Depeche Mode have been playing massive venues as far back as 1988, while still existing as four guys playing keyboards, but for the last 25 years have been a very credible arena rock band. Martin Gore plays more guitar than keyboards these days, and longtime auxiliary members Christian Eigner (drums) and Peter Gordeno (keyboards, guitars) really amp up their sound, which suits frontman Dave Gahan, who was always a rock star.
None of this is news, but Saturday’s show at Madison Square Garden — their third NYC area show on the Memento Mori tour — was my first time seeing them live since the Violator tour, so I was a bit taken aback about how much something like “Walking in My Shoes” is now a full-on rock song, and how well some of their ’80s music has made the transition. (I was definitely not expecting drum solos, of which there were at least two.) This tour, and the album it supports, are testaments to Depeche Mode’s enduring appeal and continued relevance.
Depeche Mode have swapped out a few songs from their spring tour for this fall leg, but the bones remain the same, opening with two moody, midempo Memento Mori songs (“My Cosmos is Mine,” “Wagging Tongue”) before delving into their back catalog and finishing the encore with a crowd-pleasing trifecta of “Just Can’t Get Enough,” “Never Let Me Down Again” and “Personal Jesus.” Violator makes up the biggest chunk of the set, but Black Celebration got three songs Saturday night thanks to the addition of “Dressed in Black,” which Gore performed solo on acoustic guitar, and was the first time DM had played it since 2010. Gahan said they’d only rehearsed it an hour before.
As far as 2023 arena shows go, Depeche Mode’s setup was pretty simple, playing in front of a giant “M” that was within a larger LED backdrop. It was cleverly used, mixing live cameras and prepared visuals and using that “M” to frame things. There was also a T-shaped runway that extended to center court, though it seemed a little underutilized. That said, Gahan never stopped moving, twirling enough that I felt dizzy just watching him, and ping-ponging to either side of the room, pumping up the crowd (lots of shouts of “NEW YORK”) and encouraging singing along, which he didn’t need to do. The audience were on their feet the whole time and here for all of it.
Highlights: “World in My Eyes,” probably my favorite Depeche Mode song, sounded absolutely huge in MSG, and as it has been this whole tour doubled as a tribute to Andy Fletcher, who died last year, and “Everything Counts,” which got a 8-bit Nintendo-style rework at the end. “Just Can’t Get Enough,” the real outlier in the set, as it’s from their frothy debut album before Martin Gore took in the band in a gloomier direction, was pure fun, and Gahan led the crowd in an extended “ohhhhhhh-oh!” ending. The whole night was a blast.
DIIV opened and due to my late arrival all I caught were the final chords of their final song and the “thank you and good night.” Check out photos from the night by Ellen Qbertplaya, and video of “Dressed in Black,” below.
Check out photos and setlist from Depeche Mode’s Barclays Center show earlier this month, and their spring MSG show.
SETLIST: Depeche Mode @ Madison Square Garden 10/28/2023
My Cosmos Is Mine
Wagging Tongue
Walking in My Shoes
It’s No Good
Policy of Truth
In Your Room
(Zephyr Mix)
Everything Counts
Precious
My Favourite Stranger
A Question of Lust
Dressed in Black
Ghosts Again
I Feel You
A Pain That I’m Used To
World in My Eyes
Black Celebration
Stripped
John the Revelator
Enjoy the Silence
Encore:
Waiting for the Night
Just Can’t Get Enough
Never Let Me Down Again
Personal Jesus