brent johnson digs up another lost treasure, this week from XPoNential Music Festival headliner Ben Folds …
Once every summer, with the Philadelphia skyline rising behind the stage, more than a dozen noted acts gather for a weekend of concerts on the banks of the Delaware River in Camden, N.J.
The XPoNential Music Festival is hosted by WXPN 88.5-FM, a cool, alt-rock-leaning radio station out of the University of Pennsylvania. Past guest have included Pete Yorn, They Might Be Giants, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes, Roseanne Cash, Free Energy, Robert Randolph & The Family Band.
The biggest name of this year’s lineup — announced this week — is Ben Folds. Many know him as the piano-pounding frontman of Ben Folds Five, the slyly named trio that hit big in 1997 with ‘Brick,’ a beautiful but somber track about the emotional toll of abortion. BFF broke up a decade ago, but flanked by a devoted cult following, Folds has continued to churn out dozens of melodic, sardonic and endlessly smart songs.
One of the best is ‘Fred Jones Part 2,’ a gorgeously heartbreaking track off Folds’ first solo album, 2001’s great Rockin’ The Suburbs. It may be the only pop song about a laid-off newspaper man and the sadness of his last day. It’s also features cameo harmony vocals from Cake frontman John McCrea.
Folds gives an electric live show. It doesn’t matter that he often plays with nothing but his piano. He stands at the keyboard, smashing his fingers into the notes, tossing off witty banter — and sometimes conducting the crowd to mimic a horn section or choir. It’s worth visiting Camden this summer to see.
For more on this year’s XPoNential Music Festival, visit here.
Song breaks my heart; in 2008 when I got fired, I sat around and threw this on a mix and drank for two days. Ben Folds is closer to the Bob Dylan of his generation than I think he realizes.