D E P E C H E
M O D E
HP PAVILION
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
18 NOVEMBER 2005
Well, let me begin by stating what a wonderful and enriching evening this night turned out to be. It was everything I expected and more! What a blast -- and I know that this is probably going to sound a wee bit like hyperbole, but of all the Depeche Mode shows that I've seen over the last 17 years, this one definitely ranks in the top 2. No, actually, this one was the best, 'cos of my intense liking of the new album, and the fact that, unlike the Exciter tour of 2001 (which I still liked), they took the time and effort to make some room for their pre-Violator oeuvre.
One striking example of why Depeche Mode is such an influential and exceptionally brilliant band would have to be their skill of derivative science. Sure, on paper they're a slick, preternaturally affluently-talented noise-making group of British (Essex, fools!) gentlemen who know a thing or two about how to program and sample great sounds along with Gore's (and now, apparently, after Paper Monsters, Gahan's as well) succulently nuanced and tongue-in-cheek lyrics of faith, disappointment, lies, truths, and the search for the inner-self ... uh.
My apologies. That last sentence was completely out of control. I didn't know how to stop it; it was a finalist for Sentences Gone Wild. Ahem.
Needless to say, though, their live shows are something else entirely. I swear, Dave Gahan is equal parts Bono and Mick Jagger (astutely noted by my good friend Michael)!
Here are 10 highlights of the show. Read on, dear readers:
1. I feel I have to begin with the stage design. The three synths were outfitted with what appeared to be a retro-UFO surrounding, and to the left of the stage was a giant metallic orb with two "eyes" that shone with a muted intensity. Words flitted across in a scrolling manner on one of two panels on the front of said orb. The other panel glowed with large single word statements such as "LOVE", "SEX", "ANGEL", "PAIN", "HURT" and "TRUST". A multitude of brightly-colored lights flashed everywhere with varying intensity.
2. The opening track, "A Pain I'm Used To", was fantastically distorted and violently sensual.
3. There was a strange diarama of six screens in the back of the stage, and they showed distorted and engrossingly colored films of the guys performing ... sometimes when the cameras fell on Dave or Marty or Andy with the screens behind them, there was an odd glimpse of infinity behind them. A bit like standing between two mirrors.
4. Martin got the rock-star in him that evening. During "Home", he sung his heart out, and whilst the outro went on, he hopped with his guitar and sauntered out to the catwalk with a huge shit-eating grin on his mug. That hat he wore for the first half of the show, though? It really needed to go.
5. "Question of Time"!
6. "Somebody"! First encore! It was gorgeous. I know a lot of people back in the day who lost their virginity to this song. It's easy to surmise why!
7. Dave Gahan introducing the other band members -- there was the drummer Christian Eigner (who was fucking rocking), and Peter Gordeno, the guitarist/keyboardist who's toured with Depeche since 1998. When Dave introduced Martin, he did the "I'm not worthy" routine with his arms, and it was just freaking cool.
8. The show was relentless in its punishing beats. Wow. My Swiss friend Florian said it best: "There were no holes in the show. It was spotless, man!" During my favorite track off the new album, "Suffer Well", it was just ... it was fucking religious, hell yeah.
9. Those crazy snapping sound effects during "Behind the Wheel". I've always liked them, and I've (I think) mastered the timing, so whenever I hear the song, I just sort of automatically snap my fingers, like so: snap snap snap snap. It sounds better when I hear it than when I type it, ha ha.
10. I know some people don't like large shows, but when I see a band (i.e. Depeche Mode, The Cure, et al.) that can only perform in a large venue, it makes me really really happy to be surrounded by so many fucking people who are having an absolute blast. The feeling of hearing great music performed well with so many like-minded souls is essentially infectious. The show made me happy. It was awesome.
So that's that. If one is interested in visiting the general awesomeness of their 2005 Touring The Angel tour, then I reckon one should go and pick up the DVD, Touring The Angel: Live In Milan. It's freaking brilliant; one wouldn't be disappointed, I think. The way they monkeyed around with "Personal Jesus" and "Never Let Me Down Again" is worth it on their own, I kid you not! I would like to give Depeche Mode, on this date in 2005, a grade of ...
One striking example of why Depeche Mode is such an influential and exceptionally brilliant band would have to be their skill of derivative science. Sure, on paper they're a slick, preternaturally affluently-talented noise-making group of British (Essex, fools!) gentlemen who know a thing or two about how to program and sample great sounds along with Gore's (and now, apparently, after Paper Monsters, Gahan's as well) succulently nuanced and tongue-in-cheek lyrics of faith, disappointment, lies, truths, and the search for the inner-self ... uh.
My apologies. That last sentence was completely out of control. I didn't know how to stop it; it was a finalist for Sentences Gone Wild. Ahem.
Needless to say, though, their live shows are something else entirely. I swear, Dave Gahan is equal parts Bono and Mick Jagger (astutely noted by my good friend Michael)!
Here are 10 highlights of the show. Read on, dear readers:
1. I feel I have to begin with the stage design. The three synths were outfitted with what appeared to be a retro-UFO surrounding, and to the left of the stage was a giant metallic orb with two "eyes" that shone with a muted intensity. Words flitted across in a scrolling manner on one of two panels on the front of said orb. The other panel glowed with large single word statements such as "LOVE", "SEX", "ANGEL", "PAIN", "HURT" and "TRUST". A multitude of brightly-colored lights flashed everywhere with varying intensity.
2. The opening track, "A Pain I'm Used To", was fantastically distorted and violently sensual.
3. There was a strange diarama of six screens in the back of the stage, and they showed distorted and engrossingly colored films of the guys performing ... sometimes when the cameras fell on Dave or Marty or Andy with the screens behind them, there was an odd glimpse of infinity behind them. A bit like standing between two mirrors.
4. Martin got the rock-star in him that evening. During "Home", he sung his heart out, and whilst the outro went on, he hopped with his guitar and sauntered out to the catwalk with a huge shit-eating grin on his mug. That hat he wore for the first half of the show, though? It really needed to go.
5. "Question of Time"!
6. "Somebody"! First encore! It was gorgeous. I know a lot of people back in the day who lost their virginity to this song. It's easy to surmise why!
7. Dave Gahan introducing the other band members -- there was the drummer Christian Eigner (who was fucking rocking), and Peter Gordeno, the guitarist/keyboardist who's toured with Depeche since 1998. When Dave introduced Martin, he did the "I'm not worthy" routine with his arms, and it was just freaking cool.
8. The show was relentless in its punishing beats. Wow. My Swiss friend Florian said it best: "There were no holes in the show. It was spotless, man!" During my favorite track off the new album, "Suffer Well", it was just ... it was fucking religious, hell yeah.
9. Those crazy snapping sound effects during "Behind the Wheel". I've always liked them, and I've (I think) mastered the timing, so whenever I hear the song, I just sort of automatically snap my fingers, like so: snap snap snap snap. It sounds better when I hear it than when I type it, ha ha.
10. I know some people don't like large shows, but when I see a band (i.e. Depeche Mode, The Cure, et al.) that can only perform in a large venue, it makes me really really happy to be surrounded by so many fucking people who are having an absolute blast. The feeling of hearing great music performed well with so many like-minded souls is essentially infectious. The show made me happy. It was awesome.
So that's that. If one is interested in visiting the general awesomeness of their 2005 Touring The Angel tour, then I reckon one should go and pick up the DVD, Touring The Angel: Live In Milan. It's freaking brilliant; one wouldn't be disappointed, I think. The way they monkeyed around with "Personal Jesus" and "Never Let Me Down Again" is worth it on their own, I kid you not! I would like to give Depeche Mode, on this date in 2005, a grade of ...
A-
SETLIST
Intro
A Pain That I'm Used To
John The Revelator
A Question Of Time
Policy Of Truth
Precious
Walking In My Shoes
Suffer Well
Damaged People
Home
I Want It All
The Sinner In Me
I Feel You
Behind The Wheel
World In My Eyes
Personal Jesus
Enjoy The Silence
encore
Somebody
Just Can't Get Enough
Everything Counts
encore #2
Never Let Me Down Again
Goodnight Lovers
2 comments:
Good writing Thomas. Keep it up. Keep up the exercise. Enjoying your blog and music. Julie
Hey, Julie,
Damn nice to hear! Hopefully you're doing well - wonderful to hear from you!
Thomas
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