Ben Folds: An 'Army' of One

Corn Mo's comedy-infused accordion rock got the crowd on their feet. Ben Folds kept them there with an energetic two-hour show. With a well received bassist and drummer behind him, Folds had the packed auditorium standing, singing and clapping along for the entire concert Thursday night.\nFolds rocked the IU Auditorium, playing what senior Kyle Petty called a great mix of new and old songs. \nFolds lead sing-a-longs for fan favorites "Army" and "The Luckiest," while also getting his fans to dance to the new stuff. While known as a pianist, Folds took solos on the bass, drums, ran around the stage shaking maracas, and constantly played with his new favorite toy- a mini electronic keyboard.\nThe keyboard added a strong, well received addition to Folds' typical piano performance. The keyboard generated electronic sounds with a booming bass. Folds used the instrument incessantly: in the middle of traditional piano songs, as interludes, and as a way to rattle audience members' insides.\nFolds said he could get as low a frequency as 10 hertz, which he warned would cause the audience to literally lose their bowels. At 13, it made audience members feel like their cell phones were ringing on vibrate. At 12, it rattled their hearts in their chests, and at 11 it moved down into the stomach. At 10, the band left the stage covering their ears.\nSophomore Lauren Hall was just a few rows from the stage and said when Folds played the super low notes she could feel it rattle throughout her body.\n"It rumbled my tummy," she said. "It really hits your core."\nWhile he complained of being sick and apologized for his voice, Folds managed to still sound as good as ever and put on a show that had the crowd singing along the whole time.\n"Something magical happens when people sing together," Folds said after leading the crowd to sing along to "Bitches Ain't Shit." \nA large yellow sign with the song title made its way from the middle of the crowd, to Folds' hands onstage as he led the crowd through a cover of Dr. Dre's classic rap. He traded off vocals with his British accented drummer and Hispanic bassist in an eclectic version that had the crowd rapping along.\nSenior Matt Lebon was smiling after the concert, saying he enjoyed the "high intensity show." He has seen Folds three times before, and was happy to hear "The Luckiest," which Folds dedicated to a couple in the crowd.\n"'The Luckiest' is one of the best love songs of all time," Lebon said. \nWhile Ben Folds was clearly the main draw, Corn Mo made a lot of fans as the warm up act. As he took the stage, his shoulder length brown hair led senior Lindsey Geller to say, "Look, it's Jesus." The love-child of piano playing comedian Zak Galifianakis and pop star "Meatloaf" with an accordion might have been more accurate. \nAt first the crowd appeared baffled, mumbling 'Who is this guy?,' but he quickly earned their applause and left the stage to a full standing ovation. The crowd laughed at his whimsical lyrics like "It's lollypop time with you. A box of JuJu and a bottle of Yoohoo."\nCorn Mo threw hecklers for a loop when he accepted the "Free Bird" challenge. When a handful of guys yelled for the classic Lynyrd Skynyrd song, Corn Mo mocked his challengers and rocked it on his accordion. \nAfterwards, he played a self-described "rocking version" of Bar Mitzvah favorite Hava Nagila and Queen's "We are the Champions." \n"He's cool as hell," Bloomington resident Todd Elliott said. "He's really original and he does his own thing."\nFolds also drew upon his originality. He made up a song about haircuts on the spot. Audience members called him back for a brief encore after the long performance, but realized that the show was finally over when the lights came up on a memorable evening.