Dave Gahan Paper Monsters Tour Diary

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Paper Monsters Tour Diary

The first diary, for the Devotional/Exotic tour, was released through DM's Bong magazine. The Singles tour saw both a diary (by Jez Webb) for Bong magazine as well as a tour diary for Depechemode.com. The Exciter Tour and Tour Of The Universe also had tour diaries published on the official site. The Delta Machine tour saw eight tour reports posted in the news section. Dave Gahan's solo tour in 2003 also had its tour diary, written by its live band members. All other tours by Depeche Mode (or solo) did not have tour diaries.

Victor Indrizzo, the drummer of Dave's touring band for the 2003 Paper Monsters Tour, sent reports from the road written by the various members of the touring band to Davegahan.com. This is the only digitally published tour diary out of all tour diaries that is still available on the official site, but has nevertheless been copied below. They also had uploaded some photos on their site which are still online.

Tour Diary

Victor Indrizzo, the drummer of Dave's touring band, sent in reports from the road (when his net connections permitted), written by the various members of the touring band.

Candid images also came in. They are in the Tour Pictures area.

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June 12th, 2003
Author: Knox Chandler

"Shmorgas? Giant pepper shakers, moose wrestling, fucked up dry cleaning, naked male ass in the swimming pool (it's just wrong), good coffee, long check out, we set off to play the Hultsfred Festival (Sweden). A sea of hopped up, boozed out kids dying for a good time; we played our festival set with vigor. After a nice chat with the "Massive" boys and girls, including Ivan (who tour managed me while on the Banshees stint last summer), we set off to meet our "private plane". This was the beginning of three days of flying to and from gigs with the crew and our gear. Put it this way, if you don't know what a Fokker 50 is, then this should be a clue...every band and crew member were clamoring to call home. The Buddy Holly jokes went on. After the rubber bands were wound up and the mice fed, we buzzed up into the skies toward Norway."

 

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June 13th, 2003
Author: Knox Chandler

"Shmorgas...again? All I can say is that you have to go to Norway at least once in your life. It's a freak of nature and that's all I can say. Oslo is a beautiful city. After a morning of being a tourist with Vince and Simon (tour manager), the band set off to the festival site. Fatigue is now slowly setting in. The truth from here on in is questionable. By the way, now is a good time to mention what great form the band is in. With the thunderous rhythm section of Martyn and Victor, wonderfully augmented by Vince on keyboards and vocals, we've been laying a fantastic sonic bed for Dave to romp in. David has been in top form, on and off the stage...and it just gets better. After we won a few new fans over, the band hung around to watch one of Norway's own, "The Kaizer Orchestra". These guys are amazing. We sat by the stage with our jaws on the floor. Not sure of the lyric content (must be about the Norwegian women) but what a show...again, freaks of nature. Friday the 13th is not the most assuring date to hop on a Fokker 50 but needless to say, we explored the Scandinavian skies once more. This was a much longer flight and our poor crew was on the edge of broken. Having to remove the first several rows of seats, the crew then has to carry all the weighted down flight cases over the back rows. They are not happy, but you wouldn't know that by their professionalism. Italy here we come."

 

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June 14th, 2003
Author: Knox Chandler

"Shmorgas is over...thank god!!! The heat is pounding in Bologna. The rooms are hot, everything is hot and there is no relief. This is day three of four in a row and I'm broken. So delusional, that I set out for a walk and immediately got lost. But what an amazing city to get lost in. We were staying in an older part of town (looks like an old fortress) where the architecture goes on and on and on.... I got so lost that I actually lost myself back to the hotel, if that is imaginable. Dripping wet, the band set off for the Heineken Festival in Imola. Bon Jovi is headlining and the hits keep coming in the back of the van. This is show is fueled by an oxygen tank, stage right. Hitting the stage with screams for Jon I was immediately hit with some sort of wet object...not sure, don't want to know. Dave was amazing. He gave it his all while I stayed put out of fear of fainting. The rest is blurry, except to say my consciousness was wakened by a fabulous four coarse meal back at the hotel. Trying to find misplaced items from my stupor, we set off for the airport again. Nausea sets in at the sight of our fokker on the tarmac. We sit and wait and melt and wait while they make a few adjustments (the plane is picking up the "massive attack" after us). No AC.... We are beyond hope."

 

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June 15th, 2003
Author: Knox Chandler

"Ok... Shmorg once more. All right, I don't know where we are (Finland?) and I don't care...Seeing our tour bus after four days on a crop duster was a massive relief, even though it was freezing out. Talk about contrasts. Checked into hotel, went to go sleep and spent 15 minutes trying to find the extra set of curtains to screen out the Nordic light...they don't exist. Thoughts of the movie "Insomnia"...the Norwegian one, not the crap Hollywood remake.... Don't get me started! I got up e few hours later and went to the downstairs restaurant for my usual large consumption of caffeine. Had a pre-fix conversation with Courtney from "The Dandy Warhol's" blurry blurry...(they were in electric lady studios while David and I were recording "Paper Monsters"), and set off to the festival...We're all confused. We played a great set for the Vikings and immediately stormed off to shmorg (I said it again) at Micky D's. Conversations of Russia and the stupid mother fokker, and we convoy off to St.Petersburg."

 

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June 16th, 2003
Author: Knox Chandler

"Woke up in a bus stupor at the Russian border. I can tell this is not going to be an easy task. Lot's of uniforms and angry repressed faces. They don't like us!!! After a few hours of confusion along with missing paper work, we set off for St.Petersburg. I went back to sleep. The whole entourage (band etc.) had breakfast (someone didn't eat his or her caviar) at the hotel. We were under the surveillance of a psychotic Canadian (not Vince, even though they know each other?MMmmmm) Is Vince a spy too? This whole place is full of spies but we are all armed with Canon A 70's. By the way, the Canon A 70 club is something we take very seriously. It's brutal. After breakfast, the two V's, Martyn and I, along with our arsenal, set out to see the wonders of St. Petersburg. A lot of militia and I mean an abundance beyond belief. After filling our memory cards and dodging the men in black, we called it a day. Lying in bed, I could not help but think of growing up in nuclear age America. How scared the propaganda had made me towards Russians and finding out, today, that they are just like me? Well, you know what I mean."

 

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June 17th, 2003
Author: Knox Chandler

"Doing breakfast on my own, which consists of tobacco and caffeine (I got to quit smoking, but not here), I planned my day. After dodging the psychotic Canadian (not Vince), I set off on my own to explore. This was a learning curve I didn't expect. I wound up on the "other side of the tracks" or actually the other side of the river, looking for something that did not exist. Trying to communicate is impossible and a little weird with all those pistol-toting Russians. My A 70 doesn't compete. I got to see a side of this town few outsiders have. I was relieved to get back to the hotel, psycho Canadian and all. We had a mind-blowing show. Just a sea of fans singing along to "Paper Monsters" as well as the DM classics."

 

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June 18th, 2003
Author: Knox Chandler

"If you ever make this journey, here's a bit of advice. Don't ever drive from St.Petersburg to Moscow. These roads were made for tanks and that's probably what has traveled them since they were built. Our bus looked like a tornado hit it. Shit was all over the front lounge. Nothing survived. Martyn witnessed Dave's bus fishtail, subsequently throwing David out bed, forcing him to stay up for the duration. For some reason we arrived at the venue, instead of the hotel, only to turn around and travel another forty minutes to our waiting beds. This was a fifteen-hour boxing match. We all were bruised.

After the usual attack on Red Square by our band of tourists, we set off for the gig. Mayhem. We're playing with "Massive Attack" again. A lot of camaraderie fueled by the sharing of the Fokker 50 and customs hell. Oh yeah, they are great live. Hopefully I'll catch their New York show in September.

The next day we fly to Kiev. Saying goodbye to our "Massive" boys and girls (very broken from the night/morning of antics), we left Russia with anticipation of civilization. No such luck. By the way, Martyn never got see a Moose (one of his many obsessions), even though the bus drivers say they saw seven... I know for a fact, that one of those Moose was a deer...or the Russian equivalent."

 

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Thursday June 19th, 2003
Author: Vincent Jones

"Good afternoon Ladies and Gentleman, welcome aboard flight #187 non-stop from Moscow to Kiev! Lovely day for a flight and I must say we are all very grateful to not have to endure the 15 hour drive. Once again VIP treatment in the little airport, this includes your complimentary box of Cadburys and of course an espresso to wash them down with. A crazy drive from the Airport in Kiev to our hotel, very fast, very bumpy. A little Borsch and some Chicken Kiev to round out the day and we are all off to bed....We will try and squeeze in a little sightseeing before sound check tomorrow. Goodnight!"

 

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Friday June 20th, 2003
Author: Vincent Jones

"Morning! Time for a little stroll with Simon, our trusted leader, down what I have been told is 'Main Street' Kiev. Some fabulous buildings, and what seems to be a fairly cosmopolitan city. Not that I expected horse and ploughs, but hey that's what you see in some parts of Canada when your on tour, why not the Ukraine...Eh!

Getting into the gig was mental! Must have been a hundred fans swarming Dave, the security surrounded him and we were sort of left behind. I barely got in, a large guard grabbed me and was not letting my bald head pass. Luckily Simon was in front and gave him an earful....I was promptly released.

I have never seen so much security at a gig. It looks like a bit off all the agencies. Police, army, National Guard.....there must be hundreds of uniformed folks in the arena, I hope the fans are well behaved."

 

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Saturday June 21st, 2003
Author: Vincent Jones

"Another day, another flight.

Well last night's gig was amazing. About 7000 people, all going mad for David. From my vantage point on stage, I get a good look at them, and I am amazed at the amount of people not only singing along with Dirty Sticky Floors but also all the album tracks like Black and Blue, Stay etc.

I hope to come back and play for these folks again....a truly great audience. After the show we were taken out for Chinese food by the promoter, it was about 11:30pm so we were all quite tired, poor Dave was greeted by a table of sponsors and there guests, a bit much after the past few days and at that time of night. Once again Simon to the rescue...food arrived promptly, a couple of pictures , kiss the baby and we were off for a nights sleep with a belly full of Peking Duck.

Today we are in Budapest, plan is ....little sightseeing and then to find a traditional Hungarian restaurant. Must have some Goulash (whatever that is)."

 

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Sunday June 22nd, 2003
Author: Vincent Jones

"A day of in Budapest! Simon, Knox, Victor, Martyn and myself all went out to a traditional Hungarian restaurant last night. Had some Goulash.very tasty. We are going to do a little sightseeing today. I wasn't aware that Budapest is actually two cities, Buda and Pest! We are staying in Pest and we will be heading across the Danube to Buda and to the old Castle and Cathedral. Bye for now!"

 

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Monday June 23rd, 2003
Author: Vincent Jones

"Sightseeing yesterday was good. Had a sprited guide who was really interested in giving us a history lesson, but when you have a couple of kids and some road weary musicians, the attention span just isn't there. I think she was mad at us. Simon, Dave ,Jimmy and myself ended up at an amusement park...I think Dave and I were the biggest kids, waiting in line to get on the rollercoaster. Oh yes.....we got the front seat!! Were playing tonight at the Arena.......Later!"

 

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Tuesday June 24th, 2003
Author: Vincent Jones

"Stiff as a plank today! An 8 hour journey and we are in Prauge.......one of the places I was really hoping to have a day off, and we are leaving after the show, bummer! Last night in Budapest was great! Lots of Budapestians singing and clapping. Okay, got to run and take in as much of this beautiful city as is possible in 4 hours."

 

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Wednesday June 25th, 2003
Author: Vincent Jones

"Another 12 hours on the buss last night! We are in Copenhagen today for a day off. I wish we had more time in Prauge yesterday. We managed to make it across the Charles bridge and up to the big cathedral. What a pristine city, all the old buildings intact and very clean. Another great gig in the local arena. The band is really playing well together! Okay.now were off to check out a little bit of Copenhagen, We definitely get our sightseeing in. Bye!"

 

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Wednesday July 9th, 2003
Author: Victor Indrizzo

"Ok I have some catch up to do. I think Vince left off at Roskilde in Denmark.

I really love the festivals. You run into old friends (I ran into the Macy Gray folks at Glastonbury and The Queens of the Stone Age guy's at the Werchter festival). The bills are great in Europe because the bands are so different so people get to see bands they might never see other wise. I think we all felt really good about the last few festival shows (the first few we were finding our legs), because there was a sense that we really won the crowd over.

The Leipzig and Hamburg shows were great as well, the German's love their Dave Gahan. At all of the shows in Europe fans have been singing all the Paper Monster songs, very curious if it will be the same in the states.

Paris!

What can I say both shows were magical and very different. The first night had an amazing energy, the second night was being filmed and broadcast so we were a little more mindful of our playing trying not to get caught up in the adrenaline of the crowd (very hard to do).

We all went out for a stroll around Paris. One of the fun things about this tour is that all of us enjoy each other's company. It was like that in the Beck band too, the band was just too big to hang out all the time.

So that brings us today, Shepherd's Bush. It always exciting to play London. I have been working on a film of this tour which we hope to have up on the site soon.

I would like to say thanks to all of Dave's fans who have been so kind to us. check back in with you soon! Hope you have been enjoying the pictures. As soon as I get a good internet connection I will send the movie to Brat (I think you guy's will enjoy it!). "

 

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Thursday July 10th, 2003
Author: Victor Indrizzo

"Shepherds Bush show was great. Dave got a cut on his nose not sure if it was a fan or a mike stand, then he took a tumble over Knox's monitor! Got a massive bruise on his leg and kept going like nothing happened, Dave is a trooper.

Got to meet a handful of the Gahan family, really lovely folks.

Hung out with Jack (Dave's oldest) and bonded on our love of gadgets, I think Jack is going to help me film and take pics for the site.

Met Fletch at the show, which was really cool. It's funny I played on "Ultra" and the only one I met was Dave.

Very much looking forward to the show tonight it is always nice to play 2 nights in the same venue. Tonight after the show some nice Indian food!"

 

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Sunday July 13th, 2003
Author: Victor Indrizzo

"Well our first run in Europe is coming to an end, we have our last show at Wolverhampton today. Yesterday's show was not one of my favorites but still was pretty fun. It was hard to concentrate on the show I think for all of us because we suspect that Knox's guitar tech might be a serial killer! He has impeccable hair! No really, all the time. We think he might have been trained by Ted Nugent at a very early age how to kill with just a guitar string and now lures unsuspecting fan's back to his hotel room, murders them and then makes jerky out of them (no waste!) I will get back to you on this matter. Beware if a man with impeccable hair approaches you at a Dave Gahan show! I would to thank all of the people that we have met or written us on this tour. I will never forget how wonderful the shows and the fans have been. Impeccable! No, really!"

 

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Wednesday July 30th, 2003
Author: Victor Indrizzo

"Hey there ya all.

Well here I am in Toronto, and there is so much to tell you I don't know where to start:

The shows in America
Knox's new alter ego "Special K" (can't say too much now but be on the look out for a man in a leather Adidas suit)
Our new bus with the exploding toilet
How amazing Montreal was last night
...or how bad the coffee is that I am drinking right now?
Let's talk show's..

We have been really pleased with this leg of "Paper Monsters". The audience's make the show. For me every crowd has been amazing and has inspired us to do (try & play) new things.

I honestly can say each night has been unique in how it has had it's own life and feel. The thing I love about this tour is that it is like Dave's album, it is about raw feeling's and being in the moment and reacting to what is in front of you, which to me is exciting. Maybe one night a song will explode or it might not. Maybe someone will smile maybe they won't. Being that we are playing everything live makes it based on how we feel and how much we feel all of you, and we have been feeling you guys!

Last night Montreal was pure magic! The people were so wonderful, singing , smiling (except one), sweating! Big thanks to everyone again who has come to the show's and gave as much to the show's as we are, it means more than you know to all of us.

Sorry for the gooey update, but I am truly excited to play each show, which is saying something, I have been touring for many year's with lot's of great folk's but none as fun to be around and as talented as Dave and the guy's.

All right I will check back in more soon. See you soon!"

 

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Sunday August 10th, 2003
Author: Victor Indrizzo

"Salt Lake City laying on my back exhausted from our over night drive from Denver. Great crowd! Very nice to meet you guy's after the show, same goes for all the shows this leg. I guess I have a little catching up to do.

Toronto, Special "k" wandered around the crowd doing the 'running man',amazing after show gathering.

Detroit, very hot! No air in the venue left us all a little drained but the audience kept us going, very nice to meet you guy's after the show.

Chicago acoustic show; weird but fun.

Aragon; Horrible sounding room but really fun audience.

San Antonio; Wow! That was some next level shit as we like to say,Definitely the most vocal and passionate bunch yet.

Houston and Dallas; good shows but didn't reach the S.A. heights.

Denver; you guys were great, we did not fill the venue but you made it feel like it was! Dave played some really great harmonica on 'Black and Blue' and everyone after the show were really nice to meet.

Honestly every show has been a lot of fun for all of us, mostly the varying factor in the shows is you guy's, we have a great time playing even at sound check so it you that inspires us.

Hint for those of you who have been to the show's or read the spoiler's, the extra bit we play in the encore is inspired by how good the audience is.

I look forward to meeting more of D.G.'s fan's.

Talk to you soon.

V."