A MEMENTO: DEPECHE MODE, PUSKAS ARENA, BUDAPEST, 28 JULY 2023

Blog friend, Halo contributor and fellow Liverpool FC fan (a man of great taste in all respects in other words) Chris Snoddon returns to reviewing duties for the first time on this tour. I've already spent a good bit of time with Chris in Dublin this year and can only imagine the good time he, Scott, Stevie and the gang had in Budapest. They hopefully left some beer for everyone else. Thanks for this great review Chris. All pictures belong to Chris unless otherwise stated.

Thanks to @Ultra_Depeche

It was decided after travelling to Rome, Krakow and Berlin during the Global Spirit Tour, a new European city was to be pencilled in for the Memento Mori Tour and Budapest was one I'd always wanted to visit. This gave me the perfect opportunity. I'd been fortunate enough to catch night one in Amsterdam with Stevie and Scott my trusted concert buddies with Dublin and Twickenham following, so I'd managed to catch the show in both indoor and outdoor settings. My main gripe over the years with DM's stadium performances was that the stage set was never big enough for these monstrous venues and was always more suited to the indoor ones and again in my opinion this was the case. The stadium shows always started in daylight as well which never really gave you the full effect of the lights etc but this show was the exception for me. Duskfell pretty early and the compact stadium kept the light out really well which made for a tremendous spectacle.

Chris (left)

We all busied ourselves during the day with the usual tourist attractions and then decided that we would hook up with fellow Home board member Aidan,  his lovely wife Debbie and son Jake at 101Klub, a DM themed bar on Rakocki ut. A few beers later and it was off to the stadium. It was pretty easy getting into the venue and very relaxed indeed and once in everyone on the field seemed to be in a real party mood, chatting away and being really courteous when passing by with no pushing in front or being obnoxious. We got drinks really easily and made our way towards the front just as it started to get dark and the pulsing beat of the Intro and My Cosmos Is Mine started. The vibrant blue lights lit up the stage and Dave came on to a huge cheer from the audience. The band who have really improved show on show sounded really tight and this was confirmed during Wagging Tongue, a song which I have now grown to love. The show really started to kick off when Walking In My Shoes and It's No Good were played with the audience around us going mad with enjoyment.

Picture courtesy of Depeche Mode Classic Photos & Videos Facebook Group

The usual track list followed, all met with great enthusiasm by the crowd, especially during the momentous Everything Counts. My Favourite Stranger was preferred over Speak to Me for this show then it was Martin up with A Question Of Lust before giving a beautiful rendition of Strangelove for only the second time this tour. Dave then returned with a solid performance of Ghosts Again and the set list continued on until the majestic Enjoy The Silence finished the show. By this stage the crowd were at fever pitch when the boys returned with Condemnation for the first track of the encore. For me, it is not as good Waiting For The Night but this was the first I'd seen it over this tour so was a welcome change.

Picture courtesy of Depeche Mode Classic Photos & Videos Facebook Group

Just Can't Get Enough followed which finished with Dave throwing in a rather horrific Freddie Mercury impression to my horror (I hate Queen)  and then the show finished with the as usual triumphant duo of Never Let Me Down Again and Personal Jesus. Getting out of the venue and back into town was easy enough and we then spent the rest of the night with Aidan and family having a few more liquid jollies and discussing how great the show was and that the crowd was really enthusiastic and loud.

Of the three shows id caught so far this tour, Budapest has been the stand out for me with the mixture of band performance and crowd enthusiasm making it a really enjoyable night. The Stadium was compact and managed well and id definitely pencil it in for another visit in the future. Roll on the fourth leg in the new year for another excursion DM or two.

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Thanks Chris