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Ben Folds, who is playing at the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono this Monday, has always run just a little bit under the radar. That’s not to say he hasn’t had his share of success – most people who have paid attention to pop music in the past 15 years know who he is. But it’s safe to say that Folds, a nerdy-in-a-good-way guy with a piano, is what you’d call a cult figure.
Look at it this way: Weird Al Yankovic directed some of his videos, such as the one for “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” the title track from his 2001 solo debut album. He joined up with fellow nerdy singer-songwriters Ben Kweller and Ben Lee in a touring supergroup called the Bens. He invites his audiences to shout out musical styles during the live favorite “Rock This Bitch,” and adapts the lyrics and format to suit.
But the best case for his status as a cult figure: He produced and co-wrote most of William Shatner’s second full-length album in nearly 40 years, 2004’s “Has Been.” Laugh if you want, but it’s actually an excellent album, no doubt due to Folds’ ability to absorb multiple musical styles, and to be funny without crossing the line from irony to cheap laughs. And, well … it’s William Shatner. If James Tiberius Kirk isn’t a cult figure, I don’t know who is.
To date, his biggest success was with his 1990s piano rock band, Ben Folds Five, which produced a couple of hit songs (“The Battle of Who Could Care Less,” “Brick” and “Army), one classic (1997’s “Whatever and Ever Amen”), and one incredibly unfairly critically maligned opus (1999’s “The Unauthorized Autobiography of Reinhold Messner”).
His solo career is nothing to sneer at, though. His last album, “Songs For Silverman,” is both poignant and funny, with masterful piano work and heartfelt vocals, as are most of the best things Folds does. Live, he’s a showman, with lots of crowd involvement, and though he used to tour with just his piano as accompaniment, he has acquired a backing band in the past few years.
Tickets are still available for his performance at the MCA on Monday – for someone who feels as comfortable in a rock club as he does a concert hall, Folds should have no trouble filling the seats.
. In other news, Bangor area music fans should pick up a copy of the April 6 edition of Rolling Stone and flip immediately to the back page, called “Charts.” The top 10 records sold at the Bangor Bull Moose store for the first week of March is listed on the “Local Favorites” chart, with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd’s new album “On an Island” at No. 1, and the Hampden-based rock band the Killing Moon (formerly Animal Suit Driveby) clocking in at No. 5 with their debut EP for Fearless Records, “A Message Through Your Teeth.” The cover of the Rolling Stone next, perhaps?
Ben Folds will play at the Maine Center for the Arts at 7 p.m. Monday, April 3. Tickets are $12 for UMaine students and $26 for nonstudents. Tickets can be purchased at the MCA box office on the UMaine campus, or by going to www.ume.maine.edu/~mca. Ben Folds’ web site is www.benfolds.com. Emily Burnham can be reached at eburnham@bangordailynews.net.
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