Ben Folds delighted a packed house at Cary’s Booth Amphitheatre Friday with a set full of brand new songs as well as old favorites.

Folds, who is known in part for his social commentary, refrained from any knocks on suburbia during his two-hour concert, but he did share concern for the “duckies and turtles” surrounding the amphitheater on Symphony Lake.

“It’s a rock show, but it’s in the wilderness so they want to keep the decibel level down so we don’t [mess] with wildlife,” Folds told the crowd early in the set.

Folds shared stories with the crowd in between songs, including as an introduction to “Hiroshima,” the opening tune off his new album, set to be released this fall.

The song tells a story of when Folds’ former band, Ben Folds Five, played in Japan and Folds literally fell off the stage while walking out at the beginning of the concert. Folds recovered, hopped back on stage and played the set, but he didn’t stop bleeding until about halfway through.

“I know this [song] sounds like ‘Benny and the Jets,’ but it’s called ‘Benny hit his head,’” he joked.

Folds played a total of four new songs but also dove back in his catalog all the way to 1995 for “Underground” from Ben Folds Five’s debut album.

Folds, a North Carolina native who broke onto the national scene while living in Chapel Hill, said he spent the earlier part of his day reminiscing in Chapel Hill. He visited his old apartment and stopped for a slice at Pepper’s Pizza, where his image hangs on the wall. Only he mistook his likeness for Ryan Adams, another successful musician originally from the area, commenting, ‘That’s one ugly [guy]’ before being corrected. “Thanks for that,” he said.

Folds, who was not shy with his usual colorful language, led the crowd in several moments of audience participation, including singing the horn parts to “Army,” another Ben Folds Five song.

Though the song is a fan favorite, Folds said it was a commercial flop.

“We lost hundreds of thousand promoting it, it was a [darn] shame,” he said.

But the crowd didn’t seem to mind.