and then i die in july? (part iiii)

since i’m a watch guy we’ll do the topic clock style…

…for all who think i can’t do roman numerals properly, that was intentional.

so, sunday night i saw depeche mode for what i thought was the tenth or eleventh time but later realized was technically the twelfth. i won’t bore you with the list, but the bulk of the shows (including this one) have been in san antonio.

wait – is that right? now i have to bore you with the list…

1988 – Music For The Masses Tour – Frank Erwin Center – Austin, TX
1990 – World Violation Tour – Starplex Amphitheater – Dallas, TX
1993 – Devotional Tour – Frank Erwin Center – Austin, TX
1994 – Exotic Tour – Hemisfair Arena – San Antonio, TX
1998 – Singles Tour – Alamodome – San Antonio, TX
2001 – Exciter Tour – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – Selma, TX (San Antonio)
2005 – Touring The Angel – SBC Center – San Antonio, TX
2009 – Tour Of The Universe – Woodlands Pavilion, Woodlands, TX (Houston)
2013 – Delta Machine Tour – Woodlands Pavilion, Woodlands, TX (Houston)
2017 – Global Spirit Tour – Austin 360 Amphitheater – Austin, TX
2018 – Global Spirit Tour – AT&T Center – San Antonio, TX
2023 – Momento Mori Tour – AT&T Center – San Antonio, TX

so that’s one for dallas, two for houston, three for austin, and the other SIX for SA. it should be noted that the frank erwin center (named after one of my dad’s old drinking buddies) still stands (as of this writing) but is no longer used (the last show i saw there was tool in 2020 pre-covid), the starplex still stands but has been renamed a couple times (currently “dos equis pavilion”), hemisfair and verizon wireless are no longer with us, sbc center and at&t center are the same building, and austin 360 is now “germania insurance amphitheater”.

this one had a bit more of a somber tone to parts of it due to the departure of founding member andrew “fletch” fletcher, who i actually did get to chat with once…

ain’t it amazing what used to pass for decent camera phone pic quality?

this is from an acl after party in 2013, whereby vince clarke, who was one of the founders of depeche mode (and later yaz and erasure) was doing a dj set after depeche had headlined the festival, so martin and andrew came out to support their old former band mate and i got to meet them both in the vip section (along with roger from the cure, who were headlining the next night). this is when i found out fletch had done some dj sets as well (he told me), and that there were none that would be officially released but some were “worth searching out as they’re quite good, i’m told”.

the set list was heavy on the new album (five tracks) but then a nice smattering of classics from all eras of their career save their latest sony records era. i don’t mean to sound like “that guy”, but i have to say that their album quality, as a whole, has really gone down since they got to sony. the lead single is usually good, and their might be one or two more diamonds in the rough to be had, but a lot of the album just seems like slower filler material to me. i feel like i’m not really alone though, as every tour sees them play a few tracks off the new album, and then it’s just bangers from 2009 and before with ZERO coming from the three releases they have with sony. and so it’s been on every tour since they got on the label.

my seats were nice and centered up but not really close…

and i’m still baffled by how long merch lines are at this venue (still can’t find a @#$! new order shirt online anywhere) but i just played with my phone and waited em out, ending up with a print and a shirt so i can’t bitch about merch, venue staff (who are always pretty damn wonderful there, honestly) and parking was a breeze because i pre-paid. i’d count this as four and half stars easily (docking a half for the merch lines).

there were a couple semi-surprises in the set list, which i only count as “semi” because they’ve basically done the same one the whole tour, with maybe one song varying, but this one was exactly what i had downloaded from the opening date out in cali. that being said, it was still a great selection.

so, this might be the last one labeled “then i die in july…” as i’ve gotten a stay of execution! i just picked up a ticket to see tears for fears (just announced and presale was less than twenty-four hours later) in july, so i guess we’re pushed till august now?