Depeche Mode - London O2 Arena - 22/01/2024
I've seen Depeche Mode a few times and a friend wanted to go, having never seen them before so got tickets for this even though I approached it with trepidation on two counts. Firstly could an ageing DM without Andy Fletcher deliver and secondly it's at the O2... I have never ever been to the O2 without the dreadful acoustics at least part way spoiling the show. Took my partner as well even though she is not much of a DM fan so was concerned this could be a car crash, but... I was wrong to be worried on all counts.
Firstly DM did something no other band I've seen at the O2 (including U2) has managed... they got it to sound good. Kudos to the sound engineers... the horrible bass boom was still there, but reduced so much you didn't mind. Gahan and Gore's vocals were crystal clear and the attack on the drums and synths was just awesome, but the best bit was the balance... everything just worked together, you could hear it all. So many stadium gigs the vocals get lost or the keyboards are lost in the drums and guitars. Not so here... the sound was really good.
Secondly DM can still play... really really well. The band (supplemented by Austrian drummer Christian Eigner and British keyboardist Peter Gordeno) were just wonderfully tight and tuneful throughout and both Gore and Gahan's voices are still in fine fettle. Gahan reminds me a bit of Jagger... he's 61, but moves round the stage like a man half his age and knows exactly what the crowd want.
My friend who is fan but had never seen them before loved it, but the real surprise was my partner who has never shown any inkling of liking them other than a smattering of appreciation for Just Can't Get Enough and Enjoy The Silence loved them... she was literally overwhelmed by the sound and quality of the songs when played live... have to say I can't disagree with her. Some bands just come to life when playing live compared to their recorded material (the three best examples I know are U2, The Pogues (RIP Shane) and Midnight Oil) and DM are in that category. What she liked was the fact that despite them being pigeon-holed as synth pop they are far more like a rock band (with some synths) live. One of the best tracks they played live was John The Revelator which is a little know track outside of DM fans, but as she said... it had such power with its driving rhythm and wandering vocals over the top.
Highlights for me were Everything Counts (bizarrely as it's not one of my favourite DM tracks), It's No Good, World In My Eyes (during which they paid tribute to the late Andy Fletcher), Ghosts Again, Never Let Me Down Again and Personal Jesus. They clearly look like they still enjoy it and a sell out arena crowd went home very happy having danced and waved arms and yelled for at least the last half of the concert. My only slight criticism (and this is a personal bugbear I share with Lee Mack about bands that do this) is they turned Enjoy The Silence into a crowd singalong... sorry Dave, Martin... but I have paid a fair bit of money to hear you sing it... anyway I realise I am in a minority here as the crowd lapped it up.
So to sum up... DM can still cut it live and then some, their sound engineers deserve a medal and it was a thoroughly good evening all round as all three of us went home very happy... my concerns about my partner not enjoying it were completely unfounded... I think they have a new fan.
The only downside was that the thieving so and sos at O2 wanted £40 to park for the event (my partner's house is on that side of London so made sense to drive especially as accessing a train after the gig is a total nightmare). Whereas going to the cinema gives you 4 hours free parking i.e. one cinema ticket at £13 gets the same deal as £40, the latter just because you are going to a gig. Not right really. If only there were some way round it... like buying one cinema ticket rather than paying the £40