ben was a little off tonight. His between song banter was sometimes irrelevant, and at one point stopped mid-sentance only to never finish. While he was entertaining, sang on key, and played well, he sometimes played a little carelessly, and sloppily. His stage antics seemed a bit esoteric, and he made to little to no effort to connect with those of us in the cheaper seats.
Something caught my attention towards the end of his set. Now I’m sure I’m misquoting a bit, Ben said “You know sometimes how you feel like a misunderstood genius, and even though you try to write songs that are accessible, it is still over most people’s head.” He seemed to be intentionally insulting the audience. Perhaps this was just a follow-up the big audience response he got from his version of NWA’s “Bitches Ain’t Shit”. And then, perhaps just to prove his point of how stupid the audience was, he entered into some potty humor banter, claiming that he could force peoples bowels to deploy by playing a very low note. He added that perhaps by playing a not as low note, those of us with weaker bowls would shart ourselves, rather than a full bowel deployment.
I didn’t take much of his behavior to heart. I figured it was just another day in the life an extremely talented musician, trying to find new ways of keeping both the artist and the audience entertained.
THEN IT ALL CAME INTO PERSPECTIVE!
As the crowd slowly herded down Highland, I happened to pass Ben & his wife walking in the other direction back up the bowl. Like any respectful patron of the arts, I casually shouted to Ben, “Good show tonight Ben!” He said nothing. Not a “Thank You”, a nod, a wink, nothing. He didn’t even look up. Then I realized, he didn’t even bother to stick around to see John Mayer’s set. I’m sure Ben has seen John play plenty of times, but I would have at least stayed backstage and listened out of respect. Something was clearly up with Ben Folds last night. Maybe he has the flu, or homesick, or something major like a death in the family, but something was up. Maybe like me, he’s a total dick when he’s overworked an needs a vacation.