The problem for Ben Folds Five at this Brooklyn show, though, was that they were an opening band. It seemed like a lot of the crowd did not know them or did not come to the show primarily for them. They also had little time to build up rapport between songs because they were restricted to such short sets. This “Opening Band Problem” is nothing new. Modest Mouse and The President of the United States of America were actually better than the main band and better than they were on the albums, but every other opening band I’ve been to has not worked. They always seem destined to be second best. What made Ben Folds Five’s failure different was they put on a grade-A concert last time!
Opening band issues were compounded by the fact that the crowd was terrible, and they played too many lackluster new songs.
All that said, Ben Folds Five did not earn the D+ Guster did. It had three main advantages:
1. I was physically present inside the venue the entire time. That’s always important.
2. They played four classic songs I had never heard live before: “Brick,” “Army,” “Fred Jones Part 2,” and “One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces.”
3. They had a bra wreath! For “Here Come The Bras,” they brought out this elaborate, stage-size mega-wreath composed entirely of bras!! They kept themselves surrounded by these bras for the rest of the set, and blamed the whole thing on the main band: “Thank you, Barenaked Ladies, for this tour, and for displaying all your conquests on stage…”
Grade: B-
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