Leave it to Ben Folds to find a freewheeling way to incorporate audience requests into his shows.
Folds’s fans are not shy about hollering out songs they’d like to hear. And now, the singer has embarked upon the “Paper Airplane Request” tour, where he performs a set, then turns things over to the audience, who write down songs they’d like to hear and fling them onto the stage via paper airplane.
Folds will bring this aerial-inclined performance to Dallas’ Majestic Theatre on Dec. 12, a little over a year after a two-night stand with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
The concept got us thinking: What songs would we request? Here’s a list of five potential Folds tracks to scribble onto a paper airplane if you’re attending the show, or maybe as the foundation for a Folds-flavored playlist. Call it a flight of favorites.
“Zak and Sara”
Although Folds’s solo debut, Rockin’ the Suburbs, is nearly — gulp! — 25 years old, its songs have lost none of their snap. This melodic ode to a peculiar pair of lovers, riding a relentless piano figure, is one of the singer-songwriter’s most purely goofy and pleasurable tunes.
“Jesusland”
One of Folds’s considerable gifts is an ability to blend observation and satire in a way which never (usually) feels like punching down. This track, from 2005’s Songs for Silverman, is one which anyone who’s cruised around a suburb brimming with McMansions has undoubtedly hummed under their breath.
“Effington”
Although Folds is known for his piano prowess, he’s also quite enamored with the blending of human voices — as evidenced by the gleeful, vocally layered frenzy of this particular tune, taken from 2008’s Way to Normal. The climax leaves you as impressed by the musicianship on display as you are amused by the lyrics being sung.
“There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You”
Coolness — the pursuit of it, the retention of it, the loss of it — is one of Folds’s eternal fascinations, and this song, taken from the 2003 EP Sunny 16, is perhaps the purest distillation of said interest. Flippant, melodic and strangely motivating.
“Winslow Gardens”
For all of his wordplay and musical flashiness, Folds is often best when he’s working in a straightforward mode, as he does on this track from his most recent studio album, What Matters Most. The knowing blend of human behavior and irresistible, ‘70s AM melodies is effortlessly entertaining.
Ben Folds at Majestic Theatre, Dallas. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12. Tickets are $52-$826.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
