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Ben Folds’ latest trip through town may have just been him sitting behind a piano, but he certainly hasn’t forgotten where he came from. In fact, I can’t tell much of a difference between the sounds found on his latest release Rockin’ the Suburbs and those that Ben Folds Five brought to the table. Folds brought the same piano playing schizophrenia, storybook lyrics and vocal distinctness to the forefront for this project, and even more so on the second leg of his solo tour.

In fact, getting to see Folds all by his lonesome for the first time in town attracted a line of fans several city blocks long, desperate to get a glimpse. Since the performance was part of the Chicago based 101.9 FM The Mix’s ongoing “After Five Live” free concert series with most tickets being given away on air, spots inside the club were hard to come by. But Folds was able to pack enough charisma and balance between his old band’s best loved tracks along with new material to make even the fans with most obstructed views gleeful.

He took the stage to the sounds of “Army” pouring from his piano, followed by the stylistically similar “Annie Waits.” The smooth transition continued into “Brick,” which Folds is finally comfortable playing again after it was featured in heavy rotation on radio. “I’m finally over the hit factor and ready to perform this again,” he quipped to the crowd prior to its launch. Indeed it was the scaled back versions of tunes like “Brick,” “Philosophy,” and even Folds’ current single “Still Fighting It” that got fans listening to each and every word being sung. And they continued to hang on as Folds’ productively shared the stories of “Zak and Sara,” “Fred Jones Part 2,” and “The Accent of Stan,” sitting comfortably at his piano, bearing a slight environmental resemblance to Billy Joel captivating audiences during his club playing days. By the time Folds’ rocked through the encore “Song For the Dumped,” it was clear that he swept every last concertgoer off their feet as they begged for even more.

It’s unclear if Folds will ever reunite with the band he founded, but it’s very clear that he can stand on his own when it comes to musical evolution. Thankfully, he approached this show with more of a balance between the old and new, as opposed to his stop through town last fall when he played the “Rockin’ the Suburbs” album in its entirety. I hope he’ll continue with such a career spanning set on his future tour dates, but I’m confident he’ll have no trouble holding everyone attending in the palm of his hand, leaving them with a memorable experience.