Depeche Mode
Live@Forum di Assago

Replicating the recent performances in Italy, a country that seems to never get enough of the Albion Depeche, I was fortunate enough, given the outcomes, to still find two tickets for the evening of January 29th at the Forum di Assago.

Opening the concert was singer-songwriter EMA, whose existence I was unaware of until the other night, and I would say, unjustly, after listening to her 30-minute set. Accompanied by a drummer and a multi-instrumentalist who supported her well in performing tracks with fearlessness and endowed with a certain energy and personality.

After this punctual opening, at 9:00 PM, the band from Basildon appears, accompanied in the background by projections designed by Anton Corbijn, a loyal collaborator since 1986.

The honor and burden of opening the concert is left to “Going Backwards,” a single from the latest album “Spirit,” driven by a vocal performance by Dave Gahan that will not disappoint throughout the evening and indeed confirm just how much he is truly one of the last performers capable of attracting, leading, and conquering vast crowds of spectators, giving the impression that it is the most natural thing in the world for him. The setlist privileges in the execution of “It’s no good” and “Barrel of a Gun” the album “Ultra,” a work that showed the first trio formation and also represented liberation from the evils that had plagued the band up to that moment, seriously threatening to destroy it forever but instead proving how alive and kicking it was.

Subsequently comes a prevalent succession of classics, with the moments awaited by everyone “Everything Counts” and “Never let me down” where the rite is celebrated in a perfect fusion, between band and their audience, of words and movement, and it is exciting to be a part of it.

There are also the episodes sung by Gore, in particular “Home,” which show the more introspective side and the melancholic soul of their author, with the good Martin demonstrating excellent capabilities as a vocalist as well. Personally, “Stripped,” “In your room,” and “Walking in my shoes” are the jewels of the evening that lead, all too soon, to the final farewell of “Personal Jesus.”

What is surprising is how, in the new millennium, without producing anything revolutionary after “Ultra,” Depeche have not lost a shred of artistic dignity alongside their fame, navigating with awareness a recent artistic career that reflects the balance they have found between different personalities, with Gahan and Gore, aided by their respective solo ventures, seeming to have found a fertile coexistence and lasting peace between their personalities and their personal demons. Over fifty years old, aware of being so, true and mature like their concerts which are still capable of moving us, with the strength of their words and their music. Long live Depeche Mode!