Where to start?

Yesterday I went to the WBCN Xmas Rave Moby show at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA. He billed it as a show in which he will be playing older songs in his journal. I was quite excited to get to hear some of the earlier more electronic songs. I found that this really wasn’t the case, however. The only old songs he played that he usually wouldn’t were “That’s When I Reach For My Revolver” and “Next is the E”. After playing a couple songs, he came out and said, “We have a goal for tonight. We’re going to play the longest show we ever have,” which was met by much applause. I was quite close to the stage. So close, in fact, that Moby himself stepped on my hand. I was right in front of two of the subwoofers and essentially leaning on them as Moby would jump up on it and play his guitar in such a manner that I would have to look directly up to see him. I was jumping up and down a lot, and had to watch the height so I wouldn’t bump into his… crotch. He stepped on my hand at one point and might have been pointing to me as I was jumping. Anyway Dan and I had a lot of fun. Dan was especially happy when Moby left and came back in a cheaply made shirt with iron-on letters that spell “COVER BAND”. Moby covered about ten of Dan’s favorite classic rock songs, some in different styles. Read about it on my new concerts page.

Anyway, after the show Dan and I waited around with the hope that Moby would come out and meet us or that something else interesting would happen. While waiting around I noticed that Moby’s beloved carrot juice was sitting on stage. I wondered if they would give it to us if we asked, half-jokingly. Dan pulled a roadie aside and said “Hey will you give us that carrot juice? It was his birthday,” to which the man responded, “You really want his backwashed carrot juice?!” Needless to say we received said carrot juice, which is now sitting in my room. It’s in a Dasani bottle.

This morning I checked Moby’s online journal to see if he had mentioned the idiotic jumping fan in front of him at the show or the fact that his carrot juice was missing, and instead I learned that after the show he had been attacked by three “preppy” men “with mace” who punched him in the face for no apparent reason. This comes as quite a shock, but Moby is not mad and did not fight back. Such is his style.

Just a few minutes ago I learned that the lead singer / Moog player / trombonist for Stereolab, Mary Hansen, has died in a freak bicycle accident. I am glad that Stereolab got to reason as much music as they did, something like an album a year for a full decade. I am quite impressed by their wide assortment, and have several of their limited edition vinyl singles. Every single they release comes in limited edition versions. I had the fortune to attend their recent show in Boston at the Avalon, one of the only shows that resulted in a double encore. I read a funny review of this show once, calling mine the “lamest crowd” ever for Stereolab. I thought it was quite laid back, and this reviewer thought it was rowdy. This shows the disparity between the shows the two of us are used to.

December 13, 2002

Actually, Mary Hansen was the vocalist /  guitarist. Laetitia Sadier is the lead singer / Moog player /  trombonist. Pardon my mistake.