The venue was the Event Center inside the Borgata, a typical upscale Atlantic City casino. Why the band always returns to such a small show that they can't possibly make much money on is beyond me. I am guessing that they enjoy the intimacy and change up from the big stadium tours. Either way, it's special from the fans, and they come out of the woodwork from all over to see it, much to the annoyance of the Borgata. I got there around noon; others had lined up from 5 am. You could see them wandering around hiding (and sleeping) behind signs, decked out in black and looking either morbid or anxious, I couldn't tell. Some were even brave enough to wear shirts from old tours past. Most didn't want to be too obviously given away to the staff, who's goal in life for that day was to run out anyone there for the gig before 6 pm.
I found a restraunt right at the bottom of the escalators up to the show. There was a little "outside" area and one open table, with a perfect view of everything. I had it in my head that I would just jump the surrounding fence to line up if all else failed, and we sat down to the longest meal of my life. At some point, the waitress figured out what we were doing, and stopped coming back. It went on like this for hours, with people slowly forming a line, being scuttled off by an aging security guard, lurking in the shadows again and starting all over. Finally he told people at 5 they could line up, and just as everyone slacks off, he comes back at 4:10 to place a rope in a spot mere feet from my table. People come flying over from all directions, and I was so taken by surprise I froze and let about 20 more people get in line before I figured out what to do. Forget the fact that we were all friends minutes before, or that we all knew who really got there first, it was cutthroat and everyone got angry. I ended up 70 people back, and when they came to randomly wristband people, my band ironically said just that.
Having lived the anger of that lineup situation once, I feel it deserves no more words. After being herded like sheep many times, we were stamped with invisible stamps, the doors opened, and people speed-walked (we were told not to run) to their favorite spots. As I watched the barrier in front of Dave fill up row by row, I knew I would never be front and center for this show, but I found an opening 2nd row by Martin, and it was mine. What a great place to be, Martin girls are so sweet. I couldn't complain, my first DM show wouldn't be thousands of people back in an arena, I was still close enough to feel the sweat. And sweat I certainly felt, my own. It had to have been 105 on the floor. The air was off to help save Dave's faltering voice, to good means I suppose as he lost it later on and dates had to be cancelled. With all the body head packed together and lack of air circulation, the temperature grew with nothing to help relieve it. People were passing out, despite the guards throwing mini bottles of water around now and then.
Peter Bjorn and John opened the show with a surprisingly extended set. After hearing them on the radio, I expected them to be quite boring. They were not. Even the next day, I had their songs as ear worms. Their sound is so haunting and frankly, just Scandinavian, it stuck with me. Live, they have some moves down. During one song, the bassist and lead singer switch instruments so that the bassist can leap into the crowd. Further on, during 'Young Kids', the singer hands the bassist his guitar and takes his turn jumping in. He ran along the barrier, waving a shaker in our faces. When he suddenly popped up inches away, I was mezmerized by his blue eyes, and we exchanged a smile. What amazed me the most about this, was how he didn't even miss a word while being folded like a pretzel by the guard getting him back onstage. I stupidly didn't snap a single photo during their set, and to my own comic relief, I didn't realize until later that the bassist's lisp upon speaking was actually a thick Swedish accent. I couldn't tell you where I had thought they were from.
Finally Depeche Mode comes out, but the crowd is too hot to really cheer a whole lot. The band opened with 'In Chains', the first song on the new album. I'm not sure it translates live as well as it could, and it's a little slow to open with. 'Wrong' wasn't as much of an anthemic live feature as I expected; 'Walking in My Shoes' lacked some of its old fervor. I could go on like this for awhile. Instead, I'm just going to blame the heat. The crowd just wasn't feeling it. Either way, the setlist was a good mix of old and new songs. It failed to represent every album over the years, but did a good job trying. It always comes to mind, what Fletch likes to say about their shows. The way Dave dances about, they just can't play for 3 hours, he would kill himself. He always tells us that they aren't The Cure, and that Robert Smith can do it because he stands in front of the microphone all night. Being a fan of many energetic bands, it makes perfect sense. As worn out as I get in the crowd, I can only imagine how they feel up there.
About halfway through the show, slightly more hydrated, people seemed to find more energy. Following Martin's solo set, Dave returning to do the vocals on his self-penned 'Come Back' leading into 'In Your Room', the place seemed to light up. 'I Feel You' was quite thumping, and Dave even managed to find his moves during 'Never Let Me Down Again' despite a torn calf muscle. It was about then that a group of fans pulled out printed up signs saying very Depeche words (such as "Faith") and the members' names. The cameraman beautifully caught this for the projections, and Dave and the others couldn't stop smiling about this.
Then, after a mere two-song encore containing 'Stripped' and 'Personal Jesus', they were done. A few people scrounged up a setlist and were quite disappointed about the songs that had been cut out. I was, too, for a bit before talking to someone on the crew. He gave me a setlist and said to hold onto it, as it was special. He explained to me about the venue having a curfew and fining ridiculous amounts of money for going over. I myself work at a venue with this rule, and understood completely. However, the sad thing is, a majority of the fans wanted to complain about how the band should've just payed the fine, played on anyways and suffered through for them. This was a big letdown for me, finding out that DM fans can be so filled with negativity. After everything this band has been through, and that they still tour, you'd think they would have earned a little more respect from their so called "fans." Again, I think of Fletch, saying that their message board is just "one long moan."
The show, for what it was, and all the un-luckiness of the tour, was quite good. Things didn't go exactly as planned, but I'm happy that I got to see them in such an intimate setting. In fact, I'm happy I got to see them at all, amongst all the people who didn't. I don't see the need to complain. The unhappiness of others, something that just isn't needed post-gig, has discouraged me from wanting to return to the setting of a Depeche gig anytime soon. As it is, there isn't much need, because the setlist and even the choreographed phrases and moves hardly change. I guess I need a little more. But I would never say I've been let down, I for one, have been fulfilled.
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