They played last night at the Garden State Arts Center (i refuse to call it the PNC Bank Arts Center because that's a stupid name). Overall, I enjoyed the show. Nothing compares to the first Depeche Mode concert i went to in 1994. That was both my first Depeche Mode concert and my first concert ever. Now whenever there's a concert for some band i like, i sit there debating if it's worth the effort of getting to the venue and the money to buy the tickets when the sound quality is considerably better in my living room. Tsk.

Once we got to the Arts Center, there was some complicated series of driving in circles, getting off the Parkway, then heading back onto the Parkway, all the while being directed by high shool kids all in white shirts and beige pants/shorts. A stretch SUV was in front of us. They were clearly quite important because the white shirts waved at the occupants of said vehicle, and as the SUV passed, the white shirt closest to it would point at it while nodding knowingly at a compatriot farther away. They also got to park in the lot right by the entrance and were not diverted back towards the Parkway to the "Commoners" lot. At least shuttle buses were thoughtfully provided to us to get us from the lot to the venue.

The opening band was a group called She Wants Revenge. Two LA DJs who decided to get together and make music. Whatever you do, don't watch the video for their song "These Things" before you listen to their music. It will totally ruin it for you. The Garden State Arts Center is an open venue, so the sound wasn't great. And the opening band never gets the love and attention the main act gets, so basically, they pointed their amps at the audience and turned it up to 11. What's funny is that the 'group' is just these 2 guys. But in order to play live, they had to get a drummer and a guitarist to play with them. The singer played the occasional guitar and the other guy played the bass and the keys.

I think i can start buying music again. Tank goff for the revival of New Wave. I was floudering until Interpol and The Killers and Franz Ferdinand came on the scene. Don't get me wrong. I love the musics. But i'm a europop new wave baby, and i was mourning the loss of an era until these newbies showed up. I disagree with AllMusic in saying She Wants Revenge sounds like Joy Division. I think they say that about every new wavy band that comes out. It's required. The singing might be a bit same-y, but i'm willing to give their album a try and see what i get. Also, in the AllMusic review, they mention a band called The Bravery that i might look into. I might almost be excited if i wasn't so negative.

On Thursday night DM had to shorten their set because Dave Gahan (the singer) got laryngitis. We were a bit worried that our show might get cancelled or shortened, but it all went fine. Considering the amount of screaming he was doing, I'm not surprised Gahan ended up with laryngitis. Between you and me, i wonder if he had a little tipple before the show. Or mebbe it was just a little speed.

Conversely, I think they must have given Andrew Fletcher a sedative or some kind of happy pill. He spent the entire evening standing there, occasionally hopping around and mebbe pushing a button once or twice on his keyboard. He didn't even clap. So sad. They had monitors showing the band as they were playing. Peter Gordeno, the keyboardist not officially in the band, got more screen time than Fletch. I think that was because that guy was actually playing the keyboard. C'mon, guys. It's been 26 years. Teach the guy some chords or something.

It was a decent set that lasted from around 9:20 to 11. They ofc came back for a 4 song encore. On a side note, the whole business of the encore has lost some of its lustre. It's like when they started printing on the cover of the albums that there was a hidden track. Everybody knows they're going to come back for an encore. It used to be when the band said goodnight, they meant it. If the crowd was enthusiastic enough, mebbe they'd get a nod from the band in the form of the encore. When the encore becomes standard, the whole ruse of walking off the stage only to come back in a few minutes seems silly. We don't really need to keep cheering and shouting and clapping and whooping to entice the band back for a few more songs. They were going to come out anyway.

The set was a mix of stuff off the Playing the Angel album and older stuff. Here's a rundown of the set (which the DM site is nice enough to publish because i sure as hell couldn't remember everything that was and wasn't played):

Intro
A Pain That I'm Used To - Playing the Angel
A Question Of Time - Black Celebration
Suffer Well - Playing the Angel
Precious - Playing the Angel
Walking In My Shoes - Songs of Faith and Devotion
Stripped - Black Celebration
Home - Ultra
It Doesn't Matter Two - Black Celebration
In Your Room - Songs of Faith and Devotion
The Sinner In Me - Playing the Angel
I Feel You - Songs of Faith and Devotion
Behind The Wheel - Music for the Masses
World In My Eyes - Violator
Personal Jesus - - Violator
Enjoy The Silence - Violator
Encore
Leave In Silence - A Broken Fram
Photographic - Speak&Spell
Just Can't Get Enough - Speak&Spell
Never Let Me Down Again - Music for the Masses

So, there you go, rod. One song from Ultra. And Martin Gore did the singing. They wisely stayed away from any songs off the Exciter album which wasn't so good, imo. Weird crowd. Lots of people who looked like they were the kind of people who watched alot of sports. Not the DM crowd i'm used to seeing (although, admittedly, i've only been to 3 DM concerts counting this one). I also think that the crowd didn't know the older songs. You know how they like to do that bit where they get the audience to sing along? Gahan tried that a few times with some of the older songs, and it didn't go so well.

Martin Gore sang "Home", "It Doesn't Matter Two", and "Leave in Silence." The first 2 songs Gore usually sings. But "Leave in Silence" is Gahan on the studio recording. And it's a fairly upbeat song. Something you could definitely dance to, though a tad slow. Well, when Gore came out for the encore, he sang it as a ballad. Still nice. Gore's got a good voice. But the song definitely loses some of its oomph as a ballad. I don't know what it is. I love the phrasing, the way the music comes in at certain points in the studio version. Definitely catchier. Then they played "Photographic" at about 1.5 times the normal speed. Which was kewl, but doesn't make up for "Leave in Silence." And i was sad they didn't sing "Shake the Disease," but it looks like during the tour, Gore sings this solo, so again, i wouldn't have been happy because inevitably he would have turned it into a ballad. He wore one of those knit hats with the ear flaps and the strings that dangle down. Usually those things have a pom-pom on the top. His had a mohawk. He's a weird guy.

DM also needed extra musicians to help them out with their live performance. Back in the day, DM stage setup would consist of 3 keyboards, a mic, and a guitar for the occasional Martin Gore guitar feature. Now, it's 3 keyboards, Gore's menagerie of guitars brought on and taken off one by one by a crew of roadies, and a fairly large drumset. As mentioned earlier, Peter Gordeno was the third keyboardist. The drummer is an Austrian named Christian Eigner. This guy was good. Really good. Since Ultra, their sound has been heavier, including more real instruments as opposed to the synth equivalents. Including real drums, not just a drum track. Some of this must be due to Eigner, as he is credited in some songs. I think it's a good direction. But i still don't feel right about it. It's just inherently wrong for DM to be on stage with real drums.

As for my experience with being around people, the guy next to me kept inching ever closer, forcing me to keep moving to the right. As if this process would soon land him in some prime viewing spot that i was hoarding. We were about 10 rows from the lawn. I don't think the viewing was going to get much better than it was.

In addition to the pushy guy, there was an older couple a few rows in front of us who were very happy to be at a concert. They were dancing and whooping during the 40 min sound check in between the opening band and DM. Rod predicted they would fall into an alcoholic slumber before DM got on stage, but it wasn't to be.

I opted to not get a $40 T-shirt or any of the other over priced merchandise being offered. I know. I'm a tightwad. The one DM concert tee i bought was at that 1994 concert, and it got shrunk in the wash. I won't say who shrunk it, but i will say that i'm still bitter. Not only was that my first concert, it was the last concert before Alan Wilder left. *sigh*

Did you know they did away with analogies on the SATs? It's a sad state of affairs. I'll try to make up for the ETS's shortcomings. Watching a new wave band with real drums is like eating sugar cereal with soy milk.

yeah, soy milk is terrible. but rice milk makes an adequate substitute.

You would probably like The Bravery....

Does DM play instruments? I always imagined them standing around some turntables or a synth.

Also I don't know any songs after Violator :o(

keyboards. they set up 3 keyboards at varying heights (i don't know what that's about). gore, wilder, and fletcher would man the keys. gahan danced around and posed. once in a while gore trotted out his guitar. but ever since the album ultra (coincidentally, the first album after wilder left), it's been real drums and lots of guitar time for gore. it's like an alternate reality DM. i'm not sure if i'm for or against it. i just know it's not right.