Moby live like it's 1995
- Jun 07, 2011
The fact that Moby played a cover of Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' mid-way through his set at the Roundhouse probably tells you all you need to know about how this multi-instrumentalist has evolved and outgrown the rave scene over the past 20 years. Whilst his slightly bloated two-hour mammoth set did rely on repetitive eurobeat tracks a bit too often, there was a highly impressive range of other genres tackled as well.
Kicking off proceedings was German electro artist Apparat, who bolstered his live sound with a full band, including a keyboard player who appeared to be bowing a hacksaw at one point. Limber falsetto vocals were the highlight of an atmospheric set, which dabbled with various eclectic samples and drew on My Morning Jacket in several places.
Moby's live show kicked things up a gear, with a spectacular strobing light show and a full band crescendo for the opener 'God Moving', before it all took a for the moodier with 'Be The One', the lead-off single from recent album 'Destroyed'.
There was clearly a concerted effort to make Moby's live sound as authentic as possible, employing a two-piece string section, a drummer, a bassist and a keyboard player to compliment his work on the congas and electric guitar, resulting in a truly special rendition of 'Porcelain'. In particular vocalist Joy Malcom added a touch of flair to proceedings with her impassioned and acrobatic vocals, although samples were relied on for crowd favourite 'Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?'
As was regularly pointed out, the majority of the sell-out audience was not from England, a fact that Moby acknowledged by thanking them in a range of European languages, before diving into continental club classic 'Lift Me Up'. Despite his various musical deviations (laid-back soul for 'Natural Blues' and disco guitar for 'We Are All Made Of Stars'), Moby finished with an unashamed confession: "Deep in my heart of hearts, I am a raver" and encouraged his audience to imagine themselves in a field at 2am. Backing up those words, the thunderous drums and arms-in-the-air euphoria of closer 'Feeling So Real' left the departing crowd feeling like it was 1995 all over again.
Chris Jefferies
