WALTHAM — "You should be able to perform any song with just a piano and your voice. You don’t need all the other shit."

Or so declared Ben Folds during his Nov. 5 show at Brandeis University’s Shapiro Gymnasium. As it turned out, Folds and his piano were all he needed to prove himself right.

For nearly two hours, the T-shirt-clad Folds belted almost all his classics, along with a couple of newer songs, to the delight of a sing-along crowd comprised mostly of college students. Folds uses every key of his instrument with the fervor and intricacy of a concert pianist, resulting in a fullness of sound that more than did justice to his many multi-instrument studio recordings. Folds once again showed why he singlehandedly made the piano cool again in rock music.

That is, when he wasn’t breaking the Steinway on which he played.

Folds’ merciless pounding ultimately proved to be too much for the Brandeis-owned baby grand. After a low D went dead mid-way through the show, Folds caused what he admitted was a first: a black key completely broke off, which the bespectacled rocker held up to the amusement of everyone in attendance. But the show went on without even the slightest hiccup, displaying the showmanship Folds has become well known for in his live performances.

The Brandeis appearance — which was his second show on the Waltham university’s basketball court — almost didn’t happen. Folds told the audience that he turned down the gig twice before receiving a letter "from a very nice young lady" begging him to come to Brandeis. An attempt at covering a song written by friend and former bandmate nicknamed Sn¼zz proved to be one of the show’s sweeter moments, with Folds teaching the crowd the song’s refrain and then asking someone with a video camera to record the tribute and post it on YouTube for his friend.

Part of Folds’ appeal — besides his boyish, silky-smooth vocals and his complete mastery of the ivories — is his ability to switch effortlessly from sentimental to silly. Anthems like "Still Fighting It" and "Landed" always empower and inspire, but the crowd favorites were those songs that showcase the wit and profanity that catapulted Folds early in his career. "Rockin’ the Suburbs" was appropriately successful, and a made-up song joking about Brandeis and underage drinking and including an entire stanza of profane filler drew big laughs.

After all, this was a college show, not the Boston Pops.

Folds’ lyrics have matured with each album, but one has to wonder how he will resolve the tension between being 43 and his decision to continue to cater to the more base tastes of college audiences. For now, he seems successful at toggling between his younger listeners (who love his 2001 album, "Rockin’ the Suburbs") and older, "Boston Pops" fans (who prefer 2005′s "Songs for Silverman" and 2008′s "Way to Normal") — but will it all catch up with him?

Folds certainly seemed at home Nov. 5 singing many of his more shallow lyrical offerings in front of a sampling of the YouTube generation, as evidenced by his encore selection: "Bitches Ain’t Shit." Folds retired the satirical Dr. Dre-written song from his live shows, but agreed to play it since he’d never played it live at Brandeis. It was undoubtedly the climax of the show — the song kids had been yelling for Folds to sing the entire night — yet I would have preferred to hear one of his classic ballads like "Brick" or "The Luckiest."

Filing out of that gymnasium, though, one thought trumped all others: this guy can flat-out entertain. I didn’t take a scientific poll, but I’d venture a guess that if I did I would have been hard-pressed to find someone who wasn’t satisfied — even if he plays one thing for the adults, and another thing for the kids.

Our favorite sardonic and geeky alt rocker is back, but this time he’s bringing friends.

In a move fitting of only Ben Folds, he is putting out his first official “greatest hits” album, but instead of him performing them, he has gotten some of the best a cappella from universities and high schools around to help him out with “Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!” For those unfamiliar with a cappella bands, the concept is to perform full songs, without any instruments other than your own body. Everything you hear is snaps, claps, stomps, whistles and of course vocals.

The album contains 16 of Folds’ tracks, re-imagined by some of the best minds colleges have to offer. Overall the album isn’t subtle or soft. The idea of a cappella leads to a very full sound, even if the original might have just been Ben and a piano.

As for track selection, most everything a Folds fan would be looking for is there. Notable omissions however are “Annie Waits”, “Rockin’ the Suburbs” and “Smoke”. Folds even gets in on some of the fun, performing on new versions of “Boxing” and “Effington”, two songs from different times in his career. While “Effington” shines, “Boxing” falls flat. Maybe it’s just too old for Foldsto redo, but it’s one of the worst tracks on the album.

Standout tracks include a fantastic job on “Selfless, Cold, and Composed” by the Sacramento State Jazz Singers. They handled the instrumental ending in a way that rivals the haunting original even though they managed to put some different varieties on the vocal music, by incorporating a lot of choral style hymns and even some scat singing. The other big surprise was “Evaporated,” which strays farthest from the original, but because of that fact, it isn’t bound by one’s own preconceptions. As expected, “Army” might be the best overall track on the album. It’s upbeat humor matches perfectly with the very idea of college-style a cappella. The translation is flawless, and this version might even surpass the original. The end cap on this album is a simple but great take on “The Luckiest,” which wraps up the whole album excellently.

Unfortunately, while these songs are all done pretty well, they do lose something in translation. Part of the reason the Ben Folds has been successful is that half his songs are fun, ironic and playful while the others are truly sad and sometimes even a bit disturbing. No song suffers more from this then “Fred Jones Part 2″ which is a song that invokes true hate towards the frantic pace of life and one man’s struggle with being replaced. However, this version almost seems happy and doesn’t inspire the same feelings that the original did. Technically, it’s fine and one of the better arrangements, but it lost its meaning and soul once you removed Folds’ shaking voice and timid piano. While it is not the fault of anyone involved, it’s hard to portray the weariness that the originals had using this format. Additionally, each individual song is certainly listenable, but as a whole, it is a lot for people who aren’t normally fans of a cappella.

It is still a “must buy” for fans of Folds’ music and fans of a cappella. Any big Ben Folds fan would be wrong to look over the album simply because it’s a “greatest hits” style compilation. Any a cappella fan should also look into this, because it’s a great selection of different styles and takes on one artist. However, if you’re just a casual fan, or someone looking to jump on the Ben Folds bandwagon, I’d suggest going to the classics like “Rockin’ the Suburbs” or “Whatever and Ever Amen” or even his newest work “Way to Normal”. It’s not perfect but Ben Folds has never been about being perfect. He’s about being creative and going outside the normal. This is just a different way of doing that.