A sea of college students, high schoolers and moms screamed and rejoiced as Ben Folds emerged from behind the stage door to the tunes of Jesus Christ Superstar and launched into an abridged version of "Jesusland." However, this heaven-sent moment was short-lived. As soon as the last chord faded, Folds threw his skinny arms up in the air, exclaiming, "Thank you, Milwaukee," as he walked off stage.

Ha. Good one, Ben.

Following a rousing chorus of "Ben" chants, Folds returned to the stage and showed his Madison fans that he still knows how to "rock this bitch" during his performance at the Orpheum Theater Wednesday night.

Folds' fans crammed into the sold-out theater for an uplifting blend of new, old and sometimes overlooked material, such as "Trusted," "Zak and Sara" and "All You Can Eat."

The Fray, a Denver-based quintet, got the evening off to a great start with songs from their debut album, How to Save a Life. With a sound reminiscent of Coldplay or Keane with a hint of Gavin DeGraw, the band dazzled the crowd not only with their musical talents, but also vocalized their appreciation for the Wisconsin crowd. They professed their love of Wisconsin accents, the bassist showed his softer side with a "Badgers Forever" haiku and, by the end of their performance, the boys of the Fray had the audience singing right along with their hit song, "Over My Head (Cable Car)."

All of this served as merely a warm up for the mind-blowing performance by the man of the evening, Ben Folds, who was accompanied by drummer Lindsay Jamieson and bassist Jared Reynolds. Folds hardly took time to sit down during the show. Aside from a few mellow numbers, the lively pianist pounded on the keys with his fists, shook a maraca that seemed to appear from thin air and rocked out to the music, keeping the crowd enraptured in the lyrical and melodic genius of his performance.

Upon his return to the stage, Folds kicked off the rest of his performance with "Bastard," a song off his latest solo venture, Songs for Silverman, before "rockin' the suburbs" with "Gone" and the upbeat "Annie Waits," which had the crowd clapping along. This was only the beginning of the active, vocal role of the audience over the remainder of the evening.

Folds turned to the crowd for the chorus of "Trusted." Afterward, the singer-pianist trusted his fans with an embarrassing anecdote. According to Folds, since his Japanese tour, he had become a member of an elite "club of assholes" when he fell off the stage. A true testament to the love of his fans, Folds got up and played out his whole set — with a concussion. Folds joked that his injury took away 10 years of his piano-playing skills, but said he's now better for it.

Head injury or not, he certainly showed no signs of fatigue during his nearly two-hour performance.

Folds played up his comedic side and gave new "gangsta" flavor to the key of C with his cover of Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit," a song that got the crowd cheering and brought his two accompanists into the action, offering advice to the "heart-broke" singer. From there, Folds slowed things down and transitioned into a little solo action with the beautiful melody of "Brick," one of the best-known songs of his former band, Ben Folds Five.

However, this break didn't last long and the crowd was eager to be heard. Folds started into the mellow sounds of "Lullabye," but stopped barely into the first line. Instead, he took the advice of screaming fans and launched into "Underground," one of the most surreal experiences of the night with Folds ushering in the accompaniment of hundreds of voices shouting along with him.

The overwhelming audience participation helped bring this concert to another level. Folds excelled in the role of conductor in songs like "Army," where he stood at the edge of the stage like Moses and parted the crowd like the Red Sea to rehearse a split of "ba, ba, bas" divided between the lower level and balcony of the auditorium.

In the end, the show came full-circle, with more of "Jesusland" and left the crowd begging for more. The chants of "Ben" from the show's beginning repeated themselves and brought the humbled singer back to the stage for a an encore that included "Late" and "Not the Same," for which the audience yet again turned into a choir, generating an eerie three-part harmony.

For lack of a better word, with his fingers flying and feet tapping, Ben Folds' performance truly "rocked."