Moby

Just as the crowd was getting into the between-set canned house music (Kool & The Gang's "Jungle Boogie"), the lights went down, and the room began to pulse with anticipation.  An ambient keyboard intro song, set to some dramatic purple house lights, promised great things to come.  After a few minutes of this, Moby walked onstage, followed by his doppelganger, who headed on over to the drums.  They were followed by the rest of Moby's band, who are almost all female, all beautiful, and all very talented.  A violin player, bass, backup vocalist, and some dude on keyboards.

Seemingly ignoring the crowd, Moby picked up his guitar and laid into the sleepy "A Seated Night", which was a dramatic intro, and seemed like a cool way to kick things off.  I mean, let's build the tension, right?

As the song faded, Moby introduced the "beautiful and glamorous Kelli Scarr", who came strolling onstage, this time in a sharp suit-and-short-skirt combo.  This is what I'm talking about.  We all knew she could sing, and that there was a beauty under those frumpy clothes, but I don't think anyone was expecting this.  The previously soft-spoken singer proved exactly why she'd drawn the attention of one of the most successful singer/songwriter/producers in the world.  She seemed transformed, both physically and vocally, dominating the stage and the mic with confidence.  If you've spent any time listening to Moby's new album "Wait For Me", you may even think that Moby has already produced her album for her.  Most of the songs feature Kelli on vocals, and most of the songs tonight were no exception.

Another pleasant surprise was the backup  vocalist, who, for most of the night, was relegated to the shadows, but charged out of the gates taking the lead with a high-octane version of "Flower", in what may have been the most high-energy performance of the night. 

I always thought Moby was a DJ, not a "rock musician".  I really didn't expect him to do much besides sing, dance, and maybe spin some records, but dude rocked the guitar for most of the night and showed that the instrument truly has a home in the electronica genre. 

Moments into "Bodyrock", the Commodore dance floor was bouncing a foot off the floor, as the purple spots and strobe lights had the room resembling a rave more than a concert.  Some shirtless dude in a glowing orange electric shag carpet vest creation with matching wristbands seemed to finally be in his element, but his 15 minutes were short-lived.   With the exception of his biggest dance singles like "Go", "Natural Blues", and "We Are All Made Of Stars", Moby (whose nickname comes from an ancestral tie to author Herman Melville, who penned "Moby Dick", FYI) kept the set toned down, chilled out, and definitely unpredictable.  You have to give the guy credit for not complying with expectation and making another dance album, but it's those dance tracks that made him huge in the first place.  The rest of his stuff is great for just chilling to, but is an odd fit in between some of the biggest club hits of the last 20 years. 

Fantastic musicianship all around, but more of a chill-out with dance breaks than a rock/dance concert with chill-out breaks.  Would see again, but would recommend leaving the rave gear at home.