Mitsubishi Electric Halle, Düsseldorf, Germany23rd September 2024
Moby - “Play 25 2024” - Support: Lady Blackbird
MOBY is one of the most extraordinary artists on this planet. Whether as a DJ or as a producer for many well-known artists, he made a name for himself early on. The multi-instrumentalist sometimes takes a different approach to his music and uses full orchestras or choirs, for example. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of his album Play, MOBY toured Europe and also made a stop in Düsseldorf. He was joined by LADY BLACKBIRD as a support artist.
Lady Blackbird
At the beginning of the evening, the US-American LADY BLACKBIRD entered the stage, accompanied only by a guitarist. Dressed in an extravagant outfit and with her hair pinned up, the lady immediately got going. With her smoky and soulful voice, she captivated the audience. Some songs were reminiscent of the divas of Soul and Gospel music, and LADY BLACKBIRD also covered a song by the great Nina Simone, ‘Blackbird’. https://www.ladyblackbird.com / https://www.facebook.com/iamladyblackbird
Setlist
01. Dark Days
02. Blackbird (Nina Simone cover)
03. Man on a Boat
04. No One Can Love Me (Like You Do)
05. The City
06. Woman Reborn
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Light: 9
Sound: 9
Total: 9.3 / 10
Moby
The New York singer, guitarist, DJ, and music producer has shaped the dance sound of the 90s with albums like ‘Everything Is Wrong’ and ‘Play’. Songs like ‘Natural Blues’ or ‘Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad’ from the album ‘Play’, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in May, have a timeless quality that still resonates today and reaches even younger generations. MOBY’s next album, ‘always centered at night’, will be released on June 14. The album consists of collaborations with singers he loves, including SERPENTWITHFEET, LADY BLACKBIRD, and the recently deceased BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH. In September, he played a short tour to finally present his personal “Greatest Hits” live to the audience - on September 22 at the Velodrom in Berlin and on September 23 at the Mitsubishi Electric HALLE in Düsseldorf.
The amazing part: MOBY, who has been advocating for animal rights since his youth (so it’s no coincidence that his very political Punk album is called ‘Animal Rights’), will donate 100% of the profits to animal welfare organizations. He says about the tour: “It’s been over 10 years since I’ve toured, but someone reminded me that 2024 is the 25th anniversary of the release of ‘Play,’ so it seemed like it might not be the worst idea to do a short European tour to commemorate and celebrate. The show will feature well-known songs from ‘Play,’ but also a bunch of audience favourites, like ‘Extreme Ways,’ ‘We Are All Made Of Stars,’ ‘When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die,’ and even some old rave bangers like ‘Feeling So Real’ and ‘Go.’ What makes the tour most exciting for me is that I won’t be paid anything. 100% of my profits will go to European animal rights organizations.” https://moby.com / https://www.facebook.com/mobymusic
Music & Performance
At 8.30, the first rays of light lit up the stage and a short time later the first musicians appeared. On the left, two violin players took their position on a small gallery, with the bass player positioned in front of them. On the right half of the stage, a blonde young lady played the keyboards and two female singers stood directly in front of them, who also took over most of the vocal parts of the evening. MOBY came running onto the stage for the opening song ‘In My Heart’ and it seemed as if he wanted to greet every fan first. But he also paused at the edge of the stage, stretched his arms up or knelt down. Moby also occasionally took over an electric guitar, played bongos or a keyboard in the middle of the stage.
In addition to the seven songs from the album ‘Play’, MOBY naturally also played many other well-known songs from his career. The fans in the sold-out Mitsubishi Electric Hall were also able to hear the hits ‘Go’, ‘Walk With Me’ and ‘Lift Me Up’. But no matter which song was played, the audience went wild. The fans jumped, waved their arms and sang along. Visually, the visitors were treated to a huge light show, which unfortunately the people in the front rows didn’t notice that much. A highlight of the show was the cover version of ‘Ring Of Fire’, made famous by Johnny Cash. During this song, the entire band came to the front and occasionally wore a cowboy hat in keeping with their status.
Anyone standing close to the stage could recognise large tattooed letters on MOBY’s arms. The word Animal was emblazoned on the right arm and Right on the left. A sign that MOBY, as an avowed vegan, is also committed to animal rights. During the concert, he also announced that he would be donating all proceeds from the concerts to charitable foundations. These include the Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation and the German Albert Schweitzer Foundation. As the last song of a total of 19, MOBY played ‘Feeling So Real’, one of his biggest hits. The audience left the hall with a smile on their faces and the great feeling of having seen an outstanding musician live.
Setlist
01. In My Heart
02. Go
03. Bodyrock
04. Flower / Find My Baby
05. Almost Home
06. When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die
07. In This World
08. Porcelain
09. We Are All Made of Stars
10. Machete
11. Walk With Me (with Lady Blackbird)
12. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? (with Lady Blackbird)
13. Everloving
14. Extreme Ways
15. Honey
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16. Ring of Fire (Merle Kilgore cover)
17. Lift Me Up
18. Natural Blues
19. Feeling So Real
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 9
Light: 9
Sound: 9
Total: 9.3 / 10
All pictures by Andreas Klüppelberg
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