Montag, 20. November 2017

Depeche Mode in Los Angeles, Hollywood Bowl, October 12, 14, 16 and 18 or one,two, three, four

I spent my last morning in San Francisco  ( October 11) with running along the pier in Downtown. After a short breakfast at Lori's Diner near Union Square we left the city by car.
Please watch my picture show.
We made a stop one night at Cayoucos Beach, a small city near Carmel, but there my passport disappeared in a ghostly way and I arrived in Los Angeles after another day in the car, which we almost stuck in traffic, very stressed and forgot to look forward to the first Hollywoog concert of four.
But I forgot all the stress as I came in this wonderful arena, a dream came true. Never saw 4 concerts of Depeche Mode in a row. No band before them played four concerts in this arena and I was such a lucky one to be on all four concerts ( thank you Air Berlin for canceling our flight back to Germany on October 18. we booked a new flight for October 19!)

Join in and enjoy!


Early morning run: Bay Bridge



A last coffee in San Francisco in the famous Loris's diner.



A short stop in Burlingname, I visited the Pez Museum, because I collect Pez.
My second obesession.




On our way to Los Angeles we drove the 17 miles drive.
Don't miss it.


It's only seaweed, but looked like a sea monster.


Pelicans...


Attack of the sea monster





near Carmel





we forgot our shoes on a parking place...



Cayoucos Beach. There was no hope for my passport.


Get my kicks on route... 101
( October 12)


The Global spirit Merchandise Bus.



And finally the great Hollywood Bowl. My first concert there and I was so lucky to 
be there with my favorite band in this famous old arena.


Looks like a snow globe.





Going backwards. 
Dave was very excited. 
this old hand in Showbiz, but I love it when he is excited like a normal human being.


" Barrel of the gun was the first highlight" for me, first song of "Ultra" and
it's reminiscent of the band's old days and Dave's wild drug excesses.
How must he feel being in Hollywood again?


The inner circle of the concert was surrounded by a huge catwalk.
At " Cover Me", Dave finally dared to walk out ( only this one time) and a lucky girl catched his hand and he hold her hand a long while.


Use your fantasy to find Mr. Gahan.



Dave went out after doing a great job so far and Mr. Martin L. Gore came on stage and the audience, a little bit quiet so far, started to sing with Mr. Gore " A question of lust " and Home".
It was an wonderful atmosphere, warm, all this singing people, the lighted hills in the backward of the bowl, wow.


Dave came back and from now on it was a fantastic show with a great audience.
The venue was so big, they had 5 screens, looked amazing.
I couldn't take more pictures, because I had to dance and sing.
The whole crowd sang " Everything counts", what a moment.
I was so touched of the song and the feeling to be a part of this event....
"everything counts in larger amounts".
Later at " Never let me down" I felt like a part of a huge wave. All the people around me smiled the whole time. Pure happiness.




Absolut highlight for me were the two last songs: " I fell you" and " Personal Jesus".
Dave lost all his nervousness and gave his best. he danced like a young man, he is always good for a surprise.


So, good night Depeche Mode, thank you for show number one.
I forgot all my stress of the last two days and went so happy back in my small apartment.




The next morning ( October 13) started with a visit at the German consulate. They said, I need no exit permit because I have my german Id with me and there will be no problem to leave the USA with the ID. Ok, I'm not totally convinced and called United Airlines, but the very friendly employee said the same like the consulate.
So we have a wonderful day at the Getty Center, a beautiful museum complex in Brentwood. You can visit it for free, so don't miss it.
Then we drove along the famous Mulholland Drive through the Hollywood Hills and the homes of the rich and famous people. Last but not least we stopped at the Griffith observatory and ended the day with a very hot korean meal.


on our way to the Getty center


View from the Getty center




Hollywood hills, View from the Mulholland Drive



Griffith obervatory


" Rebel without a cause" was shot at the Griffith Observatory like many other famous films.


Hollywood



Next morning ( October 14) I discovered a " Whole food market" in Downtown and from this day on I had breakfast there every morning. Many many homeless people live in downtown, because it is only a working area. But it really touched me and made me sad.



After the breakfast we spent the whole day in Santa Monica and Venice Beach.
I love the sun and it's never to warm for me, so I enjoyed the day at the ocean so much.


Muscle Beach


Venice Beach


Venice in Los Angeles has also canals like its namesake


Then it was time for the second night in the Hollywood Bowl:


We enjoyed the atmosphere around the bowl.



We met Ricardo, a very friendly guy, who invited us to a very good can of beer. A mexican beer with tequila and tomato juice: Modelo Chelada.
 Wow, unbelievable tasty. Thank you so much, nice to meet you, Ricardo


We have good places but relative far away from the stage.
The prices for the tickets in the Hollywood bowl were unbelievable expensive.




We were very excited, will there be some setlist changes tonight?
By the way we didn't see any sign of shooting the DVD here. No cameras.
Dave start in a very good mood, but all devotees waited on the set list change and but there were none and so I think many fans were a bit disappointed.
But inspire of no changes, Dave gave his best and the fans were devotedly devoted to him, they all clung to his lips and tried to touch him on his walk on the catwalk.







But Mr. Martin L. Gore sang then " Strangelove" and the bowl began to vibe.
With " Home" and the return of our Personal Jesus, the concert turned to a really good one and 
we were the second time part of this great event.





Lucky me, surrounded with happy singing and dancing people. Lucky, because another two concert are coming.

After the break, Martin sang " Judas",
I like this song very much and the atmosphere in the bowl was perfect for this quiet lovely and wailing song.

Is simplicity best
Or simply the easiest?
The narrowest path
Is always the holiest
So walk on barefoot for me
Suffer some misery
If you want my love
If you want my love




And finally Dave is changing his routine:
"Policy of truth" came for " Heroes". Not my favorite song but I like the dynamics of the song, it's a typical Dave song and I understand why he choose this song for his first change.
He never forgets a movement he ever made, so he danced to the song as if it was 1993.




Much too fast, the second concert was over. Good Night.


We met our good friend Mike. He came along with a wonderful message.
A common friend of ours had suffered a stroke for a few days. We had met him at the Santa Barbara Concert and shortly thereafter we heard about it and were very appalled. All the better now to hear that John had been released from the hospital and was on his way back to Denmark. 
All the best for you, John!


As we came out, we met our two friends from Frankfurt. They didn't find tickets for the show so they spent the concert at the foot of the hill and waited for us.

We had a few drinks together before I called me a Lyft taxi and drove back to my small pool house near Downtown.


The next two days I spent without much sightseeing. I swam a lot, we have a nice room in a small pool house and a wonderful pool. Our host was a nice woman with two kids and 17 cats. But everything was very clean. Only the neighborhood was not the best, every evening I went by Lift back to the house and all the drivers said to me: "oh, wow, not a good neighborhood, please don't walk around here alone by night".
One of the cats became my little friend, she always waited when I'm opened the gate in front of the house.
I was another day with my friends in Santa Monica and Venice Beach. In the early evening we enjoyed a view good Margaritas together and watched the unbelievable sunset.
Later I tried a good meal in a Korean Tofu House. I'm obsessed with tofu, you know?
You will never find such good asian food in Germany. Very original, very hot.... perfect for me.
Next day was the 3. concert day ( October 16).
After swimming and breakfast in my lovely " Whole Food Supermarket" I walked the day though Hollywood, drank a few beer and after a last meal together ( our friends from Frankfurt had to leave next morning) the Hollywood Bowl was calling.
I bought finally the special DM Los Angeles shirt at the merchandise bus and two another special Los Angeles ones.
After the concerts the black merchandise market are very huge, like in Italy in old times and we caught a few good T-shirts. The atmosphere before and after the concert in the Bowl area was so great. Many small food stands like in Mexico, many dealers with merchandise, all the happy excited devotees.
I used this picture always a few times, but the devotees are like bees in a hive, swarming out to seek the Queen. In our case, Dave was the Queen. The German fans called themselves the Black Swarm!


Ok, the third concert. We felt meanwhile like home in the Bowl and Depeche Mode, too.
The atmosphere became more relaxed then the first two concerts, although Dave went only one time over the catwalk. Only at " Cover me" and Martin put no foot on it all four concerts.
An early change: " It's no Good" for " So much love". My friend Arkadi and me screamed so loud.... finally, yeah. We waited since the Milano concert to hear this song. Ad yes, they did it.
Later Martin sang " Insight". I love this song and it would have been awesome if Dave had sung this song. I love the lyrics so much: "a spirit of love.... is rising within me... talking to you now.... telling you clearly....the fire still burns....". Dave's version is full of power and he sing it on Ultra like the phoenix from the ashes....
The Hollywood concerts became a journey through "Ultra". The record that accompanies Dave's ascent and descent in Los Angeles like no other and it's no coincidence that Depeche Mode played so much of Ultra there in this arena. Dave is still alive and showed us clearly, the fire is still burning.

Later another change" Black Celebration". Why not? 
So the third and so far the best of the Hollywood concerts went to an end. To " I feel you" and " Personal Jesus" we left our places and found place in a lower level to rocking and dancing to this powerful last two songs.
After the concert we drank a few beers together to say Goodbye to our Frankfurt friends. Amazing holidays  we spent together. I will never forget this 3 weeks.





























October 17 started with leaving our room and move to a Best Western Hotel near by the Hollywood bowl for the last two days. It was the first day I felt a little bit tired. I missed my childs and I spent the afternoon in our hotel with sleeping, watching TV, drinking Margeritas and hanging at the pool.
For Dinner we went to a "Veggie Grill". Everything in this diner was vegan. If you are vegan it's so easy in California to eat in restaurants.

The next morning ( October 18) was our last day. I couldn't believe how fast the last 3 weeks passed by. We experienced so much, I'm a very lucky person.
I stood up very early and ran through the sleepy but sunny Hollywood. I enjoyed a last cold brew. It is a special way to prepare coffee. The coffee is infused with cold water and has to draw for a while before it is filtered. The coffee tastes much milder and is more compatible. I drank it every morning with almond milk. I'll miss that very much, as well as my morning swim and so I went after the coffee for a while in the pool.
Then I took a bus to the Melrose Avenue and I wandered the road all the way down to Beverly Hills. I was happy to be on my favorite street, the North Beverly Drive and catched a bus at the corner of North Beverly Drive and Sunset Boulevard, where the famous Beverly Hills Hotel is, back to Hollywood. 
We met for a last warm-up with Margeritas at our pool and we started early to hunt for 3 tickets for the last concert in the Hollywood Bowl, as we had not originally planned this concert and had no tickets. 
Also in Hollywood the ticket black market was completely in organized hands, but we managed to find a nice private person who sold us 3 related tickets for a great price.
We were so lucky and we were beaming!!!

The last concert in the USA of 9! 
Depeche Mode were in the best mood you can imagine. Dave passed the challenge. You could feel the relief of him and finally he gave us a few more changes. 
If I said the third concert was a journey through " Ultra", the 4th show was now the increase, we were in "Ultra" and Dave's and Depeche Mode's history with Los Angeles.
I was the first one of us three who recognized " Useless". What a surprise. Last time I heard this song live was in 1998. Hhow does Dave have to feel, to sing the lines that may have been addressed as a cry for help from Martin to him? Perfect version. 
Later sang Martin " Sisters of night", another special " Ultra" song. Martin gave his best and sang it with lifeblood. Tho hear this song hurts me again and gain, I feel transported back to the 90ties, when no one knew if Dave would survive his wild times. 
And after " Home" Dave came back with " Precoius". Not one of my favorite songs, but a very good live song. So we went so fast to the final of the concert and there was no stopping for us. We danced and jumped around to our favorite songs, blasting our soul out to "Everything counts" and swinging our arms one last time for a while to " never let me down".
The last open air concert this year. 
A last change at the encores, " Policy of truth" instead of " Heroes", a very relaxed song, a song which became a part of Dave, he mastered every move to perfection.
And the last two songs, what else could I say? " I feel you" and " Personal Jesus", I gave my best, sang every word for my " Personal Jesus".
We shared a few beers after the concert, so unbelievable lucky to were part of this wonderful concerts. One, two, three, four.... Hollywood! Yeah,
Thank you Depeche Mode for bringing us here.....


Next morning. An adventure to get the permission to leave the country. I needed all the help from the nice employe of United Airlines with whom I had phoned a few days earlier. Finally, he booked us all 4 on Lufthansa, of course, the German airline knew what the identity card is and we landed a calendar day later happily in Frankfurt
An incredible journey, of course, the concerts as the icing on the cake, all together the best 3 holiday weeks in my life so far.

Hope you like my stories, let me know, what you think.









Good Morning Hollywood!



I love street art.





Bevery Hills.


The North Beverly Drive, I love this road.
It's California!













The nice guy who sold us the tickets


lucky






Unfortunately, Andy gets more and more in the background, which bothers me a lot.








#depechemode #globalspirittour #devotees #mydailymodeblog #usa











Keine Kommentare:

Kommentar veröffentlichen