Secret Moby gig!!

It's not often you head down to your local boozer and discover a world famous rock star is playing a secret acoustic show there that night. That's what happened to me yesterday, so here's a little report...

Moby - Café Belga, Brussels Wednesday May 7, 2008

Following a day of rumour and buzz – is he really coming? THE Moby? Really?? – The diminutive New Yorker stepped onto a makeshift stage at Café Belga a little after 9pm. A several-thousand-strong crowd had gathered in and around the trendy bar in Brussels’s Place Flagey to hear a ‘secret’ gig by the multi-platinum musician.

Strapping on an acoustic guitar, and accompanied by the considerable vocal talents of Joy Malcolm, Moby opened the show with ‘Natural Blues’, before playing a selection of old favourites (including ‘Why does my heart?’ and ‘We are all made of stars’), a track from new album, Last Night, and some unusual covers (‘Ring of Fire’, ‘Walk on the Wild Side’).

After set closer ‘Lift me up’ left the crowd chanting his name, Moby returned for an encore that included minor key renditions of Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re not going to take it’ and ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and an improvised jam (!) “Do I know any more songs?” the singer asked himself. One more: ‘Me and Bobby McGee’. Kris Kristofferson’s song famously defines freedom. Here’s another definition: ‘Freedom’s just another name for being able to play an acoustic set in a bar when you are a rock star!’