There are not a thousand ways to put it: Depeche Mode is currently performing its most rocking concert in more than four decades of existence. Roaring basses, powerful drums, Martin Gore’s guitar more in value than ever – by tightening around its two central figures, the pioneering group of electronic music displayed all its strength.
We felt from the outset, My Cosmos is Mine, that Wednesday evening at the Bell Center would not be light. The scratchy bass went straight to the plexus and the tension didn’t drop a notch until track five Sister of Night. While he usually spends concerts hidden behind his keyboards, Martin Gore remained at the forefront, guitar slung over his shoulder, almost all the time. He even performed short solos, that is to say!
Reduced to a duo since the departure of Andrew Fletcher, who died suddenly in May of last year, Depeche Mode has also reviewed its way of occupying space. Martin Gore mainly occupied one side of the front stage and Dave Gahan the other, each with one of the touring musicians behind them. The central catwalk was hardly used until Martin Gore crowded it to sing A Question of Lust, which is still his highlight at the band’s concerts.
This choice, it is understood, aimed to put the two pillars of the group on an equal footing. We can’t be against it. The other side of the coin is that from a scenic point of view, Depeche Mode found itself without a pivot. However, we know that Dave Gahan is a charismatic showman capable of stirring up crowds. And if he did not spare himself, turning on himself and swaying like a cheeky dandy, we would have liked to see him closer.
There was not much slack during this concert of about two hours, the first of two in Montreal since the group returns in November. Ghosts Again and My Cosmos is Mine aside, the songs from Memento Mori didn’t thrill the crowd. Depeche Mode has the necessary arsenal to quickly make people forget these weak links. He did this by resurrecting a number of tracks from the 1990s, including several from Songs of Faith and Devotion, which, not coincidentally, is probably his rockiest record: Walking in ny Shoes, I Feel You, In Your Room.
Shortly after raising his arms skyward, forming a heart shape with the fingers of both hands, Dave Gahan shouted that the song was for Fletch.
The most beautiful moment of the concert came at the beginning of the encore: Dave Gahan and Martin Gore walked together to the very end of the catwalk to sing together the very beautiful Waiting for the Night. We had never seen, unless I am mistaken, these two share the stage so intimately. Without effusion, they offered the most moving moment of the concert.
We have the feeling that by opting for a formula that is more rock than electro, heavier than danceable, Depeche Mode has done much more than adapt its repertoire to the sound it put forward on Memento Mori. He wanted to put all the gum to ward off death. At the end of the evening, after having emerged from essential pearls like Enjoy the Silence (dancing and almost groovy!), Never Let Me Down Again, Just Can’t Get Enough (amazing) and Personal Jesus, the voice of Dave Gahan had practically held the shot and, yes, Depeche Mode was fiercely alive. U.S. too.
