Ben Folds and Kate Miller-Heidke tickle ivories and funny bones in L.A.

May 13, 2010, at the Music Box

By Melissa Bobbitt
Published: May 18th, 2010 | 12:40pm

On a recent night in L.A., Ben Folds suggested that, “there’s always someone cooler than you.” In this city, the lifestyle is to one-up your fellow concertgoers in sass, devotion to a band, or outward appearance. Folds said he wasn’t a big fan of L.A. prior to this two-night stand at the Music Box/Henry Fonda Theater—and probably for those precise reasons.

But this audience was different (save for the rudeness during opener Kate Miller-Heidke’s astonishing and giddy set). Fans not only sang all the words; they sang all the brass-wind parts, too for a veritable symphony of nerdy reverie. Being cool was uncool at this piano-driven hullabaloo.

Aussie chanteuse Miller-Heidke hit the stage first, accompanied by a very Folds-ish guitarist, Keir Nuttall. She treated ears to everything from beautiful ballads (“Space They Cannot Touch”) to kitschy cabaret about social networking on “Are You F*cking Kidding Me? (Facebook Song).” Though pleasant in demeanor, Miller-Heidke would go schizophrenic in a matter of measures and sounded downright demonic at times. Throughout the night, the striking, sequined blonde mesmerized with her classically trained vocal runs while hitting notes that could likely shatter glass. Miller-Heidke seemed an anomaly, but a spectacle at that.

In spite of some stiff hands and scratchy singing due to the previous night’s concert, Folds never once let the energy fizzle once he appeared on stage. He plucked material from all over his career. The head-bobber “Alice Childress” off Ben Folds Five’s self-titled 1995 album (Passenger) made an early appearance, as did “Annie Waits,” off his essential solo record Rockin’ the Suburbs (Epic). He’d lift his head toward the fans in anticipation and, on cue, they’d clap joyfully.

Even in morose situations, Folds kept things light. He mourned the loss of his most beloved instrument, which was destroyed in the Nashville floods. Whatever was salvaged, he said, would be auctioned off for charity to benefit the submerged city. But, he joked, “A couple of the keys have bloodstains.”

The daffy musician sure put all of his blood, sweat, and tears into his performance. Folds pelted out drum solos on a kit that roadies assembled piece by piece as the songs progressed (which also resulted in Nuttall and Folds dueting on The Surfaris’ “Wipeout”). He spat when he enunciated, and flipped the bird when his mic disobeyed him during a hip-hop version of “Bitch Went Nuts.” He segued into a freestyle melody about “a lonely man who couldn’t deal with his mic stand” (to allay the unfulfilled demands for him to do his famous Chatroulette routine), which turned into a hysterical cover of Neil Sedaka’s “Solitaire.”

Folds told stories about his first concert (age 12, Sha Na Na and Dr. Hook) and some of his first songs (“Having Two Dicks Is Cool”). He covered Elliot Smith (a gorgeous “Say Yes”) and featured Miller-Heidke once more, blowing the roof off Divine Comedy’s “Song of Love.”

The denizens of the Music Box showed their chops, too, when Folds conducted them in sing-along harmonies for the boisterous “Army” and the surging “Not the Same.” It was as though the fans had come prepared to impress their piano hero. For once, the nerds of L.A. had their revenge and found a place to belong—in Ben Folds’ house of music.

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Ben Folds Official site

Ben Folds MySpace page

Kate Miller-Heidke Official site

Kate Miller-Heidke MySpace page

Epic Records

Sony Music