I've been trying to construct a paean to Ben Folds after seeing him play last night, but I'm so much in awe of the man, that all I can manage is wow.

I'd been waiting years for this gig, the chance to see one of my favouritest artists perform live. But when he toured in 2000 I couldn't see him, then in 2002 I was in the US (at some wedding or other :) while he was in the UK, and finally the original November date for this show was cancelled because Ben had a serious chest infection.

But it was worth waiting for.

It was just fantastic, everything I had hoped. The mix of old tunes and new, the slowies and crowd-pleasers, the mandatory audience participation on tracks like Army and Not the same, the ironic cover of Dr Dre's Bitches Ain't Shit (with melody specially penned by Ben), the slightly country acoustic guitar support act (who may or may not have been Ben - a topic of fervent debate), Folds' mastery of the keyboards and the proof that pop and piano can mix without being bland (Dame Elton he ain't), the seemingly improvised riffs ("The Barbican is not your bitch/The Barbican will not be rocked"), the humour and humanity running through his work - it was almost three hours of pure joy.

If I had one criticism, it would be that the staid London crowd were far too slow to get out of their seats and on their feet.

But the guy just has fun on stage, and eventually it proves infectious.

And judging by the way my legs were shaking with excitement by the end of the concert, I think I'm about ready to have his children.

More please...