At last my adventure begins. After months of having the tickets and making my plans my Depeche Mode 2013 European tour 2nd leg begins. Today I am in Belfast to see them at the Odyssey Arena following which I go back to Glasgow tomorrow then fly to Dublin on Saturday with my faithful Mode companions John Harrower and Andrew Gilmour for the show at the O2 before ending up back in Glasgow for Monday night's gig. I'm going to keep this blog updated throughout for your entertainment (I hope).
Day 1 - Glasgow to Belfast
In my usual paranoid way I checked 2000 times or so that I had my tickets. I did. I packed my bag last night so the last minute ticket paranoia was pointless. Anyway, as you can see, I was ready
When I got to the airport I bumped straight into John Brown of Analog Angel and his wife Lorraine. John was resplendent in his bespoke Kilts on the Rammy Fleece. You'll have seen members of the Kilts at a Depeche gig this year - they can't be missed. It was good to catch up with John and apologies to Lorraine if the DM chat with a bit much. I'm now in Belfast waiting to check in, get changed and head to the pre show meet up with Chris, Aidan, Jen and many more. After that it's showtime and the aftershow party with the daunting prospect of an 11am flight and a return to work ahead of me tomorrow. Before I worry about that though the only focus is on Depeche Mode. What will the set be? Will there be changes? Will Martin sing But Not Tonight? Will the band accept my Twitter challenge in which I said I'd buy them any flavour of crisps they want if they play Alone or Broken? Who knows. Crisps or not it's going to be a huge night. A full report will follow sometime tomorrow. BRING ON THE MODE
Day 1 Part 2 - I'd Tell You About The Things They Put Me Through or How I Don't Owe Depeche Mode Any Crisps (contains setlist spoilers)
So I've woken up feeling a little fragile still wearing my wristband, covered in glitter and sporting glittery mascara and with a voice that sounds like a husky Barry White. Just another quiet night then.The show was of course great and thankfully contained a couple of setlist variations but the night was m ore about making new friends, seeing old ones and just having a great time at a concert by the world's greatest live band. The whole thing kicked off at the Alley Cat pub which I made my way to around 3.30. I was wearing my rather nifty People Are People tshirt which marked me out as a DM fan/geek and that meant that Emma Parkinson felt she could approach me in the street and ask if I was going to the meet up. I'm delighted she did as we quickly bonded and became drinking pals for the night. I now know that if I need either security or fireworks I have a top contact. We were soon joined in the pub by Chris, Dave (not Gahan), the Kilts (Andy and Brian Pollard. Frazer, John and Lorraine), Jen, Aidan and Debbie and may more. After what feels like several drinks and the application of make up off we went to the arena.
The Odyssey Arena is quite an intimate place as arenas go. I reckon there were maybe around 8000 there and the crowd were on top form. We got nice and near the front as my pictures show.
The show was great but not completely surprising. There were two nice surprises however. First up Martin's solo set included Shake The Disease which is one of my top 5 Depeche tunes and therefore one of the top 5 tunes ever written. Secondly they played Behind The Wheel which was immense. It has only been played sparingly on this tour and I hadn't seen it at any of the previous gigs I've been to so that was very cool. Other than those two the set was as you'd expect albeit with less Delta Machine material than on the European stadium leg which is a shame. The Delta Machine songs worked really well live so to see the likes of Goodbye or Soothe My Soul dropped is a pity. I'm not too hung up about it though as after all it's Depeche Mode show - that's always going to be a good thing. Crucially the band failed my Twitter challenge - no Broken or Alone which meant I didn't have to buy them any crisps. Lads - the challenge still stands for Dublin and Glasgow.
After the gig ended and we all somehow managed to meet up it was a quick taxi ride for me, Emma and 4 German chaps (it was one of those nights) to the Stiff Kitten club where we met up with everyone from before plus Andy McLaughlin who I last saw in Dublin on the Sounds of The Universe tour in 2009. Unusually for me I danced to a few Depeche songs and then finally made it out despite Frazer trying to keep us hostage in the club. I got to bed around 2 am and now have to head for the bus to the airport to get back to Glasgow for a meeting at work. Not sure how the glittery mascara and Depeche tshirt will go down but so what. I'm 2 days into this adventure so I don't imagine this will be the end of my looking like a very tired, glittery DM fanboy.
Day 1 Part 2 - I'd Tell You About The Things They Put Me Through or How I Don't Owe Depeche Mode Any Crisps (contains setlist spoilers)
So I've woken up feeling a little fragile still wearing my wristband, covered in glitter and sporting glittery mascara and with a voice that sounds like a husky Barry White. Just another quiet night then.The show was of course great and thankfully contained a couple of setlist variations but the night was m ore about making new friends, seeing old ones and just having a great time at a concert by the world's greatest live band. The whole thing kicked off at the Alley Cat pub which I made my way to around 3.30. I was wearing my rather nifty People Are People tshirt which marked me out as a DM fan/geek and that meant that Emma Parkinson felt she could approach me in the street and ask if I was going to the meet up. I'm delighted she did as we quickly bonded and became drinking pals for the night. I now know that if I need either security or fireworks I have a top contact. We were soon joined in the pub by Chris, Dave (not Gahan), the Kilts (Andy and Brian Pollard. Frazer, John and Lorraine), Jen, Aidan and Debbie and may more. After what feels like several drinks and the application of make up off we went to the arena.
The Odyssey Arena is quite an intimate place as arenas go. I reckon there were maybe around 8000 there and the crowd were on top form. We got nice and near the front as my pictures show.
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| Depeche Mode - Walking In My Shoes live Belfast Odyssey Arena 7 November 2013 |
The show was great but not completely surprising. There were two nice surprises however. First up Martin's solo set included Shake The Disease which is one of my top 5 Depeche tunes and therefore one of the top 5 tunes ever written. Secondly they played Behind The Wheel which was immense. It has only been played sparingly on this tour and I hadn't seen it at any of the previous gigs I've been to so that was very cool. Other than those two the set was as you'd expect albeit with less Delta Machine material than on the European stadium leg which is a shame. The Delta Machine songs worked really well live so to see the likes of Goodbye or Soothe My Soul dropped is a pity. I'm not too hung up about it though as after all it's Depeche Mode show - that's always going to be a good thing. Crucially the band failed my Twitter challenge - no Broken or Alone which meant I didn't have to buy them any crisps. Lads - the challenge still stands for Dublin and Glasgow.
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| Depeche Mode - Heaven live Belfast Odyssey Arena 7 November 2013 |
Next stop Belfast Airport then Glasgow, work and an early night. I'll update next when I get to Dublin. After Belfast it has a lot to live up to. I'm sure Dublin will try its' best......
