Ben Folds will return to Melbourne for the first time since 2006 performing one show only at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre, which will be the first time Melbourne audiences will hear live his material from his 2008 release Way to Normal (out now through Sony). A legend amongst musicians, Ben continues to impress with his unique fusion of renegade melodies and punk-rock sensibilities.

Way to Normal has been heralded as some of Ben Folds’ finest work to date. From a career that’s spawned landmark albums including Rockin’ the Suburbs and Whatever and Ever Amen, such praise can only attest to the quality of music Ben has again produced.

Spin declared Ben “incapable of mediocrity”, musicOMH.com were equally impressed “…if you want some intelligent, moving and addictive pop songs, you can't go far wrong with Mr Folds” and Paste Magazine offered similar sentiments “This is the first album where his artistry seems fully realized, both in terms of subject matter and performance. Witty, balanced and highly charged.”

But it was PopMatters whose description of Way to Normal was most apt, announcing there was “nary a weak link to be found. More than anything, Way to Normal is simply Folds’s way of showing us that, at 42, he’s still doing this piano-power-pop thing better than anyone else around.”

Never one to sit still too long, since the release of Way to Normal, Ben has put out two other cds. Stems and Seeds hit stores in February of 2009 and is a double disc set. Disc one houses the stems to the songs from Way to Normal so fans may do their own mixes of these new songs. Disc two is Ben’s own remixes of the songs from Way to Normal as well as the “fake songs” that were leaked on the internet in advance of Way to Normal and bonus material such as Ben singing “Hiroshima” in Japanese. Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella! released at the end of April 2009 and is a greatest hits collection of sorts from Ben Folds, but the songs are performed by collegiate a cappella groups from the U.S. All the songs on the album are performed sans instruments, using only human voices and Ben himself contributes two a cappella tracks to the album: “Boxing” from the first Ben Folds Five record as well as “Effington” from Way to Normal.

Ben Folds’ return to Melbourne has been highly anticipated. Ben last performed in Melbourne to a sold out crowd alongside the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; an awe-inspiring set that was lauded by fans and critics alike. There’s no doubt this one-off performance in Melbourne will elicit a similar reaction.

Thursday 3 September: Palais Theatre, Melbourne - All Ages
Ticketmaster 136 100 or www.ticketmaster.com.au

Tickets on sale Friday 5 June.