NASHVILLE |DATE: JULY 13, 2001
FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/MARCEE RONDAN/LATHUM NELSON
MSO CONTACTS: MITCH SCHNEIDER/LATHUM NELSON
DEPECHE MODE FEEL LOVED;
SHOT VIDEO FOR NEXT SINGLE "I FEEL LOVED" IN LOS ANGELES;
'EXCITER TOUR' MEETS CRITICAL ACCLAIM DURING TWO SOLD-OUT MADISON SQUARE
GARDEN SHOWS
Before they launched their current "Exciter Tour," DEPECHE MODE took over a small club in Los Angeles to film a video with for their upcoming single "I Feel Loved." The setting is Chinatown on a 102 degree day with the band's DAVE GAHAN, MARTIN GORE and ANDREW FLETCHER performing on a tiny stage for a sweaty, overcrowded room of dancing kids. Director John Hillcoat (Nick Cave, Bush) brings contrast to the energetic club, when a group of stone-faced police officers enter the club, led by ferocious German Shepherds.
In a recent VH1 Online feature, GAHAN described what it was like to work with the snarling canines in the video: "They're real attack dogs, and I'm singing 'I Feel Loved,' and (director John Hillcoat) told me whatever I do, 'don't look into the dogs' eyes. I didn't feel scared, and that's not because I'm a tough guy. It was just like, 'The dogs are there. They're going to kill me. Just get the shot.'" "I Feel Loved" goes to radio in mid-August, with the video to debut shortly thereafter.
As with their current hit "Dream On," "I Feel Loved" has earned praise in the press, with Billboard's Wayne Hoffman noting: "Thanks to such standouts as the danceable 'I Feel Loved' and 'Dream On,' Exciter is the best Depeche Mode album in a decade." The Hartford Courant's Justin Serement stated: "'I Feel Loved' is the album's shiniest moment." And Sara Scribner, in her recent CMJ cover profile of the band, added: "'I Feel Loved'…is simply a great, unshackled dance track."
Meanwhile, DEPECHE MODE are thrilling fans on their current "Exciter Tour," which recently touched down for two sold-out shows at New York City's Madison Square Garden. In his New York Times review of the first night (June 27), Neil Strauss described the band's musical success: "The key to the band's music has always been its combination of dark and light, as embodied in Wednesday night's contrasting stage presence and singing style of Mr. Gore and Mr. Gahan. Similarly, its music offers a combination of light guitar and synth melodies contrasted with ominous bass lines or clanging metallic beats. And the themes it sings about are often simply traditional values (especially love and faith) seen through a dark prism."
Elsewhere, Jim Farber of the New York Daily News illuminated the band's long lasting appeal in his live review: "There's something strangely comforting about Depeche Mode's music these days. Besides the fact that the band boasts a less celebrated romantic side, the music at Wednesday's show (June 27) had an ironic warmth that helps explain its longevity."
Finally, in the Hollywood Reporter's review of the same show, Jay DeFoore noted: "Gahan, the consummate frontman with snake charmer moves and charisma to burn, breathed life into Gore's lyrics about carnal obsession and spiritual doubt."
DEPECHE MODE's intriguing, potent music is further enhanced onstage with cutting-edge visuals by their longtime collaborator Anton Corbijn. As noted by Jon Zahlaway in his review at Livedaily.com, "A giant projection screen served as a backdrop, and featured stunning visuals chosen to compliment each song. Particular visual highlights included the water-drop and rain footage timed to the sequencing of 'Waiting For The Night' and the tension-creating illusion of two goldfish swimming on the screen just out of reach of a shark during 'In Your Room.'"
The critically acclaimed "Exciter Tour" is a massive five-month, 24-country world tour visiting 37 North American cities with multiple nights in New York City, Los Angeles and Anaheim. This marks DEPECHE MODE's first concert tour since 1998's "The Singles Tour," where they played to over 1,000,000 fans in 18 countries.
For more information on DEPECHE MODE and the "Exciter Tour," visit their website at www.depechemode.com.
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