Depech Mode - Playing The Angel Tour
Arena concerts are by the very size of the venue and the fact that many of them are in sports arenas hard places for musicians and fans to connect. Depeche Mode seems to have particular trouble with this. But it is especially hard when the band has a front man like Dave Gahan who looks comfortable on stage and then you have Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher who quite frankly do not. In fact, I am not sure what Fletcher really does except clap his hands a few times and appear to switch on some programmed synthesizer, apparently he likes taking care of the business details. I suggest he stick to that.
Martin Gore is another matter, he has a wonderful voice and can actually sing just as Gahan can, which in this day and age is saying something since so many people can't. But at one point he was singing the lead vocal on a song and quite frankly I can't remember what it was when there came about a minute long instrumental passage and he looked lost, so what he did was venture out onto the part of the stage that jutted out into the audience and just jumped up and down in place for about twenty seconds and then sort of jogged around on stage holding his fingers up in a peace sign. I felt embarrassed for him. But just because you are a great songwriter doesn't mean you’re comfortable on stage. It takes a certain "personality" to be the focal point of the group and Gahan is one of those people. Gahan tries to make up for this lack of "stage presence" by rest of the band by doing what most front men do to reach the cheap seats and that is exaggerate his movements to be seen and really roam the stage all the time. He works his ass off to do this and is drenched in sweat by the end. He saves the band in a live setting.
The sound was absolutely atrocious it was badly mixed and way, way too loud. At one point I went to the bathroom and I could still hear the concert perfectly well through the closed doors of the arena and the layers of concrete that seperated me from the sound. I find it hard to believe the band would like this live mix if they heard it from the floor like the audience does since their records are so well balanced and clean with every detail so well thought out in the mix.
Now after seeing this show I remember why I don't like arena tours and this just reinforces my desire to see bands live in theatres or smaller venues only.
Martin Gore is another matter, he has a wonderful voice and can actually sing just as Gahan can, which in this day and age is saying something since so many people can't. But at one point he was singing the lead vocal on a song and quite frankly I can't remember what it was when there came about a minute long instrumental passage and he looked lost, so what he did was venture out onto the part of the stage that jutted out into the audience and just jumped up and down in place for about twenty seconds and then sort of jogged around on stage holding his fingers up in a peace sign. I felt embarrassed for him. But just because you are a great songwriter doesn't mean you’re comfortable on stage. It takes a certain "personality" to be the focal point of the group and Gahan is one of those people. Gahan tries to make up for this lack of "stage presence" by rest of the band by doing what most front men do to reach the cheap seats and that is exaggerate his movements to be seen and really roam the stage all the time. He works his ass off to do this and is drenched in sweat by the end. He saves the band in a live setting.
The sound was absolutely atrocious it was badly mixed and way, way too loud. At one point I went to the bathroom and I could still hear the concert perfectly well through the closed doors of the arena and the layers of concrete that seperated me from the sound. I find it hard to believe the band would like this live mix if they heard it from the floor like the audience does since their records are so well balanced and clean with every detail so well thought out in the mix.
Now after seeing this show I remember why I don't like arena tours and this just reinforces my desire to see bands live in theatres or smaller venues only.
posted by Scott at 8:06 AM
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