Review: Ben Folds @ Thebarton Theatre 24/02/26
Here again to rock the suburbs, the “defence attorney for Adelaide”, Ben Folds, treated the City of Churches to an entertaining and lively evening of music, stories and connection.
Words Brad Pine // Image supplied
Ben Folds w/Lindsey Kraft @ Thebarton Theatre 24/02/26
Honorary Australian Ben Folds returned home with a stripped-back tour for the aptly titled Ben Folds And A Piano Tour. For context, I first stumbled upon Ben Folds when Rockin’ The Suburbs came out after hearing that this American musician recorded an album in my hometown. It was beyond comprehension for 15-year-old me. But here we are, 25 years after its release and the icon has returned.
Thebarton Theatre was packed very quickly on a muggy Tuesday night. A few young people were amongst the main demographic that grew up listening to Whatever And Ever Amen. Nevertheless, just observing the crowd, it showed how wide Ben’s impact was on every generation.
First to the stage was actor and now musical creative Lindsey Kraft, here to support Ben Folds on his tour. The roles are reversed in the coming weeks as Lindsey performs her own show as part of Adelaide Fringe, We’ve Been Here Before, in which Ben is co-musical director.
Her casual all-black attire, equipped with matching baseball cap, gave an unassuming appearance that instantly connected her to the crowd. “Who is talking to us and why?” she quipped. Within the short window of time on stage, she was able to describe her upbringing through selections from her Fringe musical, along with her witty storytelling. She captivated the Adelaide audience, with We’ve Been Here Before definitely a Fringe show you need to check out.
As ‘One’ by Harry Nilsson blared from the soundsystem, Ben walked onto the stage looking as comfortable and at home as he possibly could. He settled behind the piano and started with ‘So There.’ From the angle I were situated, you could see how crazy his fingers played and how accurately his hands were placed at the piano. The major focal point for me was Ben’s somewhat rubbery face, feeling every note, every phrase and every emotion within the music, especially during ‘Don’t Change Your Plans.’
If you know Ben Folds at all, you will know his sense of humour is always apparent, even in moments of seriousness. The storytelling was a constant highlight of the night, one of which was the retelling of his songwriting evolution. He played a song he wrote at 12 about having two dicks being cool, stating, “On one hand [my songwriting] is honest – [on] the other hand, you think I would have evolved.” His songwriting has evolved since then and now includes a plethora of tracks to delve into, which he demonstrated throughout the night.
A major takeaway for me was how he loves to play, having the power of the piano at his fingertips (and sometimes his whole arm). ‘All U Can Eat’ and ‘Effington’ allowed his humour to shine through in combination with his stunning piano playing. The subject matter within Ben’s songwriting has varied throughout his career. He reflected on times during the pandemic with ‘Kristine From The 7th Grade’ – “It’s meant to be serious, so I put it in a minor key.” Then he pivoted to the notion of parenthood with ‘Still Fighting It,’ trying to make the song lighter by “putting it in a major key.”
It was the moment that the Adelaide crowd had been waiting for: Ben Folds playing the song ‘Adelaide.’ This had the biggest cheer of the night, with Ben reflecting that he felt like the “defence attorney for Adelaide” in interviews during his time living in Australia. Even though ‘Adelaide’ got the cheers, the sing-alongs came for the last few songs in the set. Primarily, ‘You Don’t Know Me’, a song that originally featured Regina Spektor with Ben, so we, the audience, filled her shoes and performed alongside Ben.
As we stomped our feet and cheered for the encore, Ben returned to the stage to give us a song he wrote here, ‘Landed.’ But it was ‘Army’ that saw the cheers rise again as Ben discarded the piano seat, adjusted the mic and stood up behind the piano for one last rocking number, accompanied by the Adelaide people on backing vocals. The mood softened for the last song of the night, as ‘The Luckiest’ had us all reflecting on what was a crazy, fun and thought-provoking night.
Forever the Adelaide citizen, Ben Folds had the audience in awe with some incredible piano playing and easily had us laughing with entertaining storytelling. For almost thirty years, Ben Folds has toured our great country, and we don’t want that to ever stop. I hope that during his time here with Lindsey’s musical, he reconnects with us all and will become a fixture strolling down Rundle Mall once again.
