Depeche Mode Tour Of The Universe Blog

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Blog #19 New York City (1)

New York City (1)
author: peter
date posted: August 4th, 2009

Due to local rules and regulations we were unable to shoot anything for the video blog tonight, which wasn't all bad, as it gave me a chance to focus more on getting some good pictures. They say a picture's worth a thousand words, so I'll try and be 'textually' brief. Tonights show was loud - the crowd especially. This was my first "full sized" in door gig since Luxembourg, and I'd forgotten just how good the show looks in this kind of setting.

 

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Blog #20 New York City (2)

New York City (2)
author: peter
date posted: August 10th, 2009

Slowly recovering from two nights at Madison Square Garden. A couple of really great days was had in the city that never sleeps (it just gets kinda moody and quiet for a couple of hours).

So different being here compared to Europe. Being a union hall, there are very strict rules about who can do what when at MSG, which had some - for me - rather unexpected consequences. On the day of the first show, stage construction came to a grinding halt for exactly one hour at 1pm, which is normally crunch time. No one was allowed to do anything. This phenomena, lovingly called "dark stage" on the schedule, was repeated between 7 and 8pm, which left support band Peter, Bjorn & John with all of 25 minutes to play. Just one of those things, I suppose.

The band did a nice long soundcheck on Monday, rehearsing "In Sympathy" and "Miles Away", along with a few show regulars, such as "Walking In My Shoes". Still weirds me out seeing the band play to a crowd of maybe 10 people. Very nice. "Miles Away" of course ended up being added to the set for the Tuesday show, while "In Sympathy" is apparently being held back for now. Both tracks sounded great.

The atmosphere on the tour is simply fantastic at the moment. The band all had various family members come out to New York, and Jonathan Kessler celebrated his birthday while here, complete with a great big birthday cake and all.

There were so many people at the after show party, that I almost certainly missed a whole bunch of people, but I did spot Kap10kurt (who you will know from the "Sounds Of The Universe" live session that's on the box set DVD), Sune Wagner of The Raveonettes (new album dropping soon - "In And Out Of Control"), the guys from La Roux, Graham Finn (from Dave's Hourglass band) and a whole bunch of other people. Oh, and we mustn't forget the living Mode legends Ginger and Franksy.

The shows were amazing. The roughly 18.000 audience members got so loud it easily rivaled some of 40k+ shows in Europe. Sure being in-doors helps, but still, I was incredibly impressed. And maybe it was just me, but I do think being back in his adopted home town made Dave go for it a bit more. Made for some very entertaining shows.

It's a shame we weren't able to film any of it (one of those union regulations things), but hopefully some more photos kind of makes up for it.

After a couple of days off in New York, the band are moving on to Chicago to play Lollapalooza, and then it's on to the west coast!

Mode on!

 

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Blog #21 Seattle

Seattle
author: mm
date posted: August 11th, 2009
Rain, rain, go away... It's only fitting that Seattle's gorgeous summer weather turn frightful on a Mode night.

We played the Key Arena in downtown Seattle to an energetic crowd. Lucky for all of us, it's an indoor venue so the weather was no threat to another amazing performance by our boys.

Seattle is surprisingly beautiful. I'm not implying that I've heard nothing but wretched things about it but I expected a little gloom to come from the city that birthed teen angst and grunge rock. Aside from the unpredictable climate (actually - it's predictably muggy), it's a lovely city and the band was thrilled to come back and visit their old city haunts.

Check out some photos from tonight's gig and some backstage shots. Yes - we have offices. It takes a lot of work to put on a great show but we would not have a great show if it weren't for the heart and soul of Depeche Mode.

 

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Blog #22 The Socal Shows - August 16th through August 20th

"The Socal Shows" - August 16th through August 20th
author: brat
date posted: August 25th, 2009

Hi everyone

Your friendly webmaster here, with a report of the Southern California shows. As we were not allowed to shoot any shows except for Anaheim (union rules), the images with this blog entry will solely be from Anaheim. On with the shows...

Hollywood Bowl (night one)
If there was any concern over Dave's health, it was gone as soon as soundcheck started. Loud, deep, and clear. Highlights of the soundcheck included Mr Gordeno playing a bit of Hava Nagila for Mr Kessler (to the beat of Behind The Wheel, no less), and then Dave getting on the drums, and having a go...as a joke. Quite funny. As for the actual show, a solid set from the boys.

Hollywood Bowl (night two)
Song changes. As with any "second night" show, the boys changed it up a bit. During the first encore, Martin sang Shake The Disease (to deafening screams from the crowd), and then after Stripped, the band surprised the crowd with Behind The Wheel. Again, a great show, in a legendary venue.

Anaheim
My first night in a few years as a tour/web photographer. I was a bit rusty, but as you will see, there are some good shots in the bunch. The only unusual thing of the night was that the band did not use the provided catwalk for Waiting For The Night. It was used to great effect by both Martin and Dave during other songs, though.

Santa Barbara Bowl
Again, another show that we could not record (audio, video, not even pictures - sorry). The band went on a bit earlier than usual, due to curfews at the venue, but still put on a great show...for a few minutes. About two minutes into Walking In My Shoes, the sound went something like this: "Morality would frown upon, decent CLICK". The power to the screens and to the sound blew. While we can not even link to video from the event, I can suggest that a bit of searching around on the web will yield you some video of the power outage. The joke always used to be "What would Depeche Mode sound like, unplugged?", with the answer being "painted fingernails clicking on a keyboard". This time, though, though the power cut, Christian kept drumming. Dave started pointing to Christian, then clapping. All in all, the power was out for a little under 15 minutes. When the band came back, they restarted Walking In My Shoes, and continued the show. The only thing was that the screens didn't come back until close to the end of the night. For those in the pit, it made for a nice, intimate show. The people in the back were probably not too pleased, though.

Another highlight was the guy who managed to run onto the stage from stage right. He just ran up there, behind Martin and Dave, and was starting to linger, when security yanked him off the stage. Dave had a few words for the mystery man, and the show continued, albeit slightly shorter. Due to curfews, and the power outage, a few songs got trimmed from the set. Overall, though, a great show as always.

Next stop...Vegas, baby!

 

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Blog #23 Las Vegas - August 22nd

Las Vegas - August 22nd
author: brat
date posted: August 27th, 2009

Vegas, Baby!

As one of the smallest venues on the Tour Of The Universe, the Vegas show was also one of the more eagerly anticipated shows by the fans, myself included. The boys did not disappoint.

From the moment the fans rushed onto the floor, to the end of the show where Dave - already leaving the stage - walked back to the microphone to say the infamous "see you next time", the Vegas show was filled with non-stop energy, sweat and screams.

Be sure to check out the pictures!

 

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Blog #24 Phoenix - August 23rd

Phoenix - August 23rd
author: mm
date posted: August 27th, 2009

Oh, Phoenix. Just when we thought we escaped the Vegas heat. More interesting desert weather to come.

We played the US Airways Center In Phoenix, Arizona, home to the Phoenix Suns. Naturally, the majority of car conversation revolved around sports; Football versus American football; American baseball versus Cricket. I chimed in with a bit of my limited sports knowledge (I played dodge ball in elementary school, if that counts for anything) but fell short of getting into a serious debate on Chelsea versus InterMilan and the intricacies of the American sports draft system. All I could think about was playing Phoenix that night, another place I had never visited!

The gig was great and the crowd was truly energetic. Check out some photos!

 

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Blog #25 Salt Lake City - August 25th

Salt Lake City - August 25th
author: mm
date posted: August 27th, 2009

It's illegal to carry an unwrapped ukulele in public in Salt Lake City. Thankfully, I keep my ukulele wrapped in cloth at all times so I'm safe.

Another great night and show in the US; we played the E Center in Salt Lake City, the picturesque and most populous city of Utah. It seemed as though most of the city's population of 180-plus thousand were rocking out to Depeche Mode tonight. High energy and hungry crowd!!Check out some photos while I plan a trip to Park City.