Results tagged “benfolds”

What's not to love about the Miniature Tigers? The hipsterriffic foursome rocks throwback facial hair and bad Christmas sweaters almost as hard as they rock killer harmonies and painfully clever lyrics. (Seriously, we defy you not to love the intent or the rhyme scheme in lines like: "This is not a test or an SOS / I'm no longer on a quest to get girls undressed.") Plus, we support any band that embraces its inner nerd enough to feature a Dharma Initiative sticker on any instrument.

Last month's Ben Folds concert at the Electric Factory wasn't just disappointing because of how late the concert ran, or how uncharacteristically unenergetic Folds was. It was also disappointing because of just how rude several audience members standing near us were. The people in question—including one who reminded us more than a little of Danny Bonaduce—had apparently never been to a concert before. Or at least, they'd never shown up on time to a concert before. How else to explain the confused murmurs of "Who are these people? Where's Ben?" as the Miniature Tigers came onstage, followed by a very loud "Get off the stage!" from Bonaduce before the band even started their first song.

     

Normally, when we go to a show at a standing-room venue like the Electric Factory or the TLA, we try to get there right when, or shortly after, the doors open because, well, we're old farts and like to snag the upstairs bar stools. This is especially true when we're going to a sold-out show. Knowing that the Ben Folds show at the Factory this past Saturday was sold out, we actually arrived there a few minutes before the doors opened. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who got the memo, because the line waiting to get into the show ran through the Factory parking lot, all the way down 7th Street, turned down Willow Street, and made it about 2/3 of the way to 6th Street. So much for our master plan.

About a month ago, when we wrote about Camper Van Beethoven on these pages, we commented that that band's legacy is probably defined less by its own music and more by the number and quality of the bands that it inspired. And now, fittingly, we'd like to tell you about a band that clearly listened to, and learned from, CVB: Miniature Tigers (MySpace).

Every weekday of December (except for December 25, that is), Phillyist will be counting down to 2009 with our highlights from the past year and our predictions for the next. If you have a list you'd like to submit, let us know!

) has such a big under-age following that The Troc, whose balcony we always count on as a place of over-21 refuge, opened the upstairs to all of the teenagers who deigned to go up. I have a feeling that if I die and go to hell, it will be something like that.

I checked out Toronto's own The Midway State on Thursday, Jan. 31 when they opened the kickoff of MIKA's American tour.

Hotel Lights and Ben Folds Five - hey, remember Ben Folds Five? That was a cool band...) and Clint, Michigan with Amy Bezunartea.

- concert to get us out of this funk. So thank you thank you thank you to Eric Hutchinson and Matt Duke for giving us that show.

The times they are a changing. A quick sweep of the web now brings back incredible results. Check out these barnacles we found floating around:

to the train tracks, and why on earth it was marked with a state historic marker. After weeks of trying in vain to read parts of the marker as the train whizzed past, we turned to our trusty companion, the internet, to see what we could find.

Over the Hedge is a computer-animated family film from a large Hollywood studio (in this case, DreamWorks), so you know pretty much what to expect: a bunch of anthropomorphized animals voiced by a bevy of celebrities, spouting amusing jokes laced with pop culture references, who go through a series of wacky adventures that splits them apart, but then ultimately brings them back together again, closer friends than ever, and everybody learns a valuable lesson about love and togetherness or something. And indeed OtH does not disappoint in this regard - it fits the formula exactly. And yet somehow it takes all the painfully familiar elements and manipulates them so expertly that you'll hardly notice you've seen it all before. It's a highly entertaining film, and even manages - in the spirit of the comic strip upon which it's based - to include some clever satire on America's food-centric suburban culture, as well as some moving lessons about family. Ben Folds helps in both of these aspects, contributing to the soundtrack a new version of his song "Rockin' the Suburbs" with re-worked lyrics skewering the suburban lifestyle, as well as a number of Randy Newman-style ballads about friendship and so forth.

Why did no one want to stand up? Maybe it was because the show was in an auditorium. Maybe the audience was tired. Or maybe the Rutgers University Camden kids who got tickets for $10 had too much to drink back in their dorms.

Big props to Rutgers University Camden. They're bringing musical whiz kid Ben Folds to rock the suburb – literally. Ben's bringing his show to the Collingswood Scottish Rite Auditorium (accessible by PATCO and a bit of foot power for those of you in the city) at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night. Reports out of the Baltimore Ben Folds show say it's a must-see, especially if you're a fan.