In short, it was amazing. I'm not a Moby fanatic, and have really only latched onto Play, and the newest, Wait for me. I at least recognized all but two songs though. And I'm not that into dance, and never was into raves, but the energetic band (complete with female violinist, female bassist, and Moby-look-alike drummer) and great light show created such an enveloping atmosphere that I almost wished I was a bit more dance inclined. And a bit less white, as Inyang Bassey's incredibly soulful singing made my bootie want to shake just a tad. Coming in at over 2 hours, I was definitely not disappointed by Moby's set, and I was quite amazed at how well the slowed down and somewhat unplugged versions of some of my favorites were done.
I must say though, the opener and Moby's keyboardist and 2nd vocalist really stole the show. A delightful petite woman from Brooklyn, Kelli Scarr has such an incredible voice. Reminiscent of Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, Kelli's powerful pipes must be experienced live. I had downloaded her free EP from her website before the show, and had noticed her sing on Wait for me. But I wasn't truly captivated until I heard her up close. She looked adorable in her opening set with a Pebbles' inspired hairdo and necklace, wearing a simple oversized black t-shirt and black leggings. Then for Moby's set, she let her hair down and was wearing a black mini dress with a men's black suit jacket over top. She was channeling Björk a bit in the last rave song (sorry, one of the two songs I didn't recognize, and I didn't bring my camera). Definitely one to keep track of.
(Top photo from Montreal show with Kelli Scarr on keyboards in back right; second photo from Kelli's Twitter)
