DEPECHE MODE / Amsterdam, May 2023

“Swept away, the participants experience a force external to them, which seems to be moving them, and by which their very nature is transformed. They experience themselves as grander than at ordinary times; they do things they would not do at other times; they feel, and at that moment really are, joined with each other.” - Karen E. Fields in “Translator’s Introduction” (1994) for The Elementary Forms of Religious Life by Emile Durkheim.

It’s always with the bands that have already been playing when your grandparents were busting sick moves on the dance floor that at some point you start questioning whether they will ever stop. How long can Mick Jagger continue moving like Mick Jagger? How many goodbyes does it take for Elton John to give one last farewell to the yellow brick road? Are they even trying to come up with anything new or are they just recycling their previous material in countless LIVE AT… and ULTIMATE DELUXE albums? But even though they cannot surprise you with yet another grand hit, they still manage to fill the arenas as they used to. Just like Depeche Mode has been doing since their documented 101st concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and continue to do so after more than 40 years of existing as a band.

It would be a lie to act as if Depeche Mode’s newest release Memento Mori came out unsurprisingly. After their 2017 album Spirit, it seemed like maybe that might have been the final stop for the trio as they broke their pattern of releasing an album every 4 years. The threat of never hearing or seeing Depeche Mode ever again has only grown stronger last year when Andrew Fletcher unexpectedly left to the eternal silence realm. Coincidentally, the name of the album was decided upon way before Fletcher stopped dancing behind his keysthus possibly painting the album as an omen in the eyes of the superstitious ones.The loss of Andrew Fletcher meant that the glue keeping the singer David Gahan and the jack-of-all-trades Martin Gore together has been dissolved. Additionally, it brought a challenge of not only continuing the album without their long-time mate, but also finding a way to become friends instead of simply being bandmates, something that quite a few articles found as an eye-catching title.

Nonetheless, once the tour dates were announced, minutes before the ticket release, I was ready to be charged with 400 euros so that me and my family would not miss out on a tradition of seeing Depeche Mode when they hit the road.I even convinced my loyal partner who only knew “Enjoy The Silence” and “Just Can’t Get Enough” to join us as I swore that this was a show that he was not going to regret spending his money on. My promise was backed up by the fact that soon both Amsterdam shows became sold out (although not as swiftly as they always do in Lithuania where an official Depeche Mode fan club Satellites with its 1.1k members is registered as a legit organization). Being in a black dressed crowd, you could notice that it mainly consisted of those who heard Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough” first time in their school dance and those in their 20s wearing Nine Inch Nails t-shirts (maybe that’s the only tee in their closet that fit closest to the Depeche Mode). While we might have been silently competing amongst each other in this crowd by boasting a bit too loudly about all the times that we have seen Depeche Mode live, we were never going to beat those standing at the balcony and looking down upon us because of their VIP tickets that secured them an early entrance.

Now what is magical when you are in a Depeche Mode concert, is that you are experiencing their life as a band and get easily drawn into as a part of it. This time there was an additional layer added to the whole passing of their life, which brought subtle messages of memento mori. Already with the warming up act that was set in a vast black space with ice-cold lights flashing down from meters height, it became clear that this was going to be dark both on a visual as well as on a musical layer. Wesley Eisolds project Cold Cave opened the evening sonically pointing towards their roots stemming from Joy Division, The Cure and, of course, Depeche Mode. It was like watching a movie where a protagonist who appears to be a vampire plays with his band in a centuries old church hall surrounded by mysteriously covered props that spark imagination in the eyes of the spectator of what could possibly lie beneath.

Cold Cave performing “Glory”

Once the tight drum-machine-like drumming stopped and the echoing baritone of Eisolds faded like fumes into the dark shadows, the rags covering props got removed thus revealing instruments that belong to Depeche Mode and their history. While the stage was getting neatly prepared by mopping traces from the support band of the floors, the audience was presented with Depeche Mode’s and Hublot watches collaboration in raising awareness and funds for providing water for developing countries. Not only this shows that the band is alert on the urging global matters, but also their level of class by choosing watches – and not, let’s say, Fender guitars or Roland keyboards – as their sponsor. But looking at David Gahan and his sass this does not come as a surprise in any way. What does surprise me after all this time is that at the age of 61 his voice sounds even better than 40 years ago. I’m still getting floored how time defying Depeche Mode’s performances are, to the point where a song sounds exactly how I have known it from a recording.

Depeche Mode performing “My Cosmos Is Mine”

After the predictable opening with “My Cosmos Is Mine” that the newest album starts with as well, what followed was 2 hours of going back in time and celebrating the life by being reminded of an undeniable fact: memento mori. Depeche Mode’s invisible member Anton Corbijn, their trusted music videos maker, all-capturing photographer and set designer, made sure that next to choreographed on-screen accompaniment to “A Pain That I’m Used To”, there were enough symbolisms connected to the latest release. While a menacing presence of cemetery crosses during the closing song from Memento Mori “Speak To Me” made everyone linger, the skulls that followed throughout the unmistakable hit “Enjoy The Silence” brought a rather celebratory and unifying feel. A wave of collective effervescence – a sociological term used by Emile Durkheimer to describe the unitary and collective experience usually awakened in religious rituals –  was running through the crowd as they were singing along to the song just as loud as David Gahan by the aid of the microphone. It’s a moment of realization, that there is an end for all of us, but that shouldn’t stop us from enjoying life. While there might be (surprisingly) someone who will feel more entitled to grab you by the shoulder because you are allegedly ruining the most epic song that happens to be Depeche Mode’s biggest hit by filming it (just like more than 50% of the crowd is doing), most of the time you will definitely feel more aligned with the rest despite the age differences or any other personal intricacies. Tens of thousands of people that came on May 16th evening on their own or in the small groups to see Depeche Mode, have turned into a big collective that instead of emphasizing their differences has been celebrating their similarities in one undeniably relatable fact – we are all mortal.

Depeche Mode performing “Sister Of Night”

It seems like with this tour Depeche Mode are also celebrating their life as a band by bringing back to life songs that haven’t gotten that much notice over the years, mainly “Sister of Night” (Ultra, 1997) and “A Question of Lust” (Black Celebration, 1986). With the passing of Andrew Fletcher, his favourite song “World In My Eyes” (Violator, 1990) has become less of a seductive dance number for David Gahan and more of a heart gripping tribute strengthened by Fletcher’s portrait taken by Corbijn for the album’s artwork in 1989, Denmark. Hands making eye-symbols that were used for “World In My Eyes” single release artwork shot right up and kept on going until Fletcher’s portrait changed in slow motion from open to closed eyes. It seems like after all these years Violator has a special place in Depeche Mode’s heart as David Gahan and Martin Gore walked together closer to the audience whilst singing in a duet “Waiting For The Night”. Closing it off with a hug gives a hope that the two have managed to find their way in becoming friends after all.

Depeche Mode performing “A Question Of Lust”

I guess that this time I cannot give a certain answer whether this might not be the last of Depeche Mode that I have seen, but I feel blessed to have been a part of this experience, of their rather black celebration as a band, and a celebration of a fleeting life that has been made countless times better by the music of Depeche Mode. Coming to their concert and knowing that your expectations will never be let down is what has brought and keeps on bringing the masses together. There is a reason why Depeche Mode’s fans have been called devotees since their 1993 Devotional tour, and that is definitely not only because of the tour’s name.