Depeche Mode’s Global Spirit Lights Up Stožice (2017)

Nina Last updated 12 December 2024

foto: NINA GRAD 2017

Depeche Mode
May 14, 2017
Ljubljana / Arena Stožice / Slovenia

When cult British electro rock outfit Depeche Mode announced their new studio album “Spirit”, already their fourteenth, the fan base seriously started to boil. Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher fired everyone up even more by announcing a tour, which they dubbed “Global Spirit” for the occasion. And among the dates, to the great joy of the Slovenian part of the crowd, was Ljubljana’s Stožice.

It’s been eleven years since Depeche Mode, at one of the last shows at the sold-out Bežigrajski stadion, presented one of their most recognizable records, “Playing the Angel”. With Placebo warming things up, they left a wonderful impression on Slovenian fans back then. In the meantime Depeche Mode have put out two more records: “Sounds of the Universe” in 2009 and “Delta Machine” in 2013. Sadly, we Slovenes never got a tour for either of those albums, so the lightning-fast ticket sellout after the Stožice show was announced, despite the relatively steep price, was no surprise. The question is: “Was all that excitement over the new album and the show in Ljubljana’s Stožice justified?” The answer is a resounding: “YES!”

At 7:45 PM the experimental Danish indie rock duo Raveonettes got the crowd warmed up. Fairly unknown to Slovenes, the duo of Sun Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo, who are joined on stage by a drummer, did a solid job with their rather monotonous repertoire of prepping the room for the evening’s headliners. At 8:30 PM the Danes left the stage, and to a soundtrack of electronic music, handed it over to the techs to get it ready for Depeche Mode.

At 9:00 PM it was time for the pumped-up crowd to get what it came for. After an opening teaser in the form of “Revolution” by the legendary Beatles, Andy Fletcher, Martin Gore, Christian Eigner (drums) and Peter Gordeno (keyboards), who have been rounding out the legendary Brits as a touring duo for many years, took the stage. Then came the icon of stage presence himself, David Gahan, and the show kicked off with “Going Backwards” from the current record. From the very first beats it was clear that seats in the stands were completely irrelevant: the crowd jumped to its feet immediately and never sat back down until the end of the show. After that first track from the new, rather politically charged record “Spirit”, came another new one, “So Much Love”. Depeche Mode then took us back to the older records with “Barrel of a Gun” from the cult album “Ultra”, and an extremely minimalist yet incredibly listenable rework of “A Pain That I´m Used To” from “Playing the angel”.

With “Corrupt”, Dave and company remembered “Sounds of the Universe” and then dug even deeper into their back catalog with “In Your Room”, released in 1993 on “Songs of Faith and Devotion”. Next came an even older one, “World in My Eyes” from “Violator”. They returned to the current record with “Cover Me”. Dave, the stage’s main source of charisma and infectious as a drug, handed the spotlight to Martin for two songs. Martin eased the tempo a notch with “Home”, then sent the crowd into total ecstasy with a reworked acoustic version of the 31-year-old “A Question of Lust”. Dave then took the reins again with his current rebellious spirit against the system, delivering two tracks from the new record, “Poison Heart” and “Where´s the Revolution”. “Wrong”, beefed up with a new intro, reminded us once more of “Sounds of the universe”, and then it was time for Depeche Mode to completely win us over with all the biggest songs. “Everything counts” and “Stripped” followed. During the cult and one of Depeche Mode’s best-known songs, “Enjoy the silence” from “Violator”, we witnessed a scene that only the biggest of the big can pull off in Stožice. The crowd literally went nuts, and we’re convinced there wasn’t a single person in the hall who didn’t fall under the spell of the delirium onstage. “Never Let Me Down Again” from “Music for the Masses” came next, and with the crowd roaring, Depeche Mode left the stage for the first time.

It was crystal clear they wouldn’t leave a fired-up crowd without a well-deserved encore, and Martin opened it by bringing tears to our eyes with a song that ranks among the peaks of romantic poetry on the new album, “Somebody”. The calm tempo continued with “Walking in My Shoes”, and then, with a black flag projected behind them, Depeche Mode bowed to their idol David Bowie with his song “Heroes”. A moment that simply can’t leave you cold, and a gesture we hugely respect.

Then it was time for Depeche Mode to finish like the giants they are. We felt them with two songs that it’s simply impossible to imagine one of their shows without. With “I Feel You” with a new intro and “Personal Jesus”, after a good two hours Depeche Mode wrapped up the show in Ljubljana’s Stožice.

The crowd definitely got more than it had quietly hoped for (even in its wildest dreams). It might sound over the top, but it’s completely true. When you can look around the hall and feel the delirium the entire place is going through at the usual dynamic moves and characteristically piercing vocals of 55-year-old Dave Gahan, it all becomes clear. The crowd really did get more than it even wished for, and what it came for. If any skeptics showed up before the show claiming the band’s live performances are mellowing out, the spectacle in Stožice with Depeche Mode only confirmed that they were thoroughly wrong. We can also easily confirm they topped the 2006 show at Bežigrad. Of course, Dave, Martin and Andy can’t escape their age. But they’ve obviously managed to dodge the danger of running out of steam in their later years, or showing visible signs of age-related wear on stage. Dave convinced with his dynamics like it was his wildest nineties. And Martin, with the all-around quality of a songwriter, composer, guitarist and top-notch vocalist, proves that he’s really the locomotive of the entire band. In the beginning and in the nineties they were practically the only true rebellious electronic alternative to the rock bands of the time. With the latest record and its socially critical lyrics, the rebellion is back, just in a slightly different way. Their look and presence represented for many the lifestyle they lived in the eighties. Those for whom Depeche Mode were an inspiration in their teenage years, that is the eighties, and who now carry a solid fifty-plus years on their shoulders, relived at this show those times of rebellion, of the carefree rock’n’roll era that’s behind us. The only gripe is actually pretty funny. Depeche Mode… Why did you skip the Slovenes on the previous two tours promoting “Sounds of the Universe” and “Delta Machine”? We missed you way too much. The wait for the next tour has in fact already begun, with the last struck note and beat in Stožice! After the energy we just saw, nobody can convince us that the Depeche Mode story is anywhere near its end.

With this show in Ljubljana’s Stožice, Depeche Mode proved they’re still among the greatest virtuosos at blending electronics with rock. The performance, the production and, last but not least, the more than solid sound in the acoustically disastrous Stožice hall threw down the gauntlet to this year’s upcoming big concerts in Slovenia. The challenge goes like this: “Can any band, with its megalomaniac production and this year’s visit to Stožice, top what the eternal and unique Depeche Mode delivered on their second visit to Slovenia?”

Author: Klemen Udovč
Photos: Nina Grad