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STILL
GAHAN STRONG
[NME,
22nd September 2001. Words: Stephen Dalton. Picture: Uncredited.]
" Whatever their internal tensions, the Mode seem at their most coherent and in sync for a decade. "
Summary:
A glowing review of a date of the Exciter tour in
Germany. The author is clearly impressed by Depeche Mode's continued ability to
command a cult following while remaining a quality band, and relieved at their
recovery from what he sees as blips in the 1990s. One to have devotees cheering!
[385 words]
View page: page 1
Try
also: "Faith,
Hope And Depravity" [Select, December 1990]
"Cleaning Up" [Q,
November 1998]
"Reconstruction Time Again" [Q,
June 2001]
"The Long And Winding Mode" [The
Observer, 21st October 2001]
In
this anniversary year, the class of '81 have mostly taken comfort in tradition.
But while U2 and New Order fall back on guitars and greatest hits, the other
graduates of that 50 million-plus sales, post punk super league are still
pushing forward, still selling out arenas in minutes, and still underrated in
their homeland. Too old for Radio 1, too weird for Radio 2, Depeche Mode remain
the biggest cult band in Britain.
But does that
make them any good? Try asking the 20,000 Germanic street screechers who throng
this former Hitler Youth amphitheatre on the first of two sell out Berlin dates.
The atmosphere is beyond hysterical long before the band arrive for a two hour
marathon.
It's heavy on the new 'Exciter' album, with virtually no '80s Mode and barely
half a dozen singles - but still everybody screams every word. In this age of
bewildering consumer choice, Depeche have cracked pop's holy grail, band
loyalty.
For most of the '90s, the Mode were divided by drugs, egos and internal
friction. On their 1998 tour they seemed fragile, depleted, uneven. This time
they rock like a Panzer division. Right from the glam stomp of "Dead Of
Night", Dave Gahan is on killer form - a slicked back, duck-walking, cool
suited rock'n'roller, shagging his mic stand and high kicking the night air.
Meanwhile Martin Gore, rock's campest heterosexual, wearing the single wing and
snow white bondage trousers of a fallen angel, joins Dave in frequent bouts of
back to back arse dancing.
With just the slightest mid set lull, the pacing is near perfect, Depeche can
still pound out thunderdome metal bashers like "I Feel You" and
"Personal Jesus", or Wagnerian disco behemoths like 'Enjoy The
Silence'. But a newly crafted subtlety and Gahan's enriched voice also allow
room for twinklers like "When The Body Speaks" and "Freelove".
Whatever their internal tensions, the Mode seem at their most coherent and in
sync for a decade. They've finessed the gulf between Gahan's comical rock star
histrionics and the other two's more restrained Euro cool detachment into some
kind of revved-up, sky punching, dynamic whole.
Crashing from anthemic peak to anthemic peak, Depeche Mode are a national
institution with an international cult following. In an era of lacklustre
megashows and bad superstars, respect is due.