Jumping up and down to the beat of a buoyant jazz introduction and waving T-shirts above their heads, singer-songwriter Ben Folds and his band coerced about 1,400 fans at Ohio University to stand up and cheer.
I got a tweet asking if we could get you guys on your feet
and that's all we could think of to do Folds told the crowd.
It was enough for the audience at Templeton-Blackburn Memorial Auditorium, who danced and sang along with Folds for nearly two hours during his performance last night.
The crowd got warmed up with a 30-minute set from a cappella sextet Street Corner Symphony. Former competitors on the Folds-judged NBC contest The Sing Off, the six Nashville-based entertainers won Athens over with renditions of their most popular songs from the TV show.
This is definitely the best crowd so far lead tenor Jeremy Lister said after the show. It was incredible.
Street Corner Symphony's mix of new hits (Hey Soul Sister by Train), old favorites (Down on the Corner by Creedence Clearwater Revival) and original work (Shooting Star) elicited a standing ovation from the audience, many of whom lined up in the MemAud lobby to meet the group after the final notes were sung.
As far as the show and everything goes
I think we've finally got it
said bass Adam Chance of the performance, the singers' third as part of Folds' Lonely Avenue Tour. This auditorium is meant for what we do.
Having already performed in Athens in 2008, Folds easily found his groove on OU's stage as well. The crowd smartly fell into step with Folds as he conducted everything from handclaps on Annie Waits to ba-ba-ba's on encore song Army - and laughed with him during a funky cover of pop star Ke$ha's Sleazy.
Folds' fans especially came into play when he introduced his latest project: an a cappella audience rendition of his song Working Day that will be completed over the course of his tour and eventually immortalized on YouTube
he said.
Not afraid to insult the crowd's poor pitch, perfectionist Folds even went as far to pluck a few choice singers out of their seats and bring them on stage to make sure the notes were right.
One of those singers, Sarah Hess, an OU senior studying political science, said seeing the multi-talented Folds play - and getting the opportunity to join him - was an honor. Folds' audience interaction and likable personality won her over, she said.
Before
I knew of Ben Folds
but I wasn't his number one fan or anything
she said. But I am now.
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