The Depeche Mode " Delta Machine tour" Summary or " I just can't get enough"!

Now, I'm ten days back at home.

Life is going on and I feel happy. I experienced so many things in the last year, I saw wonderful places, enjoyed great concerts, met so many nice people.

Now I have to ease down all the experiences. That takes time, I know that from past tours.

Since the last concert in Moscow I wasn't able to hear a Depeche Mode song.
That takes time, too.

I'm very grateful for touring with the Delta Machine tour.

It is time for a little summary.

A few weeks before the press conference in October 2012, I broke my left leg.
It was a very complicated fracture and I was forced to stay 3 month at home and go on crutches.

At this time I heard the first rumors about a new album of Depeche Mode, an upcoming press conference and an upcoming tour in 2013.

I got a massive panic attack, because I couldn't imagine to be fit enough for the press conference or the tour in 2013.

But I got the chance to go to the press conference in Paris and with a little help from a few friends
we drove at a wonderful Monday with 5 persons ( including me and my crutches) to Paris by car.
The press conference was a day later and I was so happy to be there, to be a part from the beginning of this Delta Machine tour, although no one knew at this moment the name of the upcoming new album including Depeche Mode.
Dave looked so healthy, wow, unbelievable. After the press conference the tour was announced and the ticket sale for a few concerts started just in the minute the conference ended.
Due to another two friends, we got the first tickets!!!

Thank you Elvis, Heike, Frank, Simone, Arkadi & Martin!!!

Back home my disaster with my leg turned into a fortune to all of us.
I had the ability to sit every day, every minute in front of the computer, I spent so many hours in the f***ing Net to book tickets for the concerts, to reserve hotel rooms, to check the best travel route, to buy flights and train tickets and so on.

On christmas I got well and started to work like a maniac to finance the tour.
Between two tours I save so lot money I can for the next tour but this time I had not enough because the broken leg. And I worked and worked and then I arranged my absence. Life had to go on when I was on tour.

Thank you Anton & Paul for your understanding.
Thank you Stefan, Ulrike, Martin, Nino & Thierry for helping me at home during the tour.


The release date of the album came ( March 22) and with the date a competition.
Electronic Beats started a competition : you had to describe your work as a fan reporter for Depeche Mode. You could give in pictures, videos or what you want to explain why you had to go to a special launch event of Depeche Mode in Vienna where they would present a few of the new songs live.

Wow, I wanted to win and I took a video where you can see the hysteric fan on one side and the cool fan reporter on the other side, both rolls were played by me. My sons played "People are People" on tuba and euphonium. My friend Christian directed and filmed the video.
Thank you guys!!!
I won!!! Yeah!!!


http://youtu.be/-Qa08frEkr0

Two days before I went to Vienna I met with my friend Martin and we heard " Delta Machine" the first time.
I was so pleasantly surprised by this record. Since " Exiter" this was the best album for me.
Great songs like " Secret to my end", " " Broken", " Alone". Wow.

And then on Sunday ( March 24) I saw Depeche Mode in Vienna live. It was an unbelievable feeling to see them again on stage since my last concert in Dusseldorf 2010. At that time I thought it is over, I will see them never again on stage....
Sometimes it comes out differently than expected. Fortunately!!!

I met so many friends at the Launch event and my anticipation of the tour began to rise.
And the time started to run so quick, in the next moment the tour started with the warm-up gig in Nice. The weather, the city, the concert.... everything was perfect.
The new set list, it was an unforgettable day for me and a perfect prelude of a wonderful amazing tour.

You can read it here on my blog.

I booked 58 concerts but two shows were cancelled ( Istanbul and Lille).
I saw 56 concerts in 23 countries.
In Barcelona I celebrated my Birthday with Depeche Mode and some good friends! What a present!

I wanted to see 60 concerts this tour but as the two shows were cancelled I knew I will never reach this aim. So I saw 56 concerts of Depeche Mode on one tour the third time in my life ( on the " Music for the masses "tour and on " the Playing the angel" tour, too).
So it seemed to be a special number for me, don't know why.
I was 87 days on the road, 78 times I slept in a hotel room, I flew 36 times, went by train 35 times, 16 times by car, 4 by bus, one by taxi, drank 420 liters of beer.
I had no pain because my broken leg. I forgot that it was broken, what a luck!!!

I met so many nice friends, fans, people from all over the world, some of them twice, some more.
I deepened friendships, I made new friends and I lost some friends. But I want miss all the experiences I made on the tour.

The best concert for me was in the summer in Rome.
Two days before I saw the concert in Milan with three very good friends and we were sure, no concert could  ever be better than Milan, but Rome could.
In Rome I had a moment where I thought, " when my life is ending now, it will be o.k.!"

So my number two is Milan in the summer and my number three is Milan in the winter.
It is difficult to say why a concert is one of the best. The mood of the band specially of Mr. Gahan is very important for me, the mood of the audience is very important, too and last but not least the own constitution!!!!
Helpfull is the spirit in your travel group, but I'm not a team player.
I like it to have fun on the concerts with my friends or other people, but most imported is the concert, Mr. Gahan and I!
In Milan in winter a storm swept over us ( figuratively speaking), but it is my number three!

The summer tour was better because I like outdoor concerts and the setlist was better and longer.
The whole winter tour I missed my favorite song of the tour" Secret to my end".

I saw wonderful cities, some of them not the first time.
Favorite cities are Rome, Bologna, Kiev, St. Petersburg, Belfast, Dublin and Barcelona.
I slept in great hotels, if you are in Rome look for the St. Anna Hotel, in Belfast for the Tara Lodge,
in Barcelona for the Music Boutique Hotel, in London for the King William Hotel.

My favorite journey was the Italian tour in Winter, I will never forget the day in the stadium of Turin, one of the happiest days in my life.

But every journey was special and I will thank you all my travel mates or people I met on this great tour. From time to time I will remember one of you, I'm sure.

I will thank you Martin, Anton, Paul, Ulrike, Arkadi, Wilfried, Myriam, Cono,Fabian, Andreas, Heike, Elvis, Klaudija, Mirko, Lars, Sven, Ulrich, Frank, Simone, Sylvia, Claudia, Melanie, Kai, Peter, Ohst, Viol,Heike, Jaqueline, Jenny,
Patrick, Dirk, Brit,Mor Amor, Björn, Uwe, Cori, Manuel, Sabine, Mike, Sandy, Thomas, Timo, Miriam, Markus, Andy, Julia, Tanja, Anette, Nancy, Frank, Steffi, Alessandro, Cecilia, Pat, Cathi, Sven, Adil, Jean George, Saliha, Hauke and many many more.
Drinking, singing and dancing with you all over Europe, what a pleasure!!!!!!!

In Dusseldorf, first concert in the summer, I took my children the first time with me to a Depeche Mode concert. It was a wonderful evening for us, they liked it and we waved together our arms to " Never let me down", amazing!

I think the best moment with friends was the second Paris concert in winter with my friends Martin, Wilfried and Myriam. It was such a feeling of happiness, unique in life and I will never forget my whole life. The emotions overwhelm me when I'm thinking to it.

I had the honor to meet Vince Clarke in Madrid, so fantastic. Thank you, Pat!!!

I could say so much more, I will miss to write this blog and if you like I will tell you stories from past concerts from time to time.
This site had more than 8000 guests. Thank you!!!

And I had to thank you, Depeche Mode, for the great concerts and the unbelievable long tour.

In the beginning there was rumors that the tour will end in the summer of 2014.
There was no statement of you why the tour ended now and why you didn't play in South America.
You began in a unbelievable good mood. At the end it was only a sad imitation.
The atmosphere on stage was so bad, I couldn't understand.
On the last concert in the last sound of " Precious", Dave acted as he was going to shoot the small white dog on the video screen. He shot my hope for an upcoming tour.
Although Martin Gore thanked Dave before the last song started, I had no hope for a future of Depeche Mode.
Maybe they have only a tour depression. I had a tour burn out two weeks before the tour ended and they made 70 concerts more than me, but I saw profound aversion between them.

We have to wait, the time will bring it with you.
I'm sure to see Dave Gahan on a solo tour and I'm looking forward to this.

I like to thank David Gahan, because he is my Personal Jesus, for the unbelievable and unforgettable moments he gave to me ( specially in Bremen!!!). His movements, his singing, the whole performance.
He is the best, the best, the best.....

And I want to end with a few words from the song which was one of the best of this tour:

" I just can't get enough" !!!!

See you next time!!!!!