“If Elton John had retained his original sense of fun, he might now be doing something along the lines of Ben Folds’ celebrated live act,” (The Guardian). “Having long ago embraced his inner nerd, Folds employs spectacles, piano and wit as weapons against a world that is taller, cooler and sexier, and emerges victorious. Accordingly, there’s an audience who want nothing more than to show their love for the man who describes himself, much to their delight, as a ‘piano-playing asshole.’ They sing every lyric back to him, pretend to be trumpets when requested, and generally assure the pocket-sized North Carolinian that brains beat brawn.”
Before turning his focus fully to the piano, Folds’ longtime instrument of choice was the drums; he still gleefully trots out a small set at some of his live shows to accompany his guest/opening act musicians. “Folds’ very physical playing reminds us that the piano is a percussion instrument, and he bends it to his will – as delicate accompaniment during a solo interlude, and aggressive mainstay elsewhere … a big, clever noise.”
(The video has an actual plot of sorts, but if you prefer to skip to the music, it starts at 0:30). “Learn to Live With What You Are” (2003) begins in E major. After a brief bridge, 3:44 brings a shift up a whole step to F# major for a final chorus. However, the closing seconds of the tune appear to settle back down into E major. Many thanks to our reader/listener Mandy D. for this submission to MotD — her second!
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