Live Review: Ben Folds and yMusic

Ben Folds & yMusic lit up the Opera House, igniting revelry with upbeat and accomplished music throughout a bustling Concert Hall. The overture gave a blissful welcome to the evening; undulating silken chords from the string section met with the arpeggio of the clarinet and flute, and the muted trumpet sang with a golden sheen.

Then came the main attraction, Ben Folds. In a flourish of applause the band kicked into gear with joyfully bouncy tunes, Folds led the eight-piece with his unique voice, harmonising with flautist, Alex Sopp. Folds waited until the third song to introduce his characteristic larrikin charm, but once the penny had dropped there was no way it was going to be picked back up.

"This is a waltz," Folds said. "About all the things you forgive in a relationship when it's starting out... and by the time you get to the third verse you don't forgive them anymore." The next song was, according to Folds, written on stage, "and that's why it's only one chord." The song, Effington, was classic Folds: emanating an imaginative hilarity and an amiable catchiness.

Folds and band dipped into his catalogue with Still Fighting It, filling the Concert Hall with nostalgia he couldn't resist succumbing to. He recalled previous shows at the Opera House with "hacky sack players", "a drum circle" and "a mountain of papers with requests on them."

"Rock this bitch," came the call from the darkness to the sound of cheers and the eye roll of Folds. "Oh shit," he warbled into the mic. "Y'all know what that means... I gotta make something up." Folds dug deep into his ingenious mind and let his fingers do the talking with a lovely Latin-tinged chord progression. The band took up the call and the jam was on, Folds inviting the audience to join in with a call and response and a clap on two and four.

With classics like Steven's Last Night In Town, Song For The Dumped, Brick and tracks off the new album, So There, Ben Folds and yMusic's performance was entertaining, light-hearted and vivacious, leaving very few in the house unenthused.