By Hannah Stewart, ’12, A&E Editor

When I walked into the University of Dayton’s Arena to see Ben Folds, I was immediately disappointed. I had assumed that the large arena (home of the school’s basketball team, the Flyers) would be packed with college students and Ohioans, but the space was cut in half due to modest ticket sales. The intimate venue turned out to be an advantage for both Ben Folds and his opening act, Kate Miller-Heidke, since it complimented their lack of a set. This allowed the experience to be more raw and personal, as both singers stood on a bare stage with just a microphone (and piano, in Folds’ case).

Kate Miller-Heidke was a fantastic opening act who wasn’t afraid to show off her vocal range. However, the songwriter really shined in “Caught in the Crowd,” a simple song with a sweet melody written about witnessing a friend being bullied. She expresses her regret at walking away instead of defending her friend, poignantly explaining, “I was caught in the crowd.” She also impressed during “Space They Cannot Touch,” with touching lyrics such as “my favorite place is me and you.” She took a Regina Spektor-esque turn on “Are You F*cking Kidding Me,” written about a rude ex-boyfriend who friend-requested her on the popular social networking site Facebook. Her clear, powerful voice really takes the spotlight in this song, and its profanity and clever lyrics (“I certainly don’t want you poking me! … again”) earned several laughs from the energetic crowd. The Australian was instrumentally accompanied by her husband, both of whom flew all the way from their homeland to play for some college students in Ohio. During the intermission, a good portion of the crowd rushed to the merchandise stand, overwhelming the two employees with requests for her CD and a meet and greet.

Ben Folds started his set with “Annie Waits,” and though the song (presumably written about a girl who was tired of waiting for a ring) is far from my favorite, his energy and the variation on its studio version kept me entertained. He continued with “Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head),” which is a great song that showcases Folds’ piano-playing abilities and songwriting skills, written about a failed crowd dive in Japan. His hilarious song describes this humiliating incident with confidence and unashamed clarity in some great lyrics, like “it was a concrete rose to meet my face” and “there’s blood on the keyboard… oh my God.” Folds followed his tradition of writing a spontaneous song at every concert, and the results were quite entertaining (it went something along the lines of, “…there’s a Denny’s next to a cardiologist’s office: how appropriate”). “Gone” was a crowd-pleaser with Folds’ signature energetic piano melody. Following “The B!tch Went Nuts,” Folds shared a sequel in progress to the song, multitasking between a piano, maraca, and microphone seamlessly. Miller-Heidke joined Folds on the stage to screams of approval to accompany him on “You Don’t Know Me,” the female part of which was originally sung by Regina Spektor. The Ben Folds Five (which was ironically composed of three members) classic “Kate,” a song that references the Bhagavad Gita, was also well-received. After “Steven’s Last Night in Town,” a theatrical song with killer clarinet and piano about a friend whose every night is his “last in town,” Folds switched from piano to drums, crossing the stage to a drum-set that was being arranged before him without missing a beat, and made a long, exhausting drum solo before going back to piano. Ben Folds himself was actually the epitome of energy; during all of his fast-tempo songs, he played the piano and sang standing up in a pre-splits position. Folds called up a member of the audience to help with the second verse of “B!tches Ain’t Sh!t,” a profane Dr. Dre cover that he paired with solemn piano and singing. After telling the good-humored girl to “just keep clapping like this,” he jokingly walked off the stage for a few moments. For his encore, the indefatigable Folds sang two favorites, “Zak & Sara” and “One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces.” Ben Folds put on an incredible show that didn’t make me regret getting home early Monday morning, and I won’t forget it anytime soon.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flyernews.com/articles/volume/57/issue/40/id/5829/category/news