Ben Folds with The Queensland Orchestra (15/09/2006, Concert Hall, QPAC, South Bank)

Yeah I went twice, so ha! But this time I was sitting front row centre.

I thought the Thursday night was impressive, until I went on Friday night. All the technical problems had been tweaked out of the system the night before, so no issues there at all. Biggest highlight was when Ben jumped straight into “One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces”, slightly catching the orchestra off guard. Ben played it with such pace, that I think the orchestra had trouble keeping up in parts, but the cellists added a bit of their own class, by giving the crowd not one but two twirls of their cellos, mid song.

I also thought the part where Ben freestyles (and “Misirlou”) towards the end of “Philosophy”, was impressive on Thursday night. Well, that was nothing compared to Friday night. Ben was teasing the Orchestra, pretending to be ready for the big finish, and then continuing with more freestyle piano, which I think contributed to the orchestra enthusiasm in big finish to “Philosophy”.

The Queensland Orchestra seemed to be a lot more relaxed, than the previous night, I think that’s because they knew what kind of crowd to expect.

Because this was the first concert to go on sale the atmosphere was far better, as the Concert Hall was packed with all the die hard Ben Folds fans.

Performance 10
Technical 10

Ben Folds with The Queensland Orchestra (14/09/2006, Concert Hall, QPAC, South Bank)

I have seen Ben Folds on his last three tours in Brisbane, The Three Bens (Ben Folds, Ben Lee and Ben Kweller), the Songs for Silverman tour and now with The Queensland Orchestra. He started the night with the classic Ben Folds hit Zac and Sarah. There were some slight audio problems during the first couple of songs, but it was all resolved quickly. It took me a while to get use the sound of being in a concert hall, so much more ethereal. The Concert Hall is a venue that has truly great acoustics, and not just a room filled with blaring amps and speakers to counteract the reverberation (like some live music venues I go to, *cough* The Arena *cough*).

The big surprise was when The Dresden Dolls graced the stage and gave a spectacular rendition of their “Coin-Operated Boy”. The Dresden Dolls stuck around to help Ben out with a song, providing drums and backing vocals. Another high point of the show was when Ben called on a tenor to add some vocal prowess to one of his songs.

Ben ended the show with my favourite song “The Luckiest”. What a night, I couldn’t wait for the next night when I got to go again, and sit front row centre, instead of in the third row to the right.

Performance 9
Technical 9

Gomez with The Vasco Era (02/09/06, The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley)

The Vasco Era
I hadn’t even heard of The Vasco Era, before this gig. One thing I can say about The Vasco Era is that they are enthusiastic. In particular the drummer (Michael Fitzgerald), who during a couple of songs was standing up at his drum kit and really bashing the hell out of the drums. The lead vocalist and guitarist (Sid O’Neil) showed off his slide guitar technique and drumming skills during a couple of songs. There were a couple of feedback problems early in the set but it was quickly corrected by the fantastic technical crew at The Tivoli. The lighting was off beat at the start of the set, but improved as the set progressed.

The sound of The Vasco Era is not for everyone, but the self described “raw and energetic rock / blues fusion” is generating quite a buzz in the Melbourne music scene.

Performance 6.5
Technical 6.5


Gomez
This was my first live Gomez experience and it was everything I hoped it to be. The unique sound of Gomez is captivating and all inspiring. (that was a bit wanky) These guys were fantastic and they really enjoy what they do. The set was a superb mix of new and old, and with a great and memorable back catalogue of music to choose from it was always going to be a great night. One of the two of the most memorable moments of the night was when Tom Gray forgot the words to “Sweet Virginia”. Tom stoped and asked the crowd for assistance, but everyone was suggesting different things, so he just picked thing up from the second verse. The other memorable moment was when they closed their encore with the old Gomez classic “Get Myself Arrested”. The lighting and mixing was of a high standard.

Performance 9
Technical 8.5


P.S. Have I mentioned that I love The Tivoli, the best live music venue in Brisbane.