Victor, you just tested negative for COVID. What are you going to do now?
I’m going to see Depeche Mode at the United Center!
Overall, it was a good show. It wasn’t as sad as I thought it would be, considering Fletch’s absence. Perhaps it helped that the song designated as a memorial to him, “World in My Eyes,” is an upbeat crowd pleaser. It’s not easy feeling sad when that song is playing.
As with other DM shows I’ve been to, the new songs were decidedly hit-or-miss and the older numbers were definitely the highlight (including an incredibly fun rendition of “Everything Counts”). I don’t think I needed to hear three songs from Playing the Angel, and I’m not quite sure what “Sister of Night” or “Wrong” were doing on the setlist. But it was cool hearing “Condemnation,” one of my favorites and a song they’ve only played a handful of times since 2001.
Mostly, it was just nice seeing them live again. Depeche Mode was the last concert my wife and I went to before the pandemic and the first one we’ve gone to since. After Fletch died, we assumed we’d never see them perform again since they would surely break up.
As Dave would say: “Wrong!”
