As we first mentioned here on the Armchair, Ben and the band are embarking on a tour of UK and European venues shortly after the first of the year. The tour begins in Dublin on February 18, followed by a half dozen gigs in the UK and then another seven on the continent, ending up in Cologne, Germany on March 8 (details are, of course, up on our tour dates page). Tickets can be purchased by fan club members beginning Wednesday, November 10 at 14:00 UTC, 24 hours before they go on sale to the general public. Special VIP packages are available including extras such as early entry into the venue, signed tour lithographs, commemorative VIP laminate, and digital downloads of Lonely Avenue. Nothing’s been announced but I wouldn’t be surprised if Nick Hornby popped up at one or more of the UK shows.
Lonely Avenue tour underway
The tour in support of the recently-released Lonely Avenue album is now underway, with dates across the eastern US. At the Detroit show, Ben played a few songs from the new album (Saskia Hamilton, Belinda, From Above, Levi Johnston’s Blues),  but relied on a mix of recent and past material from his repertoire, even reaching into the Majosha wayback machine for Emaline. The set, which ran over two hours with multiple encores, was full of energy, appreciated by the crowd of several thousand at Detroit’s outpost of the Fillmore group of performance spaces (formerly the State Theatre which, according to veteran soundman Leo Overtoom, is one of the best-equipped and most acoustically desirable venues on the tour).  Many dependable features of a Folds show delighted the audience, including the crowd vocal harmony parts on Not the Same and Army, the impromptu riffs from Misirlou and Hava Nagila woven into other songs, and a snippet of Dr. Pyser. Of course, no show would be complete without improv, and Ben did not disappoint with a couple Detroit-themed jams. New bassist Ryan Lerman is fitting in well and had some tasty licks on One Angry Dwarf and Philosophy. Ben told me they are still rehearsing new material for future shows, including some surprises, so showgoers later on the tour have a lot to look forward to.
The tour caps off in December with a date at New York’s Beacon Theatre. After the live finale of The Sing-Off and a break for the holidays, there are plans for touring in the UK and Europe, as well as Asia and Australia in the months following the new year.
Tour poster to be sold at shows
Sam Smith, Ben’s drummer, is also a poster artist and has done art for movies and events including last spring’s benefit concert to aid Nashville flood relief efforts. Sam has designed a poster for the current tour, which will be sold at shows. Â Check out Sam’s blog for some of his other designs.
Ben on Bob Edwards Weekend
Ben will be one of the guests on the syndicated radio show Bob Edwards Weekend this weekend (November 6-7). The veteran public radio host discusses Lonely Avenue and other topics with Ben. The program can be heard in a variety of ways: local public radio stations (times vary by station), Sirius/XM Radio at 7AM Eastern time on Saturday, and online via iTunes podcast.
Spin posts videos from Liner Notes gig
Spin Magazine has posted six videos from the Folds/Hornby performance in the magazine’s  Liner Notes series from October. The event raised over $10,000 for Housing Works, a New York City program that provides housing assistance for people living with AIDS. See our earlier story about the event. Also noted is that Sirius/XM satellite radio will be broadcasting an audio recording of the entire event on its Book Radio channel (Sirius 117; XM 163) on the following dates and times:
- Monday, 11/15 at 7 P.M. EST
- Wednesday, 11/17 at 8 P.M. EST
- Friday, 11/19 at 5 A.M. EST & 2 P.M. EST
- Saturday, 11/20 at 5 P.M. EST
