Dave Gahan @ Manchester Apollo
[Manchester Evening News, 28th October 2003. Words: Christopher Osuh.]
Lazarus-like, the man who was once pronounced dead has returned to Manchester as a different kind of prophet.
Dave Gahan, the sometime Depeche Mode frontman [1], touched down without the rest of the seminal Eighties synth-pop band on his first tour since the release of his debut solo album Paper Monsters.
Yet the charismatic Essex boy was no less a performer on his own and the fans rapturously applauded his energetic, histrionic, mic-pumping.
Certainly the older Mode material such as Question Of Time and Eustace [2] got the crowd more excited, but this was probably due to familiarity rather than any critique on Gahan’s songwriting efforts.
His newer, brooding tracks like Bottle Living and Goodbye did disrupt the cohesion of the show, punctuating the upbeat Mode anthems with slices of more introspective melancholy.
But while they tasted like a 24 oz steak fillet mignon at times – greedy and hard-going – they were spiritual and hopeful unlike many other artists’ post-rock’n’roll excess tales.
Gahan may not need to prove anything after 20 years in the game but his naked, redemption-seeking performance made the classic Personal Jesus rendition particularly resonant.
[Manchester Evening News, 28th October 2003. Words: Christopher Osuh.]
Lazarus-like, the man who was once pronounced dead has returned to Manchester as a different kind of prophet.
Dave Gahan, the sometime Depeche Mode frontman [1], touched down without the rest of the seminal Eighties synth-pop band on his first tour since the release of his debut solo album Paper Monsters.
Yet the charismatic Essex boy was no less a performer on his own and the fans rapturously applauded his energetic, histrionic, mic-pumping.
Certainly the older Mode material such as Question Of Time and Eustace [2] got the crowd more excited, but this was probably due to familiarity rather than any critique on Gahan’s songwriting efforts.
His newer, brooding tracks like Bottle Living and Goodbye did disrupt the cohesion of the show, punctuating the upbeat Mode anthems with slices of more introspective melancholy.
But while they tasted like a 24 oz steak fillet mignon at times – greedy and hard-going – they were spiritual and hopeful unlike many other artists’ post-rock’n’roll excess tales.
Gahan may not need to prove anything after 20 years in the game but his naked, redemption-seeking performance made the classic Personal Jesus rendition particularly resonant.