Behind his behemoth of a piano, Ben Folds took the stage to a packed crowd at the El Rey on a brisk Thursday night. The crowd was a star-studded affair with celebrities sprinkled around the club – in fact, right in front of me was actress Alyssa Milano (or a really good look-alike) from the WB’s "Charmed."

Ben Folds kicked off his set with "The Ascent of Stan" off his full-length solo effort, Rocking the Suburbs. Folds transferred from upbeat rockers such as "Zak and Sara" to well orchestrated slow tunes such as "Fred Jones Part II" with style and ease.

Folds played an amazing set comprised of songs off his solo album along with playing some new material, He seemed to stray away from his previous work with Ben Folds Five, however, opting to play only a few tunes from the band’s three studio albums. Nevertheless, Ben Folds played a magnificent show leaving the crowd wanting for more.

After Ben Folds exited the stage, chants for "Ben Folds, Ben Folds" soon turned to "Shatner, Shatner" – that is, the one and only William Shatner of "Star Trek" fame. Before I knew it, Shatner had taken the stage and was performing songs from his new album, Has Been, providing both a strange and surreal sight. Shatner had Ben Folds on keyboard while another famed musician, Joe Jackson, sang along, concluding with the popular tune, "Common People."