Photos: Moby at Annenberg Space for Photography

Moby by Jeremiah Garcia

I rarely start a review by recounting the last moments of an event, but at Saturday’s show at the Annenberg Space for Photography, Moby stepped off his platform and onto the front of the stage to lead a crowd of thousands in an epic fist pumping underneath the stars and amidst the gorgeous metropolis that is Century City. Watching everyone’s arms moving, perfectly synchronized to the beat, and seeing a performer and his audience equally engaged was pretty magical. In fact, the entire evening was.

When KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley started spinning, the venue was already packed. There were pockets of people kicking back on blankets on the grass across the park and many more standing, dancing and just having an all around great time. It was, after all, a FREE summertime show.

When Moby took the stage for his acoustic set –with his guitar, three vocalists and a cellist — the crowd was already worked up. The cello couldn’t be heard at first and he started a chant, claiming it was probably the first time in history 4,000 people have chanted the word “cello”.

He then kindly asked the crowd to not talk over the slower songs and launched into beautifully reworked versions of hits like “Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?” and “Porcelain”, covers of “Ring of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Love”, as well as a bit of “Freebird” upon request. The highlight, however, was the sing-a-long during “We Are All Made of Stars”. I was actually not on the lawn but on the other side of the building and I could hear the singing from that far away. It was lovely.

Then, he changed the vibe entirely with a ferocious DJ set. All the sudden it went from concert to giant dance party.

It was a fantastic night of free music and we plan to do it all again next week with Portugal. The Man! RSVP and find more info here.

RR