The weather was perfect on the night of June 16, 2001 as the stage was set
to welcome one of the most influential synth-pop bands of the past 2
decades. A band that has shaped many present musicians and spawned an
almost cult like following of "devoted" fans.
As the crowd slowly trickled into the stands and onto the lawn, they could
hear Poe welcoming them and reminding them that they are here to see what
most regard as a legendary band. After a relatively short set, Poe left
the stage for what would be one of the best concerts that the Molson
Amphitheater ever has had the honour of hosting.
At a few moments after 9pm, with the sun still peeking over the horizon,
the familiar strains of Depeche Mode's music crashed onto the waves of
adoring fans. From start to finish, I do not think that many members of
the crowd could sit down during this energetic and interactive performance
provided by their heroes.
To the strains of "Easy Tiger" and an acoustic rendition of "Dream On",
Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher made their way to their spots upon the
stage. They were followed by supporting musicians Christian Eigner (drums)
and Peter Gordino (keyboards). In turn Janet Ramus and Jordan Bailey on
back-up and supporting vocals appeared in their golden costumes and took
their requisite places on the stage. Janet and Jordan, I should mention,
went through a few costume changes throughout the night. One of my
preferred outfits was the leather vest and pants.
Martin was dressed flamboyantly as not to disappoint any fans. With white
satin jeans, what appeared to be a chain-mail piece covering his backside.
He also wore a small satin and sequined purse resting on his hip. His
white shirt had a plume of white feathers to match his flamboyant stage
personality. Of course, Martin also carried his beloved Duane Eddy guitar.
Andrew, who appears to be more content to blend into the background, wore a
simple black pair of pants and black T-shirt with a small logo on the
chest. Atop that he wore a tan vest.
The crowd then began to roar as their hero strutted out onto the stage in
what appears to be the best condition he's ever been. David Gahan was
certainly dressed to party in his tight black tuxedo pants and leather
vest! With a smile on his face he grabbed his microphone stand and belted
out "Dead of Night" which in this fan's opinion could sum up many a night
out at a concert or club.
The band then continued on with an astounding interactive show. The set
and projection imagery was more sparse when compared to previous tours such
as "World Violation" or the "Devotional" tours, but then again, some may
say that the new "Exciter" album also had a more sparse sound since the
departure of Alan Wilder.
During the show, the diversity of the crowd made me smile. The age range
of fans not surprising me in the least, nor did the dress of some of the
fans. What sub-culture you belonged to didn't matter. All that mattered
was the rich velvety tones of David and Martin washing over us, and the
common thread that we all enjoy the music. The exuberance of the crowd
definitely stoked some sort of fire in David for he was strutting and
kicking and spinning as well as doing amazing feats and acrobatics with his
microphone stand. At times David's boyish grin was so pronounced that you
could not mistake the amount of fun he was having. Feeding from the
crowd, and giving right back, David did his trademark shakes and poses as
well as prompting the crowd to sing or clap along during the interactive
segments of the songs.
For the Toronto show, the set list was as follows with a few observations.
1. Easy Tiger and Dream On (acoustic) intro
2. Dead of Night
3. Sweetest Condition
4. Halo:
David marching and using his microphone stand as a drum
major's baton at times and the requisite hip shakes and strutting
in flamenco style.
5. Walking In My Shoes:
Dave strutted around the stage and did what appeared to be his
version of flamenco dancing and microphone stand acrobatics.
6. Dream On:
A beautiful shadow show on the large white backdrop. Interesting
and fun use of lights.
7. Body Listens
8. Waiting For the Night to Fall:
Provocative raindrops and rainstorm imagery on screen behind the
band.
Break ? Dave left stage
9. Bottom Line (Martin):
Sped up desert footage on the screen behind Martin. I believe it
is the mesa in Arizona. I could be wrong. Martin and his
guitar looked marvelous.
10. Breathe (Martin)
11. Freelove:
Strings of red lights lowered to hang down the top 1/3 of the
stage. David held the microphone out to the crowd while
attached to the stand to have the crowd sing the chorus.
12. Enjoy the Silence:
Again, holding and urging the crowd to sing along while holding
the microphone out to the crowd. X shaped lights similar to railway
crossings flashing for the "eXciter" tour.
13. I Feel You:
David's vest was undone revealing his chest and abdomen. Yes, I
think I drooled, but I did notice he does sing from deep in his
abdomen as I could actually see the contractions as he
projected his voice.
13. In Your Room:
A goldfish and a shark. Then two goldfish and a shark. Goldfish
not eaten. Me swooning. Enough said
14. It's No Good:
David having breakfast at a diner. The waitress not saying much
at all to him. When Martin and Andrew come in she becomes
talkative and flirty. Text images describing what David may have
been thinking of feeling flashing fairly rapidly, with emphasis on
the words IT IS NO GOOD on each different slide.
15. I Feel Loved:
Purple screen with white "love" images twisting and twirling on
the stage. This song is rumoured to be the next single off the
album.
16. Personal Jesus:
Dave Gahan strutted around the stage, even behind Christian and
the drums. Large reaction from the crowd who sang along with
David's urging and reaching hands up during the lyric, "Reach out
and touch faith".
Encore
17. Home (Martin)
18. Clean: Dave sung this with more conviction than I've ever heard in my
life before!
19. Black Celebration:
Cool white stick figures and "celebration" messages on a black
screen. The crowd seemed to really enjoy this one. I know I
did!
20. Never Let Me Down:
A longer version with emphasis on Martin's guitar?. similar to
the "Aggro Mix" on the "Music for the Masses" album. David
definitely had the crowd eating from his hands, singing
along and then the culmination of the crowd singing along and waving
their hands along in unison. When I peeked over my shoulder, it was
an awesome sight to see an entire Amphitheater on its feet,
singing, and waving hands in unison in the trademark "Never Let Me
Down" way.
All in all, I can't say this wasn't an amazing show, because it was. Yet,
as a long time DM fan, I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed on some
levels. The are ALWAYS going to be songs you'd like to hear that are not
played at a concert, and this is my only real criticism of this show. 2
hours is hardly enough time to go through DM's vast and beautiful
repertoire of music. The other is that I do miss Alan Wilder.
All in all, I had a wonderful time and know that from the looks of David
and the boys having so much fun touring, that it's "A Question of Time"
before they come back for another sold-out show.
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review by
Ambrozia
June 18th 2001
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