Moby Concert In Baltimore

There I was...........it was a Thursday night........September 17th, 2009...........and there is Moby, signing a few autographs after his electrifying performance at the Ram's Head Live! in Baltimore, Maryland. For those that know me, I can imagine them asking "Moby?"......"He likes Moby?"

Well........no.......I was not there because of that........and for the record......no, I was not a Moby fan at all. Not that I had anything bad to say about his music, but just simply that maybe he appealed to a different generation......or so I thought. Musically, I really had no beef with Moby. I was at his concert because of my buddy George Harrison.....hehehe........who just so happens to be somewhat of a fan of Moby. He wanted me to go with him to the show........and I did.

Moby has this certain look about him.........something about his stare......he doesn't seem to blink at all. Needless to say, he was very kind and obviously appreciated the small handful of people that waited after the show for autographs.

More later about after the show...........I shall cut to the chase and tell about the show. Prior to the show, there was some strange music being pumped out over the sound system. Keep in mind that I had no real idea of what to expect on this night........but this music was rather irritating to me........it was very depressing stuff.......stuff you might want to listen to when you want to go to sleep. I was thinking that this was not a good sign of things to come. A female was singing and nobody seemed to know who it was. Oh well..........after about a half hour of this stuff it was showtime..........and this woman walks out onstage and picks up a guitar and starts layering her voice a few times and proceeds to sing along with herself. I then realized that it must have been this very same woman's music that was being played before the start of the show. Musically.....well......how could I describe her performance?...........maybe a touch of Bjork here or there? Needless to say, what she did, she did it very well. After she rattled off a few tunes, she then left the stage and the main attraction proceeded to hit the stage. Guess who was part of Moby's band?................yep.......that same woman that started the show. Her name is Kelli Scarr and she apparently also sang on Moby's recent record...........I can't say record.......I should say "cd".

Kelli Scarr kicked it up several notches as part of Moby's band. Her performance was brilliant and I am sure that Moby is glad to have her in the band.

So this Kelli Scarr person not only sings, and plays guitar.......but she also plays keyboards.

As I said before, I really did not know what to expect at this show. I was, for the most part, totally unfamiliar with the majority of the music that was being performed.........except for a few things I have heard here and there.......on radio......tv commercials...........and the only time I had ever seen Moby was on a music awards show. When I looked around at the audience, I saw all sorts of people.........people that were alot older than me.........along with people that seemed younger than some of the stuff in my refrigerator.

It took quite some time for the place to gather up a crowd............I was thinking that this show was not promoted very well, as usual for shows in Baltimore. By showtime, the audience had grown from about thirty or so.....to about half-full......maybe 500 people.....just a guess.

Moby showed himself to be very serious, and constantly busy onstage and regardless of the crowd size I could not detect any inkling that he or his band gave anything less than 100% of themselves.

The music was all over the place........all types of genres mixed up into one giant party.

The music was very loud.......the bass notes were rattling my chest as we stood right at the edge of the stage. I don't believe that Moby ever introduced the band except for his introduction of Kelli Scarr........and that is a shame.........this band rocked. The other female singer at the far end of the stage, I believe, is someone that has been performing with Moby for quite some time. She has one hell of a voice...........and yet I do not know her name.

Moby was all over the place........when not playing guitar, he was banging on the bongos or playing on the keyboards.

As I found out later, this show was the first performance of the tour for this particular band and from what I could see and hear, there were only minimal flaws. Moby himself had a few problems with his ear monitor, but nothing that took away from what the audience was experiencing.

Two female singers, a female violinist, a female bass player, a male drummer......and Moby. Oh......not to mention another dude than came out and played the bongos and keyboards for a song or two.

The drummer was fantastic........let's just say that he beat the crap out of those drums. After the show, we bumped into him outside of the venue. I got his autograph and he said that this was the very first time he had ever played with Moby. Wow! I would tell ya his name, but I cannot decipher his signature......hehehe.

Moby began this tour to promote his most recent CD entitled "Wait For Me".



I must mention the lights. Having been a sound and light dude for a rock band back in the day, I appreciate good sound and lights at a concert.......and I can say that this show was top-notch, visually.

Moby told the crowd about how he used to come to Baltimore back in the '80s and deejayed at some of the rave clubs here.

Even though I was not very familiar with Moby's music, it was all very enjoyable and I was pleasantly surprised.

I know that my buddy Dean Martin enjoyed every minute of it.




The only downside to concerts is that sometimes the performer finds some license to spew off some political views, which usually happens to be the polar opposite of my own political views. Moby is one of those performers. In this instance, Moby said something to the effect that it was nice to be back from Europe and not having to make apologies for our country. Obviously, he is an Obama supporter and is involved with MoveOn.org. When he said what he did, I, of course, shouted out "ACORN!" and pumped my fist up into the air. I doubt that he heard it.........he of course, had a monitor in his ear. I wish that musicians would just stick to what they do best and make the music. I do not think there is anyone that pays 50 bucks to go hear a musician denegrate their country verbally. Before anyone says.....well Signtopia.......you are wrong about that.........I agree.
As I think about it, there are alot of musicians that denegrate their country......in the lyrics of their songs. The difference being that a song is a song, music is music, and political bilge is political bilge. I would bet that there is a very good reason that Moby does not have a song that sings the praises of Obama, while shitting on the previous years post 9-11............it doesn't sell well.

All of that aside, musically, Moby and band were very entertaining.







Overall, I would recommend this concert. If Moby comes to your town, go see him.......even if his music is not your particular cup of tea...............nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Besides........if you happen to have a buddy, as I have, that just so happens to be a Moby fan........

...........SOMEBODY has to go along to take the picture that makes it all worthwhile and special.

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Todd Rundgren Concert Part 2

As promised, here are the concert photos taken by Dean Martin's friend TJ.

People may have questioned what the result would be with Rachel Haden on bass. I think that while everybody, for the most part would have had Kasim Sulton play the bass on the tour, they ended up pleasantly surprised. She did a great job and added an element that had not been seen or heard at a Todd concert. Although she is very young, all of the old gray-haired dudes in the audience could drool with for good reason. I hope we all get to see Rachel again on another tour.

Todd Rundgren blew us all away with his guitar on this night. Many would say that he had strayed from the guitar for several years........well.........the man has not lost his touch and he verified why he should be held in high regard as a guitar player. Unbelievable!

It was loud. It was proud. It was exactly what we all needed. The right songs......the right theme......the right volume......the right venue.........and if you missed this show, you are a loser.
Let me put it correctly........if you didn't know about the show you have missed much. If you knew about the show but didn't attend.....then you are a loser.

While many years have passed since Todd first arrived in the music scene, he certainly has not failed to get better and better.......which is hard to do considering he was one of the best from the get-go. He has not failed to please........even though he has ventured into sometimes risky genres. Even if his music is not your cup of tea, you never feel ripped off after his performance. I have no idea where he gets his energy.

Rachel Haden thumped away on the bass as Kasim Sulton was providing some keyboards. Yeah......sure......Kasim can play keyboards.....remember?........remember "Love Alone" by Utopia?...........the man has many talents.

From the moment they took the stage until they walked off the stage two hours later it was non-stop excellence.........and yet we want more.

After playing two songs, I would need to go sit down for a while. Todd plays two songs and only needs to scratch the left side of his head with his right hand......hehehe.....what can I say?

Rachel Haden has come a long way since the beginning of the tour. She has loosened up on stage quite a bit yet she still keeps an intense focus on what she is playing. I have read reviews where people thought she wasn't moving around very much and that she seemed a bit over concentrated. It has been said throughout the years that if you do not remember the bass player in a band, then he did his job well. It would be very difficult to not notice Rachel, for obvious reasons, but nobody could ever say that she didn't have the caliber to perform with Todd.


How does this man scream like he does? Nobody screams as good as Todd does. I enjoy good screams. Now don't get me wrong here.........I ain't saying that all he does is scream..........what I am saying is that when he screams......it's proper.

Did you know that Rachel Haden is a triplet? She is the daughter of jazz musician Charlie Haden.....who also plays bass. Actor Jack Black is her brother-in-law.

What could I say about Kasim Sulton? Everybody has heard him and yet they do not necessarily know it. Aside from his long history performing with Todd and Utopia, Kasim has performed with such artists as Hall & Oates, Joan Jett, and Meat Loaf....to name a few. His voice is angelic and it was Kasim's voice heard singing background vocals on the majority of those Meat Loaf songs. He might just be the hardest working guy in the business. Here he was playing guitar..........is there nothing he cannot do?



There are two things here to take into consideration. TJ was standing right behind me at the concert and I was standing at the front edge of the stage between where Rachel and Kasim were performing. This would explain the numerous pictures of Rachel that TJ shot.........or would it?

If you haven't seen Prairie Prince play the drums.....make a point of it to do so sometime in the near future. He is one of the very best. Okay.......maybe you hadn't heard of him. Prairie was the original drummer for Journey (he left before the records came out) and was a founding member of the Tubes. He has played with Starship and many others over the years and can be heard on countless recordings including XTC........Now you know.

After the show, I asked Todd to come back to Baltimore again. He replied "I love Baltimore". I asked him what he thought of the crowd for this show and he said "They were great!......Was this a good turnout for a Tuesday night?" I told him YES considering it was a work night and the weather forecast had not been good. The venue filled up pretty good considering............but it surely was not a sellout. Now that rock radio is practically gone off the air here, it is hard to know who is coming to town.

I believe this is the bass that Todd bought for Rachel when they got to Austin earlier in the tour. I think that Todd thought Rachel needed a smaller and lighter bass than the Fender.

Jesse Gress was on the left side of the stage. He is one hell of a guitarist. Think of him as a guitar professor............there is not a sound that he cannot make with his guitar.

Todd has a great sense of humor and his between song banters with the crowd are great. Here he is telling us about growing up in a rowhouse, as we have in Baltimore, about 90 miles north.



This was a fun moment on the stage. I don't know the story behind this but I know they did it throughout the tour.

I watched intently as Kasim played his guitar. He never messed up......perfect throughout. I was in heaven........with Todd and Kasim onstage it was half of Utopia and when Kasim started to sing "Trapped", a chill went up my spine....... I had never been so close.

"Earth to TJ.......Earth to TJ...........it's a TODD show"



My music hero......Todd Rundgren.



Did I mention that Kasim can hold his own on guitar?

Three guitars! Wow!



Todd is multi-talented but his voice is often overlooked by many. This man can sing.

Rachel can sing too.
"Earth to TJ.............Earth to TJ..................pay attention"


















The show ended all to quickly some two hours into it. The lead guitar solo magical moment of "Just One Victory" wailed and wailed and wailed. The hairs on my back and neck stood up........the crowd in awe of the great one onstage................

.............."Give us just one victory and everything will be all right!"

Thanks Todd!

Thanks again to TJ for the photos. He saved the day.................psssst....hey Rachel.............You have a huge fan named TJ.........let me know when you are coming back to Baltimore so I can make sure TJ knows..........hehehe.