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| Ben Folds & the SF Symphony @ Davies Symphony Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“The symphony orchestra is the artistic statement of civilization,” Ben Folds told a sold-out crowd at Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall on Saturday night. “We are in a fight for the existence of civilization. We need the symphony orchestra much more than they need us.”
Ben Folds and his songs were made to play with the symphony and Saturday night he demonstrated once again his mastery and appreciation of performing with an orchestra behind him. Unlike many who try to fit their songs with orchestration to mixed results, many of Folds original compositions include orchestral arrangements.
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| Ben Folds & Edwin Outwater @ Davies Symphony Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Saturday, he mixed many moments of witty stage banter and amusing song lyrics with powerful arrangements that made for a magical night for all. Whether Folds was playing his piano, standing at the mic, encouraging the audience to sing along or at one point conducting the audience for a musical on the spot creation, he was fully at home and in command with conductor Edwin Outwater masterfully leading the charge.
“I used to say there are two kinds of towns in this world. There are towns with a symphony orchestra and there is crap,” Folds told the crowd as he pleaded for the community to support the symphony. “Kids, please come to the symphony orchestra,” he said taking another angle, “because if you bring a date to the symphony, you will get laid.”
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| Ben Folds & the SF Symphony @ Davies Symphony Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
He began the evening at the piano with 2015’s “Capable of Anything,” before standing at the mic for 2023’s “Fragile.” Indeed, some of the night’s best moments came from that latest album “What Matters Most.” The third song “Kristine from the 7th Grade” was particularly pointed with hilarious lyrics about a classmate who had become a conspiracy theorist and spammed every day. In a town like San Francisco and with an audience no doubt highly educated for the most part, the song was a highlight of the first set.
Yeah, I got the emails
These last two years every day
And I just don't reply because
I'm not really sure what to say
Kristine from the seventh grade
The anger, the all caps
And all the pseudoscience
The misspellings, they must be on purpose
We went to a good school, Kristine
So, what would you imagine I might
Take from this deluge of memes
The cryptic, dark Bible quotes
Guns and dead fetuses
Seriously, Kristine, are you okay?
Folds told of being inspired to write the sixth song “Free Coffee” from 2008’s “Way to Normal” after he was constantly given free food and coffee though he was “rich,” while students who struggled to afford it had to pay full price. As he stood up to sing, he added “when I was their age, I was waiting tables and went touring with my band. And we just kept touring and calling in sick to our jobs. Then, eventually we had to each call and quit our jobs over the phone.” Folds brought the song to a dramatic close with a furious standing piano flair. He brought the first set to a close with “Zak and Sara” and led the audience in a “La La La” prompt before sending them into intermission.
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| Ben Folds & the SF Symphony @ Davies Symphony Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The second set began with a story and the explanation of the title track on his latest album. “I made this song up in a storage facility. I got the worst text that my best friend had died. And it made me think about “What Matters Most.” Folds sat at the piano singing of both a man longing for his lost friend and yet going through discarding a storage space of unimportant items. He related though that all the items had a bit of memory attached to them.
When introducing “Still Fighting It,” Folds revealed that it is his most asked about song and said that it was about his twins. “My kids are twins but born six hours apart and so they have different birthdays and even different star signs if you are into that shit…As a father, I could see my son being born and I looked deep into his eyes. And I could see someone having the worst day of their life. Absolutely terrified. He just wasn’t prepared for it.” The song was presented with the symphony bathed in beautiful red lights and first the horns and then the strings took the spotlight.
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| Ben Folds & the SF Symphony @ Davies Symphony Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“You Don’t Know Me” followed promptly with the knowing audience completing many of the lyrics and sending the song to a close with the audience singing the chorus. “This song is for the guy who used to be the editor of my local newspaper, who lost his job after 35 years,” he said before performing “Fred Jones part 2” with impressive support from the cello section.
For the last song of the second set, Folds introduced Steven Dibner, the Symphony’s Associate Principal Bassoon who was playing his very last concert after 40 years. Dibner rose to a rousing standing ovation from the audience. “It just so happens I have a song for you…” Folds said before playing “Steven’s Last Night in Town” in a 20’s Big Band Style. For the encore, Folds and the symphony delivered a touching, heart-wrenching version of his greatest love song, “The Luckiest” to bring the amazing night to a soft, sweet close.
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