Speaking of Moby...

Poor guy just can't a break. Here's what the other "paper of record"'s Joe Heim said about his show:

At one point, the elfin electronic-pop star reminisced about a fabulous rave outside Washington in 1992 where everyone did wonderful drugs and danced all night long.

Perhaps they should have handed out some of those wonderful drugs at the door. Or at least a time-travel kit, because there is no real joy left in Mobyville (or soul, for that matter). It all seems to have been lost in his effort to become bigger than the music he has brought to the mainstream.

Leading a three-piece band, and with a great deal of help from able backup singer Laura Dawn, Moby trudged through much of the new material early, including "Raining Again" and a cover of New Order's "Temptation." He also played the extremely derivative "Spiders" as a "tribute and/or homage to one of my all-time heroes, David Bowie."

Part of what sucked the life out of the show was that Moby simply talks too much, and his dull between-song banter would put an ecstasy-fueled raver to sleep. He offered a long introduction to "Beautiful," explaining what it was about (banal celebrity love affairs) and adding that he liked it because it gave guitarist Daron Murphy a chance to "play a kick-[posterior] guitar solo." You almost expected a PowerPoint presentation: "Here, fans, are some aspects of the following song that will entertain you over the next five minutes."