Ben Folds Five grabs Cargo's crowd

The trip to Pontiac on Monday was one of incredible frustration and fury. Rainy weather conditions made the travel to Clutch Cargo's something of a danger for Ben Folds Five fans. But for those who ventured to the venue, the trip was nothing compared to the ends that followed as Ben Folds Five delivered the most incredible performance.

The doors of Clutch Cargo's were slated to open Monday night at 7 p.m., but the crowd was not allowed to enter the venue until it was made to suffer for an entire hour in the near-freezing rain. The line for the sold-out show wrapped around the block, where impatient fans couldn't wait for the doors to open and the show to begin.

Courtesy of Sony 550 The members of Ben Folds Five rocked "like Tommy Lee" at Clutch Cargo's Monday.

Finally inside, Robbie Folks, an aptly named folk singer did his damnedest to warm up the crowd. I'd never heard of Folks before Monday night, and probably never will hear of him again. His set was chock-full of your typical country/folk singer fair, and wasn't that impressive. To quote David Lowery, lead singer of Cracker, "What the world needs now is another folk singer, like I need a hole in my head." Pay attention to Lowery, Mr. Folks, he knows what he's talking about.

Forty-five minutes passed, and the boys from North Carolina finally took the stage around 9:30 p.m. The crowd had been ready for BFF for a while, and it greeted the band with loud cheers as the trio launched into its first number, ending the audience's anticipation.

BFF pressed on with numbers like "The Battle of who Could Care Less," "Missing the War," and other choice selections from the band's recently gold-certified record, "Whatever and Ever Amen." The band members' energy was high, and the crowd drank in every last drop.

The first break in the action brought Ben Folds up and over his baby grand piano to formally address the crowd for the first time. In addition to the usual screams and cheers from the crowd, Folds ended up with a bra in his hand before kicking off "Steven's Last Night in Town."

REVIEW
	Ben Folds Five Clutch Cargo's Feb. 16, 1998

As the evening progressed, the show just got better. The rest of the set included numbers from both the band's self-titled first release, and their most recent recording, "Naked Baby Photos." My favorite numbers included an extended-jam version of "Song for the Dumped" (envision the crowd singing the chorus, "Give me my money back, you bitch!" with Folds' arms waving, conductor-like); "Kate," a tribute to Folds' new wife; and bassist Robert Sledge's rousing solo rendition of the Ted Nugent classic rock anthem, "Free for All."

Of course, the band didn't fail to include its radio hit, "Brick" in the middle of the set, and pulled off the song nicely. It brought the crowd down from their high for a moment, and also brought out their lighters.

The band finished off the set strongly and came back for a three-song encore that started off with a slow number, "Boxing." It also brought a broken piano string to the attention of the band. Apparently, Folds' constant wailing on the keyboard, with not just his hands, but feet and piano stool, had finally taken their toll on the baby grand.

After removing the little rascal from the piano, the evening was brought to a fitting close as Darren Jesse, the band's drummer approached the mic and let everyone know that he "was never cool in school."

The band members rocked out on "Underground," and then said their parting words: "Remember to rock like Tommy Lee!"

And indeed, they had.

02-18-98