Depeche Mode Tour Of The Universe Blog

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Blog #54 Zurich - December 6th & 7th

Zurich - December 6th & 7th
author: mm
date posted: December 11th, 2009

I may have found heaven on earth. Such a picturesque city. Beautiful mountainside. Fresh snow. Lovely brisk cold air.

Depeche Mode rocked 2 consecutive gigs at the Hallenstadion to sold-out crowds of 14,000 people a night! The venue is actually an older one - opened in 1939 - but was redesigned in 2005. A host of legendary musicians and bands have played here, including Jimi Hendrix, Queen, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, The Rolling Stones and - one of my personal favorites - The Who.

I was hoping that we could do something different for this blog entry and, if everyone enjoys it, we can try it again for future shows. There were a number of fans in the crowd, from first row to back, who tirelessly took photos of both the Zurich gigs. Our main man Barassi asked all of you through Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to help add concert images to tonight's entry and many of you responded with some incredible pictures. Let's check out the shots that have made the cut!

Thanks for your participation and see you soon in Dublin!
MM

 

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Blog #55 Dublin - December 10th

Dublin - December 10th
author: big_pete
date posted: December 16th, 2009

I decided to bring the family to Dublin, as it was a very quick flight and relatively close to home. We arrived in Dublin at 8am and grabbed a bite to eat, had a walk around and then got a water taxi to the venue, which is the other side of a currently bridgeless section of the River. Everything was going well, it was all starting to take shape. We bidded our farewells to the crew and headed off, checked into our Apartment and grabbed a few hours sleep, as it was going to be a late night.

We arrived back at the venue at around 5pm and the stage looked beautiful in the purple glow, the venue has recently been transformed and although I can't compare from before I think it's simply stunning now, quite possibly the nicest arena I have been to so far. There were already several hundred fans waiting in line.

One thing that struck me about the Irish is how friendly they are, and the security staff at the show were no exception, they simply couldn't do enough for you, and the whole evening had a very friendly atmosphere.

The show was amazing from start to finish, the place exploded when the band walked on, and the atmosphere was incredible until the last note was played. Dave and Martin kept grinning at each other and Fletch clearly loved the show. During the now customary 'Home' jam Dave said 'you are the best yet' and I think he was right.

During the show I took a peek behind the screens just below Christian, and I was blown away - you could barely hear the music, just the beat of the drums - the power was amazing, and it makes you realise how much Christian gives with each performance.

The after show was a family affair, there were lots of kids there. Martin was having a few pictures taken at the end of the party, and my 2 kids grabbed their opportunity and the result is included.

If Depeche Mode ever played in Dublin again I would definitely head over there - it was one hell of a show.

Next stop for me is Birmingham, the closest to my home.

Big Pete

 

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Blog #56 Glasgow - December 12th

Glasgow - December 12th
author: mm
date posted: December 16th, 2009

First UK gig of the tour, and what a gig it was. After 23 years, Depeche Mode made a triumphant return to Glasgow, playing their first gig at the SECC since the Black Celebration Tour. The scottish crowd was obviously thrilled to have the band back. Quite a lively lot!! Very special evening.

Enjoy the pictures, courtesy of Ken McKay.

 

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Blog #57 Birmingham - December 13th

Birmingham - December 13th
author: big_pete
date posted: December 16th, 2009

I have seen Depeche Mode at this venue a lot of times through the years, I was curious to see how they had done up the venue since it was rebranded as the LG Arena.

The old system used to mean you had to wait inside what was essentially a huge warehouse - to then be let in the arena once they had checked your tickets - the new way is to relax in the elaborate hall, complete with bars, food counters, large TV's on the walls, and 2 tunnels leading to the Arena? I guess someone thought that having 15,000 people standing around brings in no money? 15,000 people standing near Food and Drink stalls might just bring in a bit of money, and I guess it did, as the place was rammed with people taking advantage of the facilities.

The Arena has been jazzed up a little, the seats are now all black, as is most of the interior, a few little VIP sections have been added, overall it's a great venue.

The Mexican waves started around 8.45pm, and the band hit the stage at around 9.10pm - and the place erupted. The performance from the band was faultless, but I must say the Birmingham Crowd were a quiet bunch for alot of the show. Even Mr Gahan told them to "put down what you are smoking" as they were a little too relaxed - but the band won through and the last third of the show got a great reception.

I remember on the last tour thinking the Manchester Audience were alot better - so fingers crossed for Friday!!

Next stop is London for me, and the welcome return of Fellow Tour Blogger Peter!!

Big Pete

 

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Blog #58 London - December 15th

London - December 15th
author: peter
date posted: December 16th, 2009

First things first - this is London after all, so it's tradition to complain about the weather. It's cold. Very cold. The sun is out, but really could put in more of an effort, if you ask me. There, all done.

This was my first time at the O2 Arena, and was quite taken aback by it. The venue itself is enormous. Easily one of the biggest arenas I've seen. But what really struck me was the bit between the out-door bit and the venue bit. There's this bit that's basically a permanent fun fair with rides of all sorts, and bars and restaurants and a Starbucks. Had this been in the centre of London, all this would have seemed perfectly sane. But it's decidedly neither.

If New York was a busy night, then last night in London was at least double or triple that. With nearly 400 guests coming down for the band's first hometown gig of the tour, backstage was mental. A delightful mishmash of families, friends, business associates, journos, celebs and what-not made for a very colorful after show party.

The show was really good. The band were giving it their all, and with little effort got the London crowd rocking. As one on-looker commented, this was the best London gig in decades, which is at least partially down to a change in scenery. The O2 arena really a massive step up from the dreary warehouse feel of the old Wembley arena.

 

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Blog #59 London - December 16th

London - December 16th
author: peter
date posted: December 24th, 2009

Stopped by Mute today to meet up with a few people there, then went for lunch. The snow started coming down hard and heavy. I'm a sucker for snow, so all that set me in a good mood for the rest of the day.

After a quick shower back at the hotel, it was off to the venue for the second night at London's massive O2 Arena. No photographers in the pit tonight, so Big Pete had it virtually to himself. Made for some good snaps that did.

Lastly and most importantly a big hello to Simon and his lovely wife Ali - always nice seeing you guys... bring Mark next time as well! And Mike - always a pleasure!!

That's it for me this year, looking forward to next year!!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!

 

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Blog #60: Manchester - December 18th

Manchester - December 18th
author: big_pete
date posted: December 24th, 2009

At the recent O2 gigs in London the guest list was a beast - and the passes ran out - which lead to a huge tightening up operation in Manchester.

Certain coloured passes were withdrawn and the Security staff seemed a little confused as to who should be going where and doing what.

I brought the family (again) to this show, and their expectations were high as I had told them Manchester was always a great crowd, I hoped I was going to be right. The catering crew cooked up a fantastic Xmas dinner, and Xmas gifts were being exchanged - the atmosphere was great within the DM Camp, just one more show ......

Fortunately I was more than right about Manchester - the crowd were amazing, and Dave's "glad we are out of London" comment was definatly right - they were the perfect audience.

As the show progressed it became clear that this was getting better and better, I haven't seen so many coloured balloons floating around during Policy Of Truth, and the "Home" chant was the best I can recall.

You guys need to get some balloons for the 2010 shows and get them floating around for "Policy Of Truth" - a bit of audience participation is always fun !!

The after show was a particular highlight for me, I have seen many of these over the years and always enjoyed them, but tonight's was special - a rather intimate affair hosted in the bands "chill out room" with my 2 kids playing Table football with Junior Gore and Junior Fletcher - nobody knew the score, as the rules kept changing - but it was fun to watch the events unfolding with Martin. Everyone was in high spirits - despite the freezing temperatures outside. After wishing everyone a Happy Xmas we left and I felt very glad to have gone to Manchester.

This show was the last on the tour for The Soulsavers, and I hope you will agree they have done a great job, and have gone down really well with the crowds. I think everyone deserves a break and all involved have worked so hard to bring the Tour to you - let's hope the 2010 shows are a half as good as the 2009 shows have been.

MM, Petertoo, Daniel and Big Pete wish you all a happy Xmas and fantastic New Year and look forward to bringing you the Tourblog in 2010.

Happy Christmas !!

Big Pete

 

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Blog #61 Berlin - January 9th

Berlin - January 9th
author: peter
date posted: January 13th, 2010

Mexican waves were waved, chants were chanted and the enthusiasm on display was thoroughly enthusiastic. And that was before the band were even on stage. From the minute the doors opened it was quite clear that the atmosphere at Depeche Mode's show at O2 World in Berlin was gonna be quite special.

Nitzer Ebb put on a really good show, even if they faced a couple of first-night technical issues. Dave and Martin were spotted on the side of the stage watching their old friends and label mates support them again, more than two decades after Ebb joined them the first time. To call it a historic night might be stretching the term a bit, but it was certainly nice to see those two bands on the same stage once again.

Depeche rocked it as usual. They seemed to have a lot of fun on stage, and the crowd was one of the best I've seen this tour.

A couple of celebrity sightings... Ron Mael of Sparks was watching the gig from the side of the stage (looking stern, but approving), Gareth Jones was spotted taking loads of pictures, and some of the Rammstein guys were backstage after the gig.

Special thanks to Lee Roe for supplying some of the pictures from tonights gig.

 

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