NASHVILLE |DATE: FEBRUARY 7, 2001
FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/MARCEE RONDAN/LATHUM NELSON
DEPECHE MODE'S 'ONE NIGHT IN PARIS'
PAY PER VIEW CONCERT
COMING FRIDAY, MARCH 8
DEPECHE MODE–DAVE GAHAN, MARTIN GORE and ANDREW FLETCHER–have announced the special "One Night In Paris, The Exciter Tour" Pay Per View concert to debut Friday, March 8 on iN Demand (8:00 PM EST), TVN (9:00 PM EST), Echostar (9:00 PM EST) and DirecTV (9:00 PM EST). Merging their artistic vision with onstage dynamism, the exclusive two-hour event, replaying through April 9, was directed by the pioneering band's long-time artistic accomplice Anton Corbijn at the sold-out Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy in front of 16,000 wildly enthusiastic fans as part of their massive 2001 worldwide tour.
Corbijn, who received a Grammy nomination for 1994's "Devotional" DEPECHE MODE concert film, shot the cutting-edge Paris show on anamorphic 16:9 Digital Betacam, using 13 cameras to achieve an incredible illustration of the band's intriguing and potent performance that gives viewers the sensation of actually being in the venue. The state-of-the-art location was chosen "because the venue itself is probably one of the best in the world," says FLETCHER. "We've played this venue many, many times, so for us it's almost like a second home in Paris." Noting the broad international audience in attendance, he says DEPECHE MODE "fans will travel from all over the world to see a concert in Paris."
Amid Corbijn's startling onscreen films and projections, as well as richly colorful stage lighting, "One Night In Paris" finds DEPECHE MODE delivering a passionate musical procession of songs spanning the group's career and accentuating the creative sparks of their current EXCITER album. Loose-limbed, bare-chested and tattooed, GAHAN compellingly lifts "Walking In My Shoes," "Personal Jesus," "It's No Good" and the Exciter hit "Dream On" to new heights, while exposing gentle reverence on such numbers as the current single "Freelove," #1 this week on Billboard's Club Play dance chart. GORE–decked out in a glam white-feathered boa, in contrast to his pensive persona–fills the arena with his lilting guitars and poignant lead vocals on soulful renditions of "Home" and "Breathe."
GAHAN says that the captivating set list was chosen because "we couldn't have gone out and done another tour celebrating our past. It had to be something new. There aren't many bands that can actually say after 20 years that they're still trying to be creative."
Reflects FLETCHER: "As a band, we feel very lucky that our music these days, 20 years on, stands up with the music we played 20 years ago and everything since then. It's very gratifying for us to play new music in a concert that goes down as well as the classics."
The mega-successful "Exciter Tour" kicked off June 11 in Quebec, Canada in support of the two million-selling EXCITER album which features the two-time Grammy nominated "I Feel Loved" ("Best Dance Recording," "Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical"). The trek wrapped up November 5 in Mannheim, Germany after 84 performances for over 1.5 million fans in 24 countries. The critically acclaimed arena/shed tour–on which they were joined by musicians Christian Eigner (drums), Peter Gordeno (keyboards) and Jordan Bailey and Georgia Lewis (backing vocals)–visited 37 North American cities with multiple nights in New York City, Los Angeles and Anaheim, marking DEPECHE MODE's first outing since 1998's "The Singles Tour," where they played to over 1,000,000 fans in 18 countries.
"As far as performing goes," says GAHAN, "I enjoyed this tour more than any other before. I really felt it was the best we've ever played and that the musicians that were playing really brought new life to the older songs and the new songs from Exciter. I was just floating out there." Citing the spontaneity of the Paris show, GAHAN says that the inclusion of "Condemnation" was a last-minute decision. "We rehearsed it that evening before the show. You can see a real vulnerable side to the band on 'Condemnation.'"
Adds FLETCHER: "I think the pace of the show was very important for a band that has been together for 20 years. We challenged ourselves and we challenged the audience, and I think it was very much appreciated."
Of the first of two sold-out shows at New York City's Madison Square Garden, Neil Strauss noted in his New York Times (July 3, 2001) review:
"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."
In his review of another performance, Michael D. Clark of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE (July 16, 2001) wrote:
"Depeche Mode gave the crowd something better than a hit parade. It gave them reincarnation."
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