LIVE REVIEW: DEPECHE MODE, TAURON ARENA, KRAKOW, 7 FEBRUARY 2018

Chris Snoddon returns to reviewing duties for this show. His last review for the project was from a sweltering Rome in June. This time round, the weather conditions were somewhat different, so it's no bad thing this was an indoor show. Thanks very much for the review Chris and for the pictures too, all of which belong to Chris unless otherwise credited. Oh, and Chris? Time your beer breaks better...

Picture courtesy of Depeche Mode Classic Photos & Videos Facebook Group

Being a bit of a history buff and finding the happenings of WW2 extremely intriguing, I had the Polish city of Krakow listed on my to visit sheet but to date hadn't quite got around to visiting due to previous DM tours in other cities taking up the majority of my travel expenditure.  They also hadn't played Krakow before, so you can imagine my delight when I got a text from my good friend Scott whilst in my Trastevere apartment on the morning of the Stadio Olimpico gig last June, informing me that our Krakow tickets for the Tauron arena were secured. My wife, when told that morning, didn't show the same amount of enthusiasm about me booking a DM trip whilst already on a DM trip but she was again reminded “DM were in my life long before you were so , you'd need to get used to it”. After all she was getting another short break and where better than Krakow with its amazing history.

Fast forward to February 2018 and it was all aboard the plane from Belfast for the flight to Krakow. Arriving late in the evening, it was pretty chilly but didn't feel just as bad as the -7C that the taxi was showing as we were driven to our Hotel. We stayed in view of the magnificent Wawel castle about 20 minutes from the Main square, so getting transport to the gig was pretty easy as there was plenty going on around there. Our trip to the gig was entertaining as a snow shower became quite heavy and this was the cue for our taxi driver to try and drive even faster to get us to the gig with the treacherous road conditions not appearing to bother him in the slightest. We arrived at the gig and were dropped off on the opposite of a very busy road with the magnificent Tauron arena in view.

Built in 2014, the arena boasts Poland's largest LED media facade wrapping around the whole venue. It is pretty spectacular to say the least. Entry to the venue was pretty smooth with ID being shown to match the corresponding tickets which was no issue providing the names matched. That helped to curb scalpers and when inside, apart from a bit of confusion getting wristbands for the area we were to be stood in, the whole atmosphere was pretty relaxed. I found a beer stand and bought a couple of pints prior to finding my standing position ( for those of you who know me this won't come as a surprise) and was again pleasantly surprised at a pint of beer costing only £2.50. I then went and got my spot around half way into the arena slightly to the left of the catwalk. 

Chris (left)

The band came on to a rapturous reception with the now mainstay Going Backwards opening, followed by It's No Good which was gratefully received by the audience. Dave was on top form as he boomed out "Good evening Krakow!" and the Polish crowd responded in kind with their cheers of excitement. Following the path of the previous 3rd leg set list changes, I decided to make a break for the bar when A Pain that I'm Used To was up, which proved to be an epic fail as the keg ran out during my drinks being poured and by the time I'd returned to my original standing spot, I’d managed to miss both Useless and Precious. The consolation to that was that I bumped into Ronni Larson at the bar who many of you may know and managed to get a quick chat and a selfie opportunity with him. 

Back in position World In My Eyes lifted my section of the crowd to fever pitch and Cover Me did little to drop the now ecstatic mood. Every time I see the boys perform this track, it gets better and better for me and it was no different on this occasion, Dave working his magic on the catwalk at the sublime instrumental section. It was now Martin's turn to take the mic with the stunning Insight, although if I had a slight complaint it would be that Peter's Mic was quite loud during this and at times overpowered Mart. Home was its usual crowd roaring success and then In Your Room subtly followed with its (in my opinion) distracting visuals. Where's the Revolution was pretty well received with the crowd timing the clapping to the drum solo at the end very well and then my tour highlight, the thunderous Everything Counts, raised the roof in the arena with shrieks of joy seeming to come from everywhere when the audience realised what it was after the newly added starting electronics. 

A single heavy drum beat finished Everything Counts with Dave shouting “Krakow you really are the best." I thought London was, and Rome, and Dublin, ah well obviously all the crowds must improve with each show, eh Dave lol. Stripped and Enjoy The Silence were their usual brilliant selves and the epic Never Let Me Down Again didn't disappoint as the arms were all waved in sync and captured beautifully on the rear screen for everyone to see. As we know the band exits the stage at this part and Martin returned with the now common place piano version of Strangelove. I had so hoped that he would have slotted I Want You Now in there instead but sadly it wasn't to be. 

Walking In My Shoes carried us towards the finish line with its further mess of an accompanying video and then A Question Of Time maintained the energy until Personal Jesus wrapped things up with a bang. By this stage, I had moved to the exit doors so that I wouldn't be caught up in the usual end of gig stampede and seeing “PJ” from the very rear of the arena from an elevated position showcased the lighting used which I found when I concentrated on it to be pretty spectacular. The lights came on and a quick dash through the now thick lying snow got us into a taxi and back to the main square in Krakow where we all enjoyed a few more drinks and compared the shows we had seen so far on this tour. I had a fantastic time in Krakow and would recommend this city to anyone. The Tauron Arena is a sight to behold and the acoustics from where I was standing were superb. The Polish crowd sang their hearts out and everyone around me appeared to have a great time even though there were a few hostile folk that didn't like it when you returned to your original spot after going for a beer. The band were on top form and its only went and set me off again on the planning stage of my next DM excursion on the Global Spirit Tour.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Chris!

LIVE REVIEW: DEPECHE MODE, STADIO OLYMPICO, ROME, 25 JUNE 2017

This review has been written by Chris Snoddon from Belfast, a man who not only has great taste in music, but also in football teams. I really am kicking myself not not going to any of the outdoor Italian gigs as they all sound incredible and Chris really gets that across here in this great review. Thanks very much to Chris for writing this and thanks too to the team at Depeche Mode Classic Photos and Videos for once again letting me raid their stash of photos. 

Photo courtesy of Depeche Mode Classic Photos And Videos FB group

It was decided after visiting the Stade de France during Tour of the Universe and the Olympic Stadium Berlin on the Delta Machine Tour that our gig list for the Global Spirit Tour should contain another behemoth of a stadium, and where better to go other than the great Stadio Olimpico in the Eternal city. I had dreamed of visiting this place ever since I witnessed my beloved Liverpool FC hold aloft the European Cup there in 1984, but really never had any great reason to be there until now.

After another day in the Roman sunshine of walking around on my already sightseeing obliterated feet. we decided to meet up around 5pm at the Scholar Irish Pub on Via del Plebiscito with Home board members Michael “Excitermode” Lyons and Mike “Coops” Cooper, along with a few others as it was close to the bus route that would eventually get us to the Stadio Olimpico. After a few pints and some bad timing where none of us actually met up, we had a rather crammed bus journey to the stadium where we disembarked and again headed for the beer stalls. The stadium itself was beautifully set within a backdrop of trees and we made our way past the Mussolini Obelisk to the entrance where everything was extremely casual and light hearted with security staff, before entering the Stadium via Curva Sud. 

Photo courtesy of Depeche Mode Classic Photos And Videos FB group

As I went into the huge stadium I could still see a lot of the blue seats that were not being used as the Stage set up was placed to the right as I entered on the half way line and not at the usual goal end. This had the effect of rendering at least a quarter of the stadium unoccupied. Algiers had already been on and played their set by the time I made another quick beer stop and fortunately bumped into “Coops” and his partner Nic in the drinks line. Just as we had then started to manoeuvre ourselves into the best position we could at the “Fletch” side of the stage the intro started and the Roman crowd started to get excited. 

Going Backwards started us off in the sweltering heat with Dave and Martin both sounding glorious with their harmonising.  The energised So Much Love then set the crowd around us alight, not that we needed any encouragement. The set list continued as it has through 95% of the previous shows with all tracks, even Corrupt and Barrel Of A Gun, two sings that  some fans had wanted removed from the set list getting great receptions. World In My Eyes as always proved to be a real crowd pleaser and Dave sounded really strong through In Your Room where I focused on him and not the detracting video accompaniment. The band were very tight and have really got to the top of their game with Martin confidently performing A Question Of Lust and Home to the jubilant masses who filled the air with sound at the final sing along. 

Photo courtesy of Depeche Mode Classic Photos And Videos FB group

Poison Heart made the mood slightly subdued after Martin's segment, but that soon rectified itself with a fantastic rendition of Where's the Revolution, the crowd now at this stage of the tour fulfilling their duty to boom out the chorus at the end at Dave's request. My personal highlights of the tour so far followed with the creepy new start to Wrong and the tech'd up Everything Counts before the crowd pleasers Stripped and a monumental Enjoy The Silence worked the Romans into a frenzy. 

By this stage and having known the set list and what was to follow I was already hyper at the prospect of throwing my arms about from side to side like a complete lunatic and, as always, Never Let Me Down Again didn’t disappoint. With its anthemic finale and Dave manning the catwalk, the atmosphere was electric and this is one of the key reasons probably thousands of us Mode fans keep coming back time and time again for more. For me anyway, it's like a drug that I cannot get enough of, with an urge to keep experiencing over and over again. I was certainly not left deflated on his occasion. 

Photo courtesy of Depeche Mode Classic Photos And Videos FB group

Martin returned for the encore with Somebody, a track that had mobile phone lights held aloft and then the newly intro'd Walking in my Shoes lifted the audience even further again. Bowie's mid paced “Heroes” was beautifully performed and then the two final tracks livened up the gig even more. An energised I Feel You and the magnificent Personal Jesus sent the audience into musical ecstasy. The lights came on and we waited to all meet together and watched the rush that then came for the exit gates. It was surreal watching 50 odd thousand trying to get out of the stadium at once. When we finally got outside the wait for the bus was agonising until we realised it was after midnight and no buses would be coming. Unfortunately for me and my friends, the walk back to Trastevere from the Stadio Olimpico wasn't a pleasant one, not for my feet anyway. 

That however can never take away what was for me a wonderful experience in the Italian capital with a great crowd and utterly fantastic performance by the band.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Chris!