Just got back from Cincinatti, where Ben Folds played at Bogarts. We got there about 45 minutes late, and sur-prize sur-prize, Mapquest got us a little lost. And, I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Cinci, but the “cool” part of town is really just a gentrified black neighborhood (aren’t all “cool” parts of town?), so we stopped at the local Kroger’s to ask for directions, and the people there were very congenial — apparently there were plenty of lost white kids that night looking for Bogarts.

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I hate feeling afraid to be in a “part” of town. I feel stupid, ashamed, even. These are just people.

So, the frickin’ show was sold out. Luckily, scalping is apparently legal in Ohio, and we managed to still get tickets. Sure, they were about twice face value (which was only $18), but dammit, I had driven there with Kelly, and we were going to see the piano-mosh stylings of Ben Folds. We got in after they’d played about 2 songs, and the place was packed.

Most of the songs during the hour and a half set were from the new album, with an interlude of 2 covers, a punky “Mommy Make Me” and “Sweet Home Alabama”! Now, I know Holly would have hated it. I was a little torn, myself. Believe me, they rocked it out, for sure, though thinking about that song, and the whole Neil Young/Skynyrd argument. “Sweet Home” is a rebuttal to Neil Young’s “Alabama” — an indictment of that state’s history of racial inequality, and being in a town that has a certain level of racial tension, and in a room full of white college students, and a band singing “you don’t know what it’s like to be male, middle class and white”, it was all a little strange at the time.

I saw Luke Padgett while we were down there, much to our surprise, and he mentioned that he wasn’t sure if he was going to come up from Lexington to see it, due to the acquittal yesterday. It was a thought in the back of my mind as well, but I think that that fear is only felt outside of Cinci. There was no tension in that crowd, no violence, everyone in the crowd knew the lyrics, and because there was no overdub, they would fill in the background vocals. It was nice, and they rocked it hard. I think that’s what made me feel good about the state of the city, and the people within it. “You don’t know what it’s like, being male, middle-class and white” — and do I, a white middle class male know what it’s like to be hispanic, elderly and poor? Black young and rich? No, and race, creed, and status don’t matter — I know I don’t hate those people, and I know that most of them don’t hate me.

We also happened to see Art while we were down there as well, again, much to our surprise. What is this? We go to another city, much larger than our own, and we see people we haven’t seen in years? Never under-estimate the drawing power of white-boy piano mosh rock.

It was good to see Arthur. I miss Art. A lot. I think he and I shared a lot of similarities, and quirks. We are both too emotionally sheltered and too easy to “give up” on a relationship. And never let ourselves down for it. It was good to see him. We all appreciate good Art. (tee-hee).

Well, so anyway, BACK TO THE SHOW. It rocked. HARD. The new backing band (now with guitar!) is awesome, and the encore was a lot of Ben Folds Five stuff, including a 10 minute version of “Song for the Dumped”. I felt real good after leaving, and I still do. It was okay to just do the white-boy shuffle, hear a song that made me sullen, and then turn around and rock out hard, to a guy playing a piano…