LIVE REVIEW: DEPECHE MODE, MEDIOLANUM FORUM, MILAN, 29 JANUARY 2018

As we've already learned on this tour, Italian Depeche gigs are the ones we all need to go to if there is another tour in the future. Both Milan nights in January were epic gigs. Luisa Carones previously covered night 1 and I'm delighted that for night 2, Claudia Smith from the wonderful Depeche Mode Italia agreed to write this review. Depeche Mode Italia have been a huge supporter of the blog  - thank you. Claudia has also been suffering from the flu recently. Get well soon Claudia and thank you for this great review and the photos. Enjoy the story of Claudia's day on 29 January....

5.30 am. Walking down the road to the underground station, I can feel the tingle of excitement sting my cheeks. Or is it the icy fog – both, probably. It’s going to be a very long day, today. Half-asleep, coffee-starving, dressed in heavy layers, I’m heading to the unimpressive commercial district of Assago, a small town outside Milan. Despite listening to Depeche Mode since the mid-Eighties, concert-wise it all started for me in 1998 with the Singles Tour. Same venue, now called Mediolanum Forum; same place, my home town Milan. Shoulder to shoulder with my mother, a real hardcore fan and a Martin Gore admirer. Lots of fond memories that I’m going to refresh in a few hours: I’m going to celebrate my fortieth concert with my besties tonight, and I know it’s going to be epic. Depeche Mode has often praised our devoted audience as one of the warmest in the world: fingers crossed we’re going to revive our reputation and set the venue on fire with the passion of 12,000 enthusiasts.

7.00 am. Here I am by the Forum, perfectly in time for the checking of names, and numbers they have written on the back of our hand and printed on nice fan-made cardboard tags that we are proudly displaying around our neck. The Italian organisation of the queue is impressive and very welcomed, especially in a case like this, when madness ends up prevailing. The fans have been gathering under a pedestrian bridge by the venue since yesterday morning, something that I have never witnessed before. My Early Entry queue number is 50, which means that I won’t make it to the first row, but a fantastic second row spot right in front of Martin is still accessible. This is going to be my goal for the night: Martin’s mic stand. Come on, I can do it!

9.00 am. Eggs and bacon, American coffee, smoked salmon, butter, and massive slices of bread: that doesn’t sound like the typical Italian breakfast, I know! I’m even giving Marmite spread a go: I’m definitely going to need heavy fuel to reach my target. I won’t go into too much detail, but these days meeting friends and spending quality time (and food and drinks) with them is a huge part of the whole Depeche Mode experience. I truly believe that I’ve been blessed with the best of mates, and to them goes all my love and gratitude for helping me make this day unforgettable. Roberta, Valentina: thank you girls, you really are the best and I truly mean it! Giorgia, Sabrina, Paul and Conny, and all of the fabulous people I’m having the pleasure to spend some time with today: hopefully some great reward is waiting for us all.

12.00 / 6.00 pm. After hours spent waiting in the cold, damp weather, a good energising meal, and a great number of smiles and hugs shared with people from all over the world, we’re finally allowed inside the old venue. The fog has dissolved together with the fatigue, the excitement is tangible: we’re feeling like race horses anxious for the starting gates to open. The security guys have checked our bags and tickets a couple of times, then organised us into small groups: I’m going to enter the Forum, have a quick look at the standing area – the end of the catwalk is already packed – and then rush to the stage, as close to Martin as I can get.

9.00 pm. By the time Gore’s favourite opening act EMA has left the stage, the venue has filled up nicely. It’s another sold-out show in Milan, the eighth Italian concert of the Global Spirit Tour: quite impressive if you ask me, even though I was certain my city wouldn’t disappoint me. Martin’s setlist is now pumping through the amps, giving us new energy, making everybody clap their hands, cheer and dance. It’s a joyful warm up to what’s coming up in a few minutes: the long-awaited Revolution by The Beatles and then, lights off, the white boot animation will be coming to life on the massive two-stair led screen, and Depeche Mode will be finally joining us on stage! I’m inspecting the right side of the venue to catch the moment when Dave will climb the stairs with a slow, stealthy step. Here he is: his black silhouette is moving sensually while the drips of paint are filling the universe with vivid colours. We’re going backwards in life, some might agree: but tonight the majestic opening track is resounding more powerfully than ever, anticipating an unforgettable show, possibly the best one out of the three Milan gigs. My judgement might be slightly biased though: I’m all eyes for Martin, and he’s standing right in front of me… understand me! I’m probably going to be the only one in the whole arena to watch Martin during Cover Me, while Dave will be elegantly drawing circles in the air on the catwalk, his pensive astronaut alter-ego floating in the sky right behind him. 

The songs are coming in quick succession without a break, time seems to run faster than usual. The band is having a great time: they’re looking very pleased and inspired by the audience response. Fletcher is acting very cool, totally absorbed in his role. There are three very special moments that will stay in my heart forever: the first one is undoubtedly related to In Your Room. This is the Stendhal Syndrome moment for me, when I’m totally and hopelessly mesmerised by the absolute genius of Anton Corbijn. The new video for the amazing album version of the song compliments the music so well that it almost brings me to tears every time I watch it. The disarming beauty of the dancers fills the screen with passion and translates every note and lyric into pure art. Another long-awaited moment happens after A Pain That I’m Used To, a real Italian crowd pleaser that makes the whole standing area jump and sing. It’s the time when the audience can surrender to the obscure splendour of Useless, and Gahan’s velvet voice is singing of perdition and despair. The moment of glory, though, takes place after the end of the main set, when we start demanding I Want You Now, our chant getting infectious, louder and louder. What a joy to discover that Martin had actually planned to perform it! His interpretation is deeply heartfelt and moves the audience to the point that at the end of the song a long and liberating singalong rises from the standing area, leading Martin to return our cheers with one of his adorable child-like smiles. 

11.15 pm. It’s a wrap ladies and gentlemen. The band has just said bye bye to the audience and I’m proudly holding the setlist sheet Jez Webb had taped on the stage floor before the concert started. Heading back home, feeling grateful and content: time to get my strength back before I start making plans for the next shows. See you all there! 

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Thank you Claudia!

LIVE REVIEW: DEPECHE MODE. MEDIOLANUM FORUM, MILAN, 27 JANUARY 2018

For this review we welcome back Luisa Carones (@tanisluis) , fresh from her Berlin experience and ready to face the trial of Early Entry in her home city of Milan. As you'll see, Luisa displayed devotion on a level many of us would get no near to and was rewarded both in terms of her place in the queue and by Mr Gahan himself. Thank you to Luisa for the great review and thank you also to Roberta Sotgiu (@RobertaSotgiu) a photographer from Genoa who has provided the pictures. She and Luisa got talking at the gig and Roberta suggested the blog could use her pictures which was very kind. The Depeche Mode family at work!

Where should I start? By telling you that Milan is my hometown and, as such, a DM gig here is a special event for me? Or by apologising for not being as articulate as I would want, as I skipped rest, nights, meals and everything else in normal life, for 4 days in a row, and so my brain is not really functioning? Or simply by stressing that Saturday gig has been the best experience I have had on this tour so far – hence my brain working even less efficiently?

If you have read my previous review, you know that I’ve been to multiple shows on the Global Spirit Tour, and Saturday's concert in Milan was number 14 for me. As you can guess,  the gig in Milan on Monday 29 was number 15, but reviewing that one is someone else’s job, luckily... 

Thus, by now, I have acquired quite a nice amount of experience in preparing that military operation aka queuing for EE; besides, being at home and thus not needing all the logistical support normally required for a woman travelling alone abroad, I could focus on the basics: what time should I start queuing? As I said for Berlin, I knew that German people are crazy and would camp outside venues starting the night before the concert, but I also know my hometown and my fellow citizens too well, so I was ready for something big. And that’s what I got: the queue started not just the night before, but at 9a.m. ON FRIDAY...yup, that means that people, including me, waited outside the arena, in the cold and in the rain, for 36 hours!

The nice thing is Italian fans are very well organized (you wouldn’t expect that, would you?) and the checking of names and numbers at regular times really works well. There is even a fan – and a big shout-out to Nicola here is absolutely required – who prepares wonderful “passes” with numbers and dates of events, each with the title of a different DM song on it. It’s a great souvenir of the evening, one especially foreigners appreciate a lot, and I can barely figure out the amount of time and love he puts into this, for free of course, even for gigs he does not attend. I hope you can appreciate Nicola’s work in the photo of my badge.

As you can see in the photo, I had number 8, which means that I managed to be in the first row and in my perfect spot facing Dave and his nice little moves...And this time it paid off! As you will see...

On Saturday, the Forum was absolutely packed and people were filling their seats well ahead the beginning of the show. Right after EMA had ended with their act, the crowd started chanting and clapping to the rhythm of the DJ set. When the charity video was shown, the arena boomed with thousands of voices singing Where’s The Revolution and when the band appeared in the clip for those 2 seconds, the roar from the audience was almost as if the boys had actually got on stage. I knew my town would not disappoint.

When they did get on stage the party began: we all know that Going Backwards is a very strong opener, but this was the first time I had felt so much energy coming from the crowd, as if everyone’s heart had burst in unison releasing the tension and anticipation they had kept inside. The voices of people singing every single word with Dave filled the place, and it was clear that even the band thoroughly felt that strong reception: Dave was laughing as a child right from the second verse of the song (not very appropriate, though, considering the lyrics...)

That energy and pouring of love kept on building and building throughout the night, and all the guys on stage were clearly pleased, happy, entertained and even moved by what they were getting from the audience, and gave their all to please and move the audience in turn. Barrel Of A Gun, for instance, was so strong and aggressive that, even though it has never been a favourite of mine, I could really feel how deeply Dave lives it, especially in the final bridge when he sings about “the holy one”.

Precious is another example of how the band senses the mood of the crowd. That song has always been a fan favourite in Italy, possibly because it has a melody which suits the Italian ear for music, and Saturday it got the best reaction I’ve heard on the tour: as in response to that, the rendition of the melody and Dave’s flawless vocals produced a magic and moving vibe in a section of the set which normally gets a little overlooked by fans around the world.

Even the usually not-so-sponateous final oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh chorus to Home – let’s face it, Martin often has to work a bit hard to get the people going – this time sounded really unprompted and, of course, it became an ovation when Dave got back on stage and conducted it. We could have gone on for hours, and actually we kept on for a good 3 minutes, even after everyone on stage had stopped. The same happened at the end of Enjoy The Silence, when people erupted in a spontaneous chorus, never heard in other cities, taking up the melody of Matin’s guitar riff for several minutes and with the band silent, happy and almost astonished on stage.

And this leads me to underline the singing and chanting so typical at concerts in Italy. Every word of every song was sung, not only by the hotheads in the first rows, but virtually by every person in the audience, and that sound was so powerful that, at times, it almost blew the roof of the MediolanumForum off. We have all heard crowds all over the world singing the chorus to Enjoy The Silence when Dave asks for it, and we also know that Martin’s backing vocals can still be heard above the voices of the crowd during his section of the chorus. Well, in Milan, for the first time, the sound coming from the audience had such a mighty punch that it overwhelmed Martin’s own voice, and the arena just reasounded with 13000 happy voices....simply amazing.

The same level of sound was kept throughout most of the songs, with Stripped sung at the top of everyone’s lungs as much as any of the fan favourites. Stripped is another song I have often felt gets overlooked at several venues, as though it suffered its positioning in the set and for that reason it sometimes comes across somewhat flat. Well, that was not the case on Saturday: people just kept the flow and level of energy at the top, without missing a bit the whole concert.

And then there are the stadium like chants (Depeche Mode – Depeche Mode in-between songs or po-poro-poro po-poro-poro at the beginning and end of Walking in My Shoes) for which Italian venues are famous. The boys clearly enjoyed that part too: Dave kept laughing all night, Martin was smiling and, surprisingly, looking at people in the eyes, and even Fletch danced more than usual showing off his skilled moves.... Everyone was having a blast and dancing and singing like mad.

The only exception to all that was Cover Me. But do not get me wrong, it was a mindblowing exception. As if by magic, with all that sound and singing, everyone just kept silent all of a sudden: 13000 pair of eyes were simply captured by Dave’s wiry figure in the spotlight and 13000 mouths lip-synced to the song without uttering a sound, enraptured by the sheer beauty of that song, which has clearly reached the status of a DM classic hit by now.

I guess I do not need to get into details of what happened during the most popular crowd pleasers, as I have run out of words and adjectives: I can just repeat myself by saying that everyone danced and sang and screamed and shouted and jumped up and down like crazy. In a word a real and thoroughly entertaining mayhem...with a band so energized by the instinctive reaction of the audience that it just responded in tune. An astounding flow of passion, love and enthusiasm going back and forth between audience and stage.

Where’s The Revolution, though, deserves a few more words. I know that some devotees think that that song has had it by now, and, actually, I felt the same. But on Saturday it sounded absolutely powerful, raw and meaningful – maybe because of the special bond of love and energy I have been trying to describe – with many people in the audience rising their left fists during the chorus, really kind of calling for a revolution.

As for the remaining songs of the usual setlist, I can’t find anything else to add which you do not know already, I just loved every minute of it and I can say – without sounding a patriotic junky, which I am not – that a DM gig in Milan is an out-of-this-world experience.

On a not-so-side note I have to add that standing in the front row has A LOT of bonuses: I could feel part of that living body of passion without being distracted by anything else (as finding room to breathe or to move), I could study the expressions and little gestures of everyone on stage and the way the guys interact with one another, with Dave always playful and in an excellent mood. But, most important, I got the chance to often lock eyes with Mr Gahan and to enjoy his beautiful childlike smile (oops...here I go again with my fangirlish side...). You all know that he always looks for eye-contact with the audience in order to engage everyone, but when it happens to you he just makes you feel like he is singing for you, and for you only, and, geez, that’s positively amazing! 

Then, at the end of the concert, when all five of them got togheter front stage for the final bow, I showed Dave my little banner which just said “thank you”, he aknowledged it and when he came forward to wave the last goodbyes he thanked me, blew a kiss to me and made the heart gesture with his hands: I just melted on the spot and ended up as a puddle....

A pretty nice ending to a great evening, uh?

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Thank you Luisa!

LIVE REVIEW: DEPECHE MODE, SAN SIRO, MILAN, 27 JUNE 2017

As well as being a football stadium I've always wanted to visit, a Depeche gig at the San Siro is a must see. I wasn't able to go this time, but Ana Soto was and this is her review of the gig. Ana is a hardcore Depeche fan from Mexico City who travels all over to see the band as well as running the wonderful Mexican fan site depechemode.mx. Check our their Facebook page here. Thanks very much to Ana for this brilliant review and for the wonderful videos. Reading this makes me feel like I was at the show AND makes me very jealous.

Picture courtesy of Depehce Mode Classic Photos And Videos Facebook Group

Everything Counts In One Of The Largest Stadiums: 

Depeche Mode at San Siro 

Finally a concert where the weather gods are in our side: no more heavy rain nor the hottest night ever. 

That really changes everything in a show: in Berlin and Rome I saw many people leaving their privileged places close to the stage because they couldn’t stand anymore the storm or the suffocating heat. 

But Milan is different, everybody is happy, clapping and really excited to see Depeche Mode, nobody looks tired, they are just waiting eagerly. They are a great crowd even before the show starts. 

And the audience is even better as soon as Going Backwards begins. Not just that, even the sound and the acoustics are much better tonight, really strong and powerful, with Dave Gahan’s voice sounding huge in every corner of the ground.

“Good evening Milano!” yells Dave and the fans go nuts. Everybody is singing every song. It doesn’t matter if is new or old, everyone sings every word. The choruses especially sound amazing in unison. 

During A Pain That I’m Used To Dave almost hits himself on the head with Gordeno’s bass, but nothing bad happens and he just dances around as usual. Then comes In Your Room and, unlike at previous gigs, the singer awaits for Eigner’s cue to start and doesn't mess it up. Well done - everything is fine again with the problematic song. 

The grandstands are slightly illuminated at the end of World In My Eyes and the band can fully appreciate their fans' excited yelling. It is in that moment when a girl next to me shows her friend that her cheeks are starting to hurt just because she cannot stop smiling. And I could guess that her hands were in pain too, cause she couldn’t stop clapping either. 

When Martin Gore sings A Question Of Lust, there is some kind of a respectful silence, just to hear him, which is broken in the middle of the song with a huge ovation. Martin smiles and his eyes are bright in proud. What a beautiful moment!

Then another great moment in Where’s The Revolution. Dave’s voice is echoing all around the stadium, he comes to edge of the stage and for a second his hand seems to touch an imaginary beard. At that point many fans actually cover their faces with paper beards, imitating Depeche Mode's role as Russian revolutionaries in their video. 

When Dave arrives on the catwalk during Everything Counts, someone shows a sign asking him to take the vest off, but not even the extremely hot temperature in Rome was enough for us to see a half naked Gahan dancing around like in the old times.

Enjoy The Silence makes everybody jump around and dance overjoyed. At the end of the song everybody sings along and Dave exclaims: “Beautiful!”

The high point of the show is Never Let Me Down Again. It is just amazing to see the people in the l seats literally flying high, standing and waving their hands in the top of the stadium. 

At the end of the song, it is impossible not to laugh when the third shot of the t-shirt cannon doesn't work and Dave hits the cannon a little just trying to fix it. 

After the short break, Martin comes back smiling and saying “Thank you!”, then Somebody is played, the perfect soundtrack for some couples who start kissing each other. 

And then a little mistake that makes everybody yells overexcited: It’s No Good is written on the screen, and for a moment we think we are about to hear a new song on this tour. But  sadly not, as Walking In My Shoes comes on as usual just without the projection, that means tonight the screen is no good ;) 

“We have a new thing” said Dave in Berlin when the fans chanted that new chorus for Walking In My Shoes (but the greatest chanting of this was in Hannover second night!), sadly here in Milan, Gahan said: “Very nice, but lets save it for the next time”.

But we forget about it when Personal Jesus starts, telling us that it is the end of the show. We savour everything until the last minute, until Flecth, Martin and Dave come to our corner to wave their hands and say goodbye. 

On a personal level, I must say this has been the best show since Frankfurt, which was amazing. I am very glad to have been here this night in Milan with these awesome fans. 

Ana Soto

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Thank you Ana!

DEPECHE MODE PRESS CONFERENCE, MILAN, 11 OCTOBER 2016

The mysterious countdown on depechemode.com has been partially if not wholly explained.

The band will be holding a press conference in Milan where they will presumably announce details of their new album and world tour. Will there be anything else in store? A new single to download immediately? Details of a Radiohead like super duper boxset? An album jointly produced by Alan Wilder, Vince Clarke and Ralf Hutter? Probably not, but most Depeche fans will now be entering a state of frenzied anticipation that will lead to aggressive disappointment no matter what Milan throws up. Such is life.

But we do at least now know that a day has been announced and on that day more announcements will be announced.

If you are German, you can win tickets to attend via Ticketmaster.de - CLICK THIS 

More news as and when it comes in. Meanwhile, all eyes on Milan....