A MEMENTO: DEPECHE MODE, STADIO OLIMPICO, ROME 12 JULY 2023

 

Matt Cullingworth enjoyed reviewing gigs for the 2017/18 blog project so much that he has come back for more. Here is his excellent review of what sounded like a sweltering Rome gig. Pics are Matt's and Depeche Mode Classic Photos & Videos Facebook Group's so be nice and credit them if/when you nick them. Thanks Matt. 

It seems customary for those of us with long suffering partners that when Mode tour the only way we can get them along to a gig is if there’s some kind of mini break abroad involved.

This was certainly the case for me when my wife saw the tour dates and pin pointed Rome as our European outdoor gig this time around. We weren’t the only ones by the looks of things either. As we toured the sights in the morning and visited the Colloseum we bumped into another couple who were doing the same (albeit on a larger scale around Europe). If you happen to read this, it was lovely meeting you both. We did look out for the Basildon flag but couldn’t see it.

The record for my hottest DM gig ever was previously held by either Prague back on The Delta Machine tour or the penultimate night of the Global Spirit tour in Berlin. This was equally sweltering and limited our beer intake significantly (when did we get so old and sensible ??)

As the dry ice started to swirl just before 9pm it must have still been well over 30 degrees. “There’s no way Dave is going to wear a jacket in this weather” commented my wife. How wrong she was. As the opening samples of My Cosmos Is Mine rang out across the stadium, out our favourite frontman came - in a full 3 piece suit. Fair play Dave, the jacket lasted the full song before it was carefully passed over to one of the road crew and we launched into Wagging Tongue.

I know a few people have been a little non plussed with the Memento Mori songs in the set list. In my opinion they fit pretty seamlessly alongside the classics.

Walking In My Shoes sets off a breathless run of massive songs. We get to Sister Of Night which means we’re getting set list B and a few different tracks to what I heard at Twickenham. Phew. That’s my only criticism. I wish they’d mix the set list up a bit more - Blasphemous Rumours would fit like a glove in here somewhere for example (as would Lie To Me)

As we get to the end of Speak To Me which Dave completely nails (as he does with his vocals all night) thoughts turn to what Martin songs we might get. After all Strangelove made its tour debut a few nights before. However, no changes for us, which sounds very ungrateful when Mart sings both A Question Of Lust and Soul With Me so beautifully.

Pic courtesy of Depeche Mode Classic Photos & Videos Facebook Group

We’re getting into the home stretch of the main set now which kicks off with Ghosts Again. Let’s face it this already feels like a DM classic.

A reinvigorated I Feel You and the quite frankly droppable A Pain That I’m Used to take us to the emotional high point of the evening. World In My Eyes is already one of my favourite DM songs anyway but the backdrop of the sadly departed and much missed Andy Fletcher makes it even more poignant. Having been caught off guard by the gut punch it was going to deliver at Twickenham I was doubly surprised when it hit me hard again.

Having lost 2 friends earlier in the year unexpectedly, just before Memento Mori was released, the massive screens are a very visual reminder of the fragility of life and that we must make the most of our allotted time. I’ll drink to that.

Tears wiped away, it’s back to jumping around like a lunatic. Wrong, Stripped, John The Revelator and the best song ever written, Enjoy The Silence, take us to the end of the main set.

Pic courtesy of Depeche Mode Classic Photos & Videos Facebook Group

Here’s where my only gripe comes in and it isn’t with the band. Having been lucky enough to secure gold circle tickets I was looking forward to a great view of Mart & Dave at the end of the catwalk. What transpired through the entirety of a beautiful Waiting For The Night was a sea of mobile phones obscuring what was a mesmerising and tender moment. The modern malaise of concert going I guess.

We all know the encore by now - Just Can’t Get Enough, Never Let Me Down Again and Personal Jesus bring the curtain down on an absolutely stunning performance. They really do sound like they’re getting better live which over 40 years into a career is quite something.

As a series of blacked out vans with a police escort sped passed us. No doubt containing bedressing gowned members of the Mode, it dawned on us that our journey back to the hotel wouldn’t be quite so easy. An hour and a half and a £60 Uber later we were home for the night.

The boys really are on top form this tour. Yes we’d all like to hear some different songs but when they’re smashing it like this it’s hard to argue with the formula. Bring on the winter arenas !!!!

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Thanks Matt!

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.

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Thanks Chris!