December 19, 2002
Depeche Mode 2001
A report from the Depeche Mode and POE Concert in Portland 2001
The show was quite spectacular. The seats turned out to be Row 9 instead of Row 6 (vertical dyslexia?) but that was still PLENTY close enough. I figure if you can discern the tattoos on the artists you are doing quite well.
Poe is one hell of a good opening act. They have their own distinct style, are good musicians, have some fun songs and most important of all are FULL of energy. Poe's drummer is excellent, and the lead singer prances about the stage in a fully engaging fashion. One of the first things she said into the microphone was 'Comon, let me hear you!' which told me right away that they KNEW they were an opening band and were there to get the audience riled up. Very good sign. If you don't yet know their music I would suggest downloading a sample of two, it helps to know what the lyrics are, specially when you are so close to the damned speakers that you can feel your ear drums doing an emergency shut down.. speaking of which the one thing I forgot to take to the concert was ear plugs, thankfully one of the friends I went with took the time to go to the concession stand and get some napkins we could take chunks of and wad up into our ears. With that protection in place I still could not hear very well the next day. I talked with some friends who were in the back of the auditorium and they said that they also thought Poe was too loud, I get the feeling their sound engineer is on his first tour and is more concerned with rocking the house down than making the band be heard. I enjoyed Poe enough that I plan to go get their CDs sometime soon.
DM came a short while later and did not NEED to do anything to get the crowd going. The arena was one exited scream the moment one of the guys showed up. I think the best way to praise DM is by saying that I was quite grouchy about paying over $75 for my tickets before the show (I believe shows should cost up to $35) but was quite satisfied by the time it was over. For a bunch of 40 year olds who have been playing the same favorites for two decades these guys still have great energy. They performed a very well balanced and laid out mix of music from their new album (Exciter) and from the older fan favorites. A lot of the music had good energy and unique rhythm that had the crowd going and kept us going. The extended mix of 'Personal Jesus' for one had the whole floor jumping in rhythm even though it was performed near the end of an exhausting evening. One thing that did bug me a bit is that being a mostly keyboards and drum band it was left up to David Gahan to carry the concert. Martin Gore contributed a more passive energy with his softer singing and lyrics while Andy Fletcher did little more than stand at his keyboard and play. That may not have been as bad if it weren't for the fellow at second keyboard (no idea who he is, picture here) who either stood there playing or with his arms crossed in front of him neither participating nor contributing.
It was a long and fun show. The music is great, the energy high and inclusive and there were good visuals to add to the performance. I would recommend paying these guys a visit if they are due to come to your home town (i.e. if you live in California or Europe).
One last note. As hard as it was to turn my attention from mine and my friend's dates who were both looking absolutely gorgeous, if you like cute girls or boys in beautiful costume this tour offer a wonderful bit of eye candy. Aside from all the regular black-t-shirt and doc-martin cute people there were quite a few great night costumes draped around some beautiful people. I am talking about corsets, vinyl dresses, patterned stockings and generally all the fun accruements that make your local bat-cavers an enticing part of the night. If you are not sure what I am talking about visit the 'Gothic Babe of the Week'.
For some good photos and tour dates.
