Finding What Matters Most with Ben Folds
Written and Photographed by Colin LaVaute
When faced with the task of writing a blog regarding Ben Folds, his new album, and his recent performance at the Stifel Theater I find myself struggling with where to begin. Ben Folds has been intrinsically entwined in my musical journey for the past twenty-four years. There are so many touch points I could point to and grasp to illustrate what an indelible impact he has had on my life. I’ve seen him live more than any other artist. Years before I started the Big Muddy Music Hour, I bum-rushed him backstage at Roots n Blues just to tell him that I sang his song “Lullaby” to my daughters at bedtime. I had the privilege of interviewing him on my 50th episode. At times in my life, I had been somewhat fanatical of his music. Most recently, he has been a spark in my creative self; illuminating inspiration in my own musical works.
Ben Folds and his band at the Stifel Theater in St. Louis.
In Folds’ memoir A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons, he ruminates on a dream he had as a child in which only he could see the lightning bugs in his childhood backyard. Once he captured the fireflies and put them in a jar, they then became visible to all others who were present. This is his central metaphor for creativity itself. “At its most basic, making art is about following what’s luminous to you, and putting it in a jar to share with others.”
Over the pandemic, Folds spent much of his newfound isolation time turning to teaching music, songwriting, and creativity online. During this time he fashioned his new album What Matters Most, with many songs inspired by interactions and exercises created while interacting with his teaching audience. While I enjoyed the album for the most part, it didn’t immediately grab me in the ways that such efforts as his early Aughts EP series or Songs for Silverman did. As can happen many times when digesting a new musical work, my appreciation for the record grew upon seeing it performed live when Folds rolled through St. Louis.
Opening the night is an acoustic, alt-folk duo that go by the name Tall Heights. These two cats were new to me, but they were a breath of fresh-air. Performing some songs completely unplugged in the vintage, storied opera hall with their acoustic guitar, cello, and harmonies-so-good you’d-think-they-were-blood vocals soaring through every corner. Tall Heights has seemingly been taken under the wing of Folds, as they also filled out his band and appeared on the new album. He also gave them the stage for another song, just the two of them, during Ben’s set.
Of the eight times I’ve been present at a Ben Folds concert, I’ve never seen him with such an expansive band. Half of the time, it has only been Ben and a piano on stage. The most I’ve ever seen on stage with him was an additional bass and drum set, the classic Ben Folds Five setup. This was all new. Tall Heights were there with their cello and acoustic guitar. There were also bass, drums, and a multi-instrumentalist blowing on a harmonica and filling in with synths. It was the fullest sound I had heard accompanying him live and it gave the entire set a more orchestral feel than I had the pleasure of experiencing in the past.
The evening was filled with mostly tracks from the new album. The band tore into the lead single “Exhausting Lover,” a song that showcases Folds at his most sardonic and comedic best. The band then dipped into the second single “Winslow Gardens,” a meditative and infectiously catchy entry that examines the fragility and finite nature of life itself, viewed through the prism of a couple moving into a retirement home.
Throughout the performance, Folds would share in-depth anecdotes about how many of these new songs came to be. Much of the impetus was born from his teaching sessions on songwriting. Through this context, I was able to gain a greater appreciation for such new tracks as “Christine from the Seventh Grade” and “Fragile.” His musings and subsequent performance of each song also jogged something loose for me creatively. Until around the time of this concert, I had been facing my own musical writer’s block. The way Ben showcased how easily a sensationalized headline can be transformed into a song about something completely different unlocked new permission structures in my mind for how I approach songwriting. I’m happy to report that this has led to not only a slew of new material but songs I’m also quite proud of.
Folds has said that What Matters Most will be his last “rock” album. Recently in an interview, and in his book, he has mused that rock n’ roll is a genre “for the mating age.” While I don’t know how much I agree with that sentiment, I’m glad that Folds has come back swinging with his first solo in 8 years. The slow burn of my growing appreciation has helped the new album land itself in the upper echelon of my consideration for albums of the year.
The band rolled through the set with very few throwback songs, but tunes like “Landed,” “You Don’t Know Me,” and “Not The Same” took the old-school, die-hard fans to places they wanted to go. I was left with a new appreciation of the nuance of his most recent offerings and a shred of hope that perhaps this album won’t be his last hurrah satiating the mating age.