Hopefully the Calvin Theatre’s baby grand has been properly prepared, because singer/songwriter/21st-century piano man Ben Folds returns to the Northampton venue for a solo show Friday at 8 p.m.
Folds has decades of pop hits under his belt, both tender and raucous, and he’s a total showman, sometimes forgoing the piano stool to better slam his forearm into the keys. At the Calvin back in 2009, he stomped on the pedals with such force that he broke the piano; technicians had to scurry onstage and crawl underneath for fast repairs while Folds playfully led the packed house through some a cappella hijinks.
He first appeared on the national scene in 1995 with his exuberant power trio Ben Folds Five, but he’s just as powerful alone onstage, whether he’s pounding the chords on a joyful tune like the charming and catchy “Kate,” or creating storm surges in the lower octaves during the emotional roller coaster ride of “Narcolepsy.”
Folds possesses another kind of strength: a quiet focus, on heartfelt ballads like “The Luckiest,” now a modern standard heard at weddings everywhere. His newest record, 2015’s “So There,” features “chamber rock songs” (on which he’s backed up by New York classical ensemble yMusic) and his first three-movement “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra.”
No two Folds shows are ever alike. The Calvin crowd will surely hear some BFF favorites (perhaps “One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces,” “Army” or “Steven’s Last Night In Town”) and solo album highlights (maybe “Annie Waits” or “Effington”), but also random covers, totally improvised bits, memorable between-song swear-filled banter — and the night is likely to include some audience participation. More than once I’ve been in a crowded theater that Folds had divided up into sections and taught different melody lines, so that he could conduct us all for a smile-inducing sing-along. Folds can’t give a staid concert — he specializes in nights to remember.
Few comedians are more open with their audiences than Janeane Garofalo, whether she’s bringing a notebook onstage to riff on ideas, sharing views on the political climate, or honestly geeking out about what she loves (like beads, for example). Back in 2007 she told her Northampton audience, “You live in heaven!” She’s doing two shows at the Iron Horse in Northampton Friday at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Kyle Ayers is the opener.
“One outrageous throwdown of music and art!” So says Carla Racine (producer of the local music scene magazine The Buzz) about an upcoming show she’s put together: a seven-band, two-stage concert featuring Valley bands Carinae, Thee Arcadians, Bucket, The Bonds and Sunshine Bros Inc., plus Boston bands Midriffs and Kid Mountain. It all happens at the Arts Block in Greenfield Friday at 7 p.m. You must be 16 or older to attend, and students with a valid ID get in at a discount.
Beige (ska), Court Etiquette (indie) and Free Range Cats (groove-heavy sounds) play the Luthiers Co-Op in Easthampton Saturday at 7 p.m. It’s a strong triple bill — and if you’ve never seen Steve Westfield’s latest unpredictable band, Beige, let’s just say you’ll want to be there. If Westfield’s in the house, it’s a happening.
Chris Merenda & The Wheel headlines an end-of-summer bash at the 13th Floor Music Lounge in Florence Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Also on the bill is Chad Messier & the Old Souls and Luke Domozick. Nick Caron is your host. Put on by the Six String Orchestra production company.
Percussion fans won’t want to miss Ghost-Note (featuring Grammy-winners Robert “Sput” Searight and Nate Werth from Snarky Puppy), a band that builds up terrific waves of rhythm using a stage packed with everything from everyday cowbells and drum sets to orchestras of congas and a multi-hued invention called a Xylosynth. “How can anyone sit down at this?” asked one elated fan-in-motion. See them at the Iron Horse Saturday at 10 p.m.
Pugwash is Dublin’s premier pop combo, a band you need to know if you’re a fan of The Beatles, ELO or XTC (frontman Thomas Walsh has collaborated with Andy Partridge in the past). They return to the Iron Horse Tuesday at 7 p.m. Local singer/songwriter Rick Murnane opens the show.
Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet) and Vijay Iyer (piano) team up for the first show in this season’s Solos & Duos Series concert series at Bezanson Recital Hall at UMass Amherst Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. The show is produced by the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Experimental rockers The Legendary Pink Dots have been creating indescribable sounds since 1980 and they’ll make a very rare appearance at the Iron Horse Thursday at 7 p.m. Orbit Service opens.