Moby has become a stalwart of the music industry. With over 20 million records under his belt, he is most celebrated for his 1999 multi-platinum album, Play, however, as an eclectic age mix descend upon Greenwich's Old Royal Naval College, it is very apparent that his appeal is far greater than his peak era. With 23 studio albums that cross multiple genres over the 34 years, a nearly two hour long set is promised as the annual festivities in Greenwich continue.
Before Moby takes to the stage, there is a mixed bag of performances from KING BOOO!, Rex The Dog, SWIM and Sofia Kourtesis. While SWIM highlighted the weaker end of the offer, with an enjoyable set that could have easily been posted in via Zoom due to the lack of engagement with his audience, Sofia Kourtesis proved chaotic but truly compelling. With a nearly 2 hour long set, she danced her heart out through the opening DJ hour, before overcoming tech issues during her performance hour to have the audience fully on her side as she showcased her dizzying material.
After just a brief interlude, Moby quietly entered the stage alongside his band and launched into a set that was pure musical gold. Moby is aware that his audience want to hear his biggest hits, but with 23 albums to cover and an array of genres, he has, over the years, learnt the art of set structure and he easily delivers a little bit of something for everyone.
Starting in 1999, with Bodyrock, from Play makes perfect sense. Determined to get his audience moving, his opening pitch is perfect and allows him to easily transition to the opening of his career to continue with Go. His performance jumps faultlessly in this manner throughout, though inevitably there are clearly audience highlights - We Are All Made Of Stars, Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? and Honey - while a touching tribute to his late friend, David Bowie, with Heroes marks a key moment in the night.
Having powered through his initial set with the audience eating up each moment, he returns to the stage for the epic Porcelain, before X Factor alumni and Gabriels frontman Jacob Lusk joins him on stage for the explosive When It's Cold I Like To Die and Natural Blues, before Moby transports his audience to the euphoria of Feeling So Real for one last burst of pure escapism.
