Polarkreis - I think these guys put on a decent show. Each member was into it and the frontman was quite energetic and ecstatic, which made him great for testing my camera settings for Depeche Mode. I wasn't as into the music, but I give them credit for going out and giving it their all in front of a tough crowd.

After two openers and Martin's trademark warm-up DJ sets, the crowd was juiced. This was my first experience with a European DM crowd and I have to say I loved the sense of collective energy. The chants, the countdowns and crowd waves were fun. It made the wait for the band to take the stage more exciting (and less nerve-wracking). I wish we had that in the States, but then I've never been to a stadium gig here. From the footage in 101, it appears the camaraderie was here, too, so perhaps its a venue thing. For sheds and arenas I've been to, everyone kind of does their own thing until the show starts and Dave leads us in sing-a-longs and the obligatory NLMDA wheatwave.

(Initializing SPOILER mode.)

Once the DM logo began to rotate around the sphere, the crowd became even more excited. More frequent chants and waves filled the stadium until the sounds of tuning synths signaled the opening of "In Chains." The crowd cheered louder with the walk-on of each band member; Dave took the stage to the largest reception of cheers and screams. The first show since his frightening but fortunately brief bout with cancer - what a relief it was to see him looking happy and healthy! Because I'm a total sap, I even brought a sign that Alex and I held up that said "Welcome Back, Dave! We (heart) you!" And with that, we were off for a two hour rompin' and stompin' good time.

"In Chains" is a good opener as it builds drama, though probably not quite as effective as the Devotional Tour's "Higher Love" due to the lack of theatric curtains and lighting in the very beginning. The song sounded great and was performed well. It's one of my favorites on the album, so hearing it with that extra live energy is a treat. However, I have yet to make sense of the projection screen. The only thing I could gather was something about being chained by the expectations of others: society/social norms, as represented by age, gender, race and the struggle with self image (weight loss). That's not really what I gathered from my own interpretation of the lyrics of the song so it left me a little confused.

"Wrong" was fun because it got the crowd going in a stomping chant, as if expelling some untold frustration or revolution. I feel it would benefit from being sped up just a bit, though. The lighting for this was also interesting, utilizing the layers of the digital screens and lights behind it, pulsing along with the song. Kudos to Dave for not fumbling the lyrics. I know I did, though I actually knew more than I thought.

"Hole to Feed" was the first surprise, not for the band's choosing to play it, but for how much the crowd got into it. Everyone knew the lyrics and carried over the edgy energy built up from "Wrong." Hearing this song live definitely boosted my opinion of it a few notches. I've liked the concept of the lyrics from the get-go, but didn't feel it was musically ground-breaking on a personal level. For the record, my enjoyment of a song is usually affected by music first, lyrics second. Typically my personal enjoyment of a song can change depending on memories associated with it, and I think that has played into how the song has grown on me. It's a good, fun song live for sure.

"Walking in My Shoes" is always an enjoyable experience, as it is my favorite DM song. I didn't expect it so early in the setlist, but enjoyed it nonetheless. I really liked the projection for it, with the crow's subtle connection to the original bird-woman imagery. The eyeball in the sphere creeped me out though. I was surprised I didn't well-up for this one like I did on the last tour... ;)

"It's No Good" was my first song selection surprise. Woo hoo, something I managed not to have spoiled for me before the gig! I only saw one show on The Exciter Tour so I was happy to get to hear this one live again. I think song-for-song, Ultra has the most powerful collection of singles, with all four being in my top favorite DM songs.

"A Question of Time" is definitely a DM standard and always gets the crowd going. The jumping, spinning, singing and clapping along with Dave makes this song the first one in this set that requires quite a bit of physical exertion. Let the sweating begin!

"Precious" appears as the only song from 2005's Playing the Angel to make the cut for this tour. The performance is much improved from last tour, and as a graphic designer and typography nerd I loved the projection with the serif poetry and typewriter parts. The content of said poem didn't quite make sense to me in relation to my understanding of the song's meaning, but visually I enjoyed having two of my favorite things in one place (typography + DM). I find it a shame that "Suffer Well" or "John the Revelator" didn't make the cut though. So many awesome songs, so little set time...

"Fly on the Windscreen" was pretty awesome. It would have been epic had I not been tipped off to it being in the setlist in a non-spoiler labeled thread on Home. From the poster's not-so-ambiguous clues I had wagered a guess that FOTWS or Black Celebration had hailed a return. I was thrilled to have the chance to experience FOTWS, as I was not yet a fan when they last played it nearly 15 years ago. Additionally, as was mentioned in my post-show blabber, Dave was laughing and singing "Come here... Kiss me... Now..." along with me and Tara, making this song even more of a highlight for us. He followed by blowing us a kiss which I returned in a goofy moment of fun. The personal touches like these that Dave adds to his performance are part of what makes being near the front the best experience. Even if it's not directed toward oneself, to see his interaction with individuals throughout the front area in addition to projecting to the stadium at large are what make you feel like you're at a party, not a just show. Everyone is involved, close and afar, individuals and groups. We just got lucky in Leipzig. ;)

"Jezebel" marked the first of Martin's solo interludes. This song was one of the only songs on SOTU that grabbed me at first listen, strictly because Mart delivers one of his finest vocal performances (in my opinion, anyway). Martin's live vocals never disappoint, and "Jezebel" was no exception. He swayed and danced in his very Martin-like way, even utilizing the catwalk for a good portion of the song, which was amusing. It's great to see Martin coming out of his shell, though his body language was still full of nervousness. Go Marty, you can do it! No alcohol required - you're just fine without it! Though it's a shame they haven't been playing this song nearly as much at the later gigs. Amazingly he played it at all four of ours. I would have liked to have heard "Little Soul" at least once.

"A Question of Lust" is up next, which was cool for me because out of the three gigs I saw between the two legs of the last tour, I never got to experience it beyond bootlegs and live streams. Again, a steady, quality performance from Mart, full of emotion and urgency. One can tell he really picks his favorite songs for these moments.

"Come Back" was absolutely epic. A lot of fans are divided about this song, but I just love the atmosphere, sounds and melody of it. I enjoy the album version, but the live version is the best by far. It just has this extra sense of drama that is compelling. Dave's delivery was also very intense and emotional, adding to the overall atmosphere of the song.

"Peace" proved to work well in a live environment, though the crowd was pretty confused by the sing-a-long. Even I had a difficult time figuring out whether we were supposed to be filling in the blanks or repeating after Dave. My first instincts said to fill in the blanks but the crowd seemed to be all over the place, which made me wonder which was correct. I was impressed with Dave's ability to hit the falsetto with ease. I didn't pay as much attention to the video screens as perhaps I should have, but after a few glances of stock news montage, I got the gist of it and moved on.

"In Your Room" was the second offering from Songs of Faith and Devotion. I like this version better than the last tour, though I can't say whether it was better than on The Exciter Tour. The Exciter Tour show I saw has the advantage of being my first DM show ever, so I'm not sure much can top hearing songs like "In Your Room" and "Walking in My Shoes" live for the first time. It's a great song was nice to have back again, but with "Stripped" later in the setlist, I was reminded of Touring the Angel 2006.

"I Feel You" has become another DM setlist staple. I have said I wouldn't mind seeing this go in favor of something else less often played, but I still end up singing along and enjoying it quite a bit. Could use a bit less shouting from Dave, but hey, he's into it and having fun and I'm entertained so what the hell.

"Policy of Truth" was a surprise. I heard it once on the first leg of Touring the Angel and missed it when they dropped it for the second leg, so I was glad to hear it again. Later I found out it had taken the place of "In Sympathy," though, which made me sad. It almost feels like there aren't enough of the new songs in the setlist so it's a bit of a shame they dropped it. The gumball projection didn't make too much sense, but they dropped colored balloons into the audience for a fun interactive effect that I enjoyed.

"Enjoy the Silence" always makes for a crowd-pleasing sing-a-long. It's neat to see how the band plays with this song each tour, tweaking the guitar solo each round. My arms always get tired from the open-arm swing clapping, and it never fails that I bean someone in the head or they get me, but hey - that's the fun of it.

As "Never Let Me Down Again" started, I thought to myself, "No way! It's over already?! There can only be a couple of songs left.. it went by so fast!" This is another song that never gets old because of the audience participation. I was looking forward to seeing how the wheat wave would look in a stadium of 40k people. However, when I turned to look, I was so close to the front and buried in waving arms, amusingly I couldn't see much beyond a sea of elbows!

After a break that involved the audience singing the ending vocals from "Waiting for the Night" as is standard for European gigs, the band returned for "Stripped." This was amazing the first time I heard it on the second leg of Touring the Angel, but left me a little luke warm this time around. It's a great song, but every so slightly it seemed to lack a certain edge to it. It's hard to explain. However, the audience singing this otherwise quiet song so loudly was very impressive and highly enjoyable. Again, Dave performs this song with conviction and leads the audience well - to his own amusement and ours.

Next up is "Master and Servant." Wow. I never thought this song would see the light of day again. That is, until Dave himself spoiled it in an interview someone posted without a spoiler warning. I would have lost my mind if I had heard the opening notes without a clue the song was going to be played. However, it was still awesome to experience. I loved how the crowd sang Martin's parts and even the synthesizer interludes. Hilarious! And I thought I was the only one who did that... Dave hammed this one up pretty well (with extra cheese) and the crowd ate it up! Non-stop dancing, jumping, singing and clapping once again. It's great to see DM hasn't relegated fun (albeit somewhat corny) classic tracks to the rubbish bin entirely.

Then we come to "Strangelove," which was another song I would have been shocked to hear had it not been for Dave's spoilers in the interview mentioned above. Like "Master and Servant," I had figured the time for hearing this live had passed. As a fan who's only been around for a third of their career, it was awesome to see and hear these songs I'd only watched on home video and bootlegs. I really like the way they reworked "Strangelove" for this tour.. it has punch and the treatment of the main synth melody has an interesting effect on it that adds to the sensuality of it. Speaking of which, Leipzig was one of the few shows to see the projections for this song uncensored.

The topless girl in "I Feel You" on the last tour wasn't too surprising in the context of DM once you thought about it, though it didn't make much sense to me. The projection for "Strangelove" DOES make sense given the content of the lyrics, but I was pretty surprised they took it as far as soft-core lesbian porn. Though really, I find getting off on toe sucking was the strange part, not the lesbians (different strokes for different folks, I guess!). It's no big secret that a lot of DM's music is sensual or sexual, but I didn't quite expect them to go as far for a big public show. Offended, no. Surprised, yeah.

"Personal Jesus" brought in the second encore to much fanfare. A staple that I don't feel should be removed from the setlist, but one that has felt a bit static from tour to tour, this version was actually quite driving! It seemed to have more kick and punch to it. The screens featured Devotional-esque silhouettes of the guys playing, as well as some Bond girls. The best part was the striking images of Dave in a fine suit and classic Jesus pose during the parts when everyone always sings, "reach out and touch Dave!" instead of the actual lyrics, "reach out and touch faith." Nice nod to the fans, guys. ;)

For an intimate winding down, Martin and Dave descended the catwalk together for an accoustic rendition of "Waiting for the Night." Though I didn't find it quite as warming as "Goodnight Lovers" on the last tour, I very much like the fact they returned to this idea quiet moment to end the show. It's almost meditative and serene and allows for a bit of reflection on the night as a whole. Dave and Martin's vocals were top notch, too. Alex and others said they could hear Peter backing, but I guess I have a one-track mind because I only heard Dave and Mart (I tried at other gigs but my focus was held by them). Anyway, lyrically this song is also an appropriate end.

Overall, it was an amazing restart to the tour and I am very glad I was able to be there for it. There was a lot of trepidation among fans on whether Dave would be energetic and healthy, but those fears were erased before long. He seemed genuinely moved and amused by the crowd at many points during the show, full of funny faces and smiles as we all would expect at any normal show. Martin appeared a bit nervous, but was still spot on. I didn't see a whole lot of Fletch - literally, I could only see his head and shoulders because the stage was so high. This also meant I could barely see Peter and Christian was invisible. I didn't even know the keyboards and drums were on a second lit platform until I saw a picture later. But that's OK.. I'll get to see the stage in full in the states, but being close enough to Martin and Dave to catch their facial expressions, personal interactions and random mannerisms is harder to come by.

After the gig, we did the cattle shuffle down a long hallway with an enthusiastic and naturally high crowd who was singing and chatting throughout. The party plays on! We also received some interesting propaganda booklets trying to sell Christianity to goths through the lens of Depeche Mode's life and music, which is a bit ironic considering the actual beliefs of the members of the band, despite their heavy use of religious metaphor.

After arriving back at the hotel, we met up with some awesome Irish devotees, Craig and Keith, whom we had run into at the train station in Berlin the day before, as well as the hotel lobby the night before. We had a good chat with them and logged a bit of internet time before crashing out around 2:30am or something crazy like that. The next morning, we were up and out by 7:30am, headed back to Berlin for a tour of Hansa Studios and later, the DM Convention with Nitzer Ebb and De/Vision.