I've been a Depeche Mode fan for over two decades, but I've only seen the group live once, in 1993, when the band came to Portland (Oregon) on the “Devotional” tour, promoting the album Songs of Faith and Devotion. Like an idiot I waited until the last minute to get my tickets, and I ended up in the worst section of the stadium. But it didn't matter. It was a fantastic show. It would have been nice to actually see the action on stage. Fast-forward a decade, and thanks to the magic that is DVD, I finally have a front row seat to that concert.
Devotional was directed by Anton Corbijin, Depeche Mode's longtime photographer and music video director. Corbijin has a very unique visual style, and if you've seen one of his music videos, you'll know what I mean.
The band performs on a two-level stage with Andy Fletcher, Martin Gore and Alan Wilder at their keyboards on the second level, and David Gahan on the bottom level. There are numerous dream-like images projected on the stage (filmed by Corbijin), and amazing lighting by Patrick Woodroffe.
The opening song, "Higher Love," is performed just as I remembered it, with the stage covered in sheets. As the music begins, the lighting captures the shadows on stage, projected on the sheets. Dave Gahan begins singing, still hidden behind the sheets, and we begin to see the shadows of the keyboardists. Chords play on an electric guitar. And eventually Dave emerges, and before long the stage is revealed.
Gahan's voice is a bit hoarse and he has some troubles with higher notes, but he makes up for it by his performance - the man is all over the place, running around both levels of the stage and even crowd diving at one point.
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