Musica: Alison Moyet chomps up the big juicy apple, spits out the seeds

Above: Alison Moyet performing on Oct. 10th at the Paramount Theater in NJ (photo by rustiallen)

A bit late, perhaps, but I wanted to share just how amazing it was to see Alison Moyet live in New York back on October 7th in her first United States solo tour in fourteen years. Not that it had been that long since I'd seen her singing live. That would have been July 19th at the Beacon Theater when she performed as Vince Clarke's muse in a Yazoo revival but - even back then - I said the following:

"I just hope that the adulation and love [from concert-goers] results in a future Alison Moyet tour; I am amazed that I was finally able to see and hear her live but I really hope to see her perform some of her solo work in the future as well."

Well, it didn't take long! Three months later and there I was at the Blender Theatre (much better acoustics) listening to an amazing array of Moyet's back catalogue (she must have sang over 20 songs).

A taste:


From the couple of videos I posted on YouTube, "Find Me" seems to be the most popular so far (perhaps because my voice doesn't overcrowd the vocal and, really, who goes to an Alison Moyet concert to hear MY voice?).


No such luck with one of my all time favorites "This House" but how could I keep from warbling some lyrics this stunning song? And then the bf calls to ask for directions to the theater. Damn camera mic! Why won't you ignore some registers!


In the meantime, Moyet was clearly having a heck of a time with a packed theater and all those adoring gays eating up everything she did. If there seems to be a running joke between her and the audience throughout this "Is This Love" clip, it's because she had already started to sing this song and got thrown off key by the audience singing along with her. Before she began, she asked audience members to please hold on til the 2nd verse (here is the FULL banter from another angle, including the aborted take). I have a feeling part of it is pure stage theatrics but it was GREAT.


The Schemer has a clip of the amazing "Whispering Her Name," which I didn't capture with my cam. The upshot? You don't get to hear me trying to hit those high notes.


From The Schemer, here is "Wishing You Were Here" (and, finally, there is no video footage but check out the STUNNING version of Melanie Safka's "Momma Momma" and her own "Can't Say It Like I Mean It").

Yes, she did do a few Yaz songs but, at least to me, they paled in comparison with her own stuff just as I loved the Yaz show back in July but felt some of it hadn't aged well.

Some of the funniest stuff was her banter with the audience and her response to an annoying audience member who kept screaming "Invisible!" and her response to why she would not sing it that night.

The saddest thing is that while there were a few other shows planned during this tour (and she did play dates in New Jersey and DC), slow ticket sales, poor promotion from US promoters and the US economic crisis meant that it was unsustainable to continue the tour with a full band and all other shows had to be scrapped. Sadly, in a personal note, Moyet says this might have been her last tour in the US.

Related:

• For all things Alison please hit www.alisonmoyet.com
• To purchase albums go to Amazon.com

Previously:

• Goddess (July 20, 2008)
• Yazoo reboots and tours the US (May 15, 2008)
• Alison Moyet's Turn (August 19, 2007)
• Alison Moyet, terrorist? (October 10, 2005)
• Rare Alison Moyet appearance in NYC this Monday (September 30, 2005)