NASHVILLE |DATE: DECEMBER 15, 2005
FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/MARCEE RONDAN/LATHUM NELSON
DEPECHE MODE
CRITICS HAIL TWO SOLD-OUT NIGHTS AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN;
‘PLAYING THE ANGEL’ EXCEEDS 1.5 MILLION SALES WORLDWIDE
DEPECHE MODE invaded New York City last week, thrilling fans and stirring critics during two rapturous sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden. The acclaimed concerts crowned a victorious North American arena tour in support of PLAYING THE ANGEL, the group’s highly praised new album (Sire/Reprise). The New York Times live review (12/9/05) of the December 7 Madison Square Garden show noted how “the band was obviously energized by its best new material since the 1990 album Violator.”
The innovative and influential group also made a special return to Los Angeles this past Sunday (December 11)–after selling out three sold-out Los Angeles-area shows in November–to headline the second night of KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas. The Hollywood Reporter (12/13/05) reviewed the band’s final set of 2005, declaring “Depeche Mode stepped back from its arena show spectacle for stripped-down versions of ‘Personal Jesus’ and ‘Walking in My Shoes’ as well as a stunning, slow ballad arrangement of ‘Precious.’”
Since debuting in October, PLAYING THE ANGEL has reached #1 in 18 countries while already selling over 1.5 million copies around the world. In the U.S., the album debuted at #7 while the current hit single “Precious” has held the #1 position on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart and is currently in the Top 25 on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart.
In January, DEPECHE MODE–DAVE GAHAN, MARTIN GORE and ANDREW FLETCHER–will go to Europe to headline 69 stadium and arena dates throughout 30 countries, including Germany, England, Switzerland, Poland, France, Italy and Romania. Meanwhile, stay tuned for news of the band’s return to the U.S. in the spring.
Here’s a sample of the critical reaction to the December 7 Madison Square Garden show:
"The band was obviously energized by its best new material since the 1990 album Violator. The new album, Playing the Angel, fueled by Mr. Gore's divorce trauma and Mr. Gahan's recent songwriting involvement, recaptures a bygone muscular gloom…the key to Depeche Mode's longevity lies in the directness of its sentiments. You could choose to read the dark, vigorously performed hits ‘Policy of Truth’ and ‘Never Let Me Down Again’ as indictments not just of inconstant love but also of larger, more dire betrayals."
–Laura Sinagra, NEW YORK TIMES, 12/9/05
"…frontman Dave Gahan and guitarist Martin Gore looked and sounded youthful, and the material from their recently released Playing the Angel cemented that notion of renewed energy….the performance was a celebration… it was the funked-up, gospel-meets-electronica updated version of ‘John the Revelator’ that gripped the fans and declared the band was back and as good as ever."
–Dan Aquilante, NEW YORK POST, 12/9/05
"Its new album, Playing the Angel, is a return to form, crackling with a creative energy not seen since the days that ‘Personal Jesus’ and ‘Enjoy the Silence’ battled their way onto rock radio….The strength of the new songs–from the hooky current single ‘Precious’ to the rousing one-two electro-pop punch of ‘A Pain That I'm Used To’ and ‘John the Revelator,’ which opened the concert the way it opens the new album–kept the crowd happy for the first half of the show…Gahan…was in fine voice and even better shape as he strutted and preened across the Madison Square Garden stage…In new, upbeat songs such as ‘Suffer Well’ or classics such as ‘A Question of Time,’ Gahan once again yokes himself to the microphone stand and spins like a whirling dervish, as he has for 25 years. When Gore took center stage for his delicate ballads, especially the show-stopping sing-along ‘Home’ and ‘Somebody,’ he filled them with a new swaggering sweetness."
–Glenn Gamboa, NEWSDAY (NY), 12/9/05
Here are additional quotes from the North American arena tour:
"…this show benefits from some of Depeche Mode's best new material in a long time…In fact, they opened with two songs from Playing the Angel: the vintage-sounding ‘A Pain That I'm Used To’ and the gospel-fueled ‘John the Revelator.’ The latter was especially potent, with a provocative twist to the classic Southern spiritual theme (the band doesn't much care for the prophet's Book of the Apocalypse) and a jubilant refrain that let singer David Gahan shake his raised hands like a transported preacher. Those gospel and blues currents often merged with the band's electronic underpinnings to melt some of the frost that tends to chill their music. But for a group with the image of a strictly synth-pop operation, Depeche Mode sounded pretty organic and down to earth for much of the show, thanks to the prominence of live drums and chief songwriter Martin Gore's rock guitar…Gahan was really the key to the concert's dynamism. The singer looked like a scrawny rockabilly cat and spun like a Broadway chorus boy, asserting a commanding but unpretentious personality. With Gahan in charge, such moments as the audience sing-along in ‘Personal Jesus’ came off with the perfect arena-rock balance of epic and intimate."
–Richard Cromelin, LOS ANGELES TIMES, 11/23/05
"Spurred to action by a distorted synthesizer's boomeranging air-raid squall, Depeche Mode hit the ground running Tuesday night at the Allstate Arena and never looked back. Taking a stage set up with lighting designs and equipment consoles that resembled landing UFOs, singer Dave Gahan immediately set the tone with ‘A Pain That I'm Used To.’ Then the band launched into ‘John the Revelator,’ sending hypocrisy up in an elevator that reached the heavens, courtesy of a background gospel chorus that responded to Gahan as if he was a fire-and-brimstone preacher sermonizing on lies, shame and addiction."
–Bob Gendron, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/1/05
"…serving up gem after gem…Along with Gahan's magnetism, Depeche Mode owes its longevity to Gore's songwriting talents. The career-spanning set list sounded remarkably consistent, with the '80s synth-candy jewel ‘Just Can't Get Enough’ seamlessly rubbing elbows with darker fare like 1993's ‘Walking in My Shoes.’ Even new tunes (‘Precious’ from this year's Playing the Angel) held their ground next to such signature hits as ‘Personal Jesus’ and "’Enjoy the Silence.’”
–Chris Richards, WASHINGTON POST, 12/12/05
"DM can easily rest on their ’80s laurels, but they’ll be damned if the new songs take a back seat: They ended the night with ‘Goodnight Lovers’ off of 2001’s Exciter, and opened with ‘A Pain That I’m Used To’ and the excellent ‘John the Revelator,’ two of the better cuts from the current Playing the Angel that got as big a reception as some of the older material."
–Siran Babayan, LA WEEKLY.COM, 11/21/05
"…just as relevant and just as fresh as ever."
–Nina Garin, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 11/21/05
"…So what's impressive about this first Depeche sighting in four years is how remarkably well new and old songs mesh–and how strongly the group's loyalists are reacting….the sonically seamless mix of then and now can be downright shocking. In an engaging, energetic two-hour performance, Depeche Mode did what the Stones couldn't: They sold fence-sitters on the restorative power of their new songs through the intensified forcefulness of its playing."
–Ben Wener, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 11/21/05
"Their concerts prove that a quarter-century only makes them stronger, not older…Synthesized beats never sound as sexy as when Depeche Mode cranks them out. The band mixes drums and some guitar with programmed rhythms hefty and hedonistic. There's a primal allure to the grooves. Add to that lead singer Dave Gahan's seductive baritone, with its smooth undertone, and you have a dark dance party waiting to happen…[Gahan is]…one of the best frontmen in rock today."
–Mario Tarradell, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 11/9/05
"Gahan's cult leader-like magnetism had the audience singing verses and choruses of such other Depeche Mode gems as ‘Everything Counts’ and ‘Never Let Me Down Again.’ The band, rounded out by a drummer and second keyboardist, also pumped out the driving rhythm of ‘Behind the Wheel’ and the religious zeal of ‘Personal Jesus.’ Religion also drove ‘John the Revelator,’ a song inspired by the traditional tune of the same name, culled from the new DM album Playing the Angel…While Gahan was a seductive vampire, Gore was heartbroken black angel, and he eventually sang his trademark love song ‘Somebody’ during the first encore, emerging onstage with black-feather wings, a black-leather kilt and a black-mohawk hat. His face was smattered with glitter, and even when he smiled his eyes drooped as if he was full of emotional turmoil."
–Scott Iwasaki, DESERET NEWS (UT), 11/15/05
"…Touring behind new album Playing the Angel–a dark, brooding triumph that manages to sound both fresh and familiar (they know it's good; they played most of it)–the band filled a flashing, futuristic stage with all manner of sleek, digital geegaws, including a giant silver orb and three keyboard consoles encased in intergalactic space pods. Star Trek vibe aside, there's a much more earthbound reason for Depeche Mode's longstanding success and unmistakable influence on such modern groups as Nine Inch Nails, the Killers and Thursday's opening act, the Bravery. Simply: Gore & Co. are honest about alienation and can make the all-ages scourge of loneliness sound both heartbreaking and incredibly catchy….New single ‘Precious,’ a desperate call for peace–perhaps between lovers, perhaps between nations–also received a raucous grade, and with good reason. It's one of the most gorgeous songs the band has crafted."
–Sean Daly, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 11/4/05
"…Gahan is easily one of rockdom's most charismatic frontmen…"
–Mark Lowry, FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 11/9/05
" The set stretched back as far as 1981 for the propulsive dance track ‘Just Can't Get Enough,’ part of two encores that also included massive early Depeche Mode hits ‘Everything Counts’ and Gore's sing-a-long ballad par excellence, ‘Somebody.’ But this show was anything but a simple rehashing of Depeche Mode's career highlights. The band based its set around a heavy dose of its new album, Playing the Angel, and strong performances of the new songs acted as a vivid statement that Depeche Mode isn't out of stream after a quarter-century making music together.”
–Dan Nailen, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 11/14/05
"…after two exhilarating hours, two encores and 21 songs, Depeche Mode still had an entire arena screaming and waiting for more until the house lights finally signaled the definitive end. It was music, it was inspiration, it was eroticism for the masses. And it was incredible."
–Austin Powell, DAILY TEXAN, 11/14/05
"…the pioneering '80s synth band created and re-created sexually charged, pulsating pop songs and sullen, angst-ridden electronic odes, which sent some 12,000 fans into a frenzy over and over again. Nostalgia took a back seat to primal, essential rock. A large, satellite-shaped stage prop flashed the themes of the night: Sex, Pain, Angel, Love and Enjoy. For example, ‘Personal Jesus,’ which came late in the show, is really a raw blues propelled by the exploding sounds of floor tom-toms–meant to be enjoyed aurally and to sexually entice. But Depeche Mode opened its show with what it does best: compelling electronic tracks, the new ‘A Pain That I'm Used To and ‘John the Revelator.’
–Hector Saldana, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 11/11/05
"…The overall feel of the show, which ended with Gahan and Gore singing side by side on the 2001 album track ‘Goodnight Lovers,’ was one of confidence yet humility, of electronic precision coupled with musician-driven power."
–Yoshi Kato, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 11/21/05
"…his [Gahan's] singing was smoother and more confident than before, bringing impressive heat to ‘I Feel You’ and sensitivity to ‘Goodnight Lovers.’ Even better, the arrangements were expanded and beefed up, adding extra crunch to the slow grind of ‘Personal Jesus’ and oomph to the beat in ‘Just Can't Get Enough.’”
–J.D.Considine, TORONTO GLOBE AND MAIL, 12/3/05
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