And Then... a Depeche Mode Blog

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Rant: Lighten Up

by Amanda

OK, before I post anything further in this blog (as I plan to cover the topics I couldn't blog about on the road) I have to make a statement.

This is a personal blog. We post our thoughts and feelings about the band, the gigs, the songs. We are passionate about the music (as I'm sure most of you are if you're bothering to read this) but we're not afraid to express our emotional connections, little things that make us happy, and other seemingly frivolous experiences. We're aiming to bring a mixture of technical and personal observations to out posts, but it's mostly an open format for us to write about our experiences.

If you are the kind of DM fan who can't handle fans who can be emotional and excitable at times, if you can't stomach gushy moments of glee, if you can't handle streams of consciousness.. then you need not read further. We like to have fun, and we aren't ashamed of who we are. What good would it be to read a blog written by robots, anyway?

If you only want formal reviews about the sound, the performance, technicalities and the setlist, then I suggest you log on to any number of fan forums or read some online mags/papers reviewing the shows (there are lots of good ones). However, there are bound to be moments of "squee" here for whatever reason. Some might think them stupid, immature, or rediculous. We don't care. We're here to share OUR experiences as we see and feel them, for those who enjoy reading such posts. If you can't shake the undying urge to belittle or demean those feelings in our comments, then please kindly move on.

Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed to the fullest, and we're attempting to do that in our own way. If you don't understand or agree, that's OK - you don't have to. Just close the browser window and move along. We're fully aware we're posting in a public domain subject to criticism, but it's not too much to ask for some maturity. (Or is it? I guess it IS the internet...)

< /feed trolls>

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Monday, June 8, 2009

Leipzig Concert

by Amanda

OMFG SPOILERS!

OK, it's 2am so I need to make this brief! I'm utterly exhausted. We got in line around 8:30am and it was mostly sunny all day. Getting into the show f'ng sucked as far as crowd control but we managed to fight for our life (including a 100+ yard mad dash for front rail). We managed 2nd row, but it was right in front of Dave's mic (score). The tunnel we ran through was full of feathers and fuzzies.. I ended up inhaling one and nearly vomited from coughing, not being able to catch my breath AND the near heatstroke from the hour they made us stand around in a mob that made sardines seem comfortable. Not to mention there are a ton of smokers here, and despite my obvious struggling to breathe and my friends busting out their inhalers, a chick stared right at us and kept lighting up one after another (not to mention others smoking next to us while we're trying not to die of heat/lack of fresh air.
However... it was all worth it once it was said and done. We had a few hours to mellow out once in the venue, which was nice. But the big highlight of this show for me? Dave serenaded Tara and I during 'Fly on the Windscreen' for nearly two verses! We exchanged all kinds of non-verbal comm and smiles and he blew us kisses! We wonder if he saw us both wearing our 'Hourglass' t-shirts? But damn I'm high as a kite from that, AND 'In Your Room' we got some attention too! Dancing and waving and smiling together with Dave... aiyeeee!
Bullet points:

- We got to hear the soundcheck while waiting in line. The first time we heard Dave's voice on the mic, even with just a non-sense vocal warm up, it was such a warm fuzzy feeling. After all that has gone on, hearing and seeing him again, looking and sounding like he hasn't missed a beat was really a relief.

- The setlist was pretty awesome, 'Come Back' and 'Fly on the Windscreen' were f'ing epic. EPIC. Definately my musical highlights. I liked the new takes on some of the older, regularly played songs like 'In Your Room' and 'Personal Jesus.' Then there was 'Master and Servant' and 'Strangelove' which were bloody awesome too. Esp. since M&S hasn't been played in over 10 years! I figured they would never play it due to embarassment, lol. My only gripe is that they didn't play 'Corrupt!' I am so sad about that!

- Crowd was insanely pushy and downright dangerous getting into the venue, but was awesome and respecful once the gig started! There was room to dance and no shoving. Nearly 50k people.. wow what an experience seeing DM in Europe is! Sometimes the singing was so loud it matched the band. Even in the tunnel on the way out of the stadium, the fans were doing the wave and other things that are typical of EU DM shows. It was awesome.

OK, there's more but I have to sleep!

(WTF, the guys at the check-in counter in the lobby of the hotel just cranked up Green Day on the PA hella loud? LOL)

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Thursday, June 4, 2009

Days 1 & 2

by Amanda

A brief overview of our first days! Not much DM related though. DM goodness will start flowing in Monday, the day of our first gig.

After arriving in Dusseldorf, I waited for my comrades at the airport, but slept though their text message. They met me where I said I would be but didnt see me. Oops. Anyway, I also met the awesome Alex, who had kindly brought snacks and drinks for us weary travellers. We spent the afternoon shopping and taking in the local scenery, took some pictures and had dinner at an expensive but neat and very old restaurant. It was a very nice atmosphere on the second level with a view of historic neighborhoods. I tried schnitzel with a tomato paprika sauce and it was quite tasty. I'm wondering if this is where Japanese got the idea for Katsu? Very similar, but over potatoes instead of rice and batter instead of bread crumbs..

We stayed up all night talking, I didn't hear the alarm in the morning and we didn't realize we were leaving the hotel during work rushour the next morning, so we missed our train to Berlin. We had to wait for an hour for the next one, but the search for grub was on, and said grub was eaten, so it didn't really feel like it was that long. The ride to Berlin was a great chance to see the countryside. It was beautiful and green. So much industrial complex with ivy, bushes and trees all intermixed - quite different than the dry and dusty industrial complexes in NorCal.

Once in Berlin, we got the shopping out of the way so we could focus on being tourists for the next few days. Going to the Bauhas Dessau is going to be a few hours (and Euros in train costs, eek) out of the way because of our change in logistical plans. Due to Dave's illness and our spending extra days in Berlin during the cancelled show period, we can't make it out there without significant stress, and even being able to enjoy it. However, I will be touring the Bauhaus museum here in Berlin tomorrow to make up for it. :)

While shopping, we got our hands on some back issues (some=a bucket load) of cheap Sonic Seducer Magazines with DM features. Sweet! Tomorrow we will hit landmarks for an attempt at a leisurely tourist-type day since the last two have been crazy-go-nuts. Tara runs on rocket fuel, however, so we'll see if "stroll" is a function we can actually achieve. ;}