It was the concert that I had been waiting nine years to see. Twice in 2005 I bought tickets to a Ben show and twice I couldn't get a ride to the show. There's something about the middle of the country that says “drive on me” that I don't quite understand.
I didn't think I had another hope of seeing Ben in concert until Toby emailed me with a heads-up about him showing up at College Park. Seeing as how that was right near me, I was psyched! Even though the show was meant for the students of U of MD, I was able to buy a ticket since apparently it was general admission. I almost got a job working at the box office, but when I applied I found out that I had to be a student, and I'm sure my application went down the tube.
I spent the afternoon at Dupont Circle in DC, basking in a pre-Ben glow. It was also an attempt to avoid the office as I would easily overwhelm Toby with sheer enthusiasm. Before I knew it, it was time to head over to College Park. Armed with a disposable camera, my cell phone, and $40, I took the incredibly long Metro ride back towards Maryland.
The venue was relatively easy to get to. The Cole Field House is next to the Student Union, apparently. I just looked for large crowds, which I found. When I entered they asked if I was a student, and I just said yes. It was kind of odd - I'm surprised they didn't check IDs but I suppose it wasn't that big of a deal. The gym-looking quasi-stadium had a stage in the middle of it, with sparkly lights and cheesy music. I knew I was in the right place when I heard “Common People” being played from the speakers. The crowd was pretty large, even at the beginning. I managed to score a seat on the very end of the center aisle, 4th row down. It was good viewing of Jared, actually. Unfortunately the girls near me seemed a bit flakey. The more hardcore Ben fans were behind me.
The opening act was Chris Mills. I found him pretty dull, but what made things worse is that the audience had no interest in even trying to get into him, and it's always sad to see a failing opening act. I think I would have liked him more except for the fact that he looked a lot like my dad, which was scary. Every time he did something on stage, I kept picturing my dad attempting to be a rock star. It was weird. My dad is definately not a rocking-out person. (He does rock, though.) The drummer was actually a really good drummer, and he started to stare in my direction during one of the songs, which freaked me out a little.
After the uberly short set (30 minutes), the extra drum kit was taken off stage and someone who wasn't Joe De Lorenzo was prepping the stage and the instruments. After this terribly long ordeal, the audience started to clap - it was a false clap and everyone stopped. But then we started getting weird waves of frenzied clapping, and finally I heard the opening music that I had heard from the Grand Prairie show mp3. I knew it was it, and the clapping and cheering begin. The lights were dimmed, the strung lights glittered, and the spotlights flashed. Lo and behold, to the left of the stage, comes BEN FOLDS. Ben Folds, my musical inspiration since the tender age of 11. (Perhaps I was just a highly impressionable child.) It was almost surreal. I clapped, of course, but it was hard to digest. Was that really him? Was I really there? Did I actually get to see him here?
He started the show with kind of a downer. I stood up and I sang along anyway, because I liked Judy. I heard a bit of disappointment from the audience, because no one wants to hear Judy as the first song of the night. I felt a bit indifferent. But then, all of a sudden, he breaks into one of my favorite songs - Dr. Pyser!! I had recently become addicted to it after the studio version was published to the WAEA reissue. I had a memorable trip to the COBA office while listening to this song and pretending to be a secret agent. It was exciting, and this was a great performance of it.
He started playing a new song that no one heard, talking about College Park. It's a really well improved song, though I almost wish it were an actual song. You can find a video of it on YouTube. Afterwards he told us that he was feeling kind of sick from eating a fish burger at McDonalds, and that it had been bothering him during the other songs. A few days before him and Lindsay had curry, and Lindsay was apparently really sick after that. I don't know if this is where he started talking about Bob Seger and a dream that he had about him. I forgot all the details - in fact I think Ben forgot what he was talking about before that - but then he got back on with the show.
I heard him play Missing the War and it was like a little light went off inside me somewhere. The thing I like about his music is that I can understand all of the songs eventually, even if it takes me a while. I was finally on the verge of getting Missing the War, and seeing it live just cemented it for me. I ended up calling Tim midway through it and was surprised that he didn't hang up. I just held the phone and went with it. I started calling other people, forcing them into my weird Ben mode.
Some of the people near me kept shouting “Rock this Bitch”, as it is a Ben concert staple, but I know Ben is sort of tired of it, so I yelled out “Bitches Ain't Shit”, and to my surprise they played it. Well, it's a fan favorite, after all. We even got to do a little audience participation.
After that, Jared and Lindsay went backstage and Ben did a solo act. It started out with the obligatory Brick, but I actually warmed up to it this time. Everyone around me, including myself, started rocking back and forth. It was very much a pull-out-the-lighter moment. The next song was DCYP, which sent shivers down my spine. It's one of my favorite songs, and there's something really reassuring about hearing it. I think about better days. I also remember when I used to play it on the piano at home and attempt to sing along. A lot of the girls around me were unfamiliar with it, since it was from the BFF days, but I didn't notice. It reached out to me, in a small way. I knew that we were charting unfamiliar territory with Last Polka, since everyone around me was seated and I was the only one standing. (I had a great view of everything by this point!) The real big shocker was Morgan Davis, which made me want to belt it out. I stopped midway through because I felt stupid being the only person in my section that knew all the words to the song.
Lindsay and Jared came back after Morgan Davis, and we got to do some audience participation with Army. Everyone started to screw up midway through because they were rushing the tempo. I dropped up when I felt it. We were facing each other and it was kind of awkward because I'm used to looking up for a conducter, but there wasn't one. At any rate, it was still really fun.
Their performance of Narcolepsy was the best that I have ever seen. It made me feel like I was actually watching the Five, and there was no breakup. It was full of raw energy and epic proportion, even without an orchestra behind them. I caught site of Lindsay's drumming - I'd never seen anyone pound on a drumset like that. In fact, I don't think anyone caught this, but the mic on the tom fell off and he quickly put it back on once he noticed. It was simply that rocking.
Rockin' the Suburbs was also quite rockin'. At first it was merely excellent, but seeing Jared do a solo and Ben play bass... I wanted to splooge in my pants right there. Just seeing Ben play bass like a badass was good enough but then to add Jared's crazy antics... too much!!!
I was a bit disappointed after Not the Same, because I was hoping to hear One Angry Dwarf. It's the first Ben song I've ever heard, and I first heard it sometime in 1996 when it was a radio single. I told myself that even if I didn't get to hear it, I at least got to see him. I also had the opportunity to take pictures in the “press area”, which meant that I was very close to Ben. But I kept clapping, and waited around, as a few people were hoping for an encore. Other people started leaving, and I checked my phone to see if I had time to stay. I did, so I waited. We kept cheering and clapping, and he came back for the encore. It was more than I could ask for. A large pack of fans rushed the stage, and I jumped out of my seat and headed towards the stage. I wedged myself close. I was so excited. He was no more than 3 meters away from me, playing the piano. I could see the details in his face. It was a crazy moment. After There's Always Someone Cooler than You, there was some talking going on and I realized it was the Short Bus Benny routine. I felt swept up by the entire thing, and before I knew it, he was playing it. I sang along, hopping, just freaking out. My inner 11 year old was enthralled.
I decided that I had to meet Ben. It was something I wanted to at least try. I had a hard time finding the back of the building, because directly behind it was a parking lot. I did eventually find it, and asked where Ben was. He was still backstage. Two other people were waiting around, hoping to see him. I didn't have much time because the Metro leaves pretty early on weeknights. I looked over and spotted Jared and Chris Mills, taking a smoke break. I talked to Jared and I think I was just too flabbergasted to actually say anything sensible, but I told him that his bass playing was really impressive live. He's actually a really nice guy, very relaxed and he seems to enjoy the whole thing. He seems very down to earth and it was nice to feel that. Apparently the crowd of Ben fans noticed that I was talking to Jared and they all encroached. I left shortly afterwards, to attempt to catch the Metro, but I missed the last one and ended up walking home. It was only a mile or so away, and the night was nice, so I enjoyed the walk.
When I woke up the next morning, it felt surreal. But when I came to, I felt a sense of peace. My big wish came true.