Ben Folds Tries to Stop the Rain at Lollapalooza

Posted on Aug 8th 2009 12:00AM by Garin Pirnia
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Lollapalooza got off to a rainy start on Day One on Friday, but prolific piano man Ben Folds (accompanied by his four-member backup band) did his best to the diffuse the clouds with his brand of sunny pop music. Folds opened with the upbeat 'Bitch Went Nuts' and later allowed the crowd to take a turn at singing on another new one, 'Landed.' The song's melody juxtaposed with the ominous lyrics was fitting given the grey backdrop but piano pop onstage.

But it wouldn't be a Ben Folds show without plowing through a cover of Dr. Dre's 'Bitches Ain't S---' (we're starting to see a theme), turning the gangsta rap song into an amusing, piano-infused rant. Towards the end, the band cut loose and jammed away on the ivories, trombone and ever-elusive instrument ... the triangle. Folds' set mainly drew from the latest album, but he also threw in classics 'Kate' and crowd pleaser 'Army,' wherein he incited the drenched (yet content) crowd to acquiesce to the infectious "ba dah dahs." The set abruptly finished, with Folds and band thanking Chicago, before exiting the stage. Folks may have been waiting for some older material, namely 'Brick,' but the crowd was already drowning.