NASHVILLE |DATE: MAY 24, 2001
FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/MARCEE RONDAN/LATHUM NELSON
DEPECHE MODE'S 'EXCITER' DEBUTS IN THE
TOP TEN WITH CRITICAL PRAISE;
'EXCITER TOUR' CONTINUES TO SELL-OUT
ACROSS THE COUNTRY
DEPECHE MODE's new album EXCITER charged into #8 on Billboard's pop albums chart with first week sales exceeding 114,000. Marking the band's 10th studio release, EXCITER has produced vast critical acclaim in addition to a smash single with "Dream On," which is climbing Billboard's modern rock chart at #13 (with a bullet) while reaching the #1 position on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Single Sales chart. The album also had a massive worldwide debut, entering the charts at #1 in Sweden, Greece, France, Germany and Belgium; #2 in Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Finland; #3 in Canada, Norway, Denmark and Austria; and the top ten in the U.K.
"I think this album is different. We try with every album to develop and do something different," ANDREW FLETCHER recently told the Daily Insider music news service. "Obviously with Dave Gahan's voice and Martin Gore's songs, it's going to sound like Depeche Mode." He continues: "If you look at the album, it is very diverse, which is what I like about it. It reminds me a bit of 'Black Celebration' in that respect. The songs are really good quality but sound completely different from each other."
On the television front, look for DEPECHE MODE-MARTIN GORE, DAVE GAHAN and ANDREW FLETCHER-to perform on the Late Show with David Letterman Tuesday, June 26, the day before they play two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Meanwhile, DEPECHE MODE's upcoming "EXCITER TOUR" has received a thunderous response from fans, with shows selling out across the country, including two nights in both New York and Los Angeles. The tour also has sold-out dates in Las Vegas, Dallas, Washington, Salt Lake City and California's Mountain View, Concord and Santa Barbara. Beginning in the U.S. June 19 in Minneapolis at the XCEL Energy Center, "Exciter Tour" will visit 33 North American cities as part of the band's first tour since 1998's triumphant "The Singles" tour. The American dates are being presented by MTV2.
In her USA Today review, Elysa Gardner noted: "Exciter…is at once the earthiest and most futuristic song cycle the group has released yet, folding acoustic and electronic orchestration into gorgeous sonic landscapes. The graceful, pulsating 'Dream On' may be the finest single that songwriter Martin Gore has crafted since 1990's 'Enjoy The Silence.' The delicately soulful 'Freelove' and 'Shine' are lovelier still, showcasing Dave Gahan's most tender, confident singing to date."
At the same time, Barry Walter's praised the album in his recent Rolling Stone review: "…Depeche Mode's tenth studio album ranks miraculously high. Produced by Bjork collaborator Mark Bell, Exciter glimmers like a gentle ambient doodle with vocals…But because Gore's songwriting is so focused and Gahan's vocal presence is so commanding, the softest songs leap to the foreground like a whisper from a lover…from the breathless a cappella opening of 'Dream On' to the closing strains of 'Goodnight Lovers,' Exciter maintains an otherworldly mood and purity of purpose that today's angst-ridden rockers would trade their Jeff Buckley CDs to attain."
And in the Alternative Press four-star review, Jason Pettigrew wrote: "What makes this disc so intriguing is its embracing of the latest electronic substrata within the context of chief songwriter Martin Gore's well-crafted pop tunes…Vocalist Dave Gahan sounds remarkably soulful."
Here are the up-to-the-minute "EXCITER TOUR" dates:
DATE CITY VENUE
North American Dates
Mon 6/11 Quebec city Colisee Pepsi Arena
Wed 6/13 Ottawa Corel Centre
Fri 6/15 Montreal, CAN Molson Centre
Sat 6/16 Toronto, CAN Molson Amphitheatre
Tue 6/19 Minneapolis, MN XCEL Energy Center
Wed 6/20 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheater
Fri 6/22 Chicago, IL World Music Theatre
Sat 6/23 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theater
Sun 6/24 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
Wed 6/27 New York City, NY Madison Square Garden
Thu 6/28 New York City, NY Madison Square Garden
Sat 6/30 Philadelphia, PA First Union Center
Sun 7/1 Boston, MA Tweeter Center
Tue 7/3 Wantaugh, NJ Jones Beach Amphitheatre
Thu 7/5 Washington, DC Merriweather Post Pavillion
Sat 7/7 Ft Lauderdale, FL National Car Rental Center
Sun 7/8 Tampa, FL Ice Palace
Mon 7/9 Atlanta, GA Hi Fi Buys Amphitheater
Fri 7/13 New Orleans, LA UNO Lakefront Arena
Sat 7/14 Houston, TX Cynthia Wood Mitchell Pavilion
Sun 7/15 San Antonio, TX South Texas Amphitheater
Tue 7/17 Dallas, TX Smirnoff Music Center
Thu 7/19 Las Cruces, NM Pan American Center
Fri 7/20 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion
Sat 7/21 Denver, CO Fiddlers Green Amphitheater
Mon 7/23 Salt Lake City, UT E Center
Fri 7/27 Portland, OR Rose Garden Arena
Sat 7/28 Vancouver, BC Pacific Coliseum
Sun 7/29 Seattle, WA The Gorge Amphitheater
Wed 8/1 Sacramento, CA Sacramento Valley Amphitheater
Fri 8/3 Concord, CA Chronicle Pavilion
Sat 8/4 San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheater
Sun 8/5 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl
Wed 8/8 Las Vegas, NV The Joint
Fri 8/10 Phoenix, AZ America West Arena
Sat 8/11 San Diego, CA Coors Amphitheater
Tue 8/14 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
Wed 8/15 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
Sat 8/18 Anaheim, CA Arrowhead Pond
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