Bratislava, Slovakia’s Štadión Pasienky played host to the third consecutive Depeche Mode concert that I am reviewing as part of the European Leg of their worldwide Delta Machine Tour (having covered Budapest, Hungary four days ago, and Zagreb, Croatia two days ago, with the two London shows at the O2 still to come). Funny enough, each show has been a completely different experience for me, and while all awesome in their own ways, as far as the pure show itself goes, I would have to say the one in Bratislava last night was the best. The crowd was awesome, there was a certain energy in the air, and everything seemed to be flawless with the show itself. I’ve been telling people that the best spot in the “front of stage” area is in the front to the left of the ramp (looking at the stage); I went against my own advice going for the front row on the opposite side of the ramp, and it ended up being awesome. Halfway down the ramp, you have an unobstructed view of Dave and Martin, and Dave seemed to go down the ramp many more times last night, which was awesome, as he shifted tremendous energy into the massive crowd, who just ate it up.
Depeche Mode Delta Machine Tour (European Leg) at Zagreb Arena | Zagreb, Croatia | 5/23/2013 (Concert Review)
So this is the second of five consecutive Depeche Mode concerts that I will be covering as part of the European Leg of their worldwide Delta Machine Tour (having covered Budapest two days ago, with Bratislava and two London shows still to come). With the last review I gave some background on my own views on Depeche Mode, and a general overview of this tour. Last night was a totally different experience from the first, so I will compare and contrast and share some thoughts for those who might be looking for some insights to prepare for upcoming shows. As was the case with Budapest, their appearance in Zagreb was nothing short of amazing, and while I was up front for the first show on my itinerary, for this one (after shooting the first three songs directly below the stage) I headed to the back of the huge indoor arena to get the “distant” experience, the highlight of which was taking in Anton Corbijn’s amazing (as expected) video collateral that filled the displays during some of the songs.
Depeche Mode Delta Machine Tour (European Leg) at Puskás Ferenc Stadion | Budapest, Hungary | 5/21/2013 (Concert Review)
Well, it’s a challenge for me to be objective on this one, as Depeche Mode is my all-time favorite band. I will be covering a total of five concerts on this European Leg of their Delta Machine Tour, which officially kicked off in recent weeks. First on my itinerary last night was their date in Budapest, Hungary at Puskás Ferenc Stadion, which is a massive outdoor stadium. Depeche Mode is touring to promote their new album, Delta Machine, which I have really enjoyed, and the set list for this tour includes a sampling of tracks from that new album as well as favorites from their huge body of work going back decades (a few reworked quite well). The band certainly has a loyal fan base in Hungary, as there was a sizable turn out of very dedicated fans (I lost count of the number of tattoos I saw with Depeche Mode-related art). They sounded incredible, and put on a great show with Dave’s typical high energy and beaming stage presence. Highlights for me included “Halo” (in my opinion one of their very best songs, and not recognized as such to the extent in which it should be) and the show closer, my favorite song of all time (from any band), “Never Let Me Down Again”. A fantastic evening and I’m more than thrilled to follow them around over the next two weeks, going to the shows in Zagreb, Croatia, and Bratislava, Slovakia, and then back to back shows at the O2 in London, England. In my opinion, this is the tour of the year, but again, I am pretty predisposed to that opinion.