Depeche Mode – September 3 2017

As summer draws to an end, so does my summer concerts. One show that I have been looking forward to for months was Depeche Mode, at the Air Canada Centre. I have been a fan of this band since the 80’s but for some reason have not seen them live yet. That is why I was so happy to finally after all these years to see them.

As the band took the stage promptly at 8:45pm the crowd mostly made up of people between 40 – 60 years of age were ready to hear the songs from the 80’s and 90’s. Unfortunately that didn’t really happen. As someone said in the audience “its seems that they have catalogue of music after Violator that nobody is that familiar with.”

Now look, I get that the hard core fans, that will listen to anything they put out. However they represented roughly about 30% of the actually arena. They decided to focus the set list to new songs, that most in the section I was sitting in, didn’t really know the words to. When they finally got around to singing Everything Counts (the 14 song in the set!) The crowd was ready to sing along and thought ok, here we go now. Nope not so fast the show was almost over. They sang a few more notable songs, Somebody, Enjoy the Silence and Personal Jesus and then boom the show was over. To a chorus of boos from the floor I may add as the house lights went on.

For some reason Depeche Mode forgot they had huge hits in the 80s. Those same hits are why 14000 people spent good money to see them.
Forgotten from the concert, People are People, Stangelove, Just Can’t Enough, Blasphemous Rumours, Policy of Truth, World in My Eyes and Master and Servant (which was selling merch with that logo, yet not in show??)

I want to compare this to going to see another 80’s band, and my favourite Duran Duran. I could not imagine them not playing Rio, Hungry Like the Wolf or The Reflex because they wanted to focus on new material.

Did I like the show, yes, but it was 5 hits away from me really enjoying it. Overall I left disappointed.

Revolution
(The Beatles song)
Cover Me (Alt Out)
(instrumental video intro)
Going Backwards
So Much Love
Barrel of a Gun
(with ‘The Message’ (Grandmaster Flash) snippet)
A Pain That I’m Used To
(‘Jacques Lu Cont’s remix’ version)
Corrupt
In Your Room
World in My Eyes
Cover Me
A Question of Lust
(acoustic)
Home
Poison Heart
Where’s the Revolution
Wrong
Everything Counts
Stripped
Enjoy the Silence
Never Let Me Down Again