As a kid of the 90s, Moby’s seminal album Play was a huge part of the soundtrack to my adolescence – one of the first CDs I bought with my own money, and pretty much wore out. Every track – even the tracklisting – is still immediately familiar, indelibly stamped on my teenage consciousness – so, having never having seen Moby live until now, I was pretty excited to see the electronic maestro at work.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the multi-million-selling Play, the NYC-born, LA-based musician is hosting a sold-out crowd at the O2 Arena in London. The renowned vegan artist, famed for his advocacy for environmental rights, hasn’t toured in over a decade and is taking the opportunity to mark his most famous (and lucrative) LP’s quarter-century, whilst raising funds for animal rights organisations close to his heart.
Moby @ The O2 Arena
Before Play’s debut in 1999, Moby had found himself at a pivotal moment in his career. Previous album Animal Rights had failed to connect with critics or a wide audience – so, believing that Play might be his last album, he embraced a spirit of experimentation, incorporating samples of soulful vocals from renowned blues and gospel singers like Bessie Jones, Boy Blue, and Vera Hall.
The juxtaposition of these striking vocals with Moby’s electronic soundscapes forged a hefty emotional core that, together with clever licensing (famously, every one of its 18 track was licensed for commercial use – thereby getting them heard more widely), resonated hugely with the public and Play achieved phenomenal success, selling over 12 million copies globally and soundtracking the likes of The Beach, Dawson’s Creek and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Tonight, we kick things off with support act Lady Blackbird (aka Marley Monroe) and a sizeable crowd have already gathered to see the singer described by Gilles Peterson as the “Grace Jones of jazz”. She makes a dramatic entrance onstage, dressed fairly fabulously in head-to-toe white, including huge hair and a white cape. Despite a sparse stage setup of simply the singer, a guitarist and track, she’s completely at home on the huge O2 stage and enjoying the opportunity to perform for several thousand already in the arena.
Her powerful voice is immediately apparent, with elements of blues, soul and jazz. Despite not being familiar with her material, I’m caught up in her good-natured, soulful vibe – and just as I’m thinking how much I’m reminded of a young Tina Turner, she name-checks the great songstress herself. It’s an apt comparison for this talented performer. Lady Blackbird ends her individual set with what turns out to be my favourite of hers, the stonking Reborn, which deserves to be a huge hit. She’s been a fantastic warm-up – perhaps we’ll hear more from her later…
Now it’s time for the main event. Starting with an almost ethereal intro, blue green lasers light up the arena as Richard Melville Hall and co kick things off with In My Heart. He’s something of an oddball popstar, is Moby, and here he cedes the spotlight to Nadia Duggan – one of the two powerful female vocalists in his band, along with Choklate – her stunning vocals taking centre stage with Moby content to be hype man / guitarist for now. In crowd-pleasing mood, he runs around the stage like a man half his age, throwing himself into bongos duty for the massive Go before Body Rock and his recent mash-up version of Flower into Find My Baby, showcasing his heavy blues inspiration as well as the skills of his talented band.
The recently turned 59-year-old takes a short breather for a chat about vegan pizza in his backyard before the rather lovely Almost Home and then a breathtaking double bill of When It’s Cold I Like To Die and In This World. Next up it’s the unmistakable strains of Porcelain but he’s given it a twist – it feels a more stripped-back version, with Moby sharing vocals with his band members. Next it’s the more straightforward We Are All Made Of Stars before a change of pace with the excellent, driving Machete.
Moby takes several opportunities throughout the show to talk about his passion for activism (all profits from the show going to local organisations) as well as simple anecdotes about his career, with self-effacing eccentricity and, let’s face it, a bit of name-dropping. To be fair, if I had been mates with David Bowie I’d probably want to talk about it too.
We are treated to a return to the stage of the big-haired Lady Blackbird for a double bill of Walk With Me and Why Does My Heart Feel so Bad – once again demonstrating her fabulous voice. It’s a real showstopper. Then, as if to give us all a breather, instrumental Everloving takes the temperature down a notch but it’s only setting us up for the enormous Extreme Ways which has The O2 rocking, with everyone on their feet. Then for the final song of the main set, singer Choklate now gets a solo, taking on the traditional Bessie Jones’ vocal that formed the basis of Honey. It’s another great performance – Moby certainly knows how to surround himself with talented musicians.
This would be where you’d expect a hit to start the encore but instead a slightly leftfield moment follows, with Moby borrowing a cowboy hat and launching into Ring Of Fire, demanding audience participation for the ‘trumpet solo’ – an amusing interlude if not the most obvious choice of cover. Thankfully we’re back to his brilliant best with next track Lift Me Up – sounding meaty and relevant, and the huge Natural Blues – Choklate taking on another traditional blues refrain, and delivering Vera Hall’s lyrics with aplomb.
This is when the night takes off – Moby is not a natural front man (understatement) – he’s awkward and odd but his genius lies in pulling together eclectic samples, influences and a hugely talented band of musicians. When the vocalists shine, the crowd goes with them.
It’s time for one final bit of chat as the band are introduced to warm applause, before Moby reminds us all that despite looking like, well, a small, bald, ‘middle-aged golem’, at heart he’s really just a raver. And with that he launches into some hardcore techno to finish the night off – the euphoric Feeling So Real getting everyone reaching for the lasers before the heavy, rapid-fire Thousand sends us off into the night. Moby ends up standing atop a podium, arms aloft – a raver, after all.
Live review of Moby @ The O2 Arena, London on 19th September 2024 by Sarah Kavanagh. Photos by Abigail Shii.
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