Ben and Nick

Ben Folds

Karl and I put the little guys to bed early and sneaked out to go see Ben Folds... on a school night. Mary was also at home... maybe or maybe not doing homework, so we weren't completely irresponsible abandoning our darlings- but we still felt like we had to sneak out before some sort of kid calamity prevented us from going.

Ben Folds and Nick Hornby

We needed to go...Ben was in town, and we absolutely couldn't miss him. He is one of my all time favorite musicians who just happened to team up with one of my favorite writers Nick Hornby, (High Fidelity, About a Boy, Juliet- Naked) and together they made and album called Lonely Avenue which is really very awesome. Nick wrote the lyrics, Ben wrote the music and to add even more to the collaboration of our favorite artists, photographer Michael Wilson contributed to the albums photography.
Lonely Avenue plays exactly like it should. Lyrics that yearn for the goodness of humanity and hope tempered with the reality of life itself. Hornby's lends both poignancy and wit in his lyrics... who else could write so sympathetically of Bristol Palin's ex as he does in "Levi Johnston's Blues." Poor Levi...
Nick also wrote a song for his wife called "Practical Amanda" which is more than lovely. As Ben was singing it, I mentioned to Karl that for Christmas I was hoping for my own song. Judging by his eye roll... I probably shouldn't hold my breath waiting for that Christmas song from my dear husband.

Ben directing the concert choir from atop his piano

Ben loves both his music and his audience which made for fun and energetic concert. He took requests, told jokes, bantered with his fans and proved that he is a very quick and funny dude. He also swore a lot which I appreciated within the context of the evening... I really enjoyed every f-bomb.
For his encore he climbed onto his piano and directed the house in a final piece. There must have been a lot of music majors from nearby CCM in attendance. Everyone sounded great and stayed on key in our impromptu Ben Folds choir directed of course by, Ben himself.