Written and photographed by Martin Locraft

Having never seen Ben Folds before, I didn’t quite know what to expect heading into last night’s show at Constitution Hall. I was told that “he always brings it live” and that I should “be ready to laugh,” but neither of those things were necessarily going to turn a good show into a great one. Many acts “bring it live” on a regular basis, and sometimes inserting laughter into a musical performance is akin to introducing politics – most people are there to hear the music, not what you think. As Matt Nathanson (a funny musician in his own right) eloquently said, “the rock and rollers don’t need to be smart… they just gotta put a big cucumber in their pants and just kinda dance around.”