Whether he’s performing a DJ set or appearing with a full band, Moby has always been able to deliver his music with a very sincere and natural approach. His show at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco on October 15th was a great example of those two qualities coming together in a very easy and earnest way. This was one of three California shows which Moby has decided to donate the revenue to the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. After handling a few technical hiccups which came across as more endearing than disruptive, Moby led the crowd on an impressive tour of his nine studio albums and 20-year career.

Performing with a full band for the first time in recent memory, Moby has managed to put together an impressive set of groovy chicks and bald dudes on stage. Moby was joined by Hagar Ben Ari on bass guitar, Joe Goretti on drums and Claudia Chopek on violin. Most impressive were singers Inyang Bassey and Kelli Scarr who also saw action on keyboards. Performing live versions and sometimes doubling up Moby’s trademark soulful samples, Bassey and Scarr were powerful and organic forces behind the mic. Knowing the strengths of his bandmates, Moby was perfectly content to take the back seat and let one of his singers belt out some seriously searing lead vocals while he rocked the Gibson SG or assaulted the conga drums.

The show drifted through tranquil and emotional orchestrations from Moby’s current release Wait For Me including, “Pale Horses,” “Shot In the Back of The Head,” “Wait For Me,” “A Seated Night,” “Walk With Me” and the mournful and slightly off-key lament “Mistake.” The vocals of Scarr were both potent and tender, especially on ”JTLF,” with it’s images of hopelessness and vulnerability: “We heard the rain on the window like a simple waste of time. We heard the sirens wailing like the world had lost its smile.” The album, seemingly recorded on the fly and with no trace of studio over-engineering or effects-rack wizardry, came through in the live show as fluid, poetic and refreshing.

While Wait For Me is filled with beautiful and cathartic tracks, some of the most appreciated moments from the show included the more raucous anthems and gospel-inspired hooks from the 1999 album Play and the 2002 release, 18. The crowd, singing along to music which is not really built for that type of crowd participation, jammed to Bassey’s incredibly soulful vocals on “Honey,” “Extreme Ways,” “Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?” and “Natural Blues” and bounced happily along to “a stupid little song” called “Bodyrock.” Although I was a bit disappointed not to hear Bassey’s smooth take on “Sunday (The Day Before My Birthday),” high-points included Moby’s “unlikely Top 40” hit about a “dystopian, amoral, post-apocalyptic” world, “South Side” as well as a hazily captivating version of “When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die.”

Though I’m not sure what all of the ingredients are or how exactly he does it so well, Moby continues to deliver lives shows which are spontaneous, spiritual and liberating. Somehow, I don’t think he would have it any other way.

Moby: website | myspace

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