Review: Moby rocks Rhythm & Vines

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BIG NIGHT: Jeremy Redmore performs with Midnight Youth at Rhythm and Vines.

CHECK IT OUT: The Checks perform at Rhythm and Vines.

SPREADING HIS ROOTS: Roots Manuva performs at Rhythm and Vines in Gisborne.

BLUE MAN GROUP: Moby performs at Rhythm and Vines.

FACE OFF: Dane Rumble performs at Rhythm and Vines.

SUNNY DAYS: Fans enjoy Rhythm and Vines in Gisborne.

SUN RULER: Empire of the Sun perform at Rhythm and Vines.

CROWD CRUSH: A fan enjoys Rhythm and Vines.

FESTIVAL ACTION: The John Butler Trio performs at Rhythm and Vines.

SUN PEOPLE: Empire of the Sun perform at Rhythm and Vines.

Moby.

P-Money.

GOOD NIGHT: Fans check out Rhythm and Vines.

FEELING BLUE: Fans check out Rhythm and Vines.

Dane Jayson.

Future of the Left.

Oliver Driver.

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There was no debating the headline act on the opening day of Rhythm & Vines 2009, and boy did the small, bald, bespectacled musician from New York's Little Italy deliver.

Multi-million record selling dance superstar Moby seemed subdued ahead of his date with the festival's main stage, a touch apprehensive that the throngs of Kiwis gathering in Gisborne's Waiohika Winery might not relate to his music.

"I love New Zealand, but I'm not sure if New Zealand loves me," he told Stuff.co.nz shortly before taking to the Rhythm stage with a seven-strong band to do what he does best: rock the joint.

"I've never done a festival here. I'll try and be a little introspective, try to put on the kind of show that I would like to see in New Zealand. After all, there's going to be 20,000 kids off their heads out there. I can't imagine it would go down too well if it was all melancholic chill-out."

Any lingering doubt as to the popularity of the man's music downunder was blown skywards, by his opening track Extreme Ways - the Bourne Identity soundtrack taken from the 2002 album 18 - which sent thousands of delirious Kiwis into raptures.

It was a fitting way for the self-confessed rave fanatic to open a punchy 90 minute set that jumped from one dance classic to another with such ease and fluidity that one might have been forgiven for thinking he was recording a greatest hits ensemble live.

And the crowd loved it. While some Moby purists might have deemed the play list to be a little heavy with hard dance those charging around in the crowd didn't seem to care, bellowing out lyrics from timeless chart toppers such as Bodyrock, Lift Me Up, and Porcelain.

For a 45-year old Moby doesn't half get involved; charging around the stage like a crazed bull he paused only to swap instruments and cast a few choice words into the crowd.

"It's great to be here in such a wonderful setting, it's great to be here at Rhythm & Vines," he declared. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Not bad for a guy who says he struggles to recreate his best music when performing live with a band - it stems from over 20 years of solo music production in the depths of his Little Italy apartment.

The fact that international musicians of the calibre of Moby are heading to Gisborne every year to perform in a vine-lined dustbowl only serves to highlight how Rhythm & Vines has snowballed into a Kiwi phenomenon.

Rolling into town for a seventh consecutive year, the country's premier music event has once again turned the otherwise sleepy coastal city of Gisborne into a New Year's party mecca - the place simply awash with scantily clad teenagers intent on having a ball.

And why not, such is the strength of this year's line up that media powerhouses MTV and BBC are along for the ride, beaming back to Britain the highlights from more than 80 sets over the three-day stretch.

Close to 20,000 people are again expected to descend on Gisborne for the festival, which draws to a close in the wee hours of 2010.

Again the Waiohika Estate has been transformed to showcase the show, its roaming vines backed by rolling hills adding a certain ambience and energy to a venue few festivals can claim to match.

Even the weather was onside - despite an early morning threat of rain temperatures soared to the high 20s as 3pm arrived and the gates were flung open.

High spirits, excessive drink, and even the odd bit of illegality couldn't detract from what was - is - a thoroughly well-run event.

From start to finish the festival's opening day was thumping, Rhythm & Vines seemingly bringing out the best in Kiwi artists like Open Souls, P-Money and, particularly, Sola Rosa.

Another stellar performer on the day was British quartet The Editors - a powerful and moody band constantly fighting off comparisons to Joy Division  - who pounded the main stage with a raft of tunes from their three albums.

Say what you may about their sound, frontman Tom Smith was simply outstanding from start to finish of a 70-minute set, his performance nothing short of explosive and ensuring the crowd were demanding more long after their set was over.

Elsewhere, the stages creaked as Cardiff rockers Future of the Left, and United States' collective White Rabbits blasted out their top tunes, while thousands converged on the Vines stage late on to hear hip-hop sensation PNC feature alongside State of Mind.

Across at the smaller Cellar and Jager stages the beats pounded out as Jason Howson, Optimus Gryme and Ajax showed us what good mixing is all about.

And that was just day one!

While it's certainly no Glastonbury, Rhythm & Vines is fast becoming the music festival that New Zealand both needed and craved. You can stick ya Big Day Out in ya pipe and smoke it!

- © Fairfax NZ News