Page 39 - ION Indie Magazine JulyAugust 2018 Issue

Depeche Mode’s Global Spirit World Tour is beginning to wrap up after almost
a year, but not before stopping in San Antonio, TX, the night of May 27 to a
th
sold-out crowd of over 20,000 at the AT&T Center.

The pre-concert energy was palpable, and when frontman David Gahan
walked on stage the crowd erupted so loudly it most likely caused seismic
tremors in Austin. The band opened with several huge hits, such as “Barrel of a
Gun,” yet that was just the appetizer for the rest of the evening. Featuring Martin
Gore on guitar and Andy Fletcher and Peter Gordeno playing backing
keyboards, Dave Gahan was true to form as he worked his way across the
stage, gyrating his hips in a way that would make Mick Jagger blush.

The show didn’t focus solely on their latest work and featured almost a dozen
of their greatest hits -- “Never Let Me Down,” “Strangelove,” “A Question of Lust”
-- the crowd was never disappointed and sang along as if they were a 20,000-
piece chorus. At the end of “Everything Counts,” Dave walked out on the
middle stage runner, extended the microphone in one hand and held his ear

with the other, and encouraged the crowd to sing along acapella -- which they
did for over 5 minutes in perfect harmony! When the song ended, the crowd
erupted in enthusiastic applause which lasted another 5 minutes, while Dave
and Martin just stood and looked at the crowd with huge childlike grins on their
faces in amazement.
The evening included the politically-driven
“Where’s the Revolution?” with accompanying
video depicting marching feet moving across
the stage. While politics never played heavily into

any of the group’s songs, this particular song

highlights events happening across the world
and the growing frustration amongst many with
world leaders. The lyrics from the song include
“The train is coming, the engine is running, get on
board…get on board…” It was obvious that the
crowd was absolutely on board and stood
behind the band’s message of world solidarity.

Overall, it was an amazing evening with powerful
lyrical performances by both Martin and Dave.
You could close your eyes and instantly be taken
back to 1984, as if you had never grown up.

www.depechemode.com