Having seen Ben Folds earlier this year, I can wholeheartedly say that he put on a better show (the best show) at Muhlenberg College. However, he still performed wonderfully, though it seemed that not enough of the crowd knew the words to his songs. They did appreciate his $8,000 keytar synthesizer instrument thing that he uses to play the cover of Such Great Heights, which, along with Jesusland was one of the highlights of his set. He strayed away from things that absolutely everyone would know (Rockin the Suburbs, Brick) and a lot of his material was from his more recent albums. I was holding out for "Learn to Live with What You Are," being that he was doing a lot of music from Songs for Silverman, but alas, it never came. However, Ben Folds attacked each song fearlessly, and even led the crowd in sing alongs while standing atop his piano, and that's just plain fun.
Ben Folds - Jesusland from Songs for Silverman
John Mayer did a really great mix of songs, both old and new, that carried over well to the crowd. I know he's a talented artist, and have respected his career course in doing pop stuff and then branching out with the John Mayer Trio, but his guitaring was a sight to behold/amazing to hear. He went into a four minute solo riff at some point and created some grooves that invariably justified the presence of the holdover hippies we witnessed swaying in their tie-dyed t-shirts, jean shorts, and fanny packs. He thanked his fans after every song and didn't stray away from making the guitar face. I'm a fan of the slower John Mayer work, but in a massive concert setting those aren't bound to be played. I was surprised that he busted out with songs from the John Mayer Trio and was just overall impressed and awed by his technical ability.
John Mayer - Clarity (Acoustic) from Heavier Things (Bonus Disc)John Mayer - Slow Dancing in a Burning Room from Continuum
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