Depeche Mode - Frankfurt am Main 2009

Commerzbank Arena, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
12th June 2009
Depeche Mode & M83

Is there anything left to say about DEPECHE MODE? For almost 30 years, the cultic admired Synth Pop heroes have been successful all over the world. Up to now, the band’s timeless and ground-breaking sound has influenced many artists regarding their style and artwork. On 17th April 2009, the Basildon based trio released its recent long-player `Sounds of the Universe´ which reached the pole position of the German album charts and was rewarded with gold only two days after.

Last autumn, Martin Gore (guitar, vocals), Dave Gahan (lead vocals) and Andrew Fletcher (keyboards) announced that they are going to tour through many European stadiums followed by an American tour leg. Besides the Open Air concerts, the European fans will get the chance to watch the legendary formation live on stage regarding further appearances in many concert halls in winter 2009 / 2010. Furthermore, some postponed dates due to the illness of lead singer Dave Gahan will be rescheduled. http://www.depechemode.com/ / http://www.depechemode.de/



When I went to the Frankfurt Commerzbank Arena with high expectations, I had already seen the band live on stage in Berlin two days before. That Berlin concert had been one of the most impressive DEPECHE MODE performances I have ever attended. Nevertheless, I was of good cheer due to the fact that the Frankfurt concert atmosphere had always been absolutely great in the past. Thus, I was very excited and curious about the upcoming performance. As I had bought a seat ticket (block 26B), there was no need to hurry and it was about 6pm when I arrived at the stadium. The admission went by in a very relaxed way. I quickly found my seat which was located on the facing stand and guaranteed a great panoramic view.

Though the weather was fine, the stadium’s roof was closed. There were thousands of people who gathered on the field downstairs. Some of them must have been waiting for hours to get a standing room in the front rows. By and by, the stands also filled up with fans of very different ages: I watched some school children as well as many thirty- and forty-somethings and even several couples that could have been grandparents according to their age. It was about half past 7pm and still swarming with arrivals, when the French Electronic project M83 appeared on stage.


M83

It has been a busy year 2009 for mastermind Anthony Gonzalez and his colleagues. After being the support act for THE KILLERS, M83 is joining DEPECHE MODE within the scope of the European tour leg right now. Formed in the year 2000, the founding members Anthony Gonzalez and Nicolas Fromageau released the debut album `M83´ one year later. The first recording was followed up by the long-players `Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts´, `Before the Dawn heals us´, `Digital Shades Vol. 1´ and the recent piece of work called `Saturdays= Youth´. The French musicians´ soundscape contains electronic tunes as well as distorted guitar riffs and fragile vocals. http://www.ilovem83.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/m83

Music & Performance
When Anthony Gonzalez (keyboards), Pierre-Marie Maulini (guitar), Morgan Kibby (vocals, keyboards) and Loic Maurin (drums) entered the huge stage, the front rows were applauding in particular. Due to the stadium’s measures, there was a continual coming and going which affected the atmosphere a lot. Furthermore, many listeners didn’t seem to know M83 and were mainly looking forward to DEPECHE MODE. Thus, many of them ignored the support act. I wished it would have been dark, as a dramatic light show could have aroused the general interest in the confident performance on that sunny evening. The lead singer Morgan Kibby welcomed the crowd and thanked DEPECHE MODE for offering them the chance to be a support act on tour. I liked the project’s songs, for example `Graveyard Girl´ and the recent single `Kim and Jessie´. All in all, the sound can be compared to the one of PINK FLOYD. Morgan’s fragile and melodic vocals were a perfect match to the bombastic electronic arrangements and the forceful drum playing. Unfortunately, the music was way too quiet and I had to concentrate on listening to understand everything. After about 45 minutes, M83 made room for DEPECHE MODE receiving friendly applause.

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 7
Sound: 6
Light: 6
Total: 7.1 / 10


Depeche Mode

Compared to the Berlin concert, the Frankfurt audience was more restrained firstly. There were only some Mexican waves, although certainly all the people were excited and looking forward to the upcoming two hours. In my opinion, it is difficult to judge the atmosphere’s quality, as it strongly depends on the standing position. Of course, someone in the front row will get other impressions than someone in the last row or someone who sits in the bleachers. When the staff finished the change over, many people started to shout and to clap the hands. I became curious about the setlist and the band’s mood. It was some minutes to 9pm, when the red DEPECHE MODE letterings were displayed on a centred video ball. Suddenly, everybody seemed to scream in an ear-deafening way when Martin Gore, Andrew Fletcher, Dave Gahan, Peter Gordeno (keyboards) and Christian Eigner (drums) walked on stage and started to perform.

Music & Performance
The solemn `In Chains´, taken from the recent album `Sounds of the Universe´, was the opener that was accompanied with an expressive red and white coloured video. I bewailed again that there was still daylight. Dave Gahan, dressed in a black suit as usual, was welcomed euphorically and seemed to be touched by the rapturous applause he received. His strong vocals were relatively clear and I was glad to see him in good health and humour. The long-time fans know that he isn’t very communicative on stage, but his body language, all the movements, gestures and the passionate vocals, were able to compensate that lack of conversation. I still have to give him credit for his decision to continue the European tour leg. Perhaps I would have had another impression of that concert evening if I hadn’t been in Berlin two days before. The hypnotic `Wrong´ was awarded with loud audience singing whereas the dirty `Hole to feed´ animated the fans to clap along, of course, but it took some songs to make the spark ignite.



Finally, `A Question of Time´ broke the ice while Gahan was doing his famous pirouettes and holding his mic stand into the crowd. The 23-years-old `Fly on the Windscreen´ was one of my highlights and I enjoyed this pretty old song I hadn’t listened to live on stage up to this year’s tour. Wearing a glittering silver suit and appearing a bit engrossed in his guitar playing as usual, Martin Gore was responsible for the ballads again. He soulfully intonated the stunning `Jezebel´ and a beautiful acoustic version of `A Question of Lust´. It was a pity that many listeners walked away to have a drink. The setlist’s calmer part was completed with `Come back´ which is the weakest song on the new album in my opinion. `Peace´ worked surprisingly well! When I had listened to `Sounds of the Universe´ for the first time, I hadn’t liked the song at all. However, when the band involved the audience in singing the line “Peace will come to me”, the atmosphere was turned into concert feeling at its best. Admittedly, the videos accompanying `Peace´ appeared to me almost unintentionally comical. Christian Eigner brilliantly exhibited his forceful and energetic drum playing as listened on `In your Room´. I really liked the song’s soundscape which was threatening on the one hand, but rousing at the same time.



My opinion concerning `I feel you´ was divided. Of course, it is a strong and dynamic anthem which worked best while Gahan was going wild. On the other hand, I could have got over it if it hadn’t been played on that evening. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure to watch the acrobatic movements and the brilliant light show. There are two songs in the DEPECHE MODE concert history that shouldn’t be missing: `Enjoy the Silence´ and `Never let me down again´. They even made the last one sing and wave the arms. I guess, I had goose bumps the entire time, as it was that great to watch 90,000 hands waving and clapping. The five additional songs included the two (and not that often played) masterpieces `Master and Servant´ and `Strangelove´. The latter came up with a provoking and permissive video that had been censored. Firstly, I thought that there was a malfunction, but later on I read on the Internet that the red screen was caused by censorship. It’s hard to believe if you have ever watched TV after 10pm! The popular and stamping `Personal Jesus´ was also a must-play and made the 45,000 listeners chant and jump again.



The melancholic duet `Waiting for the Night´ was sung by Gahan and Gore on the cat walk (which wasn’t used that much on that evening). While I was rushing to the station, I took stock of the appearance: It was a splendid concert with many highs and some lows, presented by an outstanding band in front of a firstly calm audience which needed some songs to be warmed up.