Ben Folds celebrated his birthday with streamers, and they weren’t the kind hung from ceilings.
In a cramped apartment strewn with paper, instruments, and recording equipment, Piano Pop prodigy Ben Folds meanders into the camera frame. Without acknowledging his audience, he silently rearranges the clutter. Suddenly, tossing an over-the-shoulder grin at the camera, he lurches toward the computer. A tap on the spacebar arouses the microphone, prompting applause from the comments section. The curtains have parted on Folds’ livestream birthday show.
While America tuned in on the of evening Ben’s big day, Mr. Folds himself was waking up to the morning after—he had been stranded overseas in Sydney, Australia since the outset of the pandemic. The September 12th show comes as the 14th show in a series of Saturday night/Sunday morning concerts that Folds held from the makeshift studio of his temporary apartment.
Embracing the eccentricity of the moment, Folds kicked things off quirkily. Moving impishly about the room, he reached first for his fuzzy Ugg boots. After removing his cowboy hat to stretch a beanie over his bedhead, he cracked open a beer—it was, after all, 6 o’clock in the states. The entire ritual was scored with a kitschy theme song dedicated to “the scrollers.”
Finally, Folds settled at the keyboard to begin his set. Starting with a relaxed ballad, his playing gradually pressurized. Arpeggios accelerated; octaves grew weightier until Folds was in the full throes of pop stardom. The light, plasticky keys barely withstood the furious pounce of Folds’ fingers. Above the chaos, his airy voice billowed melodiously. The trembling soundscape shot through the wires, beamed up to a satellite, and descended upon the homes of thousands of fans without losing one bite of intensity.
As the night wore on, Folds canned the conventions of a typical stage show. Pulling his hands back mid-song, he frequently brought the music to a jolting halt to speak to his audience. These intimate soliloquies consisted of stories behind his songs, empathetic encouragement for our strenuous times, and even a lesson on piano technique. At times, the performance felt less like a show and more like a conversation with an erudite elder. In one seamless livestream, Folds managed to quench our desperate desire for live music and comfort us in a moment when we all undoubtedly needed it. The show appeared restorative for Folds as well. Having spent the spring and summer quarantining in an isolated apartment thousands of miles from home, he seemed eager to connect with his fans. Signing off, he confessed “It’s good to see all y’all… I like to catch up with y’all.” We sure enjoyed catching up with you too, Ben.