so goes the moby

moby, with buck 65
Phoenix
April 18/05

as I've mentioned around here before, nobody likes moby anymore. not critics, not fans, not music snobs nor casual music fans. the response for his latest album, Hotel, has been quite abysmal critically so it was interesting to see the response to the new material at hand.

but first, buck 65 came out quite daringly to the 1000+ crowd and did a quick 1/2 hour set of mostly newer songs from his latest album. armed with 2 turntables and a (not always functioning) DAT, he held off a somewhat chatty crowd quite well, even getting requests mid-set, which launched off the just-mentioned tech issues when he tried to deviate from his track order. I enjoyed him more during his own Phoenix show a while ago when a full band was on hand, but he proved that he can still hold his own, uh, on his own.

moby arrived on stage with the full effect of a HUGE (for a club) lightshow in place and 'My Weakness' playing to extreme volume proportions. And I think this opening gesture was indicative of the entire night, as it seemed moby self-conciously still relies on material from Play to carry the show. Personal highlights included find my baby, porcelain, and a full-out extended honey-it just seemed that both he and the audience were still in that era's mindset. Quick forays into Animal Rights and 18 were greeted with far less enthusiasm.

moby's shows are always a strange mix of rock indulgence and clubland bumption, which was fine enough, but the occasional ballads come of as down right funereal. Backed by a very capable 4-piece band and vocalist, I assured my office mates today that the show was anything but a laptop-oriented snoozefest.

so moby still has at least 1000 fans in this city, and certainly a very packed club show is impressive, but is there enough on for him for an area:3 festival? that may depend on his support.