The Mode never let us down
Depeche Mode (3arena, Dublin) More than a party
IT’S pretty much a full house to see Depeche Mode. The crowd is a good mix of young, middle and old, although if I’m honest, it’s mostly late middle and old where I’m sitting.
Dave Gahan and his crew arrive on stage at 9pm sharp. They open with a tune from their latest album, Spirit, to a fairly muted response, before cracking into some heavier numbers from the early 2000s. These are personal favourites of mine so I’m happy from the get go, although some people around me are exchanging funny looks.
After this they start into a pretty rare set including Useless, Precious and Halo, none of which I’ve heard them play before. The set is dotted with a few songs from the Spirit album, strategically dropped between the classics. The crowd is enthusiastic at this stage so the newer numbers are recieved as well as anything else.
Dave Gahan is as flamboyant and outrageous as always, dressed to kill in a black and red waistcoat, matching trousers and bright red shoes. Whenever he’s not singing, he’s either spinning around with his mic stand or shaking his booty, which, in turn, is projected onto the giant screen behind him (at his request I’m sure).
Martin Gore takes centre stage a few times. As the band’s principal songwriter it’s only fair that he has his share of the spotlight, although I always get the feeling he’s happy to do a few numbers and then let Dave take over again. I also get the feeling this is partially to give Dave a break — all that twerking must be exhausting.
He plays A Question Of Lust, which gets a mediocre reaction, but follows up with Home, which goes down a treat, with fans singing (shouting, roaring) along to the outro.
The crowd is well warmed up by the time they drop Everything Counts. The previously bemused-looking fans around me are all smiles by now as Enjoy The Silence kicks in. Dave lets the crowd sing most of the song while he struts and dances around looking very pleased, and surprisingly not at all bored of having to play this every other day since 1990. They finish the set proper with Never Let Me Down Again, which gets them a welldeserved standing ovation. Is that it?
No, they’re not getting off that easy. They return for another five classics. Gore starts with an acoustic Strangelove and they finish up with a blistering Personal Jesus.
The band couldn’t really have played a better set. This was the first night of a new leg of their tour after a couple of weeks’ break, so everyone gave it their all, and it showed.
If you haven’t gone to see them live before, you owe it to yourself to go next time.
My only gripe? Dave really needs to lose that ronnie!