reunion: Ben Folds Five

"It Keeps Me On The Ground"


Safe to say that if I didn't hear "Underground" on the Buzz (K-Rock's indie rock show on Sunday nights from 12am-4 am, hosted by Matt Pinfield, and later Jake Fogelnest) during sixth grade, my life would be totally different. Ben Folds Five's classic ode to local indie rock was like some sort of cosmic calling to me. Couple it with "Philosophy and you've got a potent set of social values guiding your way through ever evolving landscapes. Ben Folds Five were my first favorite band. I wore the Piano/Kiss My Ass GoodBye shirt with pride and was never once asked to take it off by a teacher (They were all down with BFF). The band split in 2000 after the release of The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, which at the time, I was sort of cool with. I understood that creatively things were different and bands break up. No harm, no foul. However, I could never let go of the ever present need to hear the distorted bass rip my inner ear canal. Well, that dire need may now be fulfilled as Ben Folds Five are reuniting. Yep, according to Stereogum (via indyweek), BFF are reuniting for a MySpace show in Chapel Hill, where they will play their swan song, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, in its entirety. My fingers are crossed that the band will hit the road, as I haven't seen them since their Hammerstein Ballroom show in the winter of 1998, right after "Brick" hit.

Peep the videos from BFF's Session at West 54th, which I still have on battered VHS somewhere in my parents house. This is some seriously awesome news. I feel like a school boy right now. Seriously.

Ben Folds Five "Emaline" Live on Sessions at West 54th