They joked, they delivered dance duets – Depeche Mode were in top form at their first Berlin gig.
Last summer, Depeche Mode provided great live moments at the Olympic Stadium on their current MEMENTO MORI tour. Now they are back in the capital for three evenings.
On February 13, 2024, Depeche Mode will open the first of three nights of their tour at the Mercedes-Benz Arena Berlin. Since the painful loss of band member Andy Fletcher, the dynamic within the band has changed noticeably. Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, the remaining original members, exude an increased unity that will set the tone for the evening.
A giant “M” towers above the stage, whose background consists of a video screen. A rather ambiguous symbol that stands for both “memento mori” and “fashion”. Otherwise, people are still practicing modest minimalism. Great minds don’t need fanfare.
Like last summer, the concert begins with “My Cosmos Is Mine”. The live musicians Peter Gordeno and Christian Eigner appear on the dimly lit stage, followed by Martin Gore and – finally – frontman Dave Gahan.
Dave Gahan – Your Personal Jesus
Berlin sees Dave Gahan in top physical form this evening. His powerful voice reaches into every corner of the arena as he captivates the audience with his charismatic stage presence. Gahan uses the entire stage and the walkway in front of it to his advantage, dances lasciviously to the rhythm of the music and lets the audience become part of his energetic performance. At one moment he’s whirling in circles as if out of his mind, the next moment he’s holding out his arms as if he were expecting his own crucifixion. Ballet-like bows alternate with crazy contortions.
Martin Gore – Strangelove
Martin Gore, in traditional black nail polish and safety-pin pearl necklace, stays in the background but steps into the spotlight when he takes on lead vocals. During “Somebody” you can literally hear the famous pin drop and during “Strangelove”, here accompanied only by live keyboardist Peter Gordeno, Gore leaves the arena listening in awe with his delicate but haunting voice. “Strangelove, will you give it to me?” he sings, and the question seems to be directed not only at the audience, but also at the fate that brought the band here. Gahan can’t help but praise his partner in the highest tones: “The angelic voice of Mr. Martin L. Gore!” That’s not a lie, because Gore is way ahead in terms of both timbre and intonation this evening Gahan, who always struggles with the right notes.
Andy Fletcher – Behind the Wheel
Gahan and Gore are noticeably stuck together a lot this evening. Dave repeatedly tries to get close to Martin, they joke around, laugh, perform dance duets during “Enjoy The Silence” and crown this moment with a double high five. The two musicians seem particularly intimate during the acoustic encore “Condemnation” as they stand together on the edge of the stage walkway, very close to the fans. The newly achieved harmony between the two egocentrics is not only the highlight of the tour, but also respect for their deceased colleague, who held the band together during his lifetime with his balanced and mediatorial manner.
Therefore, one of the emotional highlights of the evening is undoubtedly the tribute to Andy Fletcher during “Behind The Wheel”. On the last tour, “World In My Eyes”, Flechter’s favorite Depeche Mode song, was still on this spot. Today Andy is only shown on the oversized video screen at the end of the song, but the hall still sends collective goosebumps. Basically there is no need for effects, Fletcher’s legacy is floating in the room that evening anyway, but for a moment it seems as if he himself was speaking through the music that you don’t even hear today: “Let me show you the world in my eyes “ – and Berlin looks.
I feel you
The eclectic energy on stage is transferred seamlessly to the audience. Every song, from “Walking In My Shoes” to “Enjoy The Silence,” is enthusiastically received. The fans, as always dressed predominantly in black, create an atmosphere worthy of this “Black Celebration”. Depeche Mode create pleasant shivers with every song, not just the big hits. But which DM song isn’t a big hit? The English repertoire, which spans more than four decades, has an enormous density of singles that has shaped entire generations. Therefore, the evening’s setlist is a carefully curated mix of new tracks and old classics.
From “My Cosmos Is Mine” to the powerful conclusion with “Personal Jesus” – each selection seems to shed new light on the band’s history, without unnecessarily glorifying the past and instead making space for their most recent musical works. The encore block with “Waiting For The Night”, “Just Can’t Get Enough” and “Never Let Me Down Again” still leaves the crowd in a state of transfigured nostalgia.
Memento mori
Dave Gahan and Martin Gore not only deliver over two hours, but also create a homage to the transience and beauty of the moment and thus implement the “Memento Mori” theme excellently. “Words are very unnecessary,” it says in “Enjoy The Silence,” and in fact it is the moments between the words that resonate most strongly that evening.