Depeche Mode

July 31, 2009, Mansfield, MA

The concert was amazing.

The whole experience was, to sum up: mostly positive, long, damp, tiring, exhilarating, and fun. I'm having trouble deciding how best to write about it. Chronological? High points? Q&A? Photo essay? I expect this will end up being a bit of all of the above.

First of all, though there was overall very little publicity about it, the concert was at least mentioned in yesterday's Bostonist: Friday Happenings:

Let's Play Master and Servant

According to Beavis and Butthead, "Depeche Mode" is French for "we're wusses." Bostonist still thinks that it was all downhill after Speak and Spell, but we still know the words to almost all of Depeche Mode's songs. It's not a guilty pleasure if you don't feel guilty about it. Comcast Center, Mansfield, 7:30 p.m. Admission: Large amounts.

It was disheartening to learn that they were far from selling out the show; it seems they are still more popular in Europe than in America. (They just added two more shows in Poland!) But those who came to the show had a good time, and there were a few of us:


Want to hear? For a non-video camera, I don't think my little digital does a bad job!

I'd never heard of the opening act, a group called Peter Bjorn and John, but they were quite good, very energetic and I liked the music: it sounded like it should be familiar even though it wasn't. And I give them full credit for a good attitude, as playing before the slight and only somewhat enthusiastic crowd could easily have been disheartening. (Years ago, I went to a concert whose opener was The Sugarcubes, and they introduced themselves as the Ice Cubes from Sugarland.)

The crowd filled in greatly as showtime grew near. Also, fortunately for those of us in the uncovered seats*, they let us move into the back few rows of the covered area. Out of the rain was a vast improvement!

*Either my memory is faulty, or they've expanded the seating since I was last at Great Woods (which was probably in 2001 when I last saw Depeche there). Used to be, if you got a seat, it was under the roof, and only the lawn was not. Surprise! That is no longer true. To be under the roof, you need to be in sections 1 through 8. Note to self for next time.

To be honest, we were already damp when we got there. Does that make it better, or worse? We were going on the Rock Bus, and just moments after we parked in Harvard Square to go get on the bus, the skies opened. Seriously, it went from zero to monsoon in nothing flat. When it started, we watched it coming, and my friend noted that it looked like someone threw a bucket of water over a fence: whoosh, sideways, wall of water. We waited out the very worst of it in the car, but eventually got out and slogged damply to the bus.

The ride itself was fine: the seats were not very comfortable, but the mood was cheerful, and not having to drive, worry about traffic, or park was very nice, and I think well worth the price. Though since the show wasn't sold out, perhaps it wouldn't have been the usual 2 hours to get out of the lot after. On the other hand (or is that the third hand?), if I'd been driving, I wouldn't have been able to nap on the way back. Which yes, I did. A couple of hours of bouncing around, yelling, singing, dancing, and it was past my bedtime. Zzzz.

Things I saw/heard/smelled that did not surprise me at a Depeche Mode concert:

• fishnet stockings
• heavy black eyeliner
  
• leather pants
• Depeche shirts
• many different languages being spoken
• pot (yuck; makes me nauseous just to smell it)
  

Things I saw that did surprise me at a Depeche Mode concert:

• Crocs
• Bruins t-shirts--2, and separately!
  
• a couple who looked to be at least 60
• a beach ball, bouncing around the crowd during the show
  
• a baby (the poor thing, howling on the way out)
  
• plaid shorts; many, many plaid shorts
  

As I said to my friend, some of the people look like they came from a punk club, and some like they came from the country club.

As always, the video behind the band was interesting:





And this one is fuzzy, but you can kind of see that one of Martin's guitars was star-shaped. Wild!


Lights, video, smoke ... not exactly the "four dudes behind synthesizers" of the early days.


Dave really dances now, a whirling dervish with a mike stand, and "sinuous" is the word to describe it. Sexy, yet it makes me laugh, every time.

This did not make me laugh (on the wall in the ladies room; cheerful).


And this? they were giving away in the parking lot. I didn't drink it; should I?


I bought a t-shirt (and wore it on the bus on the way back, brr).


I like the summary on the back, too:


Though I wonder how Mansfield, where Great Woods is, feels about being called "Boston".


I had to get a program, too. I always got the programs. I wonder if I got one every time? If so, this would make 8. Though I think, when I saw them in 93 and again in 94, that was actually the same tour, so it may have been the same program.


Remember that section 14 is all-weather! Also, get on bus #4 to go back to Harvard Square; #5 will take you to South Station, which will not be helpful if your car is in Cambridge.


In the "Could have been far worse than it was" department, after hitting numerous awful potholes driving to Harvard Square and back, we only hit the tire-killer a mile or so from my house. Things sounded a little wrong after that, but we were so close I just went on (1 AM in the dark and damp, I was not interested in stopping by the side of the road), and got home to find one obviously not-right tire. I called AAA today and they sent someone to put the spare on (I'm capable of doing it, but I pay for AAA, why not use it? I have nothing to prove). I'll have to see about that tire next, damn it.

So that was a bit of a depressing end to the experience, but knowing how much worse it could have been keeps the perspective in place. The concert itself was so good, it was worth it. Plus I made brownies today (which makes everything better), and chicken salad, despite the infestation of flies that has suddenly taken over my home.

Ten days ago, I would have said no, I hardly ever get an insect in here; now, the flies must be in double digits. It's disgusting, and since I don't know where they're coming from, it's hard to know how to get rid of them. I mean, I am swatting, but there are just too many! How do I get rid of the ones that are here, and how do I keep more from coming in? I'm so tired today, the problem seems insurmountable. I think a mood enhancer/brownie is called for here.