Ben Folds & WASO (2005)

Last night I had the pleasure of spending a beautiful March evening with a few thousand other Perthites in Kings Park. The occasion, we had all come to see Ben Folds team up with the Western Australian Symphony orchestra.

For those of you not familiar with the Perth scene, this is a regular WASO event which sees them team up with a diverse bunch of muso's (last year was George from Play School!) mixing culture and class for the common people.

The evening kicked off before sunset with support act Blanche Dubois putting on a great set of songs I've never heard though the lead singers voice sounded surprisingly familiar. According to those in the know "Blanche DuBois are one of those rare talents whose sound is indicative of neither a specific era nor a specific place; it is universal" (Xpress magazine, Perth – April 2004) so check them out if you get a chance. By sunset everyone was well and truly set for the appearance of Ben Folds.

Cue the man himself, resplendently presented in a shirt he had worn the night before (due to filming for a DVD) to deliver a set which included most of his popular hits with the support of a 90 member strong symphony orchestra. While a number of (no doubt) straight up WASO fans may have left early (due possible to Ben's fruity language) in a word Ben was simply brilliant!.

The highlight of the evening was probably the impromptu rendition of 'Rock this bitch' to satisfy the front row crowd and Ben's self proclaimed 'verbal diarrhea' which confirmed that if the music business fails a crack at stand up comedy is not beyond this talented former Adelaide resident.

Even an over indulgence of hot salami couldn't spoil what was a truly memorable cross cultural experience. If you missed it you can always get the DVD !