Folded letter Dear Ben Folds: at first, we were a little worried about your Sunday performance at the Ryman. For the first couple of songs, something was definitely off. You weren’t into the music, your voice wasn’t hitting the notes, and we wondered if something was wrong. Did you have the flu? Were you sad? Nervous? No matter—before we could figure it out, you found your ground and tore into the concert like the consummate performer we’ve come to know and love. Where did you learn to play the piano like that? The “Not the Same” and “Army” sing-a-long sessions were big crowd-pleasers, and we really dug your rendition of “Philosophy.” We adored all the Songs for Silverman material, and the Rockin’ the Suburbs tunes sound much better live than they ever do on our car stereo. Your first rendition of “Jesusland” was quiet and beautiful, just like the album version, but then you played your “stadium version,” with the tripped-out lights and the funked-up melody, which made us think: yes, Ben Folds is a long-lost member of U2. Our favorite part of the evening was watching a Banana Republic-clad young woman with pearl earrings mouth the words to your Dr. Dre cover “Bitches Ain’t Shit” as if she were singing the latest Lifehouse song. Oh yeah, your friends The Fray sounded much more together than they did when you both opened for Weezer earlier this year. Take care, Ben. And keep in touch. Maybe  we’ll see you around town. Slow night, so long Slow night, so long An overnight success story, Mt. Juliet’s Kings of Leon were signed to RCA without much of a local fan base, and after seeing their performance Friday night at Memorial Gym, which was easily less than half-full, it appears they still lack one. The brothers (and cousin) Followill opened their 45-minute set with the well-received “Molly’s Chambers” and moved swiftly through much of their small but impressive catalog. Yet the Kings’ performance lacked enthusiasm and energy—at times they looked more like a road-weary rock band than a platinum-selling sensation. After half-an-hour, lead-singer Caleb Followill looked about as beat as his skintight white jeans and booties, and, after whispering something to the other band members, he came forward and apologized for not having much else to play. Sorry Caleb, but blaming a lackluster performance on the Kings’ limited repertoire isn’t stealing any hearts.   Primal therapy LCD Soundsystem practically melted the Exit/In last Friday night—with every song they played, the crowd got one step closer to going absolutely ballistic. With their rump-shaking postpunk dance music, LCD have an amazing ability for slowly building tension to a point of ecstatic release, at which time everyone just throws their hands in the air and begins screaming. Singer James Murphy and gang only played about eight songs, but each one pushed the 10-minute mark. The magnum opus of the night was “Yeah,” which started off much like the album version, then, over 15 to 20 minutes, evolved into a rhythmic, naked-in-the-woods-hunting-lions-with-spears scream anthem for twentysomethings. Murphy was banging on a drum set so hard that we wanted to ask, “Is everything OK dude?” All the while, early-’80s electronic noises whirled around, and two giant screens behind the group showed live video footage of the musicians through an array of psychedelic filters. Definitely not for everyone, but for us weirdos, it was brilliant. Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst sang the words, “It’s best baby to be true blue,” but the thing that surprised us most about his performance Monday night at the Ryman was that he seemed, well, kind of happy. Yes, there was a healthy dose of angst and even a modicum of melancholy, but overall, Oberst, his six-piece band and everyone in the full house looked like they were having a grand old time. The slender, shaggy-haired singer’s dark humor and wry smile were great complements to his often tortured, please-God-let-that-be-ironic lyrics. (The line “Mozart’s foster parents put out cigarettes in his ears” comes to mind.) At points, Oberst even bordered on silly, and throughout the show he exhibited an endearing humility about playing such a historic venue. The good vibes reached the point of blasphemy during a surprise guest appearance by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, who joined Oberst for three songs, including “Long Black Veil.” A slightly tipsy Oberst jokingly exclaimed, “This is like an after-school special: if you get the chance to finally play with Gillian Welch, remember not to be too drunk.” The Eyes have it Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst sang the words, “It’s best baby to be true blue,” but the thing that surprised us most about his performance Monday night at the Ryman was that he seemed, well, kind of happy. Yes, there was a healthy dose of angst and even a modicum of melancholy, but overall, Oberst, his six-piece band and everyone in the full house looked like they were having a grand old time. The slender, shaggy-haired singer’s dark humor and wry smile were great complements to his often tortured, please-God-let-that-be-ironic lyrics. (The line “Mozart’s foster parents put out cigarettes in his ears” comes to mind.) At points, Oberst even bordered on silly, and throughout the show he exhibited an endearing humility about playing such a historic venue. The good vibes reached the point of blasphemy during a surprise guest appearance by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, who joined Oberst for three songs, including “Long Black Veil.” A slightly tipsy Oberst jokingly exclaimed, “This is like an after-school special: if you get the chance to finally play with Gillian Welch, remember not to be too drunk.” We’re big in Europe Vara, Sweden, seems like an unlikely location to find a compilation of Nashville musicians, but the new Between Goodlettsville and Murfreesboro, released on Sweden’s Sound Asleep Records, compiles our city’s pop-rock and Americana club scene into a potent 19-song survey. Featuring previously unreleased tracks by Bill Lloyd, Doug Hoekstra, Webb Wilder, Duane Jarvis, Phil Lee and Gwil Owen, the compilation tops any surveys since Bloodshot Records’ Other Side of Nashville albums from the ’90s. Highlights include Joy Lynn White’s “In-Betweener,” Amy Rigby’s “Always Do,” Jeff Finlin’s “Moon Man,” Tom House with a rare, lighthearted novelty, “Sober That Kid Up,” and the first glimpse of the new band Daddy, featuring former Bis-quits members Tommy Womack and Will Kimbrough, on the raucous spiritual broadside, “Martin Luther.” Sound Asleep, which has also issued European albums by John Wesley Harding, The Silos and Mitch Easter, is run by American-music fan Jerker Emanuelson, who fell in love with Nashville’s music scene while attending Trevecca Nazarene College in the mid-1980s. His tastes obviously run to veterans—The Luxury Liners are probably the most youthful act on the bill—and the compilation would’ve benefited from some younger representatives of what’s going on in town today. But, still, why does it take a European outsider to show the world what’s happening in town beyond Music Row? Between Goodlettsville and Murfreesboro is available at Grimey’s. Jazz at the Bluebird Over the last few years, Nashville jazz singer Annie Sellick has been making a name for herself as a great interpreter of standards with regular appearances in Los Angeles, New York, Montreal and Atlanta. This Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the Bluebird, she’ll be stretching her wings a little when she does a night of songs exclusively by Nashville songwriters, several of whom are not typically known for jazz. Featured writers include Lisa Aschmann, Deanna Walker, Chris Walters, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Justin Thompson, David Schnaufer and more. The show starts at 9 p.m. Sandy Bull tribute The late Sandy Bull, a renowned innovator who brought world-music influences into the acoustic-guitar world, made a great personal impact on many Nashville musicians while living here from 1991 until his death in 2001. That impact can be seen in the lineup for the second Sandy Bull tribute concert, which raises money for the Sandy Bull Music Endowment at Montgomery Bell Academy. This year’s performers include John Hiatt, Kim Carnes, Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Pat McLaughlin, Willie Nelson’s harmonica player Mickey Raphael, and the Dead Reckoners, featuring Kieran Kane and Kevin Welch. Appropriate to the occasion, Candy Bull, the late guitarist’s widow, has scheduled performances by a second generation of artists who grew up connected with the Bull family, including Jaime Hanna, Dustin Welch and Lilly Hiatt. For tickets to the Dec. 14 concert at the Montgomery Bell Theater, visit montgomerybell.com or call 369-5360.