Depeche Mode - Spirit

I guess Ultra is a mid-paced record too, but that record that was made when the band were (arguably) still in their prime period and had Tim Simenon and co. chipping in with worthwhile ideas and production know-how.

Just thinking of the idea of a more consistently mid-paced version of Delta Machine makes me feel exhausted before I've even heard the thing.

a super-grim, political midtempo Delta Machine

I mean, sign me up, how can you NOT be excited by that

You phrase it that way and that IS interesting.

we should do a post-peak poll. post-Ultra or maybe just the last 3 albums. the only amazing thing i've heard by them this last 10 years is Come Back.

I think there's already been a couple of polls in that vein? Seems everyone has different ideas of what their best post-peak stuff is, anyway... I can't stand 'Come Back', for example!

(love 'Nothing's Impossible' and 'Secret To The End', though, if we're talking Davesongs!)

For me, their best post-Ultra IMO would include:

Shine
Freelove
The Sinner In Me
Precious
Nothing's Impossible
Wrong
In Chains
Hole To Feed
Secret to the End
Should Be Higher

^ Love all of those. I didn't think much to 'Hole To Feed', but it got its claws in me eventually. 'Shine' and 'Goodnight Lovers' are my favourite things on Exciter by miles. Album 'Freelove' > single 'Freelove' too.

Basically my thought is that post-Ultra, they really got into the idea of releasing their stronger songs as singles

also yeah, "Goodnight Lovers" is also great

Completely missed we have tour dates now:

http://depechemode.com/article/depeche-mode-announce-north-american-leg-of-the-global-spirit-tour

Fan presales start on the 6th.

--

Depeche Mode Global Spirit Tour - Fall 2017 North American Tour

August 23 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
August 25 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
August 27 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
August 30 Chicago, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

September 1 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
September 3 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
September 5 Montreal, QC Centre Bell
September 7 Washington, DC Verizon Center
September 9 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
September 11 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
September 13 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
September 15 Miami, FL AmericanAirlines Arena
September 18 Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheater
September 20 Austin, TX Austin360 Amphitheatre
September 22 Dallas, TX Starplex Pavilion
September 24 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented
by Huntsman
September 27 Phoenix, AZ AK-Chin Pavilion
September 30 Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena

October 2 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara County Bowl
October 6 San Diego, CA Mattress Firm Amphitheatre
October 8 San Jose, CA SAP Center
October 10 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
October 12 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
October 14 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
October 21 Seattle, WA KeyArena
October 23 Portland, OR Moda Center
October 25 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
October 27 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place

No Boston dates? They hate DJP, clearly.

I think they might add more? That site where you could register for the presale listed other cities, but maybe they were gauging interest

I mean it's not like I expect that I could go

Your kids should be the avant-noise openers.

never mind, I got the email offering me chicago

From the Quietus review, I'm imagining one seriously fucking heavy listen, punctuated by headache-inducing bass. The concerts might be a bit of a downer though.

I will buy this but man does it does it sound like a drag from that review.

Really hoping (since I think a new album's due from them too) that Algiers are the opener over here.

I'm imagining one seriously fucking heavy listen, punctuated by headache-inducing bass.

If it's mastered as loudly as Playing the Angel then the headache'll be guaranteed, at least.

xp thanks for reminding me I was going to check out Algiers and never did!

oh DUDE Algiers rules

well I know that NOW

discovered Algiers through the ILM poll, they're the shit

Anyway, got my tickets through the fan presale -- twelfth row from the stage. After years of essentially seeing them high up and away it'll be nice to finally get a close-up view.

are these tickets transferable in case I can't make it and want to give them to a friend?

It pretty much was a fancy way to do a hyperadvanced Ticketmaster sale, and you can sell the tickets along to someone else right in their system. (Or presumably transfer it, but I'd assume they'd let you sell them to a friend for, say, a buck each or something. Never have used this feature, it appears to be fairly new.)

I, too, purchased tickets

Here's that Algiers remix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzJ3oGRykI0

forgot about this, but did manage tickets, and not in a terrible section. they were more than I wanted to pay ($150) but still, I've for some reason never seen DM live, so may as well

Wisdom. We're probably going to the same show -- what section did you get?

oh oops, forgot about the ticket sales

also I am kind of into this Algiers remix

I wanted to like it but the original is a slog and doubling down on the goth doesn't save it

Reading some of the chatter on the official FB page is...interesting. Not the band's posts, the comments from people in the direct fan presale. Basically: I bought my copy of the album in advance (as I was going to do anyway), broke social media silence a couple of times around my birthday to share the personalized link and ended up 54th in line for Oakland, in for the first group of tickets going on sale and got twelfth row seats as mentioned. So zero complaints on my end, and very little effort, though I pretty much dropped the Strobe app as soon as I secured said tickets.

But I figured given the whole gaming nature of the enterprise -- share out your own link, buy as many copies of the album as you like to improve your place, etc. -- I was thinking to myself "There are going to be a lot of crazy fans out there whose friends will be HATING them by the time this is all over." And there's plenty of gnashing and wailing of teeth going on, I half suspect from people who...don't go to big shows much or understand how the whole ticket breakdown/presale/VIP/reserved seating thing works? But also just plain crazy -- saw one comment from someone who was aiming for the number 1 spot somewhere (ended up number 3 in Portland) who said she bought...45 copies of the album. You read that right. And she said she spoke with others who bought over a hundred. What on god's green earth.

I hope she goes to the show wearing a suit made out of physical copies of the album

"I DID THIS FOR YOOOOOOU! DAVE! LOOK AT ME!"

fwiw I was somewhere near 800th in line for Chicago, and when I loaded the page it offered me some spots in the first ten rows but I wasn't going to pay $600 for tickets. The entire center front section was $400- $600 so I decided I was fine with the second section back.

"Wisdom. We're probably going to the same show -- what section did you get?

― Ned Raggett, "

110!

I guess what I'm getting at is that I bought one copy and could have had four seats in the first ten rows pretty easily!

xpost -- same side as us, then! We're section A.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I bought one copy and could have had four seats in the first ten rows pretty easily!

I have to assume the hyperpurchasers and the like were after the 'meet the band' option. (Which, if they got, say, spot number 2 would probably...hurt.)

dare I ask how much the row 4 tickets were in LA?

this is Depeche Mode we're talking about here? wow

Yep. The electronic Rolling Stones.

In terms of career, DM's Rolling Stones equivalent right now is halfway between Bridges to Babylon and A Bigger Bang.

I mean, okay, the hardcore obsessives are always going to try to go the extra mile with an intensity and passion that makes 'em look like they're just a tad unhinged, and I understand that this affects various bands both big and small but... it just feels to me that the music they've been making in recent years hasn't quite warranted it.

If this was off the back of Violator or Songs... I wouldn't have batted an eyelid, but... Playing The Angel is 12 years old at this point. Ultra is fucking 20!

Think it's less the album, more the fact that they can still kill live. (I mean, apply that argument across the board for a LOT of acts, obv.)

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that it really does feel to me that Depeche at this stage are living off the brand name now, rather than on the strength of new material - as the Stones did before 'em. They don't really need to release new material now. They can still cut it live, of course, but I'd be very surprised if they played anything from Delta Machine or Sounds of the Universe on this tour. Of the Ben Hillier era, pretty much only 'Precious' is guaranteed, but expect the greatest hits of the 1986-1998 period!

"Shut up and play 'Enjoy The Silence'" is the new "Shut up and play 'Satisfaction'"

Granted but nothing about what you're saying is surprising at all. I mean, in terms of creative development (dare I say), I look much more to Dave and Martin's solo work and collaborations now. We're not really seeing that feed back into the main band per se. As such, Depeche-as-brand really is how to view it; it's long been clear that it's turned into a careful alliance more than anything else, with the members spread out over two hemispheres etc. etc.

I think you're quite correct what will/won't surface on the setlist -- last time out they did absolutely nothing from SOTU, which honestly surprised me, and I'm sure Delta Machine will likely not be acknowledged. They do occasional still do a random deep album cut or two as a full band thing, but it's Martin's solo turns during shows where he tends to pull a lot of rabbits out of hats -- not that he's changing everything night to night, but it seems like they figure that the full band performances kinda have to focus on the big numbers/current songs while Martin can go deep with the nerdery on his own. It's not a bad solution.