Fantastic. I finally complete one of my life goals last Thursday. I saw one of my favorite musical artists live on stage for the first time. I haven't been with Moby since his beginning but since he released his album Play, I've been hooked. Moby has a very infectious ambient sound that can calm my mood, but has been born out of a riot of punk and trance that he always keeps at his side.
Last Thursday, his concert displayed the range of his body of work. It was like a concert of his greatest hits. After a few songs, I thought it was a good idea to jot down his set list...
1. Intro
2. ???
3. Wait for Me (Wait for Me)
4. ??? (probably Jam for the Ladies)
5. Bodyrock (Play)
6. Go
7. Pale Horses (Wait for Me)
8. Great Escape (18)
9. South Side (Play)
10. In My Heart (18)
11. ??? (Piano, "summer"?)
12. Why Does My heart Feel so bad? (Play)
13. We are all made of Stars (18)
14. Porcelain (Play)
15. "Take a walk on the Wild Side"
16. Walk with me (Wait for Me)
17. Natural Blues (Play)
18. Porn Song from 1972
19. Raining Again (Hotel)
Encore
1. In this World (18)
2. ??? (If I fall, let me go?)
3. Extreme Ways (18)
4. Honey (Play) + ??? (Guitar Hero)
5. Feeling so Real
There are very very few concerts or musical events that I've attending where I knew the words to almost all the songs, but that I loved every minute of his 2 1/2 hour set. In most concerts, the group only focuses on their most recent material... Other groups are caught up in all their greatest hits from when they were good. Even though, he played only a few songs from his new album, Wait for Me, Moby proves that his new album is stands along side his greatest songs.
With each song he played, the original melody and chrous was in tact, but was performed with the flavor and creativity building since its initial release. Even though he "ended" with Raining Again, it wasn't the same version of the song you'd hear on the record from 2005. He started off with the Porno music, and used that aura as a different direction to present the song.
After listening to The Protomen last year on June 13th 2008, I modify my opinion of Lyrics in Songs. Even though, they skew or are sometimes inconsistent with the message of the music, they provide a very solid base for remixes and future adaptations, almost as strong as melody. Well, lyrics are basically part of the melody. The only difference is that Lyrics have a literal meaning in language, whereas melody is interpretive.
Both are essential for defining a song. They are the key component for any remix. If the remix has lost the melody of the original, it's a failure.
Seeing and listening to Moby perform Porcelain, We are all made of Stars, Go, and Raining Again LIVE in front of me is one of my most memorable music experiences in my life. Next to hearing Hybrid perform Finished Symphony LIVE (Nov 14the 2003), or Sasha spinning Cowgirl v. Xpander LIVE (Oct 2002), or Junkie XL performing Angels and Beauty Never Fades (Apr 3rd 2004), or Gabriel & Dresden spinning Beautiful Things(Feb 28th 2004, Sept 3rd 2004), or Armin Van Buuren spinning As The Rush Comes (Aug 9th 2003), or Paul Van Dyk spinning The Time of Our Lives (Apr 9th 2003), or Ladytron performing any of their songs (June 9th 2009)... These are my favorite musical memories. ^_^
And it's all thanks to this town:
