Ben Folds quirky sense of humor has always informed his music, even on songs dealing with messy breakups and crazy womensubjects the twice-divorced pianist knows from direct experience. If youre David Bowie and youre singing about going to Mars, thats one thing, Folds says by phone from a New Jersey hotel room during his current tour. But the stuff I sing about is real. And I think that if somethings sad, its a little sadder if its pitted against something thats absurd. The North Carolina native does just that on his latest album Way to Normal, which alternates between sullen and gleeful accounts of miscommunication, revenge, and adultery. His technique can be quirky, too, as when he augments his trademark keyboard pounding with winsome cymbal-like sounds created by an Altoids tin placed directly on the piano strings. Dysfunctional relationships suck in real life, but Folds turns them into infectious pop. ERIKA HOBART
Thu., May 14, 8 p.m., 2009
