Concert Review: Ben Folds And Violent Femmes (Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre)

Ben Folds and Violent Femmes have been on a three-week co-headlining tour this summer. They brought their show, along with opening act Savannah Conley, to the Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre on August 8th. Since we're H-U-G-E fans of both bands, we had to be there.

Nashville artist Savannah Conley had the unenviable job of warming up the crowd that was mainly there to see Folds and the Femmes. Armed only with her guitar, her wit, and her voice, she quickly won the crowd over. We became fans of her that day and are sure many in the crowd did as well.

We have seen the Violent Femmes multiple times since the '80s and they never fail to entertain. They get older, we get older, but they still sound awesome and put on a great show full of awesome songs.

While the band led off with "Adam Was A Man" from their latest album Hotel Last Resort, they mostly played classics and fan favorites. "Blister In The Sun, "Kiss Off," "Black Girls," "American Music," "Prove My Love," "American Music..." The list goes on and on. They closed their electrifying set with crowd favorite "Add It Up" and were even nice enough to head to the merch tent afterward to sign items for their throngs of fans.

We have seen Ben Folds PLENTY of times and like the Femmes, he never puts on a bad show. While we're still partial to his earlier solo stuff and his work with Ben Folds Five, we do admire his more mature work as well. He peppered his setlist with selections from all three facets of his career.

For the Ben Folds Five fans, he performed "Brick," "Battle Of Who Could Care Less," "Do It Anyway," "Underground," and show closer "Army." He performed "Annie Waits," "Still Fighting It," "Landed," "The Ascent Of Stan," "Not The Same," And "Rockin' The Suburbs" from his early solo career and more recent songs like "So There," "You Don't Know Me," and "Moscow Mitch," his recent song about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. As always, Folds was witty, sarcastic, and his piano playing was amazing.

This is a great concert from top to bottom and if you live in or near any of the remaining tour dates, we highly recommend you checking it out!

REMAINING BEN FOLDS/VIOLENT FEMMES TOUR DATES
August 10 Indianapolis, IN, Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park
August 11 Rochester Hills, MI, Meadow Brook Amphitheatre
August 14 Minneapolis, MN, Surly Brewing Company
August 15 Des Moines, IA, Water Works Park
August 16 Kansas City, MO, Starlight Theatre

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