Moby in Montreal at the Metropolis

In my high school / college years, I've wanted to see three bands live; Lunasa, Moby, and Rammstein. I realize that no two of those three play music even remotely similar to each other.

I saw Lunasa. Twice. I actually played on stage with Lunasa. I actually shared a mic with Kevin Crawford! Those were two best times of my life.

Last Sunday, I saw Moby live. He has recently released Hotel and was touring the US / Canada because that's what musicians do. The show was at a venue called Metropolis in the heart of Montreal. From the outside, it didn't look like much, nor the entrance or stairs. However, the stage was small and cozy, complete with dance floor / mosh pit in front and tables and a bar setting in the back. There also was a balcony, which consisted of counters with tall stools for sitting. This is where we sat.

I went with my brother Jake, Aaron Fetterman, and Niall Mangan. My parents and younger brother Sammy came up with us too, but they didn't go to the concert. We arrived in Montreal at about 4:00 and were complete and utter tourists for two hours. Then Jake, Aaron, Niall and I went to wait in line for our Will-Call tickets. Chilling in an alley in Montreal with angry goth kids, giggly pot smokers, large bouncers / security guards and friends is a wonderful thing. We got our tickets and decided to go up to the balcony and wait for what we had assumed was a 7:00 show.

The show did not start at 7:00. At 7:30, a quirky individual who goes by the title Buck 65 entertained us for half an hour with pre-recorded tracks and a strange mix of rap, poetry, and glitter (the twinkly kind). He finished at 8:00 and we were left to sit for a complete hour before Moby came on.

There were only four other musicians on stage with Moby. Scott Frassetto on drums (he happened to be from Montreal (wink wink)), Laura Dawn on lead vocals beside Moby, some depressing female entity on keyboard and a hard rocker who played guitar and bass. Moby sang, played guitar and occasionally the bongos.

The next two full hours (without any breaks!) were utterly orgasmic (in the audio-visual sense). They played most of the good songs from Hotel along with all of the good songs of the past (including but not limited to: Go, Southside, Bodyrock, Next is the E, Natural Blues, We are All Made of Stars, Porcelain, and My Weakness.) They also covered Take a Walk on the Wild Side and a small part of Creep.

Moby also apologized to Canada for the US and its leadership. He asked if they would adopt us northern states and form a United States of Canada, and then the crowd started chanting "Moby for President." He also spoke a lot of French, which I, sadly, do not speak. At one point he shared with us many lewd French terms, which he had learned from a ex-girlfriend.

The only regret that I have was that I was not down on the dance floor / mosh pit jumping up and down with all my might along with the rest of the audience. For the next Moby concert I attend, I will most surely be down on the floor.

Laura Dawn blew me away. The light show was spectacular. The crown was awesome. Moby kicked ass. Montreal made me happy. The ensuing deafness satisfied me.

Thank you Moby.