Ben Folds, May 13 at the Fonda

I didn't know anything of Ben Folds except in the '90s avoiding "Brick" so I didn't get sick of it. But apparently he's still making music and touring and Noa knew enough about him to want to go to his show so she got us tickets and it was a night out. It was right after I found out I was having a problem with my blood pressure so it was a dry night, which sucked for Noa. We had dinner at Dillon's down the street and got to the show early enough to see the later part of opener Kate Miller-Heidke. She had been building a buzz around Coachella to this date but this was the last I'd hear of her. She was good enough to start the show but a bit weird, with some slightly irritating singing. I'm sure she would have been great if I wasn't coming on to her music fresh but she wasn't captivating enough to interest me the first time. She had a great novelty song about Facebook and as that was the only part I remember about it, that would be the high-point of her set. Folds played solo with a piano (aptly the tour was named “Ben Folds and a Piano”) and I'd imagine that a full band would only hinder him. Miller-Heidke came back to sing a song or two with him near the end of his set and I think he had some percussive accompaniment but I don't remember much beyond that. It didn't help that I knew not even one song he performed but it was a joyous performance and the fans were so into it, maybe old-school fans from the “Brick” days or people who like off-beat, piano-based pop music, that it was contagious and made for a fun show. Folds' high point was also a novelty song, “Bitch Went Nuts,” and he explained the story behind it, and how there were different origins to the two versions of the song, and even though it stood out just because it was so aggressively obnoxious and divergent from the rest of his stuff, he's a gifted songwriter and showman, and it made for an enjoyable night even without knowing much more than the first thing about the man or his music (beyond his name and a song from 15 years ago).