Depeche Mode in Vienna, February 4 or takeover by Alexandra

I couldn't go to Vienna, because the 18. birthday of my younger son. So I ask a friend to write the blog for this evening.
My friend Alexandra did. I know her since this tour, she is a friend of my beloved friend Michael from Switzerland and the chemistry between us was right from the beginning.
So read what she has written for us:

Depeche Mode in Vienna, February 4, 2018.

We were at the stadion around 6:45PM and placed us in the approx. 10th row. The waiting began. The support band EMA in my opinion was not bad, though no emotions came up at all. Everybody was eagerly waiting for DM.  8:45pm punctual as always, the sound began, wohoooo.. Let’s get the party started.

For my boyfriend it was the first gig on the tour, for me, the 6th and probably last one  I was very much excited to share this event with him (it was his last year bday-present for me.

I found the atmosphere sensational. People were singing from the first moment (even for Front of the stage I do not take it for granted). The room was boiling and I could hardly breathe because everybody stood so close to each other.. phhh… I kinda felt like a chicken in the cage (compatible to Dave’s chicken dance....)

The setlist was great, but I hoped Martin would sing „Sister Of Night“. This would definitely have been IT for me  However, „Insight“ was very beautiful and „Strangelove“ fantastic. „Home“ anyway is always nice with the singing crowd at the end. Gives me goose bumps every time.

Hard to say what my personal highlight was. Martin is always one, for sure!

I love „Everything Counts“ at this tour. That song, I believe is the the first song where the very last people finally stood up and also started partying  (I read comments that people got pissed off in the seating ranges because people stood up in front of them.. no comment).
„Stripped“ was top, one of my faves. And of course "The pain that I’m used to".
 As soon as the song starts, I start jumping around..  Such a cool version of the song ! Absolutely lovin’ it !
The movie at „Walking In My Shoes“ I find rather distracting to that beautiful song.

The band was in a very good mood and to see Dave swirling around is always a great pleasure. This man has got such charism.  It’s nice to see if a band still enjoys what they’re doing after so many years. And DM fans are the best anyway!! So many people stand outside all day, freezing their a** off for hours, but have paid for an „early entry ticket“ and in the end have to run to get to the first row. Crazy  (and they are over 25.. ) Others standing outside the hotel in the cold waiting for an autograph  Some of them were VERY lucky.

I was very happy and smiled  nonstop for 2 hours. I wish I could have stopped time..
A Slowakian girl we met with her brother at the FOS-area said for her a DM gig is kind of a therapy. How right she is,  let yourself go…


Thank you, dear Alexandra for this very good review. Exactly to the point!
Hope you will come in summer to Berlin. I wish to celebrate the last concert with you.

And I will share to pictures with you, my friend Michael made it. He met Christian Eigner in front of the band hotel and finally he made a picture with him. We asked him in Torino, but he didn't want a picture. But here in Vienna he was more friendly. Next day Michael got the chance to meet Martin and Andy. They signed finally his picture he made a few years ago in Santa Barbara. We have to catch Dave in Poland! Stay tuned!!

Last but not least two pictures by my friend Ohst. He sent this pictures directly after the concert.
I had a lucky evening with my son and friends but  there was a small drop of bitterness  wasn't in Vienna together with them. Thomas wrote the concert was amazing and he would give the concert the grade 1 if I had been there, so only a 2! Thank you my dear friends, so happy to be together again tonight in Krakow with you!!!

Depeche Mode in Budapest, February 2 or " it's just a question of time"

Another very early trip. I left Cologne by train via Dusseldorf at 4:30 and our flight started at 7 o'clock in direction to Budapest.

It was very cold and rainy in Budapest but we made a long walk about the Chain Bridge to the bastion of the fishers. Beside is the Matthias Church. All these monuments lay on the Buda side.

It was more then 4 years ago I was in Buda-Pest the last time. I like this city with his wonderful old buildings. But the city is most of the time under construction, there is a lot to do, to restore, build up, modernize. But they did a lot since my last visit.

We had a huge hotel room in a small hotel which have only a few rooms in one floor of an old apartment building. " Sas One", but they have all you need and everything is very close, specially the subway to the arena and the bus to the airport.

We had a nice meal together in a big restaurant. For us everything is very cheap in Hungary. So my friends bought a lot of official merchandise this evening before the concert started.
I bought only one t-shirt, but I had to carry all the bags for the others....lol.

The "Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportsarena" is really big. There are room for 15000 people, in addition to concerts, it is mostly used for athletics.

Very well filled, but we had seating places  and I was happy about that. On the left side of the stage, we had a good view to Martin this time.

No setlist changes.
Dave welcomed the Hungarian fans with " welcome to Buda.....". I didn't hear a Pest! Funny.

I enjoyed every moment of the concert because I have from now on less then 20 shows left and I was a little bit sad.
Ok, I know this is moaning on a high level, but I know right now, I will miss Dave so much after such a long time seeing him several times in a month for more than a year.
I have to confess, I didn't see Martin, Andy, Peter or Christian in Budapest, because I couldn't turn my eyes away of Dave.

He made a good show but I saw he was tired and he moved not so much like in Nuremberg or Milan. The audience was very calm and I remembered as I sat on the side of the stage in Milan, I had the same view like Dave to the audience. In Budapest he stood in front of a wall of people.
How did he have to feel? But "it''s just a question of time" for this unbelievable entertainer until he got the audience under his spell.
I was able to fade out the "In your room" video and I loved to see how Dave danced so wonderful with his microphone stand. I don't know another artist like Mr. Gahan with this special kind to move.
Many people said after seeing him the first time on stage, " he must be gay".
No, he isn't gay, he has the ability to dance like his soul is. He show us his soul through dancing. This is his secret of entertaining. He is a faun. I like the way he move so much....but, I'm not telling you anything new here!

To " Everything counts" he made a few new moves ( he started this in Milan). He marched like a soldier from the catwalk to Martin and back.
I'm happy to see a lot of  the remaining concerts. Hope he will have a few surprises for us.

The audience sang very well to " Home" and " Everything counts".
" Enjoy the silence " and " Never let me down" was a big party.

My friend Arkadi bought beer for us while " Stripped" and so we had a big cup of beer in our hands to the beginning of " Enjoy the silence".
Only 4 years ago this never happened. If friends bought me a beer while the concert I drank it all in one go. Yes, time was running and we all are getting older.... but to old to drank a beer in one go, I asked me?
"No!" I drank the whole beer before " Never let me down" started, to celebrate this song like it deserved!!!

The Hungarian fans made a nice fan activity to " Never let me down". Many of them wore white gloves while waving arms and hands. A very good idea, I hope the band saw it. Looked great!

Martin sang " Strangelove" and Dave came back to sing " Walking in my shoes". This evening he wore his red shoes. He thanked again Mr. Martin Gore, Peter Gordeno and  he called him magical instead of the " normal" magnicifent.... oh please Dave, do not exaggerate!!!
But why can not Martin thank Dave for example?
If Dave wouldn't be Dave, Depeche Mode would not be this amazing unique liveband!!!
But I like the moment of the beginning of " Walking in my shoes", when Dave and Martin dance side by side. You can see what a feeling Dave has for the beat, so incredible when he is posing on his toes. Like Elvis!

" Question of time" became more and more my favorite one because the crazy kind like Dave throw away his microphone stand. I'm still waiting for the egg, David!!!!

I cannot understand what he is singing at the end. Do you? So let me know, please!

Then we all gave our best to " Personal Jesus". Already anxious to hear this song a last time in summer in Berlin. Oh my god, I will nee help!!

After the show we got some sticker as we left the arena as advertising for the upcoming Sopron festival in summer with Depeche Mode.

Many people threw them away. I collected them all and asked the people who gave us the sticker for more and I went home with so many of it.
Later I will give a few to you when the tour is coming to the end.
I collected a few goodies for you.

We drove back to the city center. A few of us went to the after show party with Kurt Uenala. I was sad that I couldn't go, but my flight back to Dusseldorf started very early again and I needed a few hours sleep.

I didn't go to the Vienna concert, because my younger son celebrated his 18. birthday on Sunday.
It was not a difficult decision, my sons are everything for me. They are really the best!

Hope you like my review, please stay tuned for my next experiences from tomorrow on in Poland. So happy to got there, because first time for me in Krakow and Gdansk!!

Depeche Mode in Milan, January 29 or " in his room"

We woke up in the late morning and had breakfast together in a small cafe. Then we walked through the city, a whole day long on foot.
Enjoy my pictures. First and foremost I travel because of Depeche Mode, but I love exploring cities and I like to come back to a city to really explore it to the last corner.

" Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II"

Duomo

you have to eat ice-cream in Italy

always addicted to Depeche Mode

Naviglio Pavese. the canals of Milan

Santa Maria delle Grazie

here you can visit the " Last supper" by Leonardo da Vinci

don't miss the " Aperitivo"

Milan at night

The day ended with two bottles good vine in our wonderful hotel lobby.
Next morning we had breakfast again in the "Pasticcheria Scaringi".

Then we went by one of the small trams to the "Cimitero Monumentale", an old imposing  graveyard. But it was closed on Mondays.....

We had a last great lunch together. We ate near by the "Corso Como", a shopping and dining complex in Milan, where many Italians eat their lunch, so it is worth to go there only for lunch.

We spent a lazy afternoon in our hotel room and drove again in the early evening to the "Mediolanum Forum" . As we came out of the subway the arena was shrouded in fog....spooky.
We met friends of Switzerland in the Food court and then we walked in the arena.
I had a seating place right beside the stage. It was an interesting view. I saw the audience a little bit like the band do and I can tell you, it is an amazing view but if I stood in front of the crowd and knew, I have to deliver my best ...... Respect!

I saw again how hard Mr. Gahan have to work. He moves in 2 hours more than most people throughout the day, it os high-performance sports.
We were so close and near by his small black camp beside the stage, where he spent the time while Martin sang his songs. We could see through a small gap how he quickly changed his clothes and then put on new make-up. He was completely alone there, a woman handed him his fresh clothes and took the sweaty things with her. Only Mr. Eigner went briefly to him. I felt like a spy, I looked into his room.
We saw Mr. Kessler. he came always out to receive the band when they left the stage.

I like most that I didn't see the screenings from my place. My attention was only on Dave and I saw his wonderful performance to " In your room".  He danced with his microphone stand as if this one was a woman. So wonderful. The screenings distracting from Dave and he has to work more because nobody can see him from the higher places....The same happened every evening while " Walking in my shoes". I'm tired of this film, I want to see Dave and so it was a successful evening for me because I saw every move he made.
" Policy of truth" came for " Where is the revolution" and  I went crazy as I saw how Dave danced like a stripper or pole dancer with his microphone stand. Ouch.

Martin sang again " I want you now". The Milanese were happy. It was an amazing mood, so much better then the first concert, the same phenomenon as in Berlin, but really amazing because it was an Monday evening. With " I feel you" and " Personal Jesus" an incredible show came to its end.

Video taken by Michael P. 

Thank you, because I'm not able to do anything else than dancing and screaming while " Personal Jesus"

picture taken by "Black Cat Net"

picture taken by " Black Cat Net"

I was so happy after the show, I'm lost for words. I know now only 5 winter shows left, really hard.
We went back to our hotel and spent a while together while drinking red wine.

Ciao Milan, it is not easy to say Goodbye to one of my favorite concert places. Will I ever come back to see Depeche Mode again here in this city? I don't know and so I'm so happy to write this blog because then I can remember this wonderful time in Milan.