This past Wednesday, Mount Holyoke College's Chapin Auditorium was filled with the lights and sounds distinct to techno sensation Moby. I wasn't a Moby expert before the concert; I own his latest CD, like his music and have seen him a few times on MTV. The concert turned out to be, in one word, awesome. In live performance, Moby's musical talent takes on a quality impossible to experience from simple recordings.

The concert opened with a group called Hybrid, who played for about 45 minutes. A fairly impressive techno group, they definitely got the crowd warmed up with energetic songs and lighting effects. The auditorium was small, with wooden floors, so the bass vibrations could be felt from all directions. Although everyone seemed to enjoy the music, after a while it got a little repetitive, and the crowd got less excited as Moby's entrance neared.

Nearly 30 minutes after Hybrid finished, Moby finally came on, to roaring applause. He opened with a stripped-down acoustic piece, and then he performed "Porcelain," which featured a driving rhythm section and beautiful background vocals.

He then got the crowd riled up with his next song, the theme from the James Bond film, "Tomorrow Never Dies." This was the best performance of the night because Moby made it into a complete experience. The sound was great, and the lights made it even better, matching the music perfectly.

Most of the songs he played were from his latest album, "Play," but he included some earlier pieces as well. He played several songs that he said went back to his days as a club deejay and rave performer. These pieces were more techno-oriented pieces and moved at a much faster pace. He also performed a cover of the Doors' classic, "The End." The variety of tempos featured in his set list kept the concert from becoming monotonous.

Before he exited the stage for the first time, Moby ended with great renditions of "Natural Blues" and "Bodyrock." The crowd started cheering "Moby, Moby!" before he re-entered and played "Honey" as an encore-another one of the best songs of the night. He also played "Porcelain" solo on the acoustic guitar, which created a very different effect from the rendition at the beginning of the show.

Between songs Moby talked for a minute or two and he always came up with something that made the audience laugh. In one well-appreciated moment, he bounced a balloon in the air and quipped that he should try out for the Mount Holyoke volleyball team. By the time the concert ended, I had not only heard great music but I had also been thoroughly entertained. It was exactly what a concert should be-tightly paced and sequenced, but personal enough to create an intimate atmosphere.