Any respectable summer driving-in-the-country-with-the-convertible-top-down playlist jamming as loud as the law allows isn’t truly a playlist unless it includes three tunes: “Mr. Blue Sky” by ELO, the Jackson 5’s “ABC,” and “Just Can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode. All three of those compositions get your toes tapping, and leave you with a big. goofy smile on your face.
The Essex, UK-born outfit hasn’t rolled through Cleveland in, oh, twenty-odd years. A lot has changed in the decades since the band last graced our fair city, but the one constant is the devoted fan base who came out en masse Friday night to see the band perform at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Their Memento Mori tour is hitting several US cities after wrapping up a successful European run earlier this year; it’s the band’s first tour since the death of founding member Andy Fletcher in early 2022. While his presence may have been missed, a nice late-set tribute was given via a soulful “World In My Eyes,” with a large photo of Fletch projected behind the band as they sang the tune. When concluded, they’ll have played 112 dates across Europe and North America.
People often ask me how a certain legacy band “still sounds,” as most of these older outfits have been touring since the Carter administration and some, whose names I’ll politely decline to mention, should have hung up the mic and packed the Fenders away a long time ago. Not Depeche Mode; frontman Dave Gahan sounds as good today as he did in the early ’80s. His baritone is clean and still carries the soul of the band. The wide variety of tunes played last night covered a large part of their history, ending with their most popular tunes. While Martin Gore is still very good in his multiple roles (keys and guitar) within the outfit, his tenor matched Gahan’s baritone in both strength and clarity.
Offering at least one song from nine different albums, Depeche Mode took the audience on a journey from their very first recordings up until their most recent effort, this year’s Memento Mori.
Encoring with a quartet of hits, “Just Can’t Get Enough” was followed by “Never Let Me Down Again” and then they closed the night out with a rousing version of “Personal Jesus.”
And just like that July convertible playlist will leave you with a toe-tapping smile, the nearly sold-out crowd left Rocket Mortgage with the same euphoric feeling.
Let’s hope it’s not another twenty years before they make their way back to the 216.
