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Rating: Until a few days ago, Italian fans feared that the Italian dates of the Depeche Mode concerts might not take place due to the illness that struck Dave Gahan, the band's singer, during the Athens leg of the "Tour of the Universe".
Fortunately, however, the illness (malignant bladder tumor) was eradicated in time, and the tour continued regularly, even though several dates were canceled.
I was present at the Rome date, on June 16.
Today they will perform at San Siro stadium.
The concert starts 30 minutes before the scheduled time (9:00 PM instead of 9:30 PM) with a track from the new album: "In Chains", immediately followed by the single "Wrong".
The devotees present at the Olimpico, however, don't seem particularly excited by the new tracks, and apart from a few timid attempts by some to try to sing along, it doesn't seem that the new tracks have really resonated with the most ardent fans.
In fact, by the third song, the Olimpico starts to go wild to one of the most beloved tracks by DM's audience, "Walking in My Shoes", with the crowd erupting with the chant "TRY WALKING IN MY SHOES!!".
Then comes a song from the "Ultra" album, "It's No Good", which also has rightfully entered the ranks of the most loved Mode songs.
"A Question Of Time" arrives, and even the sleepiest ones go wild to the rhythm of "IT'S JUST A QUESTION OF TIMEEEE AND IT'S RUNNING AFTER YOU" with a Dave Gahan in dazzling form who excites the crowd with his now customary twirl during the song's interlude.
The projections shown on the big screens are by photographer Anton Corbjin, who has been collaborating with the band for over 20 years, starting from the video for "A Question Of Time". They feature live images from the concert with "moving paintings" dictated by Anton Corbijin's imagination and the song being performed at the moment.
The next song is "Precious", followed by the beautiful "Fly On The Windscreen".
It's Martin Gore's turn next, and he sings 2 songs: according to the setlist provided at the stadium entrance, the songs Martin Gore was supposed to sing were "Jezebel" from the latest album and "A Question Of Lust". Instead, Martin performs "Little Soul" from the latest album in an acoustic version without Dave Gahan's support and "Home", also in an acoustic version (and here, my dear friends, a tear almost escaped, truly a thrilling version).
Two more tracks from the new album follow: "Come Back", which I personally consider one of the best from "Sounds Of The Universe", and the beautiful "Peace".
The historic tracks return with the poignant "In Your Room", followed by the first real Rock song by the Basildon band, "I Feel You". Naturally, the devotees present at the Olimpico go wild to the rhythm of Martin Gore's guitar.
Two tracks from Violator follow: "Policy Of Truth", but especially the exciting "Enjoy The Silence", which at a Depeche Mode concert is like water for us humans; we couldn't live without it!
The first part of the concert concludes with "Never Let Me Down Again", with the 50,000 devotees present at the Olimpico bursting into the famous "field of wheat" from the song's official video (I personally couldn't wait to unleash with this beautiful choreography).
Once the first phase is over, it's time for a break (just about 10 minutes or so) for the DM, who come back charged to let those present at the Olimpico hear the beautiful "Stripped".
Then comes a wildly "disco-like" version of "Master And Servant" with the Olimpico stadium transforming into an open-air disco for the song's duration.
"Strangelove" follows, which didn't translate well live in my opinion, but was accompanied by stunning visuals (those who were there understand).
The 1st Encore ends, and we head towards the end of the concert, with the penultimate track played by our guys being the evergreen "Personal Jesus", which has now become an anthem for Depeche Mode.
The concert concludes with an acoustic version sung in duet by Martin and Dave of "Waiting For The Night", a truly, truly moving moment.
The Olimpico stadium slowly empties, leaving me with an evening that perhaps I will never forget.
Even though I absolutely cannot miss the next concert, which I hope they will have!
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