|
Depeche Mode
A Concert Review |
|
 |
 |
I must admit that I’m not a huge Depeche Mode fan, but I will
give them the respect they deserve. I write this because, well, for
a band that doesn’t get much radio play anymore they have a
devoted fan base that supports everything they do, show up in
droves, and the band responds by not just being a greatest hits act
but by trying to keep expanding their music base. This was most
evident at their show at The Tweeter Center outside of Chicago this
cool June evening, but maybe they shouldn’t try to expand their
music base quite so much.
Getting to the venue it struck me a little odd that, if you work
at an outdoor venue, wouldn’t you check the weather forecast and
dress appropriately. Sure the fans came dressed for the weather,
some in full goth mode, others who just got out of work and were in
business casual, but most with a light jacket or at least long
pants. But there, in the venue, with a chilly breeze making its way
through the pavilion, stood a shivering girl, dressed in
short-shorts and a spaghetti shirt under her security windbreaker.
She couldn’t even dance during the show to keep her warm because
she worked there. I almost thought of offering her my jacket, but
chivalry is dead and everyone’s got The Weather Channel. In any
case I had my jacket on, even wore pants, and after taking care of
shooting my photos I found a seat. Knowing that I wouldn’t be
familiar with a lot Depeche Mode would play, I found it almost more
fun to pay attention to the band/crowd interaction and wondered
would the crowd like a set-list not full of the hits but rather a
mix of a lot of new songs, some not so new songs but not what you
might expect songs, and a few of the songs I actually knew? I think
they needed to play a few more of the songs I actually knew.
 |
From the start of the show Dave Gahan did what he could to try
and keep the crowd going – he strutted, he vogued, he wiggled his
butt, and he kept the crowd banter to a minimum, but for the start
of the show, and I know the people were standing the entire time,
but it wasn’t really until about eight songs in that the crowd
really responded when "Waiting for the Night" played.
Before that, I suppose maybe because most of the material was from
their new album, "Exciter," but the crowd just didn’t
seem to get into the groove of the show.
So the band finally got the crowd back, but then, as the crowd
started getting into it, Depeche Mode decided to slow things down
letting Martin Gore go acoustic for "The Bottom Line." Don’t
get me wrong, it was a good song and solo, and the crowd tried to
keep their spirits up, clapping along for a while, but the crowd was
more respectful than excited and that carried into
"Breathe" and "Freelove." But then came
"Enjoy the Silence."
Finally a song I knew, but more importantly for this show a song
the crowd could really get into. The lazy people got off their
butts, people sang along, and this show thh ogle_color_text = "000000";
google_color_url = "008000";
//-->
|
