This review of the final 5th leg show comes from Tara Salt who is returning with her second review of the tour after her superb Dallas one from last September. As you'll read, Tara is a veteran not only of this tour, but of much Gahan interaction too. She was at this show with two other Global Spirit Tour Project contributors Amanda and Marcel and, as you'll see, they commemorated the tour in a spectacular way. Thank you so much for this review and the photos Tara and for all your help on this bizarre project too.
Literally one year ago today, as I write this, I flew into Frankfurt, Germany to get ready to see my first show of the Global Spirit Tour. 365 days and 15 shows later, it has now come to a close for me with the last date of the second North American leg - Toronto. It has been one hell of a year, packed with amazing memories. I’ve had such a great time with all of my fellow Mode friends, both old and new and in a way it was bittersweet that night because walking into the Toronto venue, I knew I wouldn’t see many of them for quite some time.
The Toronto show day flew along as usual. I went to the VIP pre-show party and dinner with my friends and then from 7pm to 8:30 I spent time walking around the venue meeting up with more friends that I had come to know over the past twenty years of following DM on the road. Originally I had been able to score second row tickets for the Toronto show but in Boston I bumped into a big fan who had also spent decades following the band. She had an extra front row ticket for Toronto but hadn’t been able to sell it. She was incredibly kind and sent it to me just before the Toronto show so we could have a great time watching the concert together. (Thanks Kristin!) We were then able to bump up our own friends closer to the stage as a domino effect occurred from this generosity. By 8:30pm we were all set and the lights came down and the familiar Beatles song Revolution started to play..
Since I have been front row for pretty much the entire tour except for Nashville, David has been awesome with including me and my friends and other big fans I know in singalongs. He found me early in Toronto since I had also seen the Chicago and Boston shows on this leg and he was quick to point me out, give me a big grin, and a welcome bum wiggle. The crowd was definitely good that night, though slightly less enthusiastic than Boston, and the band responded in kind. I found A Pain That I’m Used To was particularly fantastic and it’s always good because Martin and Peter come front and centre to join David and I just love the energy between the entire band for that set. During Precious, David came over to me and we sang along together - precisely the line “My God what have we done to you?” After finishing that line he grinned big and I laughed hard and it’s those kind of moments that make being in front so worth it.
Cover Me came on and David went out on the catwalk to do his iconic rounds and it was then that I finally broke down and cried. I particularly adore this song and it was at this moment that it truly hit me that this was my final show of the tour. Martin played The Things You Said right after Cover Me and I continued to cry because I too adore this song and it’s been a thrill to hear it live this leg seeing it hasn’t been played in 30 years. I was finally able to calm down to enjoy Home. Home of course being the perfect ode to how most of us DM fans feel, having been given such an incredible gift from the band - the music, the lifelong friends, and the deep connection to others who share our passion.
I had some concerns about the setlist changing for this leg because having been a fan for so long, we do tend to get more tired of the “hits” than the average fan who attends the shows. However I have to say, I was not disappointed or bored by some of the additions in the way I thought I would have. Every time I say I’m bored of Personal Jesus or A Question of Time, they surprise me by re-working the song live making it interesting all over again. This tour I really LOVED Everything Counts because of the massive way it was overhauled. It worked so damn well and the crowd, every show I attended, went nuts for it.
After the show I was lucky to go backstage for one final time to say hello to the band and I was thrilled that my friend Marcel was finally able to meet Martin. He’s been travelling overseas to see DM in North America for the past few tours so it was great to watch them have a good conversation. We wrapped up the night watching Martin play foosball and getting incredibly passionate seeing his team was given a run for their money during the game. ; )
This tour has been a favourite of mine for so many reasons. A few days after the show, Marcel, Amanda and I got our first tattoos to commemorate both the tour and our love for the band in general. I love Spirit so much and I’ve had so much fun while on the road (Hello Marcel, Diem, Amanda, Crystal, Rahul, Erik, Joanna, Sophie, Pina, Alex, Sarah, Emilie, Mike, Sandy) I also want to shout out to all my long time friends who I met on the road again as well as all of you who I met for the first time this tour. You all know who you are! Depeche Mode are more than a band for so many of us at this point, they’ve gifted us with lifelong friends and opportunities for travel. For that I am eternally grateful.
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| Cover Me (or at least part of me) |
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Thank you Tara.
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