Folds Takes On More Meaningful Tone

Musical comedy is not enough for Ben Folds. First as the leader of the trio Ben Folds Five and now as a solo artist, the singer-pianist has drawn a devoted audience to his smart and festive pop ballads at least partly for their joke content. But at the El Rey Theatre on Monday, Folds’ fast-maturing song craft was increasingly devoted to genuine moments of bliss and despair.

Folds was often still a wise-guy host, taking the stage amid flashing flights and a recorded fanfare, and closing the 90-minute concert with the wannabe rock star parody “Rocking the Suburbs,” the title track to his new album. But much of his new material is less inclined to silliness, finding a balance of comedy and small tragedies more akin to Randy Newman.

Leading his three-piece backing band with muscular piano riffs, Folds performed pop as angst-filled as Blink-182’s, though the struggles he charts are on the other side of adolescence. “Still Fighting It” quietly documented the sudden wisdom of new experience, with a rich arrangement that added shades of meaning.

Folds was a mostly humble presence during the quieter songs, though sudden grand gestures on the piano offered some ironic overstatement. For the 30-minute encore, Folds appeared mostly alone, as fans sang along to pop that was ambitious in both sound and content.

Opening the night was Citizen Cope, who performed a stirring set of intense modern balladry. Sitting on stage with a guitar, the musician performed “Contact” and other samples of brooding pop.