Ben Folds wows Heinz Hall fans in PSO concert

Of all the cities singer-songwriter and pianist Ben Folds couldn’t perform in during the pandemic, Pittsburgh may well have been the one he missed the most.

It’s no secret that Folds loves the Steel City.

“I’ve always thought Pittsburgh was a memorable, outstanding, soulful place,” he said in an interview with the Tribune-Review on August 6, 2019, the day before what had been his most recent show here at Stage AE on the North Shore.

“The city’s history with industry and art and architecture and jazz is fascinating and I’ve always been way into it,” he said.

That was evident on Wednesday night when Folds returned to the city for the first time since the start of the covid-19 crisis to perform at Heinz Hall with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, no stranger to collaborations with the North Carolina native.

The show, part of Folds’ “In Actual Person Live for Real Tour,” was originally scheduled for June 2020 but was postponed by the pandemic. It was well worth the two-year wait.

The just over two-hour concert (with intermission) got underway with “Effington” followed by a version of “Jesusland” in which Folds proved he can still hit the high notes, his voice floating perfectly on top of the full-bodied sound of the orchestra.

Nevertheless, a man shouted loudly from a seat toward the back of the hall, demanding that whoever was doing the sound needed to turn up the volume on Folds’ piano. Folds, taking it in stride, patiently explained that his piano must blend in with and not overwhelm the other instruments in the orchestra.

Between the opening songs, Folds, wearing an all-black suit with a black T-shirt and black cross-trainers, humorously stalled for time to attach Band-Aids to his fingers. He explained that they keep his fingernails from cracking as he pounds the keys and that he usually remembers to attach them before he walks out on stage.

“How about my band tonight?” he asked.

The answer was obvious as it was evident from the start that there was undeniable chemistry between Folds and the PSO, with whom he has a long and melodic history dating back to 2010.

Under the direction of conductor Jacob Joyce, songs like “Capable of Anything” were punctuated by the orchestra’s staccato rhythm while “Zak and Sara” came off as the bouncy, jazzy little number it’s meant to be with a tight and powerful backing.

Others song like “Kylie from Connecticut” featured Folds’ marvelous falsetto notes soaring with the strings.

Softer, teary-eyed songs like “Gracie” and “Still Fighting It” played into the PSO’s sweet spot with Folds’ voice at one with the horns, strings and woodwinds in bringing out the emotional colors he intended when he wrote them.

Throughout the evening, Folds kept an easygoing and humorous banter with the officially sold-out crowd. (There were still some empty seats.)

Perhaps the highlight of the evening happened after the intermission when Folds asked the audience to suggest song titles for a tune he would make up on the spot. A woman shouted out the suggested title of “Music is the Great Equalizer” and Folds ran with it, pulling together strands for the melody from his piano and handing them to the orchestra, which in turn added its own embellishment.

It was started off by the cellos and the violins with the players adding sounds from everything from wind chimes to rain sticks. Then, to the delight of his fans, Folds added his own hilarious words, even finding an outrageous rhyme for the word equalizer.

“Music is the great equalizer, there’s a comedian whose name is Paul Reiser.”

The audience howled and they paid Folds back by adding beautiful background vocals for his performance of “You Don’t Know Me.”

Before Folds performed a version of “Landed” that brought the power of his collaboration with the Pittsburgh Symphony to a full boil, he took time to praise the PSO and other symphony orchestras he’s performed with.

“We need the symphony orchestra more than they need us,” Folds told his audience. “That’s why I’ve done (symphony performances) for the last 15 years. Beyond that, you happen to have one of the best symphony orchestras in the world.”

If there was anything to be disappointed about, it’s that Folds didn’t play either “Brick“ or “Army,” two of his most popular songs. Not even during the encore. It’s hard to imagine why.

Otherwise it was a satisfying evening in which Folds and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra sounded as though they’d been playing together for decades. If ever an alt-pop composer and an orchestra were made for each other, it’s Folds and the PSO.

Setlist

Set 1

1. Effington

2. Jesusland

3. Capable of Anything

4. Kylie From Connecticut

5. Gracie

6. Fred Jones Part 1

7. Fred Jones Part 2

8. Free Coffee

Set 2

9. Zak and Sara

10. Still Fighting It

11. You Don’t Know Me

12. Rock This B_____

13. Smoke

(Ben Folds Five Song)

14. Not The Same

15. Landed

16. Steven’s Last Night in Town

(Ben Folds Five Song)

Encore:

17. The Luckiest